“Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, published the sayings of Confucius in his colonial newspaper and today’s sculpture recognising that ancient Chinese age is carved into the face of the United States Supreme Court very proudly,” said US President Donald Trump in Beijing last month.
It took two-and-a-half centuries for an American president to explicitly acknowledge the profound Chinese impact on the US founding fathers. Trump’s recent declaration could be a historical first. Unless archival evidence surfaces to suggest otherwise, he is the first US president to formally recognise this intellectual gap on the world stage.
This admission stands in stark contrast to our current geopolitical discourse. Today, Western political commentary frequently depicts China as the ultimate cultural and ideological antithesis to the West. Yet, a deeper dive into history reveals that ancient Chinese philosophy did not just sit on the periphery of Western thought; it actively inspired both the European Enlightenment and the American founders.
To see this connection hidden in plain sight, one need only look at the architecture of American democracy itself. Sitting atop the East Pediment of the US Supreme Court building is a monumental trio of ancient lawgivers: Moses, Solon and Confucius.
Sculpted by Hermon MacNeil in the 1930s under the direction of architect Cass Gilbert, these figures were chosen to represent the core foundational pillars of American jurisprudence. MacNeil wanted to trace the lineage of American law. He included Confucius because he believed that true justice must prioritise collective civic virtue and social harmony over mere individual rights. Today, this statue of Confucius sits directly above the window of the chief justice’s office suite, serving as a silent, historic guardian watching over the highest judicial seat in America.
The Supreme Court pediment, however, is merely the physical manifestation of a deep intellectual current. While it would be a stretch to suggest that Thomas Jefferson sat down with The Analects to draft the Declaration of Independence, the structural parallels between ancient Chinese thought and American revolutionary ideals are unmistakable.
