Dr. Leah Kalmanson (University of North Texas) has reviewed Debating Transcendence: Creatio ex nihilo and Sheng Sheng in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (April 3, 2026). The review offers an excellent overview of the book’s central arguments and highlights its major contributions. Readers may find it a helpful introduction before reading the book itself.
One particularly insightful observation concerns methodology. Dr. Kalmanson writes: “At this point, I would have been interested to hear some of Song’s methodological commitments articulated in the language of Ruist scholarly practices, although this dimension is implicit in Song’s overall approach to Ruism as a way of life in other chapters.” I appreciate this thoughtful question. In response, I would emphasize that the book operates with two complementary levels of comparative methodology.
The first is developed in the opening two chapters, which clarify what theology means within the Ru tradition and articulate the general Ruist attitude toward learning from other traditions. The second is presented in Chapter Four, where I propose a concrete method for constructing comparative categories that make cross-cultural comparison both meaningful and philosophically rigorous. Regarding the first level, I draw extensively on classical Ruist sources to develop what I call a “rooted and open inclusivism.” For the second, I build primarily upon Dr. Robert C. Neville’s pragmatist methodology—revised through Jonathan Z. Smith’ hermeneutical approach—and argue that Neville’s method provides an appropriate framework for this rooted, open inclusivism.
Dr. Kalmanson’s observation therefore raises an important question, and I hope the clarification above further explains the point she perceptively noted in the second half of her comment.
2. Harvard-Yenching Institute Announcement
The Harvard-Yenching Institute has also announced the publication of the book on its website. I was a Harvard-Yenching Visiting Fellow from 2011 to 2013. During those two years, I devoted myself to careful study of Liu Shu-hsien and Friedrich Schleiermacher. Looking back, that period planted some of the earliest intellectual seeds that eventually grew into Debating Transcendence. It is especially meaningful to see the Institute publicizing the book as it approaches its centennial in 2028. I extend my best wishes for the continued flourishing of Asian studies in the United States and across the globe under the Institute’s aegis.
3. Washington College Magazine Feature
The Spring 2026 issue of Washington College Magazineincludes an interview conducted by the College’s Director of Communications, Mark Jolly-Van Bodegraven, featuring both my new book and my colleague Dr. Peter Weigel’s Reading Aquinas’s Five Ways: The Arguments for God in Summa Theologiae (Cambridge University Press, 2025).
The interview situates Debating Transcendence within the liberal arts tradition inaugurated by Aristotle, suggesting that asking and attempting to answer the deepest human questions liberates the mind, and that such intellectual freedom forms one of the foundations of a robust democracy.
The interview also discusses my co-authored chapter, “When the Fire Came: A Retelling of the Confucian Sacred Story,“ written with Dr. Anna Sun (Duke University) and Dr. Pauline Lee (Saint Louis University). I am also delighted to share that this chapter has been adopted by colleagues at Washington College as a course reading for an environmental literature class co-taught by professors of English and Art History. They have told me that it has become one of the most relevant and engaging readings for the course.
4. American Academy of Religion Book Panel
The 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Denver will feature a book panel on Debating Transcendence, co-sponsored by the Confucian Traditions Unit and the Comparative Theology Unit. The official announcement can be found here.
I very much look forward to the thoughtful discussions and intellectual exchanges that this panel will foster among colleagues and friends.
5. American Philosophical Association Book Panel
The 2027 Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Boston will also host a book panel on Debating Transcendence, sponsored by the International Society for Chinese Philosophy. This gathering will provide an opportunity to engage once again with my doctoral advisor, Dr. Robert C. Neville, my dissertation reader, Dr. Stephen Angle, and several close academic friends. I look forward to a stimulating and enjoyable exchange of ideas.
Overall, I am deeply grateful for the warm reception the book has received so far. Seeing it generate thoughtful reviews, public discussions, classroom use, and scholarly panels is both encouraging and humbling. I hope these conversations will continue to advance comparative theology, Confucian studies, and cross-cultural philosophy in the years ahead.
