ON LIN YUTANG’S VIEWPOINT OF CONFUCIANISM

Lin Yutang had been a cultural scholar in the history of modern Chinese culture and literature since the May 4th Movement. People will find out that his deepest and most peculiar recognition of Chinese culture was the appreciation of Confucian ideology by analysing lin’s viewpoint of traditional culture. Lin Yutang summed up the essence of the spirit of Confucianism as a rational “humanism”, i.e. so called humanism of China’s type. He worshipped humanism of this kind and admired “ration” spirit of humanism of China’s type — the doctrine of the mean. He sang the high praises of laying the emphasis on practical life and useful education in social contact, insisting that Confucius should be sentimental man. Lin Yutang concluded that the origin of humanism of China’s type lay in makineg a clear distinction between right and wrong, but he was not happy with the fact that Confucius showed no concern about the existence of God.