Confucianism (R122)
Introduction
The philosophy of Confucius, also
known as Confucianism, emphasized personal and
governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity.
His followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred Schools of Thought era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during the Qin dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius's thoughts received
official sanction and were further developed into a system known in the West as
Neo-Confucianism, and later New Confucianism (Modern Neo-Confucianism). Confucius is traditionally credited with having
authored or edited many of the Chinese
classic texts including all of the Five
Classics, but modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific assertions to
Confucius himself. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects, but
only many years after his death.
Confucius presented himself as a ‘transmitter who invented nothing’, because he
believed he was teaching the natural path to good behavior passed down from
older, divine masters. Around the second century B.C., Confucius’s works were
collected into the Analects (Lunyu), a collection of sayings written down by
his followers. These are not always commandments, because Confucius didn’t like
prescribing strict rules. Instead, he believed that if he simply lived
virtuously, he would inspire others to do the same.
Summary
Confucius's principles have commonality with
Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong family loyalty, ancestor veneration, and
respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives,
recommending family as a basis for ideal government. He espoused the well-known
principle "Do not do unto others what you do not want done to
yourself", the Golden Rule. He is also a traditional deity in Daoism.
Confucius is widely considered as one of the most important and influential
individuals in shaping human history. His teaching and philosophy greatly
impacted people around the world and remains influential today. Confucianism pays particular
emphasis on the importance of the family and social harmony, rather than on an
otherworldly soteriology,[ the core of Confucianism is humanistic.[ According
to the Herbert Fingarette's concept of "the secular as sacred",
Confucianism regards the ordinary activities of human life — and especially in
human relationships as a manifestation of the sacred, because they are the
expression of our moral nature , which has a transcendent anchorage in Heaven
and a proper respect of the gods . The-worldly concern of Confucianism rests on
the belief that human beings are fundamentally good, and teachable, improvable,
and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor especially
self-cultivation and self-creation. Confucian thought focuses on the
cultivation of virtue and maintenance of ethics. Some of the basic Confucian
ethical concepts and practices include humaneness, it is said to be the essence
of the human being which manifests as compassion, and it is the virtue-form of
Heaven. It includes: the upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition
to do good; a system of ritual norms and propriety that determines how a person
should properly act in everyday life according to the law of Heaven; the
ability to see what is right and fair, or the converse, in the behaviors
exhibited by others. Confucianism holds one in contempt, either passively or
actively, for failure to uphold the cardinal moral values described above.
Confucius
and religion
Confucius is almost unique amongst eastern philosophers who did
not claim to present the unseen world to followers. He does not mention God and
does not address the question of immortality. When asked he said “if you cannot
even know men, how can you we know spirits”. Yet his teachings had a profound impact
on countless Chinese people, he is revered in China and elsewhere .He provided
answers related to common relations of life. He believed that virtue was based
on knowledge, knowledge of man’s own heart and knowledge of human kind. He
presented no ideas related to life after death.
Life
Confucius, was born in 551 BC, his father was governor of Shuntang
he married at eighteen and was employed in a minor position in government At his twenty fourth year he entered in to a
three years mourning for his mothers demise (such temporary withdrawal is
common to all philosophers, thinkers and religious leaders).His seclusion led
him to study of the then present condition of his country and vowed to resolve
the malaise in the Chinese society. By the time he was thirty he was regarded
as a thinker, a great Teacher and disciples flocked to him. In spite of his fame he kept working in the
government position, until he became Chief Judge in his county of Lu. His
tenure as Judge put an end to crime in the country and he became the idol of
people. The feudal Lords were alarmed by his fame and his achievements and
drove him away from home; he wandered around with his few disciples until he
was sixty nine years old .when he returned to his home state. He died at the
age of seventy three in 478 BC.
In the Analects, Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter
who invented nothing". He puts the greatest emphasis on the importance of
study, and it is the Chinese
character for study that opens the text.
