Asians, especially East Asians, often are considered “Confucianist,” and having hierarchal traditions. And the common western joke, “Confucius says…” though sometimes quite “cute,” in fortune cookies or elsewhere, implies that Asians might still be quite Confucianist in thinking. In fact, I suspect that, in today’s world, based on my frequent Asian travels and encounters, probably only native-born Japanese and Koreans seem to still adhere to some of those principles. Then, followed, likely, by Taiwan? Maybe then, Thailand? Only then, China, in my view, which has really left behind many Confucianist concepts, then Singapore, and least of all Hong Kong, which sometimes seems like just New York City? Confusing, isn’t it, and what do you think? In reality, there really seems to be a wide discrepancy in how “Asians” really view, or respect Confucianism. I’m guessing you probably have a different impression of how much Confucianism actually survives today! I admit that I definitely have a confusing Asian background myself, anyway, so who am I to make this ranking? Let me know what you think at rctsang@gmail.com, maybe even giving me some examples also for fun.

亚洲人，特别是东亚人，通常被认为是“儒家”，且恪守等级传统。西方一个常见的笑话以“孔子说…”开头，听起来很好玩，但它暗示着亚洲人在思想上可能仍然很儒家。但实际上，基于我多次在亚洲旅行时的观察，我觉得在当今世界似乎只有土生土长的日本人和韩国人仍然恪守儒家的一些原则，紧随其后的很可能是台湾，然后泰国，然后中国大陆，我觉得中国大陆已经摈弃了许多儒家观念，再然后是新加坡，最后是香港，那个城市有时看起来像是纽约。令人困惑，不是吗？你觉得呢？事实上，“亚洲人”对儒家思想的看法和尊重似乎存在很大差异。我猜你可能对儒家思想在当今世界还剩多少这个问题也有自己的看法！我承认，我自己本人的亚洲背景就令人困惑，那我怎么有资格来做这个排名呢？你可以给我发邮件告诉我你的想法rctsang@gmail.com，也许还可以给我举一些有趣的例子。

East Asians commonly like to think that Confucianism is somehow in our DNA, even if we are not too conscious of it. And for those living in this century, especially in the west, in modern jargon, Christian and Western influences could be like “epigenetic effects!” By which I mean, that these later influences affect what we do, practically also nearly at the DNA level, modifying the Confucian DNA! It adds to the complexity of trying to understand Asians, or Asians trying in turn trying to understand probably our elders, and especially our own fathers, who might be expected to have more Confucian bearings, such as being more “authority figures,” and considered probably “less approachable” by their children.

东亚人通常认为儒家思想在某种程度上存在于我们的DNA中，虽然我们并不一定意识到。对于生活在本世纪的人来说，尤其是在西方，用现代术语来说，基督教和西方的影响可能类似于“表观遗传效应”，我的意思是，这些后来的文化影响我们所做的事情，甚至于几乎修改了我们原有的儒家DNA！这导致更难理解亚洲人，也导致亚洲人更难理解自己的长辈，尤其是我们自己的父亲，因为父辈往往会有更多的儒家思想。他们更有父亲的“权威”，并且他们的孩子认为父亲“不太容易接近”

In an odd turn of events, since we began our “third retirement” to move to Seattle, we’ve been watching some traditional Chinese history based movies recently, for the first time in our lives! This is mainly because it is also the first time we ever had cable TV, and in our limited “package” there is a Chinese channel. In these movies, I see the constant thread of filial piety and honor thoroughly ingrained in traditional culture, seemingly more important than anything else. And if there were any wrongs done to the father or family, it seems like a very powerful motif in the family would be even revenge for the father’s or family’s sake. I have also begun to read Chinese classics, (in English however!), like “Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh水浒传,” which gives me a similar perspective and impression (and lots of killings)!

自从我们开始“第三次退休”搬到西雅图以来，我们最近一直在看一些反映中国历史的电影，这是我们有生以来的第一次！这主要是因为这也是我们第一次有有线电视，在我们的“节目套餐”中有一个中文频道。在这些电影中，我看到了传统文化中根深蒂固的孝道和荣誉，似乎比其他任何东西都重要。如果父亲或家庭受到任何伤害，那么家庭中一个非常强大的主题就是为父亲或家庭复仇。我也开始读英文版的中国古典文学，比如《水浒传》，主题也是一样（还有很多杀戮）！

Of course, you can also say that most cultures of the past had some form of patriarchal “Confucianist like” systems of family structure. The father, as described in the Old Testament of the Bible, for example does seem to be more “patriarchal,” authoritarian, and possibly more remote, certainly as compared with 21st century Western culture. You could even say he was sort of “Confucianist.” Although it seems by the time of the New Testament, 2,000 years ago, Jesus is portrayed as much less “patriarchal,” speaking on a one-to-one basis with the woman at the well, having children all around him as he spoke, and having men and women as members of his closest team.

