扒车喵最近几十年，全球经济最具发展潜力的地区，主要就是儒教文化圈，二战后的日本，四小龙都是儒家文化圈的，目前也基本上处于发达一线。然后是中国经济的崛起，更是一举让东亚经济超越了众多地区，也让儒家文化圈的经济发展成了一个现象级的现象，而后，越南经济的腾飞，更是在一众东南亚国家中显得尤为突出。在全世界所有的文化圈里，经济能呈爆发式增长的国家只有儒家文化圈的国家全部做到了，这一奇特现象到底是什么原因造成的？在美版知乎Quora上，美国网友提问道：为什么只有中日韩等儒家文化圈国家能够实现爆发式发展？这个问题引起各国网友的围观和热议，他们的观点却大不相同。
问题：为什么中日韩和新加坡等儒家文化圈国家都能如此成功？
韩国网友李东永的回答
Many years ago, the American scholar Huntington wrote an article called the clash of civilizations. He should be a geopolitical scholar. His main point is that civilization has a decisive impact on geopolitics.
很多年前，美国学者亨廷顿写了一篇文章，叫《文明的冲突》。他应该是个地缘政治学者，他的最主要观点是说，文明对地缘政治具有决定性的影响。
After comparing the economic development history of various countries, I gradually felt similar to Huntington. But what he said was geopolitics. What I feel here is the decisive impact of civilization on economic development. This feeling is that there will be no economic weaker in the Confucian cultural circle.
在比较了各国的经济发展史后，我渐渐有了与亨廷顿类似的感觉。只不过，他说的是地缘政治，我这里感觉到的，是文明对经济发展的决定性影响。这个感觉就是：儒家文化圈，将再无经济上的弱者。
Confucian culture, because it is not very aggressive, only relies on its own charm to spread, unlike the European and American powers, which use strong ships and sharp guns to reach overseas, so it basically affects only a few countries around China. Among them, Japan is an economic miracle, the first among the developed countries; The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea have followed suit, and the four little dragons have successively ranked among the developed countries; Then there is the Chinese miracle. Now, everyone is optimistic about Vietnam.
儒家文化，因其极不富有侵略性，只靠自身的魅力发散而不像欧美列强那样以坚船利炮远及海外，所以基本上只影响了中国的周遭数国。这其中，日本是经济奇迹，第一个跻身发达国家；香港特区、台湾地区、新加坡、韩国继之，四小龙相继跻身发达国家；然后是中国奇迹。现在，则大家共同看好越南。
After Vietnam, there will be no economic weak in the Confucian cultural circle.
越南之后，儒家文化圈，将再无经济的弱者。
The people who are imbued with Confucian culture still have some unique temperament, which makes people feel that they are Confucian people. The temperament of people coming out of the Confucian cultural circle that is meaningful to the economy is probably the following：
儒家文化圈浸染出来的人，还是有一些独特的气质，让人感到这就是儒家的人。儒家文化圈里出来的人，对经济有意义的气质大概是以下几点：
First, discipline and order. Confucianism stresses order most. People cultivated by Confucianism should obey their parents at home and their superiors outside.
一是纪律和秩序。儒家最讲秩序，儒家培养出来的人，在家要服从父母，在外要服从上级。
Second, attach importance to education. No matter how poor you are, you should afford education. Do everything possible to let children go to school, which is almost the consensus of all people in the Confucian cultural circle.
二是重视教育。再穷不能穷教育。千方百计也要让孩子上学，这差不多是所有儒家文化圈人的共识。
Take East Asia as an example, China, Japan and South Korea rank among the highest in the world in terms of investment in higher education.
以东亚为例，中国、日本、韩国在高等教育方面的投入比例位居世界前列。
Vietnam is poor, but Vietnamese students are ahead of other ASEAN countries in terms of scores.
越南很穷，但越南学生在成绩方面领先于东盟其它诸国。
Chinese children are best at math. This is an almost natural ability, and American children can only look at it and sigh.
中国的孩子，最拿手的是数学。这方面近乎天生的能力，美国的孩子只能望而兴叹。
The importance of mathematics is not the first but also the second for manufacturing workers.
