How Confucianism Shapes Society China
In China, the majority of society follows the rules of Confucianism. The philosophy of Confucianism basically states that everyone has their own specified place in society, and that in order to maximize personal harmony and harmony in society, everyone must accept their role and work together. School children in China all dress in uniform because of Confucianism, family members are taught to respect their elders due to Confucianism, and all members of China are encouraged to keep more private thoughts internalized for the sake of keeping harmony among others, just to name a few examples. In essence, Confucianism teaches that all citizens of China should be humble of their position and work as one. This article is definitely not attacking Confucianism in China or any other nation, but will explain why Confucianism does influence the mental illness stigma in China.
How Confucianism and Mental Illness Interact
It’s obviously easier to remain uniform and disciplined when you have good mental health. However, mental illness creates an obstacle for everyone suffering from it. In China, this barrier is seen as a serious threat to the harmony provided by Confucianism. Therefore, China has a major mental illness stigma. However, just how seriousness of the barrier to harmony and upholding Confucianism created by mental illness is exaggerated by the media and education systems in China, perpetuating the stigma.
Why the Mental Illness Stigma Continues to Clash With Confucianism
Most citizens of China do not know that there are many forms of mental illness. For example, news reports will frequently sensationalize stories featuring those with mental illness without specifying which sorts of mental illness those individuals suffer from. This creates uniform fear that mental illness is a threat to Confucianism, adding fuel to the mental illness stigma. Also, most students in China do not encounter the various types of mental illness in class unless they are specifically studying psychology. Therefore, students from China are infrequently have an explanation as to why mental illness, the mental illness stigma, and Confucianism do not necessarily have to clash. These two factors are key in perpetuating the mental illness stigma in China, as it creates a boundary between healthy individuals and those with mental illness, causing many from China to perceive a disunity or a rupture in Confucianism and decency.
How Media Reports Keep the Mental Illness Stigma and the Threat to Confucianism Alive
Unfortunately, most from China are unaware that those with mental illness compose an extremely small fraction of criminals. All they see are reported accounts of mentally ill criminals, perhaps assuming the rest also have something wrong with them. Therefore, most citizens from China only see that those with a mental illness do not harmonize with others and therefore deduce that those with mental illness are a serious threat. They conclude that because so many reports show those with a mental illness disregarding Confucianism, the rest must as well.
WORKS CITED
Yang, L H. “Application of mental illness stigma theory to Chinese societies: synthesis and new directions.” Singapore Med, 2007. http://smj.sma.org.sg/4811/4811ra1.pdf.