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The crisis of moral education in modern China: A historical perspective.

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Title: The crisis of moral education in modern China: A historical perspective.
Authors: Wang, Fan-Sen1 (AUTHOR) fanshen@mail.ihp.sinica.edu.tw
Source: Journal of Moral Education. Mar2026, Vol. 55 Issue 1, p13-28. 16p.
Subject Terms: *Moral education, *Intellectual history, *Cultural values, Chinese civilization, Social ethics, Social theory, Confucianism, Cultural movements
Geographic Terms: China
Abstract: Since the traditional period, moral education in China has gradually departed from religion and mythology. In light of the emergence and rapid development of the neo-Confucianism (or lixue) between the Song (960–1269) and the Ming (1368–1644) periods, this paper argues that a phase of 'neo-tradition' began around the eleventh and twelfth centuries, during which interpretations of 'original nature' fundamentally changed moral education. Furthermore, the author proposes to divide Chinese intellectual history into four periods: traditional, neo-traditional, anti-traditional and 'age of -ism' (zhuyi) periods. The anti-traditional ideas which blossomed and radicalized since the May-Fourth Movement (1919) triggered the abolition of classical studies, and demanded traditional social order replacement by a modern moral education to nurture modern citizens. Lastly, the author suggests to re-visit the moral tradition of the inner-self, seeking ways to bridge it with the modern civic values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Moral Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Moral+education%22">Moral education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intellectual+history%22">Intellectual history</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+values%22">Cultural values</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chinese+civilization%22">Chinese civilization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+ethics%22">Social ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+theory%22">Social theory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Confucianism%22">Confucianism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+movements%22">Cultural movements</searchLink>
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  Data: Since the traditional period, moral education in China has gradually departed from religion and mythology. In light of the emergence and rapid development of the neo-Confucianism (or lixue) between the Song (960–1269) and the Ming (1368–1644) periods, this paper argues that a phase of 'neo-tradition' began around the eleventh and twelfth centuries, during which interpretations of 'original nature' fundamentally changed moral education. Furthermore, the author proposes to divide Chinese intellectual history into four periods: traditional, neo-traditional, anti-traditional and 'age of -ism' (zhuyi) periods. The anti-traditional ideas which blossomed and radicalized since the May-Fourth Movement (1919) triggered the abolition of classical studies, and demanded traditional social order replacement by a modern moral education to nurture modern citizens. Lastly, the author suggests to re-visit the moral tradition of the inner-self, seeking ways to bridge it with the modern civic values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Moral Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/03057240.2025.2516194
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 16
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      – SubjectFull: Moral education
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      – SubjectFull: Intellectual history
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      – SubjectFull: Cultural values
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      – SubjectFull: Chinese civilization
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      – SubjectFull: Confucianism
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      – SubjectFull: Cultural movements
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      – SubjectFull: China
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      – TitleFull: The crisis of moral education in modern China: A historical perspective.
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              M: 03
              Text: Mar2026
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