数学的重要性，对于制造业工人来说，不是第一位，也是第二位的。
3、 Be diligent and enterprising. Confucianism is always diligent and enterprising. This enterprising mentality is the inexhaustible driving force behind the economic miracle of East Asia.
三、勤奋进取。儒家永远是勤奋如健、进取不息的。这种进取的心态，是东亚经济奇迹的不竭动力。
In East Asian countries, everyone seems to be very busy. The mentality of the whole society is impetuous. Countries and people are in a catch-up mode. The world is bustling and bustling. Perhaps, when the country is rich to a certain extent, it can also relax. But in the Confucian culture circle, even if the people are as rich as Japan, can they have a moment of leisure?
东亚国家几国，大家似乎都很忙，整个社会的心态浮躁，国家和人民都处在一种追赶的模式下不得安宁，天下熙熙、天下攘攘。也许，国家富裕到一定程度，也可以安闲下来。但在儒家文化圈里，即使富裕如日本，民众可曾有片刻的安闲？
Impetuosity, comparison and pursuit will destroy people’s sense of happiness. But economically, enterprising is the driving force for sustained growth. The sustained high growth is rare in the economic history of the world, but it is concentrated in the Confucian cultural circle. It can not be said that it is driven by the enterprising spirit of immersing culture into the bone marrow.
浮躁、攀比、追赶，会破坏人的幸福感。但在经济上，进取却是持续增长的原动力。持续的高增长，在全世界的经济史上都是不多见的，却集中出现在儒家文化圈，不能不说，是因为文化浸入骨髓的进取精神在背后驱动。
4、 Sacrifice. Individual interests give way to collective interests and national interests and sacrifice individuality for commonness.
四、牺牲精神。个人利益让位于集体利益和国家利益，为共性牺牲个性。
The reason why South Korea can quickly recover its economic speed and vitality after the 1997 financial crisis is due to the rational and decisive adoption of IMF recommendations by the government and the cooperation of the people. This kind of cooperation requires the people to pay a huge price. The South Korean government told the public that the IMF’s proposal is short-term pain, but very painful; Without the pain, the Korean economy has no future. The people listened and endured the pain. The pain includes: 1.7 million layoffs; Civil servants donate one tenth of their salaries to provide relief for the unemployed; A large number of banks and consortiums went bankrupt; Interest rates are high.
韩国之所以能在1997年金融危机后迅速恢复经济的速度和活力，一拜政府理性、果断地采纳IMF建议，二拜民众配合。这种配合，是需要民众付出巨大代价的。韩国政府告诉民众，IMF的建议是短痛，但很痛；不痛这么一下，韩国经济没有未来。民众听了，忍了。这后果包括：裁员170万人；公务员捐出薪金的十分之一，为失业者提供救济；大批银行、财团破产；利率高企。
汉江奇迹
Throughout the economic history of various countries, “no work, no strength” is a law. Economic powers are no exception. The workers here are manufacturing. Modern manufacturing industry is characterized by large-scale production and assembly line operation. The requirements for workers are not high, and blue collar workers are OK; But it is not low. It needs to have two basic qualities.
纵观各国的经济史，“无工不强”是一个规律。经济强国无一例外。这里的工，就是制造业。现代的制造业，特点是规模化生产、流水线作业。对工人的要求不高，蓝领就行；但也不低，需具备两个最基本的素质。
First, discipline and order. Industrialized mass production is like a machine with thousands of parts running. Everyone is a part of the machine. The whole machine will not work if you make a little fuss, play a small temper, leave late and early and strike. Therefore, the discipline of workers and the order of production are crucial.
一是纪律和秩序。工业化大生产就像一台有成千上万个零件的机器在运转，每个人都是机器上的零件。闹点个性、耍耍小脾气、迟到早退罢罢工，整个机器就转不动了。所以，工人的纪律性、生产的秩序，都十分关键。
I have heard from my own ears that some factories are greedy for cheap labor in South Asia or Africa. They move them there and soon complain incessantly. If you ask for leave today, you won’t come tomorrow if you don’t say hello. If you scold him and punish him, the other party’s silly smile just doesn’t change, which makes you cry and laugh.