Far from trying to build a systematic or formalist theory, he wanted his disciples to master and
internalize older classics, so that their deep thought and thorough study would
allow them to relate the moral problems of the present to past political events
(as recorded in the Annals) or
the past expressions of commoners' feelings and noblemen's reflections (as in
the poems of the Book of Odes).
The Analects are
a long and seemingly disorganized book of short events, filled with strange
conversations between Confucius and his disciples, like this one:
‘Tsze-kung wished to do away
with the offering of a sheep connected with the inauguration of the first day
of each month.
The Master said, ‘Tsze, you
love the sheep; I love the ceremony’.
At first this is baffling, if
not also humorous. But Confucius is reminding Tsze—and us—about the importance
of ceremony.
In the modern world we tend to
shun ceremony and see this as a good thing—a sign of intimacy, or a lack of
pretension. Many of us seek informality and would like nothing more than to be
told ‘just make yourself at home!’ when visiting a friend. But Confucius
insisted on the importance of rituals. The reason he loved ceremonies more than
sheep is that he believed in the value of li: etiquette, tradition, and ritual.
This might seem very outdated
and conservative at first glance. But in fact, many of us long for particular
rituals—that meals mum cooked for us whenever we were sick, for example, or the
yearly birthday outing, or our wedding vows. We understand that certain
premeditated, deliberate, and precise gestures stir our emotions deeply.
Rituals make our intentions clear, and they help us understand how to behave.
Confucius taught that a person who combines compassion (‘ren’) and rituals
(‘li’) correctly is a ‘superior man’, virtuous and morally powerful.
We should treat our parents
with reverence
Confucius had very strict ideas
about how we should behave towards our parents. He believed that we should obey
them when we are young, care for them when they are old, mourn at length when
they die and make sacrifices in their memory thereafter. ‘In serving his
parents, a son may remonstrate with them, but gently’, he said. ‘When he sees
that they do not incline to follow his advice, he shows an increased degree of
reverence, but does not abandon his purpose; and should they punish him, he
does not allow himself to murmur’. He even said that we should not travel far
away while our parents are alive and should cover for their crimes. This
attitude is known as filial piety (‘xiào’). This
sounds strange in the modern age, when many of us leave our parents’ homes as
teenagers and rarely return to visit. We may even see them as strangers,
arbitrarily thrust upon us by fate. After all, our parents are so out of touch,
so pitifully human in their shortcomings, so difficult, so judgmental—and they
have such bad taste in music! Yet Confucius recognised that in many ways moral
life begins in the family. We cannot truly be caring, wise, grateful and
conscientious unless we remember Mum’s birthday and meet Dad for lunch.
We should be obedient to honorable
people
Modern society is very
egalitarian. We believe that we’re born equal, each uniquely special, and
should ultimately be able to say and do what we like. We reject many rigid,
hierarchical roles. Yet Confucius told his followers, ‘Let the ruler be a
ruler, the subject a subject, a father a father, and a son a son’.
This might sound jarring, but
it is in fact important to realise that there are people worth our deep
veneration, even our simple and humble obedience. We need to be modest enough
to recognise the people whose experience or accomplishments outweigh our own.
We also should practice peaceably doing what these people need, ask, or
command. Confucius explained, ‘The relation between superiors and inferiors is
like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind
blows across it.’ Bending gracefully is, in fact, not a sign of weakness but a
gesture of humility and respect.
Cultivated knowledge can be
more important than creativity
Modern culture places a lot of
emphasis on creativity – unique insights that come to us suddenly. But
Confucius was adamant about the importance of the universal wisdom that comes
from years of hard work and reflection. He listed the aforementioned compassion
(‘ren’) and ritual propriety (‘li’) among three other virtues: justice (‘yi’),
knowledge (‘zhi’) and integrity (‘xin’). These were known as the ‘Five Constant
Virtues’. While Confucius believed that people were inherently good, he also
saw that virtues like these must be constantly cultivated just like plants in a
garden. He told his followers, ‘At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At
thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees
of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At
seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was
right.’ He spoke about moral character and wisdom as the work of a lifetime.
