Between Knowledge and Faith: Kang Youwei and the Modern Fate of Confucianism

As a “radical” reformer in late 19th-century China, Kang Youwei sought to make innovations within Confucianism so as to adapt this tradition to the sweeping changes of the end of the imperial period. On the one hand, he tried to create a Confucian “Church” by following the Christian model and suggested establishing Confucianism as a State religion; on the other hand, he criticized the imperial civil examinations and promoted educational reform, while hoping to be able to combine traditional teaching with modern education. Those attempts failed : Confucianism was not transformed into a religion of Christian style, and the building of Chinese modern education made it lose its central status among Chinese values. Kang Youwei’s unsuccessful attempts shed light on Confucianism’s predicament in modern China.