我曾亲耳听到反映，一些工厂贪图南亚或非洲人工便宜，把工厂搬过去，很快就叫苦不迭。今天请假，明天不打招呼就不来了，训他罚他，对方一脸的憨笑，就是不改，令你哭笑不得。
Second, skills. Confucianists have a good educational foundation and can get started with a little training; There is also much room for further training and improvement.
二是技能。儒家的人，有良好的教育基础，稍加培训就能上手；进一步培训和提升的空间也大。
Therefore, the Confucian culture circle has the gene of manufacturing power.
所以，儒家文化圈天生就有制造业强国的基因。
新加坡网友Tim Tran的回答
The basic values of Confucianism: benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust are of certain importance to commercial development, but they cannot be exaggerated.
儒家的基本价值观：仁义礼智信，对商业发展来说有一定的重要性，但不能夸大。
If everyone can follow such values, it will create a harmonious, friendly and pleasant relationship and atmosphere in the society. If you control a company, you will want everyone to abide by ethics, and everyone will limit the use of immoral means from the heart.
如果每个人都能够遵循这样的价值观，那么这将在社会中创造出和谐、友爱和愉快的关系和氛围。如果你控制一家公司，你会希望每个人都遵守道德，每个人都会从内心限制使用不道德的手段。
You want everyone to be polite to each other, respect the law (Justice), and create a safe environment for everyone’s growth by respecting the law. You want your colleagues, managers and partners to work smart and efficiently. You want them to keep their promises, trust you, and not betray you, so as to maintain a long-term relationship.
你希望每个人对彼此彬彬有礼，尊重法律（正义），通过尊重法律，为每个人的成长创造一个安全的环境。你希望你的同事、经理和合作伙伴聪明高效地工作，希望他们信守诺言，信任你，不要背叛你，以保持长期的关系。
After all, one of the most basic and important pillars of the economy is trust. Without trust, there will be no high-speed social economy. Companies produce goods because they trust that customers will pay them. Banks lend to people because they trust that most customers will repay their loans on time. The prosperity of these economies benefits from the high trust between their entities.
毕竟经济最基本和最重要的支柱之一是信任，没有信任就没有高速发展的社会经济。公司生产商品是因为他们信任客户会付钱给他们，银行贷款给人们是因为银行信任大部分客户会按时偿还贷款，这些经济体的繁荣得益于其实体之间的高度信任。
The Confucian culture has several specific characteristics, especially the obedience to the hierarchical model, which makes it easier and faster for the enterprise management to make decisions, collectivism (promoting cohesion and loyalty), emphasis on Education (which means a well-educated workforce that can develop upstream of the value chain, and attaches great importance to diligence, thrift and discipline, which will ensure that the workforce works hard, the enterprise operates efficiently and avoids debt.
儒家文化有几个具体特征，尤其是对等级模式的服从，使企业管理层更容易、更快地做出决策，集体主义（促进凝聚力和忠诚度），强调教育（这意味着一支受过良好教育、能够向价值链上游发展的劳动力队伍，并高度重视勤奋、节俭和纪律，这将确保劳动力努力工作，企业高效运转，避免负债。
However, personally, as a man who grew up in a family with deep-rooted Confucianism, I deeply doubt that many people exaggerate the impact of Confucian values on the rapid economic development of the “four little dragons of Asia”.
然而，就我个人而言，作为一个在儒家思想根深蒂固的家庭中长大的人，我对许多人将儒家价值观对“亚洲四小龙”经济快速发展的影响予以夸大深表怀疑。
It seems that there is a hypothesis in the academic circles that there is a strong correlation between Confucian culture and economic development, but it does not consider the cultural background between different Confucian societies, nor the wider differences with other parts of the world.
似乎学术界有这样一种假设，即儒家文化与经济发展之间存在着强相关性，它却没有考虑不同儒家社会之间的文化背景，也没有考虑与世界其他地区更广泛的差异。
Now, we can all agree that Confucian values may have contributed to the economic rise of the “four Asian dragons” to some extent, especially in the 30 years from the early 1960s to the 1990s.