(We can see now why he had such reverence for his elders!) Of
course, a burst of inspiration may well be what we need to start our business
or redo our rough draft or even reinvent our life. But if we’re being very
honest with ourselves, we’ll have to admit that we also need to devote more
energy to slowly changing our habits. This, more than anything else, is what
prevents us from becoming truly intelligent, accomplished, and wise.
The Doctrine of the Mean
What Heaven has conferred is called The Nature; accordance with this nature is called The Path of duty; the regulation of
this path is called Instruction. The path may not be left for an instant.
If it could be left, it would not be the path. The way which the superior man
pursues, reaches wide and far, and yet is secret. Common men and women, however ignorant, may intermeddle with the knowledge of it; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage
does not know. The superior man does what is proper to the station in which he is; he does not desire to go beyond this. In
archery we have something like the way of the superior man. When the archer
misses the center of the target, he turns round and seeks for the cause of his failure in himself. His presenting himself with his institutions before spiritual beings, without any doubts arising about them, shows that he knows Heaven. His being prepared, without any misgivings, to wait for the
rise of a sage a hundred ages after, shows that he knows men. All things are nourished
together without their injuring one another. It is only he who is
possessed of the most complete sincerity that can exist under heaven, who can give its full development to his nature. Able to give its full development to his own nature, he can do the same to
the nature of other men.
It is the way of the superior man to prefer
the concealment of his virtue, while it daily becomes more illustrious,
and it is the way of the mean man to seek notoriety, while he daily goes more and more to ruin. The superior man examines his heart, that there may be nothing wrong there, and that he may have no cause for dissatisfaction with himself.
That wherein the superior man cannot be equaled is simply this — his work which
other men cannot see.
It is said in the Book of
Poetry, "In silence is the offering presented, and the spirit approached to; there is not the slightest contention." Therefore
the superior man does not use rewards, and the people are stimulated to virtue. He does not show anger, and the
people are awed more than by hatchets and battle-axes.
·
What Heaven has conferred is called The Nature; an accordance with this
nature is called The Path of duty; the regulation of this path is called
Instruction. The path may not be left for an instant. If it could be left, it
would not be the path. On this
account, the superior man does not wait till he sees things, to be cautious,
nor till he hears things, to be apprehensive.
·
There is
nothing more visible than what is secret, and nothing more manifest than what
is minute. Therefore the superior man is watchful over himself, when he is
alone.
·
Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in perfection, and a
happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth, and all things will be
nourished and flourish.
·
Perfect is
the virtue which is according to the Mean! Rare have they long been among the
people, who could practice it!
·
I know how it
is that the path of the Mean is not walked in — The knowing go beyond it, and
the stupid do not come up to it. I know how it is that the path of the Mean is
not understood — The men of talents and virtue go beyond it, and the worthless
do not come up to it.
·
There is no
body but eats and drinks. But they are few who can distinguish flavors.
·
Men all say,
"We are wise"; but being driven forward and taken in a net, a trap,
or a pitfall, they know not how to escape. Men all say, "We are
wise"; but happening to choose the course of the Mean, they are not able
to keep it for a round month.
·
The kingdom,
its states, and its families, may be perfectly ruled; dignities and emoluments
may be declined; naked weapons may be trampled under the feet; but the course
of the Mean cannot be attained to.
·
To show forbearance and gentleness in teaching others; and not to revenge
unreasonable conduct — this is the energy of southern regions, and the good man
makes it his study. To lie under arms; and meet death without regret — this is
the energy of northern regions, and the forceful make it their study.
Therefore, the superior man cultivates a friendly harmony, without being weak —
How firm is he in his energy! He
stands erect in the middle, without inclining to either side — How firm is he
in his energy! When good principles prevail in the government of his country,
he does not change from what he was in retirement. How firm is he in his
energy! When bad principles prevail in the country, he maintains his course to
death without changing — How firm is he in his energy!
·
The superior
man accords with the course of the Mean. Though he may be all unknown, unregarded
by the world, he feels no regret — It is only the sage who is able for this.
