SOURCE: An introduction to The Wisdom of China and India, Random House, 1942, pp. 3-52.

In the following excerpt, Yutang outlines the basic tenets of Confucianism, which he describes as a system of ideas that sought a rationalized social and political order "by laying the basis for it in a moral order. "

I. the Character of Confucian Ideas

Can one be enthusiastic about Confucianism nowadays? I wonder. The answer seems to depend on whether one can be enthusiastic about sheer good sense, a thing which people usually cannot work up very much enthusiasm for. The more important question seems to be whether one can believe in Confucianism nowadays. This is especially important to the modern Chinese of today, a question that directly challenges their minds and cannot be brushed aside. For there is a centrality or, shall I say, universality, about the Confucian attitude and point of view, reflected...