Abstract

This study presents an examination of the concepts of life and death in Confucian philosophy and how they are understood, accepted and practiced in the daily life of the people in Taiwan. ;The people of Taiwan, besides the aboriginal, have for the most part descended from the Chinese immigrants who considered themselves as students of Confucius. To those who have experienced cultural and social transformation, Confucian philosophy was a witness to their life situations. They have also preserved and transformed Confucian philosophy into their popular beliefs and practice. ;The procedure of study has involved three steps: literature review, field search and evaluation. The major references consist in publications of Confucius' philosophy and sources about Taiwanese popular contexts, which are mostly in the Chinese language. However, literature review includes translations of selected sources. Field research covers personal interviews and investigations in Taiwan. Two trips for field research was made in the summers of 1984 and 1985. ;This study is also a review of Confucius' influences on the attitude toward life and death of the people in Taiwan and the significance of Confucius' contributions to the philosophy of life and death. The conclusion focuses on two significant contexts. The first is the contributions to the individual as a guideline to one's life goals and values. The second is a promotion of the social value of mutual assistance and love to realize the ideal of a harmonious society