·
The way which the superior man pursues, reaches wide and far, and yet is
secret. Common men and women, however ignorant, may intermeddle with the
knowledge of it; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage
does not know. Common men and
women, however much below the ordinary standard of character, can carry it into
practice; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage is not
able to carry into practice. Great
as heaven and earth are, men still find some things in them with which to be
dissatisfied. Thus it is that, were the superior man to speak of his way in all
its greatness, nothing in the world would be found able to embrace it, and were
he to speak of it in its minuteness, nothing in the world would be found able
to split it.
·
The way of
the superior man may be found, in its simple elements, in the intercourse of
common men and women; but in its utmost reaches, it shines brightly through Heaven
and Earth.
·
The Path is
not far from man. When men try to pursue a course, which is far from the common
indications of consciousness, this course cannot be considered The Path.
·
The superior man governs men, according to their nature, with what is
proper to them, and as soon as they change what is wrong, he stops.
·
When one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature, and
exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the path.
What you do not like when done to yourself, do not do to others.
·
Earnest in
practicing the ordinary virtues, and careful in speaking about them, if, in his
practice, he has anything defective, the superior man dares not but exert
himself; and if, in his words, he has any excess, he dares not allow himself
such license. Thus his words have
respect to his actions, and his actions have respect to his words; is it not
just an entire sincerity which marks the superior man?
·
The superior man does what is proper to the station in which he is; he
does not desire to go beyond this. In a position of wealth and honor, he does
what is proper to a position of wealth and honor. In a poor and low position,
he does what is proper to a poor and low position. Situated among barbarous tribes, he does
what is proper to a situation among barbarous tribes. In a position of sorrow
and difficulty, he does what is proper to a position of sorrow and difficulty.
The superior man can find himself in no situation in which he is not
himself. In a high situation, he
does not treat with contempt his inferiors. In a low situation, he does not
court the favor of his superiors. He rectifies himself, and seeks for
nothing from others, so that he has no dissatisfactions. He does not murmur
against Heaven, nor grumble against men. Thus it is that the superior man is quiet and calm, waiting for the
appointments of Heaven, while the mean man walks in dangerous paths, looking
for lucky occurrences.
·
In archery we have something like the way of the superior man. When the
archer misses the center of the target, he turns round and seeks for the cause
of his failure in himself.
·
The way of
the superior man may be compared to what takes place in traveling, when to go
to a distance we must first traverse the space that is near, and in ascending a
height, when we must begin from the lower ground.
·
How
abundantly do spiritual beings display the powers that belong to them! We look
for them, but do not see them; we listen to, but do not hear them; yet they
enter into all things, and there is nothing without them.
·
Heaven, in the production of things, is sure to be bountiful to them,
according to their qualities. Hence the tree that is flourishing, it nourishes,
while that which is ready to fall, it overthrows.
·
The administration of government lies in getting proper men. Such men are
to be got by means of the ruler's own character. That character is to be
cultivated by his treading in the ways of duty. And the treading those ways of
duty is to be cultivated by the cherishing of benevolence.
·
Benevolence is the characteristic element of humanity.
·
To be fond of
learning is to be near to knowledge. To practice with vigor is to be near to
magnanimity. To possess the feeling of shame is to be near to energy.
·
By the
ruler's cultivation of his own character, the duties of universal obligation
are set forth. By honoring men of virtue and talents, he is preserved from
errors of judgment.
·
In all things success depends on previous preparation, and without such
previous preparation there is sure to be failure. If what is to be spoken be previously determined, there will be no
stumbling. If affairs be previously determined, there will be no difficulty
with them. If one's actions have been previously determined, there will be no
sorrow in connection with them. If principles of conduct have been previously
determined, the practice of them will be inexhaustible.
·
Sincerity is the way of Heaven. The attainment of sincerity is the way of
men. He who possesses
sincerity is he who, without an effort, hits what is right, and apprehends,
without the exercise of thought — he is the sage who naturally and easily
embodies the right way. He who attains to sincerity is he who chooses what is
good, and firmly holds it fast. To this attainment there are requisite the
extensive study of what is good, accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection
on it, the clear discrimination of it, and the earnest practice of it.
