On the face of it, the relevance of Confucianism for contemporary Western
theorizing about the family that largely takes for granted the equality of
men and women might seem questionable. A basic assumption of Con-
fucian ethics is that the moral life is only possible in the context of particu-
laristic moral ties, and the most important relationship by far in Confucian
ethics is the family. Here the contrast with traditional Western ethics is most
stark. The problem, however, is that the domination of men over women
seems to be one of the deWning characteristics of Confucian theory and
practice—one might even say that patriarchy is the ‘‘Achilles heel’’ of Con-
fucianism.
In response, several theorists have argued that one can and should detach
Confucian values from patriarchal values and practices. Unlike, say, Aristotle,
early Confucian thinkers such as Confucius and Mencius did not argue for
the biological inferiority of women. Their views regarding the subordinate
roles of women can be ascribed to the prejudices of the time and the central
values of Confucianism, properly interpreted, can and do meet the challenge of
including women as fully human subjects (Chan, S. 2000 , 2003 ). Others argue
theAnalectsof Confucius and other Warring States and Han narratives did
represent women as having the same virtues as men (Raphals 1998 ; Raphals
2000 ) and that Confucianism became oppressive to women at a later stage.
In practice, there was a role, particularly among the elite class in early Imper-
ial China, for women’s moral and personal growth in societies shaped by
Confucian values (Li 2000 ;Nylan 2000 ). In contemporary societies, the trad-
itional family duties defended by Confucian thinkers as key to the good life can
be carried out by men as well as women, as in the increased tendency of fathers
to care for children and elderly parents in urban Chinese cities. Hence, political
theorists can seek inspiration from Confucianism for theorizing about the
family and justice, without necessarily having to justify patriarchal values and
ways of life.
Let me note (brieXy) some of the actual and potential Confucian contri-
butions to the debate on the family and justice:
I. The family as an educative institution. Few Western theorists paid much
attention to the family as an actual or potential source of virtue until Mary
Wollestonecraft and John Stuart Mill critically discussed the subordination of
women within the family context and speculated about the function of a
radically restructured egalitarian family (Wollestonecraft 1975 ; Mill 1975 b).
Such liberal feminists, however, diVer from Confucians in two respects. First,
272 daniel a. bell