现在，我们都可以同意，儒家价值观可能在某种程度上促成了“亚洲四小龙”的经济崛起，特别是在20世纪60年代初至90年代的30年间。
So why did these so-called “positive cultural factors” fail to produce the same results in the early history from the 1950s to the 1950s?
那么，为什么这些所谓的“积极文化因素”在19世纪50年代至20世纪50年代的历史早期未能产生同样的结果呢？
‘I believe that Protestant professional ethics is the basis for the rapid economic development of western culture and the modernization of Asian culture, and the lack of such Protestant professional ethics in Asia is the reason for the low level of economic development in the Asia Pacific region.
我认为新教职业道德是西方文化快速经济发展和亚洲文化现代化的基础，而亚洲缺乏这种新教职业道德是亚太地区经济发展水平较低的原因。
I am not saying that Confucian values have little value for economic development, but we need to remember that throughout history and today, many other non Confucian societies in other parts of the world have also achieved economic success:
我并不是说儒家价值观对经济发展几乎没有价值，但我们需要记住，纵观历史和今天，世界其他地区还有许多其他非儒家社会在经济上也取得了成功：
1) From 1910s to 1920s, New York City became the largest city in the world and the rise of Silicon Valley;
1） 1910年代至1920年代的纽约市成为世界第一大城市和硅谷的崛起；
2) In the past seven years, Rwanda’s GDP has increased by 7% annually, and the country and infrastructure have been improved accordingly;
2） 在过去7年中，卢旺达国内生产总值年均增长7%，国家和基础设施也相应改善；
3) Germany has become a manufacturing power;
3） 德国成为制造业强国；
Therefore, we also need to consider the following factors:
所以，我们还需要考虑以下因素：
1、 A free enterprise system and a competitive business environment that allow private businessmen to engage in commercial operations;
一、允许私营商人从事商业经营的自由企业制度和竞争性的商业环境；
3、 There is an international trade system that allows the import and export of goods and services, strong government institutions that support commerce and trade, and a stable and growing middle class that can promote domestic consumption.
三、存在允许货物和服务进出口的国际贸易体系、支持商业和贸易的强大政府机构、稳定且不断壮大的中产阶级，能够推动国内消费。
旅居韩国的美国网友科林•奥斯沃德的回答
I think the reason for their success has nothing to do with Confucianism.
我认为他们成功的原因与儒家思想无关。
China was the most successful in the Han and Tang Dynasties. I’m not sure how much Confucianism contributed to this, but I know that Confucianism certainly influenced China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. China declined rapidly in the late Qing Dynasty, especially in the 19th century.
中国在汉唐时期是最成功的，我不太确定儒家思想对这一点的贡献有多大，但我知道明清时期肯定受到儒家思想的影响，中国在清朝后期尤其是从19世纪开始迅速衰落。
The kingdom of Korea is a Confucian society inspired by the Ming Dynasty. I won’t say how successful it is.
朝鲜王国是一个受明代启发的儒家社会。我不会说它如何如何成功。
Japan in the Edo era, similarly, was conquered by the Americans, who overwhelmed them with military power and forced them to open up in the 1850s.
江户时代的日本，同样的，它被美国人征服了，他们用军事力量压倒了他们，并在19世纪50年代迫使他们开放。
What is the Confucian ideal? Pay attention to education, respect the elders, men are the heads of households, women take care of children, right? It has good and bad aspects, but as far as I know, it has little to do with economic success.
什么是儒家理想？注重教育，尊重长辈，男人是户主，女人照顾孩子，对吗？它有好的方面，也有坏的方面，但据我所知，它与经济成功关系不大。
The main factors for success seem to be openness to trade and the adoption of a market economy.
成功的主要因素似乎是对贸易开放和采用市场经济。
There is too much evidence to prove this:
有太多证据证明了这一点：
The Qing Dynasty was isolated from the world, then declined rapidly, and then the Opium War and the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895 took place. They suffered humiliation.
清朝——与世界隔绝，然后迅速衰落，然后鸦片战争和甲午中日战争发生了，他们饱受耻辱。
The Korean Dynasty, closed to the outside world, became a “hermit kingdom” and was invaded by Japan.