·
The superior
man, while there is anything he has not studied, or while in what he has
studied there is anything he cannot understand, Will not intermit his labor.
While there is anything he has not inquired about, or anything in what he has
inquired about which he does not know, he will not intermit his labor. While
there is anything which he has not reflected on, or anything in what he has
reflected on which he does not apprehend, he will not intermit his labor. While
there is anything which he has not discriminated or his discrimination is not
clear, he will not intermit his labor. If there be anything which he has not
practiced, or his practice fails in earnestness, he will not intermit his
labor. If another man succeed by one effort, he will use a hundred efforts. If
another man succeed by ten efforts, he will use a thousand. Let a man proceed
in this way, and, though dull, he will surely become intelligent; though weak,
he will surely become strong.
·
When we have intelligence resulting from sincerity, this condition is to
be ascribed to nature; when we have sincerity resulting from intelligence, this
condition is to be ascribed to instruction. But given the sincerity, and there
shall be the intelligence; given the intelligence, and there shall be the
sincerity.
·
It is only he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity that can
exist under heaven, who can give its full development to his nature. Able to
give its full development to his own nature, he can do the same to the nature
of other men. Able to give its
full development to the nature of other men, he can give their full development
to the natures of animals and things. Able to give their full development to
the natures of creatures and things, he can assist the transforming and
nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth. Able to assist the transforming and nourishing powers of Heaven and
Earth, he may with Heaven and Earth form a ternion.
·
Sincerity becomes apparent. From being apparent, it becomes manifest.
From being manifest, it becomes brilliant. Brilliant, it affects others.
Affecting others, they are changed by it. Changed by it, they are transformed.
It is only he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity that can exist
under heaven, who can transform.
·
It is characteristic of the most entire sincerity to be able to foreknow.
When a nation or family is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens;
and when it is about to perish, there are sure to be unlucky omens.
·
Sincerity is that whereby self-completion is effected, and its way is
that by which man must direct himself.
·
Sincerity is the end and beginning of things; without sincerity there
would be nothing. On this
account, the superior man regards the attainment of sincerity as the most
excellent thing.
·
To entire sincerity there belongs ceaselessness. Not ceasing, it continues long. Continuing
long, it evidences itself. Evidencing itself, it reaches far. Reaching far, it
becomes large and substantial. Large and substantial, it becomes high and
brilliant. Large and substantial; this is how it contains all things. High and
brilliant; this is how it overspreads all things. Reaching far and continuing
long; this is how it perfects all things. So large and substantial, the
individual possessing it is the co-equal of Earth. So high and brilliant, it
makes him the co-equal of Heaven. So far-reaching and long-continuing, it makes
him infinite. Such being its nature,
without any display, it becomes manifested; without any movement, it produces
changes; and without any effort, it accomplishes its ends.
·
The way of Heaven and Earth may be completely declared in one sentence:
They are without any doubleness, and so they produce things in a manner that is
unfathomable.
·
How great is
the path proper to the Sage! Like overflowing water, it sends forth and
nourishes all things, and rises up to the height of heaven. All-complete is its
greatness! It embraces the three hundred rules of ceremony, and the three
thousand rules of demeanor. It waits for the proper man, and then it is
trodden. Hence it is said, "Only
by perfect virtue can the perfect path, in all its courses, be made a
fact."
·
The superior
man honors his virtuous nature, and maintains constant inquiry and study, seeking
to carry it out to its breadth and greatness, so as to omit none of the more
exquisite and minute points which it embraces, and to raise it to its greatest
height and brilliancy, so as to pursue the course of the Mean. He cherishes his
old knowledge, and is continually acquiring new. He exerts an honest, generous
earnestness, in the esteem and practice of all propriety. Thus, when occupying
a high situation he is not proud, and in a low situation he is not
insubordinate. When the kingdom is well governed, he is sure by his words to
rise; and when it is ill governed, he is sure by his silence to command
forbearance to himself.