In Spring 2026, Dr. Bin Song continued to assign contemplative exercises in the course “Introduction to Comparative Religion: Eastern” (PHL 112). Here are a couple of excellent examples:
Ben and Ziggy practice Buddhist mindfulness through calligraphy and drawing at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple near Baltimore.
Benjamin McCumber and Ziggy Angelos will graduate soon, so this is one of their last classes at the college. I worked with Ben in quite a few courses; he completed Religious Studies as his minor and will continue to study and practice clinical psychology in graduate school, which makes me very proud. Ziggy was a wonderful new student in my class, yet her level of understanding quickly revealed that being “new” in time does not mean being “new” in soul. She will continue to study art therapy in graduate school. I wish them both the very best!
Peter Anderson practices Ru meditation in a method of no-method.
Peter is a philosophy major, and he took two very different classes with me back-to-back this semester: the highly abstruse History of Modern Philosophy course, which included notoriously difficult thinkers such as Descartes, Berkeley, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant; and this course on Eastern Religions. Although brief and seemingly casual, the practice demonstrated in Peter’s video cites Gao Panlong (1562–1626), one of my favorite Ruist meditators, and captures the essence of the Ruist practice of quiet-sitting: a serene immersion in whatever and whenever one happens to be, within a civilization continuous with nature.
Hooray for these students—a very nice treat for a teacher heading into the coming summer!
Introduction to Philosophy (PHL 100 Washington College)
This course introduces the discipline of philosophy and its characteristic habits of thought and practice. Starting from the beginning of Western philosophy at ancient Greek, classical and contemporary readings are organized both chronically and thematically. Students will get familiar with major sub-disciplines and problems in philosophy such as metaphysics, ethics, logic, philosophy of science, hermeneutics, philosophy of religion, and political philosophy. Non-western philosophical traditions such as Ruism (Confucianism) and Buddhism will also be introduced in order to broaden conventional philosophical vistas. In general, the course is designed as reflecting philosophically and multi-culturally upon major divisions of human knowledge in modern university: religion, humanities, natural science, and social science.
History of Modern Philosophy (PHL 214 Washington College)
“History of Modern Philosophy” introduces major thinkers and schools of thought in the history of modern philosophy. Part I on “Enlightenment” investigates the major achievement, and the social and political background of modern philosophy. Part II on “Modern Scientific Revolution” introduces the scientific origin of the ideological transformations that define modern philosophy. Finally, Part III delves into the details of three representing modern philosophers’ thought: Descartes’ rationalism, Hume’s empiricism and the Kantian synthesis. Special acquired skills: students will learn how to make short videos to introduce their philosophical ideas to the public.
Ru and Confucianism (PHL/REL 394 Washington College)
This course introduces the philosophical concepts, sociological foundation, political implementation, and spiritual/religious practices of the Asian Ru (Confucian) tradition. While remaining sensitive to its varying characteristics through different historical periods, the course also presents Ruism’s development across Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia, and studies its historical interaction with Western cultures. Students are encouraged to think over and practice Ruist insights in a broader context of philosophical and religious studies, while being able to compare it with other major Asian and Western philosophical and religious traditions. Special acquired skills: students will learn Meditation in Motion in its varying forms, such as breathing, sleeping, quiet-sitting and Taiji martial arts, to strengthen their mind-body general well-being and increase creativity and productivity.
For a 2018 teaching documentary, please click here.
For a 2020 Spring teaching documentary, please click here.
Introduction to Comparative Religion: Eastern (PHL/REL 112 Washington College)
This introductory course on Eastern religions aims to increase religious literacy by examining the philosophical, social, and spiritual–practical dimensions of four major traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism (Ruism), and Daoism. While focusing on these traditions, the course also attends to the historical and cultural distinctions among major Asian regions, including India, Nepal, Tibet, China, and Japan. Each unit studies a religious tradition in both chronological development and geographic-cultural diversity, while exploring shared themes such as meditation, the good life, and religious institutions.
