當代東亞區域的儒學復興中，值得注意者是有關臺灣學界近十六年來對「東亞儒學」研究的提倡，形成中國、日本、韓國等知識份子注目的課題。由於「東亞儒學」涉及到「中心」與「邊緣」關係的政治認同與文化認同之緊張性，故贊成者有之，疑慮者有之，批判者亦有之。本文旨在分析並比較當代東亞國家知識份子對「東亞儒學」的思考或態度，首先在第二節釐清學界對「東亞儒學」概念的不同用法，並於第三、四、五、六節分別探討臺灣及中日韓三國具有代表性學者對東亞儒學提出各種不同立場，本文歸納為「順中心」、「逆中心」、「去中心」與「超中心」的四種鮮明立場。最後，於結論中窺出當代臺灣在這波儒學復興潮流中，「東亞儒學」的提倡實對東亞區域的和諧穩定，具有既深且遠的時代意義。

One aspect of the contemporary revival of Confucian thought in the East Asia region that warrants particular attention is the concept of “East Asian Confucianism,” which has been advocated by scholars in Taiwan for nearly sixteen decades, and which has attracted considerable attention from intellectuals in China, Japan and South Korea. As the concept of “East Asian Confucianism” relates to sensitive questions of political identification and cultural identification that are connected to the relationship between “center” and “periphery,” the idea of “East Asian Confucianism” has attracted supporters, while other scholars have raised doubts about it, and some have been strongly critical of the concept. The present study seeks to analyze and compare the attitudes taken by contemporary intellectuals in East Asian countries towards “East Asian Confucianism,” and how they evaluate this concept. Following the introduction, the second section of the paper attempts to clarify the different ways in which the concept of “East Asian Confucianism” is used within the academic community. Section Three, Four, Five, and Six examine the different views of “East Asian Confucianism” espoused by leading academics in Taiwan and in China, Japan and South Korea; the present study identifies four broad attitudes: “centerwardness,” “countercenter,” “decentering,” and “ultracenter.” The study’s conclusions show that the advocacy by Taiwanese scholars of the concept of “East Asian Confucianism” during the current revival of Confucian thought embodies deep, long-term significance with respect to the desire for harmonious, stable relations between countries in the East Asia region