On the evening of 11th April, 2023, a reading salon themed "Confucian Public Administration and Modern China" was successfully held by the Business School in Room 505, Building O, Macau University of Science and Technology.
This salon proposed to promote the participants' proper understanding of Confucian thoughts on state affairs management, to explore the reasons for the decline of Confucianism in modern China, and to seek the implications of Confucianism for contemporary public administration through the comparative reading of "Administering Sate Affairs under the Instructions of Confucius" (《孔教經世法》) by Dr. Ch'en Huan-chang (陳煥章) and "Confucian China and Its Modern Fate" by Professor Joseph R. Levenson.
This activity invited Mr. Hu Zhangli (胡長禮), the founder of Confucian Society (儒士社) to introduce the main content of "Administering Sate Affairs under the Instructions of Confucius" and to share his opinions. Ms. Xing Luwen (邢露文) and Mr. Tan Zhan (譚展), two postgraduate students on behalf of their research team from the Program of Public Administration, (including Chen Haoleng (陳浩棱), Ren Huiyang (任暉陽), Chen Yuwen (陳宇文), Xiong Shaomin (熊少敏), You Jia (尤嘉), and Peng Yingxuan (彭盈萱)), shared their research on the book "Confucian China and Its Modern Fate". The salon was hosted by Dr. Abraham W. LIU, a teacher from the School of Business, M.U.S.T.. Students from the program of Public Administration and others as well as representatives from the government and other institutions participated in the activity. In this event, the participants deeply felt the charm of Confucianism and its contemporary value in a relaxed and humorous yet rigorous academic discussion.
Through Mr. Hu Zhangli, Mr. Tan Zhan, and Ms. Xing Luwen’s sharing of their reading experiences of "Administering State Affairs under the Instructions of Confucius" and "Confucian China and Its Modern Fate", the salon successfully led the participants to understand Confucianism and Confucian intellectuals from different historical perspectives, and to contemplate the value of Confucianism in contemporary China and how to promote its value in nowadays society.
Finally, the audience had an active and enthusiastic communication with Mr. Hu, Mr. Tan, and Ms. Xing. through the Q&A session,
The Two Books Discussed in the Reading Salon
Dr. Abraham LIU, on behalf of the School of Business M.U.S.T., presented a souvenir to Mr. Hu Zhangli.
Mr. Hu Zhangli shared his reading experience of "Administering Sate Affairs under the Instructions of Confucius"
Ms. Xing Luwen shared her reading experience of "Confucian China and Its Modern Fate”
(From left) Abraham LIU, Hu Zhangli, Tan Zhan, and Xing Luwen in the Q&A session.
A group photo of Mr. Hu Zhangli, and teachers and students in M.U.S.T.