Foundations of Morality (PHL 225, Fall 2020, Washington College)
This course offers theoretical and applied ethics, leveraging both Western and Eastern moral philosophies to address challenges inherent in leading a virtuous and good human life. Students will explore moral philosophies including virtue ethics, deontology, utilitarianism, stoicism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Additionally, they will examine cognitive fallacies that can engender self-defeating emotional and behavioral patterns, such as perfectionism, damnation, bandwagon thinking, stereotyping, and lack of empathy. No prerequisites are required.
Global Wisdom and Literature (ENG/PHL/REL 294, 2022 Fall, Washington College, co-taught with Prof. Courtney Rydel from the English department.)
“Global Wisdom and Literature” (PHL/ENG 294, 2022 FALL) introduces and studies global wisdom traditions in an interdisciplinary endeavor of literary studies, philosophy, and religious studies. From the Mesopotamian mythology of Gilgamesh to the early modern Japanese Buddhist poetry of Matsuo Basho; from the rational self-defense of Socrates in the Apology to the passionate longing for the ineffable God mused by Sufis in Islamic mysticism; from the varying cities of the Roman Empire which signpost the Christian spiritual journey of Augustine in his Confessions to the downfall of the Confucian harmony of Tang Dynasty of China lamented by Du Fu’s Spring View, the great human tradition of global wisdom and literature will be explored to overcome the barriers of history, geography, ideology, genre, and academic disciplines. With the instruction and guidance of two WC professors (Prof. Courtney E. Rydel and Prof. Bin Song), students will be expected to acquire skills of intercultural and interdisciplinary competence which is pivotal to the real-world value of contemporary liberal arts education. This class counts for the distribution of Humanities and Fine Arts, the English major and minor, the Philosophy major and minor, the Religious Studies minor, the Humanities major, and the Medieval and Early Modern Studies minor. No Prerequisite.
Euro-Eccentrism: the Enlightenment and Confucianism (PHL/REL 494, 2023 Fall, Washington College) This course explores the ways how Western philosophy during the Enlightenment period (17th and 18th centuries) was developed under the influence of Confucianism with a focus on the works of Spinoza, Nicolas Malbranche, Leibniz, Christian Wolff, Voltaire, and Benjamin Franklin. It aims to provide a deeper understanding of the intertwining of Western and Non-Western Philosophies in history, and how the exchange and influence of different cultures and philosophies shape the development of human thought. The course examines the interactions between Asia and the West through trade, missionary activity, and cultural exchange, and how Confucianism was understood and adapted by these key Enlightenment thinkers. The larger context of the course is to diversify the philosophy curriculum currently taught in American universities and colleges. Through primary and secondary sources analysis, contemplative and reflective activities, and research paper, students will gain a fuller and critical understanding of modern philosophy, particularly regarding its Euro-Eccentric dimension.
Buddhism: Philosophy, Meditation and Ritual (PHL/REL 294, 2024 Fall, Washington College, co-taught with Prof. Jon McCollum at the Music department)
This course offers an in-depth introduction of Buddhism’s origins, evolution, and manifestations across various cultures. Co-taught by Professors Bin Song (Philosophy and Religion) and Jon McCollum (Music), it delves into Buddhism’s journey from its Hindu roots to its development into Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions in both Asian and Western contexts. Covered topics include philosophical principles, meditative practices, and cultural expressions such as rituals and monasticism, examining their interaction with society and politics. Leveraging interdisciplinary expertise in philosophy, theology, religious studies, ritual studies, ethnography, and musicology, this course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of Buddhism’s societal and personal impacts. It motivates students to explore practical and philosophical insights that enhance their intercultural competency, leadership skills, and overall well-being. No prerequisites are required.