当然，你也可以说过去的大多数文化都有某种形式的父权制“儒家式”家庭结构体系。例如，圣经《旧约》中所描述的父亲，与21世纪的西方文化相比，似乎更加“父权”、专制，甚至可能更加高高在上。你甚至可以说他是一种“儒家”。尽管在2000年前的新约时代，对耶稣的描述并没显示太多“父权”。他与井边的女人单独对话，他教导时身边常有孩子围绕，并且他的核心团队中有男有女。

In particular, in the vivid description of Jesus’ crucifixion, the highlight of his ministry, I was impressed that he is surrounded clearly by the women of his team, and not the men. And, surprisingly, the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection were women also, who went out alone early that Sunday morning to his grave, saw what happened, and then went and reported the event to the initially disbelieving male disciples. This is in stark contrast to some very “conservative” middle eastern Arab cultures, where even today, women are still hidden in the home, cannot venture out alone, and certainly cannot “speak out” in public. So, Jesus was surprisingly way ahead of his time, and much less patriarchal than might be imagined.

特别是，在对耶稣受难的生动描述中，我印象深刻的是，留在他周围的显然是他的团队中的女性，而不是男性。令人惊讶的是，耶稣复活的第一批见证人也是女性，她们在那个星期天早上来到他的坟墓，看到了发生的事情，然后去向最初不相信的男性门徒报告了这一事件。这与一些非常“保守”的中东阿拉伯文化形成了鲜明的对比，即使在今天，妇女仍然留在家中，不能独自外出，当然也不能在公共场合“说话”。因此，耶稣出人意料地走在了他那个时代的前面，而且远没有想象中的父权。

And Jesus’ classic prayer, the so-called Lord’s prayer, is a prayer to God not only as God, but God as Father, and even portraying God as loving Father, and not as an authoritarian or Confucianist Father: thus, in Jesus depiction of God the Father, He actually cares for us, so we can certainly and deliberately call on him, tenderly, and affectionately, as “loving Father.”

而耶稣的经典祈祷，即所谓的主祷文，不仅是向上帝祈祷，而且是向作为父亲的上帝祈祷，甚至将上帝描绘成慈爱的父亲，而不是专制或儒家刻板的父亲。因此，在耶稣的描绘中，上帝真正关心我们，因此我们当然可以有意识地温柔地呼唤他，深情地称他为“慈爱的父亲”。

This declaration of God, even as “Father,” is actually very dramatic, much more than we often appreciate. To illustrate how radical that is, you have to only look at the other major monotheistic faith. For example, in the Islamic faith, God is highly revered as an “authoritarian” God. There are actually 99 great names of God in Islam, but not one of them is “Father.” God is described in as many ways as you think possible, including Wonderful, Merciful, Almighty etc, yet the term Father is not included. Not Father, and certainly not “loving Father.”

上帝的宣告，即使是作为“父亲”，实际上也是非常戏剧化的，远超我们的想象。为了说明这是多么不同寻常，你只需要看看其他主要的一神教信仰。例如，在伊斯兰信仰中，上帝被尊为“专制”上帝。伊斯兰教中的上帝有99个尊称，但没有一个是“父”。人们尽可能多地描述神，包括奇妙的、仁慈的、全能的等等，但不包括“父”一词。不是父亲，当然也不能称“慈爱的父亲”。

In fact, there is a very famous book called “I Dared to Call Him Father,” describing how out of bounds it is for a person of this faith to call God, “Father.” The author describes herself being even threatened with death for so doing, as she sought to follow Jesus in her spiritual journey.

事实上，有一本非常著名的书叫做《我敢称他为父亲》，描述了这种信仰的人称上帝为“父亲”是多么的出格。作者描述了自己因为这样做而受到死亡的威胁，因为她试图在她的信仰历程中跟随耶稣。

Furthermore, in the Christian concept, love is not just a virtue God would like us to have; it is actually an essential character of God, meaning, even, that God IS love. And that He loves us! Of course, the concept of “God is love” fits perfectly with a loving Father God. Most people are so used to the word “love” being bandied around in the modern world, they must think “O, every religion talks about love.” So, they are shocked to realize that, in other major religions, God is really not even much of a “Father,” and certainly not much of a Father of love.

此外，在基督信仰的观念中，爱不仅仅是上帝希望我们拥有的美德；它实际上是上帝的一个基本属性，意思是，上帝就是爱。他爱我们！当然，“上帝就是爱”的概念完全符合慈爱的父神。当今世界大多数人已经对“爱”这个词见怪不怪，他们一定认为“哦，每一种宗教都在谈论爱”。而实际上在其他主要宗教中，上帝甚至不是什么“父亲”，当然也不是什么慈爱的父亲。当人们意识到这一点，他们往往大吃一惊。

There is actually then, something dramatic, maybe even magical, to be able to call God as Father. It begs the question, how come it is predominantly in the Bible, that God is described lovingly as Father of Love. Think again, there must be a good reason.

