I would say that Pound was greatly concerned for the human condition, and so a Humanist. 
But he was at least double-minded in his Humanism--a term that really is as abstract as is freedom, I think.
 On the one hand, Pound believed in the need for a great opening up of boundaries, principles, 
freedoms. On the other, he clearly believed in demarcating boundaries, borders, principles, freedoms. 
In this way, he was like most of us--only all of his intellectual motion towards this or that extreme is 
recorded, live, in his prose and cantos.
   Confucianism likewise contains many precepts that suggest an opening up of the boundaries of 
the social being, and also many precepts that would see the social being as something prescribed by 
traditions, rituals, rules. Like all Eastern philosophies, it is polymorphous--but really, there are
two strong lines of Confucian development through time. The one is represented by the works
of Mencius, and are embraced and promoted by the 11th century Neo-Confucians; the other is represented 
by the works of Hsun-tzu, whose Confucian ideas concerning tradition, order, ritual, and a precise definition of
terminology were embraced and promoted by the Legalists and other conservative groups.
    Pound most often praised Mencius, but more often followed the conservatism represented by
Hsun-tzu. Mary Cheadle, in her work on Pound's Confucian translations, notes that someone warned Pound 
of following in the heels of a Confucianism articulated by Hsun-tzu--but as usual, it seems, Pound gave little 
heed. That conservatism has clear links to a despotism in China that has probably caused a sufficient
amount of human suffering through time to compare it to Nazism and Fascism. Yet for the most part--
excepting the extremely oppressive period of the Legalists, its doctrines have humanity writ all through them. 
If you set aside Hitler's claim that Jews are not human (to be sure, I am not recommending that anyone do so)
so does his Mein Kampf--or at least what I have read of it.
 
 
>>> K Stevens <[log in to unmask]> 12/09 2:33 PM >>>
I thought that Pound was interested in Confucianism because the ideal
Confucian was like a humanist.  Like Sigismundo, Confucians wanted to
participate in the political, artistic, and religious rituals of their
time.  Caring for the family brought about political prosperity.
Similar in some ways to Plato's Republic?
 
One of the most significant things about Pound and his Cantos is that
the artist should not ignore politics, that the politician should not
ignore economics, that the economist should read poetry.  Sorry for
this oversimplification, but I would like to know more about Pound's
possible humanism and its relationship to his interpretation of
Confucianism?
 
Many thanks,
Kristen Stevens
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