Daniel Bell's SCMP interview on China’s melding of Confucius and Marx

"Political theorist Daniel A. Bell reflects on China’s melding of Confucius and Marx"
Yuanyue Dang
South China Morning Post
24 February 2025

Daniel A. Bell, a Canadian political theorist specialising in Confucianism and China’s political meritocracy, is chair of political theory at the University of Hong Kong’s law faculty. He was the first foreigner to be appointed as dean of Shandong University’s school of political science and public administration, and also taught at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

In this interview, Bell shares his views on the links between the ruling Communist Party’s guiding philosophy and Confucianism, as well as the fight against corruption and his outlook for the future of Chinese politics...

Click here to read the full interview on SCMP.

To understand more about Prof. Daniel Bell's work, please click here to read the article written by Peter Baehr on Springer Nature.

Daniel Bell on Legalist Confucianism: What's Living and What's Dead (new book chapter)

"Legalist Confucianism: What's Living and What's Dead"

Daniel A. Bell in Zhengxu Wang (ed),  The Long East Asia: The Premodern State and Its Contemporary Impacts (Palgrave Macmillan 2023) Chapter 9

Abstract: Confucianism and Legalism are the two most influential political traditions in Chinese history. They are diverse and complex traditions with different interpretations in different times (especially in the case of Confucianism), but there are continuities and commonalities and ongoing themes in each tradition. Although the two traditions contrast with each other at the level of philosophy, they were combined in different ways in Chinese imperial history and some form of Legalist Confucianism continues to be influential in the twenty-first century. In this essay, I will identify the main traits of the Confucian and Legalist traditions and show how they were combined in Chinese history. I hope the reader will forgive the broad brushstrokes that simplify a complex history. My aim here is to set the stage for the normative question: Which aspects of Legalist Confucianism should be promoted in the future and which parts should be consigned to the dustbin of history? I will illustrate my response with examples from contemporary China to suggest it is both possible and desirable to promote a form of Legalist Confucianism today and in the foreseeable future.

Bui Ngoc Son (PhD 2013) on Confucian Constitutionalism in East Asia (New Book)

Confucian Constitutionalism in East Asia
Bui Ngoc Son (PhD 2013)

2016, Routledge, 226 pp.

About the Book: Western liberal constitutionalism has expanded recently, with, in East Asia, the constitutional systems of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan based on Western principles, and with even the socialist polities of China and Vietnam having some regard to such principles. Despite the alleged universal applicability of Western constitutionalism, however, the success of any constitutional system depends in part on the cultural values, customs and traditions of the country into which the constitutional system is planted. This book explains how the values, customs and traditions of East Asian countries are Confucian, and discusses how this is relevant to constitutional practice in the region. The book outlines how constitutionalism has developed in East Asia over a long period, considers different scholarly work on the ease or difficulty of integrating Western constitutionalism into countries with a Confucian outlook, and examines the prospects for such integration going forward. Throughout, the book covers detailed aspects of Confucianism and the workings of constitutions in practice.  Dr Bui completed his PhD under the supervision of Professor Albert Chen in 2013.

Scott Veitch Reviews Joseph Chan's Confucian Perfectionism (HKLJ)

"Book Review of Confucian Perfectionism: A Political Philosophy for Modern Times, Joseph Chan"
Scott Veitch
Hong Kong Law Journal
Vol. 45, Part 3 of 2015, pp. 1023-1030

Joseph Chan, Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong, has written an impressive book that lawyers will benefit from reading.  The title might be daunting, but as a scholarly treatise the book is full of practical engagements with matters of institutional design, the framing of political debates and the contested roles of law and legal rights today.  It will stimulate thinking on a range of pressing contemporary issues, such as how democracy and the Rule of Law might be reconceptualised in light of an updated Confucian tradition, much of which could be helpful in understanding the conflicts over their meaning in Hong Kong, China and beyond...