·
To no one but
the Son of Heaven does it belong to order ceremonies, to fix the measures, and
to determine the written characters.
·
The
institutions of the Ruler are rooted in his own character and conduct, and
sufficient attestation of them is given by the masses of the people. He
examines them by comparison with those of the three kings, and finds them
without mistake. He sets them up before Heaven and Earth, and finds nothing in
them contrary to their mode of operation. He presents himself with them before
spiritual beings, and no doubts about them arise. He is prepared to wait for
the rise of a sage a hundred ages after, and has no misgivings. His presenting himself with his institutions
before spiritual beings, without any doubts arising about them, shows that he
knows Heaven. His being prepared, without any misgivings, to wait for the rise
of a sage a hundred ages after, shows that he knows men.
·
All things are nourished together without their injuring one another. The
courses of the seasons, and of the sun and moon, are pursued without any
collision among them. The smaller energies are like river currents; the greater
energies are seen in mighty transformations. It is this which makes heaven and earth so great.
·
It is only
he, possessed of all sagely qualities that can exist under heaven, who shows
himself quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching
intelligence, and all-embracing knowledge, fitted to exercise rule;
magnanimous, generous, benign, and mild, fitted to exercise forbearance;
impulsive, energetic, firm, and enduring, fitted to maintain a firm hold;
self-adjusted, grave, never swerving from the Mean, and correct, fitted to
command reverence; accomplished, distinctive, concentrative, and searching,
fitted to exercise discrimination. All-embracing is he and vast, deep and
active as a fountain, sending forth in their due season his virtues.
All-embracing and vast, he is like Heaven. Deep and active as a fountain, he is
like the abyss. He is seen, and the people all reverence him; he speaks, and
the people all believe him; he acts, and the people all are pleased with him.
·
It is only the individual possessed of the most entire sincerity that can
exist under Heaven, who can adjust the great invariable relations of mankind,
establish the great fundamental virtues of humanity, and know the transforming
and nurturing operations of Heaven and Earth; — shall this individual have any being or anything beyond himself on
which he depends? Call him man in his ideal, how earnest is he! Call him an
abyss, how deep is he! Call him Heaven, how vast is he! Who can know him, but
he who is indeed quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching
intelligence, and all-embracing knowledge, possessing all Heavenly virtue?
·
It is the way of the superior man to prefer the concealment of his
virtue, while it daily becomes more illustrious, and it is the way of the mean
man to seek notoriety, while he daily goes more and more to ruin. It is characteristic of the superior man,
appearing insipid, yet never to produce satiety; while showing a simple
negligence, yet to have his accomplishments recognized; while seemingly plain,
yet to be discriminating. He knows how
what are distant lies in what is near. He knows where the wind proceeds from.
He knows how what is minute becomes manifested. Such a one, we may be sure,
will enter into virtue.
·
The superior man examines his heart, that there may be nothing wrong
there, and that he may have no cause for dissatisfaction with himself. That wherein the superior man cannot be
equaled is simply this — his work which other men cannot see.
·
The superior
man, even when he is not moving, has a feeling of reverence, and while he
speaks not, he has the feeling of truthfulness.
·
It is said in the Book of
Poetry, "In silence is the offering presented, and the spirit approached
to; there is not the slightest contention." Therefore the superior man
does not use rewards, and the people are stimulated to virtue. He does not show
anger, and the people are awed more than by hatchets and battle-axes.
·
Among the
appliances to transform the people, sound and appearances are but trivial
influences.
·
The Great Learning
Things have their root and their branches.
Affairs have their end and their beginning. To know what is first and what is last will lead near to what is taught in the
Great Learning.
·
What the great learning teaches is to illustrate
illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and to rest in the highest
excellence.
The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined; and, that being determined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained to. To that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose. In that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the desired end.
The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined; and, that being determined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained to. To that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose. In that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the desired end.
·
Things have their root and their branches. Affairs
have their end and their beginning. To know what is first and what is last will
lead near to what is taught in the Great Learning.
