Development, Controversies, and Reflections: The Revival of Grassroots Confucian Education in Contemporary China

The revival of grassroots Confucian education in contemporary China, as part of the broader popular Confucianism movement, has experienced remarkable growth over the past three decades. Nevertheless, this development has been accompanied by considerable controversies. This article systematically examines the revival of grassroots Confucian education by dividing its evolution into three successive phases to offer a more comprehensive understanding. First, the emergence phase spans from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, during which Confucian education gradually expanded from Taiwan and Hong Kong to mainland China. Second, the rapid development phase occurred from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, marked by extensive debates among scholars and the public regarding the practice of classics reading (dujing) and the legal status of classics-reading private schools (dujing sishu). Third, since the mid-2010s, the reflection and adjustment phase has unfolded, characterized by critical reassessments and adaptive changes within the movement. Notably, this article draws on newly collected empirical data to elaborate on recent pedagogical diversifications in grassroots Confucian schools since 2019. Finally, this study identifies and analyzes several under-researched developmental trends shaping the current landscape of Confucian education in China.