American scholar William Theodore de Bary has won the second biennial Tang Prize in sinology for his pioneering research on Confucianism.
The 97-year-old Columbia University scholar has written and edited nearly 30 books on Confucianism during an academic career spanning almost seven decades.
The Tang Prize Foundation awarded de Bary on Monday for his insight on the impact of Confucianism on the Chinese political system throughout history.
A member of Taiwan’s top academic body -- Academia Sinica – David Wang had high praise for de Bary. Wang said that de Bary is not encumbered by Western values or theoretical models and has argued that Confucianism is a cultural asset in East Asia, rather than a barrier to modernization.
“Over the past 40 to 50 years, in particular, in the face of different ideologies, [political] movements, and storms in the gigantic People’s Republic of China, de Bary stood firm in his own understanding and interpretations of Confucianism. [His research] created the most important barometer of [Confucianism studies] in the 70s and 80s," said Wang.
Wang says de Bary believes that while liberalism does not exist in China, that does not mean that freedom is not a value in Chinese culture. De Bary’s research shows that the liberal tendencies of Ming dynasty Confucian scholars prompted many intellectuals to speak out against the abuse of power.
In today’s world of multiculturalism, Wang said de Barry argued that Western points of views alone are no longer able to interpret or guide the world civilization. Dialogue is needed to seek consensus among different cultures on issues such as human rights and values cherished in civic societies.