Charles Lam and Say Goo on Confucianism's Application to Corporate China

"Confucianism and its Theoretical Application to the Corporate World in China"
Charles Lam and Say Goo

Company and Securities Law Journal
2015, Vol. 33, pp 332-340

Introduction: There has been a long history of socio-economic interactions and trade ties between China and Australia. With China’s economic miracle, it is all the more important to develop the country’s legal system and the underlying philosophy in order to support its high-speed development. In this respect, China can borrow the experience from well-developed common law systems such as that in Australia. In Hong Kong, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides that judges from other common law jurisdictions may be invited to sit on the Court of Final Appeal to enrich the local court system and the development of its jurisprudence. One remarkable example is the appointment of Sir Anthony Mason, a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, as one of the first non-permanent judges of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. 

      On the other hand, in doing business with China, it is essential to know about the Chinese way of doing business and the deep-rooted logic and reasoning grounded in Confucianism in order to achieve a win-win commercial partnership. In addition, with an increasing number of Chinese people studying and living in Australia, there is a large pool of talented people who are interested to appreciate the importance between Confucianism and the commercial world. When it comes to ethics, instead of taking an abrupt or revolutionary approach, it is better to develop the system through an orderly and gradual progress according to the culture fit theory as analysed in this note. A stable and sustainable development in China is conducive not only to the interest of Chinese people, but to the sustainability and prosperity of the neighboring countries in this region, including Australia. 

      This note examines the historical development of Confucianism in China and discusses the insightful teachings of Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi and the Neo-Confucian scholars in the Song Dynasty. Against this historical backdrop, we then discuss the possible revival and application of Confucianism in China in light of the culture fit theory, path dependence theory and institutional theory with a view to restore the corporate world order in China based on Confucianism.  Contact the authors for a copy of the article. 

Confucianism and the Hong Kong and Chinese Legal Systems

"The Intrinsic Value of Confucianism and its Relevance to the Legal System in Hong Kong and China"
Charles KN Lam and Say Goo
The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law

25 February 2015 (Advance Access)

Abstract: The objective of this article is to explore the intrinsic value of Confucianism and its relationship with the common law in the area of corporate governance and see how they can both work together to solve the corporate governance problems in China. In the course of analysis, we take a qualitative approach in adopting a case study to illustrate how Confucianism can be applied in the course of business management to address problems such as the appointment of board members, conflicting directorships, auditor independence, conflict of interest, corruption, and manipulation. We propose that the Western institution of corporate governance system can co-exist with Confucianism as the guiding compass for the direction of a company in Hong Kong and may have reference value for China.

"Directors' duties in the context of Confucianism"

Charles KN Lam and Say Goo

Journal of Financial Crime

Vol. 22, Issue 1, pp 37-47

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Confucianism can be applied in the areas that are now governed by company law in the common law system and how it can play a role in improving corporate governance. A gentleman in the context of Confucianism tends to be inclusive and broad-minded in embracing the interest of different stakeholders. In fact, he will balance the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders if there is any inherent conflict and try to achieve a win-win situation. Ultimately, he will run the company not just for profit-making but for social justice and commitment. The authors examine the leading cases in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom about the law of fiduciary duty and the duty of care and its relationship with Confucianism. In this respect, we review the teachings of the traditional Confucian texts and use Confucianism to fill in the gap where common law rules cannot reach. In addition, we adopt a comparative study approach in examining the law of directors’ duties in Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom. It can be seen that the concept of fiduciary duty and duty of care is quite complicated and evolving and always subject to the interpretations of the court from time to time. For fiduciary duty, the term itself is quite conceptual and not immediately available to the general public. But loyalty in the context of Confucianism is a very lively and down-to-earth moral principle. Besides, fiduciary duty is imposed from outside, where directors had no choice but to accept. But loyalty in the context of Confucianism is something inherent and something from within. It is a moral principle that if you deeply understand the meaning of it, you will automatically accept it as a good virtue and your conduct will naturally be guided by such a principle. Confucianism can thereby be used to fill the gap where rules and regulations cannot reach. Confucian business ethics and common law rule should be complementary to each other in the development of a Chinese corporate governance system. This paper is the first of its kind in discussing the relationship between the law of directors’ duties and Confucianism. It argues that Confucianism plays a crucial role in guiding the behavior of the directors and can supplement the abstract principles of directors’ duties in the context of a Chinese corporate governance system.