Historical Research in Canada on Other Parts of the World / La recherche historique d’autres régions du monde au Canada

Abstract

A specter is haunting China today, the specter of Confucianism. Since the early 1990s, the Chinese government has continuously emphasized as the national goal achieving the Society of “Lesser Peace(xiaokang shehui),” meaning “a relatively comfortable life.” Instead of striving toward the long-term utopian goal of “Grand Unity (datong),” the late 19th century slogan of reform-minded Confucian intellectuals, the Chinese government has set the moderate goal of achieving a “relatively comfortable life” in terms of income, food consumption, housing, and human resource development. Both “ GrandUnity ” and “Lesser Peace” are derived from the Book of Rites, one of the Five Confucian Classics.