Free Will and the Foundations of Responsibility (First Year Seminar, 2025 Fall, Washington College)
Are we free? What does it mean to have free will, and why does it matter? This First-Year Seminar explores the timeless philosophical problem of free will, a question that connects deeply to moral responsibility, legal accountability, self-development, and well-being. Students will examine key positions in contemporary philosophy, such as compatibilism and incompatibilism, as well as concepts like determinism and the theory of alternative possibilities. Through analyzing arguments and counterarguments, students will develop critical thinking skills to understand, evaluate, and imagine solutions to these enduring questions. The course also explores contributions from science—quantum mechanics, neuroscience, and social psychology—to see how empirical findings inform this ongoing debate. By the end of the course, students will formulate their own views on free will and learn how to apply these ideas to personal growth, academic challenges, and future careers.
Courses under Preparation:
History of Contemporary Philosophy (19th centuries onward)
Fall 2025 has been a remarkably fruitful teaching season. I taught a First-Year Seminar on “Free Will and Responsibility” for the first time, with fifteen excellent first-year students. I also co-taught “Introduction to Buddhism” for the second time, which surveyed Buddhist thought from ancient India through all major historical and modern branches across different countries, regions, and continents. Most importantly, I taught “Foundations of Morality” for the third time, enrolling nineteen students.
The first half of “Foundations of Morality” is theoretical, covering major Western ethical traditions, including Aristotelian virtue ethics, Stoicism, medieval Christian ethics, Kantian deontology, Mill’s utilitarianism, and existentialism, as well as foundational elements of Buddhist and Confucian (Ruist) ethics. The second half of the course is entirely practical. I used Dr. Elliot Cohen’s The New Rational Therapy: Thinking Your Way to Serenity, Success, and Profound Happiness (Jason Aronson, 2006) and the framework of Logic-Based Therapy (LBT)—a philosophically sophisticated form of cognitive behavioral therapy—to apply ethical theory to practical questions of the good life, such as how to address self-defeating emotions and behaviors.
Throughout the semester, I experimented with a variety of hands-on, in-class practices, including contemplative listening, silent quiet-sitting meditation, ethical case studies, assignments involving the creation of fictional “cults,” and simulated philosophical counseling sessions. The final project required students to develop their own case using anonymous, fictional, or publicly known figures, and then apply philosophical and religious resources to address the case by following the structured method of LBT.
I am proud of the students’ final projects, and several stand out as particularly strong examples:
Isabella M. Sorhegui analyzes the case of Nick Kyrgios, a well-known professional tennis player. Her careful and nuanced use of Buddhist resources is especially admirable.
John Colby Andrews takes up the video game Skull Kid, beginning with humorous and satirical critiques of moralistic teaching and later developing a thoughtful and well-supported engagement with Confucian wisdom.
Chase Corley analyzes the case of Kevin Love, a prominent NBA player. As a student-athlete himself, Chase demonstrates a strong sensitivity to the psychological dimensions of athletic life and shows real potential as a future coach.
Kayla Noyala approached the project with exceptional seriousness. She conducted an interview with an anonymous family member and offered well-grounded and thoughtful philosophical guidance.
Stefanos L. Georgiou wrote a fictional case centered on a student football player and delivered a very strong final presentation. He took seriously the feedback I offered on his two earlier case-study essays and worked diligently to revise both his thinking and his writing style. The final presentation is detailed, well-balanced, and something of which I am very proud:
Daniel Poitevin’s role-play project is particularly impressive. He alternated between the roles of therapist and counselee with clarity, insight, and philosophical depth.
At a broader level, I advocate an integrated approach to mental health and the good life. In areas of human life where free will and responsibility continue to play a meaningful role, philosophy—and the humanities more generally—can and should make substantial contributions to healthy living. However, when psychological conditions are rooted primarily in physiology and free will plays little or no role, the traditional doctor–patient medical model of mental health must still be employed. This integrated framework underlies my approach to philosophical counseling in this course. By teaching it within a public liberal arts classroom, and in a manner appropriate to that setting, I also aim to experiment with ways of teaching “self-cultivation” inspired by the Confucian (Ruist) tradition.
