To facilitate communication between the faculty and students worldwide, the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA) at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) launched a dialogue series for presenting China’s stories globally. It’s named Zhaomingde [昭明德], borrowed from Chinese classic The Book of Changes, interpreted in English as “a gentleman demonstrates his virtue by practicing it, just as the sun shows its brightness by sunrise”.

n the evening of June 1, 2022, Associate Professor GAO Jian of the School of English Studies at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU), was invited to share his view on “The Fundamental of Confucian Morality” at the fourth session of Zhaomingde dialogue. This lecture was held by the SIRPA Branch of CPC SISU Committee and was chaired by Professor ZHANG Shaoduo, Secretary of the Committee.

"There is no denying that Western culture is a dominant factor in the modernization of the world in the past few centuries. However, the cultures in the eastern hemisphere are increasingly demonstrating their unique roles in this process", said Professor Gao. 

In light of this fact, understanding and inheriting traditional Chinese culture are, at present, of great importance and urgency. In order to probe into Chinese culture, we should first learn about Confucianism, which is a vital and representative part of traditional Chinese culture and has had a profound impact on Chinese civilization.

Professor Gao pointed out that grasping the difference between Chinese and Western cultures requires us not only to see the superficial differences, but also to realize the profound differences in the pattern of thought and ideology. Only through comparison can we truly understand the core of Chinese culture.

The individual’s behavior motivation in Confucian culture is not reputation or interests, nor Western-style logical reasoning, but a kind of empathy like the famous saying of Mencius: “Everyone has a compassionate heart that makes him intolerable for not helping others in trouble or in dangers.”

He used the famous case of “dialogue between Zaiwo (a student of Confucius) and Confucius about whether to invade the obligation of worshiping his deceased mother” to further confirm that the perceptual consciousness of emotional morality is the motivation of an individual’s behavior in Confucian culture. We should keep our heart “fresh”, clever, acute, sensible, intuitive, innocent and unpolluted to nurture our morality.

In his lecture, Professor Gao integrated the grand narrative of Confucian morality into the great fight against COVID-19. By combining the anti-epidemic practice in Shanghai in the past two months, he deepens the understanding of the Confucian culture among the participating teachers and students.

He stressed that understanding the moral foundation of Chinese society is of great significance for understanding the achievements of China in fighting against the epidemic.

The Chinese nation is a pretty typical cultural community that attaches great importance to family ethics and blood kinship, which has a family spirit of dedication and sacrifice as well as a moral pursuit of friendly assistance and mutual support. He sincerely hoped that international students could feel a lively and real China with their hearts.

SIRPA houses the largest number of international students at SISU, with two master’s degree programs taught all-through in English, International Relations and China Studies. The school is committed to preparing future global talents for a wide range of international expertise. The Zhaomingde dialogue series was a platform for both Chinese and international students to have a better understanding of contemporary China and tell Chinese stories globally.