Synthesizing''Wen''(civilizational culture)and''Jiao''(civilizing influence):Kang Youwei's new exploration of Confucian universalism
LI Kexin
WANG Xinran
Abstract：Kang Youwei renewed his exploration of Confucian universalism to address the crisis of Confucianism provoked by western challenges.An examination of his reinterpretative approaches to Confucian universalist discourse reveals that"Wen"(civilizational culture)and"Jiao"(civilizing influence)served as his dual pillars.Kang Youwei reinterpreted the concept through a global civilizational lens.By identifying Confucius as the"king of civilizational culture",he negated western hierarchical theories of civilization.Employing the notion of"teaching"within the Six Classics to demonstrate that the civilizing project originated in China,he bifurcated"Jiao"into"human-centered civilizing tradition"and"theocentric religious doctrines",arguing that Confucianism's humanistic emphasis on ethical cultivation granted it both universal applicability and moral superiority over other global traditions.By casting Confucius as both the"king of civilizational culture"and the"sage of moral edification",Kang positioned him as a transcendent figure who surpassed national boundaries within modern civilizational frameworks.Kang's choice of"Wen"and"Jiao"as foundational concepts stemmed from their intrinsic interconnectedness:"Wen"manifested the essence of"Jiao",while"Jiao"determined the trajectory of"Wen".He further integrated these two dimensions with social evolution theory,depicted a vision of"Grand Unity"(Datong)which characterized by"the consummation of civilizational refinement and ethical cultivation".
Keywords：Kang Youwei"Wen"(civilizational culture)"Jiao"(civilizing influence)Confucianismuniversalism
Publication Date：2025-09-15
Online Publishing Date：2025-10-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：8( 46-53 )