In my effort to promote Ruism among ordinary American people I have encountered a major push-back from, of all people, Chinese Americans. Most of them are either indifferent or hostile to their own tradition. But regardless of the reason, an unvarnished ignorance underlies this opposition. A recent example took place this summer when I gave a talk to the largest Chinese evangelical Christian church in the Boston area about ‘The Three Guides’ and ‘The Five Constant Virtues.’ After I finished my talk, a pious Chinese woman, around 40 years old, came up and whispered to me: “I know Ruism was the dominant tradition of ancient China, but I had never heard anything like what you were saying during your talk. After hearing what you have explained about Ruism, I find that it is actually quite good (挺好的).” Anecdotes like this tell us that in comparison with other traditions such as Judaism, Hinduism or Roman Catholicism, most Chinese immigrants to the United States are actually an obstacle, rather than an aid, to introducing and advancing their supposed ‘home tradition’ to other Americans.
So, why is this happening? Where does this ignorance come from? As a scholar of the humanities, I have to assign the major reason to the May Fourth Movement and the radical anti-Ruist rhetoric which, in the 1910s, this movement created and afterwards was used in governing most of modern China’s public education. What happened was that, facing a national defeat by the Western colonial powers, some radically westernized Chinese intellectuals such as Lu Xun or Chen Duxiu, whom I call ‘The May Fourthers,’ invented a dualistic mindset separating East from West, and old from new. In order, they said, to surpass the West, China must give up its own culture and re-learn everything Western. For this reason, Ruist teachings such as ‘The Three Guides’ and ‘The Five Constant Virtues’ were condemned by the May Fourthers as representing the backward morals of a feudal society. They said that these ideas were hopelessly authoritarian, enslaved the independent will and spiritual freedom of individual people, and weakened Chinese cultural vitality. As a consequence, they thought, Chinese tradition must be completely jettisoned so that the Chinese people can learn the new morality of the West.
Although I appreciate the apparent sincerity of the May Fourthers’ intentions (they, after all, hoped to make China better and stronger), I nevertheless see that their racial, anti-Ruist rhetoric is as ridiculous as to say, for example, “A wise old man, punched in the face by an impetuous young guy, has to totally give up his own wisdom and identify spiritually with the young guy.” In fact, most of the May Fourthers’ criticisms of Ruism are simply wrong! In my view, in order to practice ‘The Three Guides’ and ‘The Five Constant Virtues,’ nothing more is needed than the independent spirit of individuals! In the remaining sections of this essay, I will demonstrate how this is the case.
First, a little history:
The first time that the single phrase ‘the Three Guides and the Five Constant Virtues’ (三綱五常) is mentioned in the Ruist classics was when Ma Rong (馬融, 79-166 CE) in the Eastern Han Dynasty used this phrase to comment on Analects 2:23 in order to explain the unchanging aspect of a harmonious human society. According to Ma, regardless of what happens on the outside, people must still practice Ruist ethics inwardly for human society to remain on the right track. Before Ma, it was Dong Zhongshu’s (董仲舒, 179-104 BCE) works and a later text entitled, ‘A Comprehensive Exposition in White Tiger Hall’ (白虎通義, compiled in 79 CE) that provided a separate philosophical exposition to each of the terms ‘The Three Guides’ and ‘The Five Constant Virtues’. As perhaps will be well known, the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) was a very special period for Ruism. After other teachings, such as Legalism and Daoism, had proved not to be robust enough for maintaining a unified dynasty and an harmonious human society, Ruism was established as the state ideology. Accordingly, we can see that all those expositions about ‘the Three Guides’ and ‘the Five Constant Virtues’ which were provided by the Han Dynasty Ruists are actually a distillation of previous Ruist ethical teachings such as ‘The Five Cardinal Human Relationships‘ (五倫) and ‘The Ten Reciprocal Duties‘ (十義) from Ruism’s Pre-Qin classical period. These teachings were intended to function, and they actually did function, as a textbook version of Ruist ethics, and thus were perennially influential. In this sense, the May Fourthers were right to select these Guides and Virtues [三綱 and 五常] as representative of Ruist ethics, even though their understanding of these ideas was quite wrong.
