"Benevolence" of Confucianism in the Eyes of Australian High School Teachers

Abstract

This paper examines empirically the reflections of a group of Australian high school teachers on the core value of the Confucian doctrine 'benevolence', in order to explore Confucianism in contemporary Chinese culture. The data has been collected from the diaries kept by these teachers, all of whom are students at The University of New England, Australia, and participated in an In-country Language Program held in the city of Xi'an in mainland China during January 2011. The paper begins with a brief literature review of Chinese habits in relation to 'benevolence' and provides some details about the In-country Language Program held in Xi'an. It then proceeds to the research aims and questions of this study, followed by a brief review of the concept of culture, Confucianism, and the research methodology employed. Finally some discussion of the group's reflections will be considered and conclusions drawn from the data.