·
The ancients, who wished to illustrate illustrious
virtue throughout the Kingdom, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to
order well their states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to
regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to
cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify
their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be
sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge.
Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their states were rightly governed. Their states being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil and happy.
From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.
Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their states were rightly governed. Their states being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil and happy.
From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.
·
·
What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to
others.
·
·
·
Recompense
hatred with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness
·
Chapter
XIV:36
·
Learning
without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.
·
Book
II, Chapter XV.
·
There
is the love of knowing without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads
to dissipation of mind.
·
Book
XVII, Chapter VIII.
·
Of
all people, girls and servants are the most difficult to behave to. If you are
familiar with them, they lose their humility. If you maintain a reserve towards
them, they are discontented.
·
A
man living without conflicts, as if he never lives at all.
·
A
scholar who loves comfort is not worthy of the name.
·
The
man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business, and
success only a subsequent consideration.
·
When
you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.
·
The
superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will
sell.
·
Guide
the people by law, subdue them by punishment; they may shun crime, but will be
void of shame. Guide them by example, subdue them by courtesy; they will learn
shame, and come to be good.
Ethics
One of the deepest
teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal
exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized
self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled
judgment rather than knowledge of rules. Confucian ethics may, therefore, be
considered a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned
argument, and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed indirectly, through allusion, innuendo, and even tautology. His teachings require examination and context to be understood. A
good example is found in this famous anecdote:
When the stables
were burnt down, on returning from court Confucius said, "Was anyone
hurt?" He did not ask about the horses. Analects X.11
By not asking
about the horses, Confucius demonstrates that the sage values human beings over
property; readers are led to reflect on whether their response would follow
Confucius's and to pursue self-improvement if it would not have. Confucius
serves not as an all-powerful deity or a universally true set of abstract
principles, but rather the ultimate model for others. For these reasons,
according to many commentators, Confucius's teachings may be considered a Chinese
example of humanism.
One of his
teachings was a variant of the Golden Rule, sometimes called the "Silver Rule" owing to its negative form:
"What you do
not wish for yourself, do not do to others." ”
Zi Gong [a
disciple] asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person
throughout life?"
The Master replied: "How about 'reciprocity'! Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." Analects XV.24
The Master replied: "How about 'reciprocity'! Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." Analects XV.24
Often overlooked
in Confucian ethics are the virtues to the self: sincerity and the cultivation
of knowledge. Virtuous action towards others begins with virtuous and sincere
thought, which begins with knowledge. A virtuous disposition without knowledge
is susceptible to corruption, and virtuous action without sincerity is not true
righteousness. Cultivating knowledge and sincerity is also important for one's
own sake; the superior person loves learning for the sake of learning and
righteousness for the sake of righteousness.
Legacy
Confucius's teachings were later turned into an
elaborate set of rules and practices by his numerous disciples and followers,
who organized his teachings into the Analects. Confucius's disciples and his
only grandson, Zisi,
continued his philosophical school after his death. These efforts spread
Confucian ideals to students who then became officials in many of the royal
courts in China, thereby giving Confucianism the first wide-scale test of its dogma.
Two of Confucius's most famous later followers
emphasized radically different aspects of his teachings. In the centuries after
his death, Mencius and Xun Zi both composed important teachings elaborating
in different ways on the fundamental ideas associated with Confucius. Mencius (4th
century BC) articulated the innate goodness in human beings as a source of the
ethical intuitions that guide people towards rén, yì, and lǐ,
while Xun Zi (3rd
century BC) underscored the realistic and materialistic aspects of Confucian
thought, stressing that morality was inculcated in society through tradition
and in individuals through training. In time, their writings, together with the
Analects and other core texts came to constitute the philosophical
corpus of Confucianism.
Under the succeeding Han and Tang
dynasties, Confucian ideas gained even more widespread prominence. Under Wudi, the
works of Confucius were made the official imperial philosophy and required
reading for civil service examinations in 140 BC which was continued nearly
unbroken until the end of the 19th century. As Mohism lost
support by the time of the Han, the main philosophical contenders were
Legalism, which Confucian thought somewhat absorbed, the teachings of Laozi, whose
focus on more spiritual ideas kept it from direct conflict with Confucianism,
and the new Buddhist religion, which gained acceptance during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era.