Second, the philosophy:
The standard expression for ‘The Three Guides’ is that ‘The ruler is the guide for subjects, the father is the guide for the son, and the husband is the guide for the wife’ (君為臣綱, 父為子綱, 夫為妻綱).
The original meaning of the Chinese character, written 綱 gang, refers to the lead rope of a fishing net, and thus, by extension, it means guide, guideline, bond, or guiding principle, etc. In Ruist ethics, if X is said to be the guide (綱) for Y, it primarily connotes, first, that the relationship of X to Y is a major human relationship, and secondly, that this X-Y relationship is, in a practical sense, hierarchical, in which X takes the major and leading role while Y takes a minor and subordinate role. Therefore, both X and Y must fulfill those distinct duties which are entailed by their differing roles.
So, if X guides (綱 ) Y, it means that X must act as a moral model for Y. In other words, X has a great responsibility for instructing Y about right human behavior. In the subordinate role of Y, he or she needs to show consistent deference towards and thus, discreetly and responsibly follow X as long as a normal X-Y relationship is being maintained. Even so, to what extent can an X-Y relationship be seen as ‘normal’? The answer depends. The tradition tells us that for the ruler-subjects relationship, if a ruler continues to act badly, a minister ought to leave the state or resign after remonstration has failed three times. In more extreme cases, such as when a ruler proves to be a ruthless tyrant, revolt is urged. In the father-son relationship, if a father commits misdeeds and refuses to correct himself after his son has remonstrated three times, his son should ‘follow his father while crying and weeping’ (號泣而隨之, 禮記). This implies a persistent duty of the son to remonstrate since the father-son relationship can’t be abandoned as easily as that of ruler-subjects. For the husband-wife relationship, if a husband’s wrongdoing concerns only minor issues, the wife ought to tolerate while continuing to remonstrate, but if the misbehavior is really brutal such as killing the wife’s parents and other similar deeds that violate basic principles of human relationships, the wife has the right to a divorce (誖逆人倫，殺妻父母，廢絕綱紀，亂之大者。義絕，乃得去也”, 白虎通義).
Therefore, if there is anything that the teaching of ‘The Three Guides’ suggests to which a human being must be subordinated, it is only to one’s duties and to the universal moral principles that are entailed by each person’s distinct roles within various human relationships, rather than to any capricious human person who unjustly happens to hold authority. In relation to this, Xunzi taught us to “follow the Dao, rather than the ruler; to follow what is right, rather than the father.” If a person’s will is not firm, or if a person’s spirituality is not independent and principled, I want to ask the May Fourthers, “How could anyone be a Ruist who follows such teachings?”
The ethics of ‘The Five Constant Virtues’ is higher than those which concern ‘The Three Guides’, ‘The Five Cardinal Relationships’, or ‘The Ten Reciprocal Duties’. This is because these latter terms refer to concrete human relationships and their related duties, but meanwhile, human society is far more complex than what these terms refer to. Even when we know how to behave ourselves within three (or five) major human relationships, we still feel the need for a higher principle that can guide all human relationships. Therefore, the purpose of teaching ‘The Five Constant Virtues’ is to provide that ‘single’ principle which will apply in various occasions. These ‘Five Constant Virtues’ are Humaneness (仁, ren), Righteousness (義, yi), Ritual-Propriety (禮, li), Wisdom (智, zhi) and Trustworthiness (信, xin). I will explain these terms one by one.
The basic meaning of ‘Humaneness’ (仁, ren) is love. Ruism’s conception of love is all-encompassing. It can be as close by as one’s parents and one’s children, or in its incipient form, in the reaction one has when, seeing a baby about to fall into a well, one feels a sense of ‘commiseration’ (惻隱之心, Mencius) and is hardly able to prevent oneself from saving the baby. It can also be as distant as when tiles and stones are crushed and one feels concern and empathy for their reordering (Wang Yangming). In a word, the Ruist conception of human love is so universal that a person of humaneness is said to be able to ‘form one body with a myriad of things between Heaven and Earth.’
