ABSTRACT
The rise of China has attracted worldwide attention in modern global affairs. When China replaced Japan as the world's second largest economy and global economic gravity started to shift back to the East, Chinese culture took on an unprecedented appeal. 1 But the source of this attraction emanates more from cultural and artistic forms than universal values or ideals. China should, some native scholars propose, construct a conceptual framework that can not only induce social and cultural integration but also endow traditional Chinese values with a universality comparable to Western freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. To formulate such a framework, these scholars suggest learning from the humanist model of the Renaissance. Since the Renaissance model is noted for its successful resurrection of the classical past, they argue, a similar paradigm might help the Chinese capitalize on its ancient culture epitomized in Confucian ethics and Taoist philosophy.
