Conclusion: The Spirit of the Middle Way in Chinese Economic Tradition

In the chapter “conclusion” of The Economic Principles of Confucius and His School, Chen Huan-chang states, “If we take the whole history of China and compare it with the whole history of the West, the Chinese should not be ashamed.”He believes that China’s ancient civilization was by no means inferior to that of the West, but “the great trouble has been that, when the Chinese government was at its worst, the modern nations, rising just a little earlier than China, entered into her door and interfered with her affairs.” Since the modern times, as Western influence spread eastward, China’s development has been in a relatively weaker position compared to that of the Western world for more than a hundred years. Today, with its rapid economic rise, China is experiencing resurgence. Under the new development paradigm and circumstances, China has a new understanding of its own traditions at a new starting point. Looking back at the history and assessing the present, the Chinese people have no reason to feel ashamed but instead should be filled with self-confidence.