ABSTRACT
Family relationships are extremely important to the Confucian vision of the good life. In the Confucian view, if a person cannot build harmonious relationships with his own family, he will find it difficult to work well with others in society at large. Being a good family member requires self-cultivation, which paves the way for him to become a productive member of society. The family is both the school and the home of harmonious personhood in Confucianism. In this chapter, I first explain the important role of the family in Confucianism. Then I investigate the Confucian view of family relationships between parents and children, older and younger siblings, and husband and wife. In the context of family harmony, I provide an alternative to Susan Moller Okin’s model of gender equality, as a Confucian response to contemporary challenges. Paving the way for transition from family harmony to harmony in society, this chapter concludes with a delineation of the trajectory of the traditional concentric relationship of the family, enlarged family as a form of community, and the nation.
