The Structural Paradox of Confucianism

This paper reconstructs and systematically analyzes Confucian thought through a scientific-philosophical and structural-critical approach, aiming to move beyond the traditional binary evaluative framework of “affirmation versus negation,” and to reveal the internal structural contradictions of Confucianism as a civilizational system of thought. The paper argues that Confucianism is not a single coherent ethical theory, but a complex system composed of multiple tensions, whose core paradox lies in the long-term conflict between the value of personhood and hierarchical order. The study develops its analysis across six dimensions: the conflict between ren and li; the rupture between theories of human nature as good and as evil; the political tension between people-centered governance and monarchical authority; the structural distortion resulting from the expansion of family ethics into the public sphere; the dual separation between morality and interests; and the historical process by which Confucianism was institutionalized as a political instrument. Through a comparative examination of the thought structures of Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi, this paper argues that Confucianism has never possessed a unified foundational logic regarding human nature, political legitimacy, and social order. The study further points out that Confucianism emphasizes moral values such as “ren,” “yi,” and people-centered governance at the theoretical level, while at the institutional level it persistently relies on hierarchical order and centralized power structures, ultimately forming a historical model of “external Confucianism and internal control,” in which moral language gradually becomes an instrument for legitimizing power. The core conclusion of this paper is that the fundamental problem of Confucianism does not lie in whether it values morality, but in its persistent inability to answer a key question: when morality conflicts with power, should individuals obey conscience or submit to order? This produces a structural paradox running throughout Chinese political and cultural history.