Political agenda

The past decade has seen a comeback of Confucianism as a cultural symbol of the rise of China. Confucian academies have mushroomed across the country. Many cities and townships have experimented with "Confucian towns." Most of the efforts include promoting the teaching and reciting of classic Confucian teachings in schools and among residents.

It has also gained support from the authorities. China first raised the concept of "ecological civilization" in 2007 during the 17th Party Congress and the concept was again emphasized at the 18th Party Congress last year. It is very much on the government's agenda.

Since becoming president, Xi Jinping has made the rejuvenation of the country an overriding goal. Late last month he visited the birthplace of Confucius and spoke publicly about applying Confucianism to modern times in a positive way.

Addressing the Songshan Forum in September, Tu referred to Confucianism's role as a social force, and said that "tackling China's growing ecological problems is an absolute necessity if Confucianism is to be of any lasting significance," according to the ARC website.

"It's a shame that these people are now popping up, seeing that ecological civilization is a trendy concept much talked about by the authorities," said Feng Yongfeng.

Yuan Weishi, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, observed that there's a sense of blind national egoism and some explanations are too much of a stretch. For instance, when it comes to environmental protection, some say that "tian ren he yi (harmony between Man and heaven)" is the best philosophical foundation for solving environmental problems.

"But is the best environmental solution today in the East or the West? The concept of environmental protection also comes from the West," the Southern Weekly quoted Yuan as saying in an article in 2010.

In recent years, different people have tried to use Confucianism and other traditional culture in different ways in order to solve today's problems, political, moral, and now environmental. "So far we haven't found any great cures to the ills of modern society from Confucian teachings," Yuan told the Southern Metropolis Daily in September.

Efforts to mobilize religious and philosophical arguments in favor of environmental protection can have some effect, as it could certainly raise people's awareness, said Crane, who recently published a book entitled Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dao: Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life.

But the fact that Confucianism has always been close to those in power has also raised concerns. "Whatever the best intentions of contemporary Confucian philosophers, Confucianism has tended to be too close, and even co-opted by, centralized political power," he said.

"Without a stronger critique of institutionally vested interests that benefit from environmental degradation, it is hard to see any real, concrete progress being made," he cautioned.