I was a little bit busier yesterday, July 4, 2017. Therefore I post it this post today to celebrate the 241st anniversary of the founding of the United States. Please don't feel surprised at reading Dr. Wang's paper of examining the founders' efforts to introduce Confucius moral principles in the time of unfolding the history of the United States. In the following please find the open paragraph of his paper:
Confucius and the founding of the United States
don’t seem to be related. Confucius, the Latinized name of Kongzi (孔子) (c. 550-476 B.C.),
was a great philosopher and educator who lived at the end of “the Spring and
Autumn Period” (771-476 B.C.) in China. The founding of America in the 1770s was
a period in which the founders of the United States waged their death-or-life
struggle to overthrow the imperialist rule of the Great Britain. However, despite their differences, a close
relationship actually existed between them. The United States’ founders applied
many values from Confucian moral philosophy while founding of the United
States.[1]
Their recognition of Confucian ideas can be seen in places such as the house of
James Madison (1751-1836), the father of the Constitution and the Bill ofRights, which had a portrait of Confucius. In addition, Thomas Paine
(1737-1809), author of Common Sense,
considered the Chinese sage to be in the same category as Jesus and Socrates.[2] Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790), the Creator of the American Spirit, made the solemn statement that
Confucian moral philosophy was valuable to the human being in general.[3]
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, also promoted Confucian moral principles in his inaugural speech in 1801. In his personal scratch-book, Jefferson placed a poem about an ideal
Chinese prince that was recommended by Confucius. Other founders such as John Adams (1735-1826) and Benjamin Rush (1746-1813) also regarded Confucius highly
in their efforts to make a blueprint for the new nation. These founders urged
the citizens of the United States to adopt positive elements from Confucian
moral philosophy and follow these moral examples to cultivate and advance their
own virtues
[1] Dave Wang, The US Founders
and China: The Origins of Chinese Cultural Influence on the United States, Education About Asia, Fall, 2011,
pp.5-11.
[3] Benjamin Franklin, Letter to George Whitefield, July 6, 1749. It is
available on line at http://www.historycarper.com/1749/07/06/the-example-of-confucius
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