朝鲜王朝——闭关自守，成为“隐士王国”，遭到日本侵略。
Japan in the Edo era was closed to the outside world and became detached from the times. In the 1950s, it was invaded by the United States and forced to open to the outside world, making it the first industrialized Asian country and providing a necessary prerequisite for its conquest of its Asian neighbors.
江户时代的日本——闭关自守，变得脱离时代，在19世纪50年代被美国入侵，被迫对外开放，从而使其成为第一个工业化的亚洲国家，并为其征服亚洲邻国提供了必要的前提。
黑船事件
The people’s Republic of China has been regarded as a third world country since the 20th century. Until the late 1970s, it opened up its market economy, accelerated its development in the 21st century, and then became the present superpower.
中华人民共和国二十世纪以来一直被视为第三世界国家，直到70年代末他们开放了市场经济，二十一世纪加速发展，然后成为了现在的超级大国。
Looking at the development of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia and other countries, you will find a trend… The more they open trade, reduce or cancel tariffs, and realize industrialization, the better their GDP growth will be, and the more prosperous they will be.
看看美国、英国、法国、德国、加拿大、澳大利亚等国家的发展，你会发现一种趋势……它们越开放贸易，降低或取消关税，实现工业化，它们的GDP增长就越好，越繁荣。
Are Koreans / Japanese / Chinese diligent? Of course, but it can be said that their production value is not as good as that of Westerners. For example, the workload of Germans may be only half that of Koreans, but they are innovative and world leaders in many fields such as engineering. They spend half the time of Koreans to create world-class products. Isn’t that amazing?
韩国人/日本人/中国人勤奋吗？当然，但可以说，他们的生产价值不如西方人。例如，德国人的工作量可能只有韩国人的一半，但他们在工程等许多领域都具有创新精神和世界领先地位。他们用韩国人一半的时间创造出世界级的产品。这不是很神奇吗？
So, yes… Confucianism has many advantages and disadvantages, but its economic success has nothing to do with it.
所以，是的……儒家思想的优点和缺点很多，但经济上的成功与之无关。
On the contrary, Confucianism has long hindered the development of Asia, and it bears the basic responsibility for the “Dark Age” of Asia. Although many parts of Asian history are not as backward as the Christian rule in the “Dark Age” in Europe, Confucianism basically prohibits any scientific exploration and investigation because they think it is a waste of time, which is part of the reason why science has never developed in Asia.
正相反，儒家思想长期以来阻碍了亚洲的发展，它对亚洲的“黑暗时代”负有基本责任。尽管亚洲历史上的许多地方并不像欧洲“黑暗时代”的基督教统治那样倒退，但儒学基本禁止任何科学探究和调查，因为他们认为这是浪费时间，这也是科学从未在亚洲发展的部分原因。
The ethics of Confucianism is too simplistic and vague. For example, you should always obey and respect authority, your parents and so on. Confucianism basically influenced all other serious philosophies in Asia after it. It was not until Asia brought the ideals and philosophies of the European enlightenment that it broke this chain.
儒学的伦理过于简单化，相当模糊，就像你应该永远服从和尊重权威、你的父母等等。儒学基本上影响了亚洲继它之后的所有其他严肃哲学，直到亚洲带来了欧洲启蒙运动理想和哲学的影响，才打破了这条链条。
When Japan realized modernization during the Meiji Restoration in the 18th century, it basically abandoned Confucianism and supported the enlightenment philosophy and modern political system, which mainly drew on the ideas of Britain and Germany.
当日本在18世纪明治维新期间实现现代化时，它基本上放弃了儒家思想，转而支持启蒙哲学和现代政治制度，这主要是借鉴了英国和德国的思想。
Although, for the culture that has practiced Confucianism for hundreds or thousands of years, its influence does not disappear overnight. Therefore, the influence of Confucianism still exists and can be felt in many Asian societies.
虽然，对于已经践行儒家思想数百年或数千年的文化来说，它的影响并不是一夜之间就消失的，因此，儒家思想的影响仍然存在，并在许多亚洲社会中都能感受到。
