Xin Cui

Xin Cui

November 28, 2025

The Wisdom of Confucius, Lin Yutang, The image of Confucius.

Confucius has been revered as a saint standing highly at the altar. However, with the New Culture Movement springing up in the early 20th century, Confucius’ image was challenged unprecedentedly. In this collision of ancient and modern thoughts, Lin Yutang strives to promote the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, which is dedicated to helping people reconceptualize the image of Confucius. The most representative chapters of ancient Confucian classics were included in Lin Yutang’s masterpiece of Confucianism—The Wisdom of Confucius. It stakes out a new terrain by creatively translating the quintessence of Confucianism to Western society with the interpretive style and everyday language. Through the analysis of The Wisdom of Confucius, the current study indicates that Lin Yutang has broken the rigid seriousness of the sage and highlighted that Confucius was not only an approachable and empathic humanist but also had a sense of humor and aesthetical interest. Besides, it is demonstrated that Confucius’ profound thoughts on social philosophy. Lin Yutang’s reshaping of Confucius help further promote the spread and reception of the image of Confucius in the Western world.

© 2025, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

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