能够称上帝为父亲，这是戏剧性的，甚至是神奇的。这让我们思考这样一个问题，为什么圣经中很大篇幅描述上帝是慈爱的父亲？再想想，一定事出有因。

One particularly vivid description of a God as loving father is in the story of the “prodigal son,” as told by Jesus. While normally the focus is often on the son who makes the momentous decision to return home, after a life of evil, others have switched the conventional story title, and thus focus, to call it the “prodigal father,” in the broader sense of “prodigal” meaning give away or use up all, wastefully and recklessly.

耶稣所讲的“浪子”的故事，特别生动地描述了上帝是慈爱的父亲。一般人对这个故事关注的焦点往往是那个在经历了一段荒唐的生活后做出回家的重大决定的儿子，而有些圣经学者则将传统的故事标题，也就是所谓的“浪子”，换成了含义更广的“浪父”。“浪”指的是浪费和不计后果地放弃或用尽一切。

In the story, it is really the father who gives his wealth away and forgives. It is the father who, against all decorum, runs in totally undignified way, in his meant-to-be-dignified long gown, to reach his son. It is the father who actually embraces the once bad son (it’s recorded that he actually kisses him publicly). It is he who throws a great party complete with “fatted calf,” giving his special ring, and “his own robes” to wrap around his wandered son. What a great demonstration of the tremendous love, compassion, and embrace of a father, a “prodigal father,” recklessly and generously giving away his all, because of his overwhelming love for his son. And, when you see the many famous paintings of the Father welcoming home his son, make a special note to carefully observe the portrayed actions of the Father, the real “hero” of the story.

在这个故事中，是这个父亲把他的财富给出去了并赦免别人；正是父亲，不顾一切礼节，穿着他本该象征威严的长袍，以完全不体面的方式跑到儿子跟前；正是父亲，拥抱了这个曾经误入歧途的儿子（据记录，他实际上公开吻了他）；正是父亲，举办了一场盛大的派对，宰了肥牛，给他特别为他备的戒指，以及“他自己的长袍”来包裹他流浪的儿子。这极大地体现了这位“浪父”的大爱、慈心和接纳。因着对儿子无比的爱，他不顾后果、慷慨地奉献了自己的一切。当你欣赏关于这个父亲欢迎儿子回家的名画时，要特别注意仔细观察父亲的行为，父亲是这个故事中真正的“英雄”。

Another picture I love, among the many paintings of Jesus as Father figure, is the one with lots of children surrounding him, listening attentively to his stories. Maybe there are even some children in his lap. Even though we actually do not have direct evidence that the kids physically scrambling into his lap, that seems like a reasonable assumption, since Jesus told of a great story of a beggar who went to heaven and was “in Abraham’s bosom,” remembering that Abraham is the patriarch father of patriarchs, the very first father of Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths!

在耶稣作为父亲形象的众多画作中，我喜欢的另一幅画是，有许多孩子围着他，聚精会神地听他讲故事。也许他腿上还坐着几个孩子。尽管我们实际上没有直接的证据表明孩子们爬到了他的膝盖上，但这似乎是一个合理的推测，因为耶稣讲述了一个伟大的故事，一个乞丐上了天堂，“在亚伯拉罕的怀里”，记住亚伯拉罕是众族长的父亲，他是犹太教，基督教和伊斯兰教信仰的共同的至尊父亲！

And Jesus’ depiction of Abrahamic love would fit well our thought of Jesus himself, embracing a child on his lap! We know well that he loved children and told his disciples not to block them from coming to him, when they shooed them away. And he even taught that the way to heaven is to be “like a child,” when he “embraced them and put his hands on their heads” to bless them. Which to me, a pediatrician, affirms that children are priceless in his view, and likely, well in his lap!

耶稣对亚伯拉罕之爱的描述非常符合我们对耶稣自己的想法，他抱着一个孩子在他的腿上！我们很清楚，他爱孩子，当他的门徒想赶走孩子们时，他告诉他们不要阻止孩子们来找他。当他“拥抱孩子们，把手放在他们的头上”来祝福他们时，他教导门徒说要“像个孩子的样式”才能进天堂。对我这个儿科医生来说，这确认了一点，就是在耶稣看来，孩子是无价之宝，而且很可能他的怀里抱着孩子！

When you think of God, the Supreme Being, Heaven, or Creator, do you also picture Him as a kind and loving Father? One that runs to find you? One that has you in His bosom? Keep these great pictures in your mind as you seek your pathway in this life. They are good pictures.

当你想到上帝，至高无上的那位，上天或造物主，你是否也把他想象成一位仁慈慈爱的父亲？他奔跑着向你而来？他搂你入怀？在你人生道路中，请记住这些伟大的画面。这些是美好的画面。