Nevertheless, even though human love is universal, Ruism also urges its particularization, so here we are with the virtue of ‘Righteousness’ (義, yi). The basic meaning of 義 refers to something that ‘ought’ to be done, that is, to what is right. In relation to ‘Humaneness,’ this virtue requires human beings to love appropriately in relation to particular people and in concrete situations. For example, as human beings, our love towards our own parents and children is naturally and understandably more intense than towards other people’s parents and children. However, love should not end with one’s own family. We must love other people’s parents and their children by extending our love outward from our own. In this regard, Ruism teaches us to correctly determine the value of one’s various relationships, and thus to bring about a graded form of dynamic harmony in one’s performance of various duties through a reasonable distribution of time and energy.
‘Ritual-Propriety’ (禮, li) refers to the audible and visible ways of human behavior, through which what the virtues of ‘Humaneness’ and ‘Righteousness’ require are practiced. For example, if one has good intentions to appropriately love one’s parents but does not actually practice the respectful ways for speaking, looking, hugging, or taking good care, it is hard to say that one has internalized the virtues of humaneness and righteousness in his or her person.
The virtue of Wisdom (智, zhi) balances the virtue of ‘Ritual-Propriety’ since it refers to knowledge. To know how to appropriately love is to possess wisdom. In line with the Ruist idea of dynamic harmony, the central task of human wisdom is to be thought of as knowing both the facts and values of things, and thus, of understanding how things in concrete situations can fit together based upon appropriate human reactions to that situation.
The virtue of Trustworthiness (信, xin) is mainly about one’s attitude, and thus, has no additional content compared to the other four. It requires that one sincerely practice the four aforementioned virtues, and thus really possess them (實有其德).
In a word, ‘Humaneness’ is universal human love, ‘Righteousness’ refers to how to love appropriately in concrete terms, ‘Ritual-Propriety’ is the audible and visible ways of human behavior in which ‘Humaneness’ and ‘Righteousness’ are practiced, ‘Wisdom’ is to know how to be humane, righteous, and ritually-proper using one’s deep axiological reasoning, while ‘Trustworthiness’ urges one to be sincere in the practice of these virtues, and thus, to truly own them. Overall, ‘The Five Constant Virtues’ is the principle that governs one’s behavior within various human relationships. For example, if a minister can be humane, righteous, ritually-proper, wise, and trustworthy in his or her behavior within the ruler-subjects relationship, he or she will be seen as fulfilling his or her duty of ‘loyalty’, as specified in the teaching of ‘Ten Reciprocal Duties’.
Based on this discussion, I have to ask one final question: Can we still believe, as the May Fourthers did, that the Ruist teachings of ‘The Three Guides’ and ‘The Five Constant Virtues’ represent the backward morals of a feudal society and thus are totally irrelevant to modern society? Absolutely not. In my view, every virtue listed in ‘The Five Constant Virtues’ continues to be extremely valuable for our time. Nothing need be changed in order to practice this teaching today. For ‘The Three Guides,’ we only need to make minor changes in order to adjust its social context. As I have argued in a previous essay, the ruler-subjects relationship ought to be understood as that of government-citizens, or any other hierarchical relationship in public life; the father-son relationship needs to be reformulated as that of parents-children; and the teaching about the husband-wife relationship ought to be reconsidered as one of a husband and wife who are guides for each other depending upon their differing levels of expertise. In my view, each of these adjustments is what the Ruist ethical principle of ‘The Five Constant Virtues’ requires for today’s human relationships.
In a word, I believe the teachings of ‘The Three Guides’ and ‘The Five Constant Virtues’ are still key for the realization of social harmony in every time period. May Fourthers, I have to say again, “Sorry, you were wrong. It is the Ruist tradition which is the antidote for our modern malaise!”
Bin Song 