Confucianism at War

This is the first book-length study of wartime Confucianism in any language, providing new insights into key developments in Confucian thought and ideology in East Asia in the 1930s and 1940s.

In standard scholarship on the ideologies driving nation-building and imperialism during the era of Japanese expansionism that began in 1931, Confucianism is rarely referenced and relegated to the background. This volume brings together the work of scholars who argue for a revision of this standard view. It includes studies of Japanese, Chinese, colonial Manchurian and Korean intellectuals and reformers who contributed to expansionist, collaborationist or nationalist ideology-building during the war. Contrary to the assumption that Confucianism was an anachronism rendered irrelevant by the Westernising political reforms and revolutions of the early twentieth century, the chapters in this book show that Confucianism remained a potent, and also contested cultural resource for promoting national cohesion, war mobilisation and expansionism in East Asia between the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the end of World War II in 1945. 

This book will appeal to scholars and students of Asian studies, nationalism studies, postcolonial studies, religious studies and philosophy. In particular, it is essential reading for those interested in nationalism and modern Confucian thought in East Asia.

?This book provides a good introduction to the ways in which Confucianism was both manipulated and challenged during one of the darkest periods of East Asian history. It illuminates the complexity of Confucian thought and its role in justifying and opposing imperialism, war and nationalism. The work is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how ancient philosophies can be reinterpreted in modern contexts for both peace and conflict.?

Jana S. Rošker, Professor of Sinology and Chinese philosophy, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

?This groundbreaking volume is the first book-length study in any language of Confucianism during the Asia-Pacific wartime era. Comprising fourteen insightful and interdisciplinary chapters, it offers a comprehensive examination of the ideological salience of modern Confucianism, highlighting its role in various Pan-Asianist, imperialist, and nationalist discourses. By shifting the focus away from the conventional narrative of the Second World War as a conflict between fascism and anti-fascism, this book provides a refreshing and nuanced perspective. It is an essential read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of WWII and its global ramifications. Furthermore, it is a timely work, as the canonical authority of Confucianism is once again being revived as symbolic capital in the service of authoritarian agendas.?

Zhiyi Yang, Professor of Sinology, University of Frankfurt, Germany

?It is often forgotten that the recent global resurrection of Confucianism as a philosophical and political tradition is only the second wave of modern Confucianism. In this historically rich and philosophically penetrating volume, Shaun O?Dwyer and other contributors show that while the second wave of modern Confucianism largely revolves around an intellectual debate among contemporary Confucians, the first wave, which began in modernizing Japan and culminated during the wartime period (1910-1945), was both intellectual and, more importantly, deeply political, making a tremendous impact not only on the formation of Japan?s nationalism, imperialism, and colonial ideology but also on the mode of ?modernity? that fundamentally reshaped the historical trajectories of the neighboring countries. Being the first book-length study of Asia-Pacific War era Confucianism in any language, this volume is a must-read as a sobering reminder for anyone interested in reinvigorating Confucianism as a modern intellectual tradition and political ideology in East Asia and beyond.?

Sungmoon Kim, City University of Hong Kong

?A thought-provoking volume on a hitherto neglected topic in East Asian history, ?Confucianism at War? is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of religion in war, in twentieth-century Sino-Japanese Relations, and in the East Asian part of World War II in general.?

Sven Saaler, Professor in Modern Japanese History, Sophia University, Japan

"This book is a treasure of fascinating articles on one of the most intriguing and understudied episodes in modern Asian history. Filling a massive lacunae in the fields of both East Asian history and Confucian studies, it unpacks the multiplicity and centrality of deployments of Confucianism during WWII and into the Cold War. Through this study, Confucianism emerges as a clearly modern and political object of contention between global historical forces as significant as the Japanese Empire, Chinese nationalists, the Chinese Communist Party, and early Korean nationalism. This book jettisons previous cliches of Confucian history as a purely pre-modern relic of tradition, propelling studies of Confucianism to a central position in our understanding of modern Asian history and nationalism."

Kiri Paramore, Professor of Asian Studies in the National University of Ireland, University College Cork