Both Confucian ideas and Confucian-trained officials were relied upon in the Ming
Dynasty and even the Yuan Dynasty, although Kublai Khan
distrusted handing over provincial control to them.
During the Song
dynasty, the scholar Zhu Xi (AD 1130–1200) added ideas from Daoism and Buddhism into
Confucianism. In his life, Zhu Xi was largely ignored, but not long after his
death, his ideas became the new orthodox view of what Confucian texts actually
meant. Modern historians view Zhu Xi as having created something rather
different and call his way of thinking Neo-Confucianism.
Neo-Confucianism held sway in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam until the 19th
century.
The works of Confucius were first translated into
European languages by Jesuit missionaries in
the 16th century during the late Ming
dynasty. The first known effort was by Michele
Ruggieri, who returned to Italy in 1588 and carried on his translations while
residing in Salerno. Matteo
Ricci started to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and a team of Jesuits—Prospero Intorcetta, Philippe
Couplet, and two others—published a translation of several Confucian
works and an overview of Chinese
history in Paris in 1687.François Noël, after failing to persuade Clement XI that Chinese veneration of ancestors and Confucius did not constitute idolatry,
completed the Confucian canon at Prague in 1711,
with more scholarly treatments of the other works and the first translation of
the collected works of Mencius. It
is thought that such works had considerable importance on European thinkers of
the period, particularly among the Deists and
other philosophical groups of the Enlightenment who were interested by the
integration of the system of morality of Confucius into Western
civilization.
In the modern era Confucian movements, such as New
Confucianism, still exist, but during the Cultural Revolution,
Confucianism was frequently attacked by leading figures in the Communist Party of China. This
was partially a continuation of the condemnations of Confucianism by
intellectuals and activists in the early 20th century as a cause of the
ethnocentric close-mindedness and refusal of the Qing
Dynasty to modernize that led to the tragedies that befell China in the 19th
century.
Confucius's works are studied by scholars in many
other Asian countries, particularly those in the Chinese cultural sphere, such as
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Many of those countries still hold the traditional
memorial ceremony every year.
After travelling for many
years, Confucius returned to his homeland at the age of 68 and devoted himself
to teaching. He is said to have died in 479 B.C. at the age of 72–an auspicious
and magical number. He died without reforming the duke and his officials. But
after his death, his followers created schools and temples in his honour across
East Asia, passing his teachings along for over 2,000 years. (They also kept
his genealogy, and more than two million people alive today claim to be his
direct descendants!) At first, Confucian scholars were persecuted in some areas
during the Qin dynasty (3rd century B.C). But in the later Han dynasty (3rd
century B.C. to 3rd century A.D.), Confucianism was made the official
philosophy of the Chinese government and remained central to its bureaucracy
for nearly two thousand years. For a time, his teachings were followed in
conjunction with those of Lao Tzu and the Buddha, so that Daoism, Confucianism,
and Buddhism were held as fully compatible spiritual practices. Perhaps most
importantly, Confucius’s thought has been a huge influence on eastern political
ideas about morality, obedience, and good leadership.
Today millions of people still
follow Confucius’s teachings as a spiritual or religious discipline, and even
observe Confucian rituals in temples and at home. He is called by many
superlatives, including ‘Laudably Declarable Lord Ni’, ‘Extremely Sage Departed
Teacher’, and ‘Model Teacher for Ten Thousand Ages’. He is still a steadfast
spiritual guide.
Conclusion
We might find Confucian virtues a bit strange or
old-fashioned, but this is what ultimately makes them all the more important
and compelling. We need them as a corrective to our own excesses. The modern
world is almost surprisingly un-Confucian – informal, egalitarian, and full of
innovation. So we are conversely at risk of becoming impulsive, irreverent, and
thoughtless without a little advice from Confucius about good behavior and
sheep.
