Is confucian peace a solution to the intercultural conflict?

The United Nations has put considerable effort into peacekeeping missions and preventive diplomacy with different leaders to promote a peaceful and inclusive society, whereas the international conflict still haunts our society today. Previously, the Confucian peace in pre-western East Asia has once attracted the attention of researchers, where the Confucian value is widely considered the key to making ancient China a peaceful power in East Asia. However, its recent assertive policies toward neighboring states have raised concern about Confucian values and its fundamental inclination toward ethical pacifism. To better understand intercultural conflicts between East and West, this chapter focused on exploring the cultural roots of Chinese preferences, particularly how the ancient Chinese philosophers conceptualize conflict and how their thoughts shape modern Chinese ideologies, beliefs, or values regarding conflict resolution. This chapter compared the most influential works of Confucian literature, “The Analects,” “Mengzi,” and “Record of Rite,” to examine how the Confucian philosophers conceptualize and manage conflicts. The findings would give insight into Chinese conflict management strategies and help promote more constructive outcomes in conflict-affected contexts. The implications of Confucian peace to the United Nations and superior leaders will also be discussed in detail. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.