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Confucianism,
major system of thought in China, developed from the teachings of Confucius and
his disciples, and concerned with the principles of good conduct, practical
wisdom, and proper social relationships.
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Confucius, in
Chinese KONGFUZI or K'UNG FU-TZU (551?-479? BC), Chinese philosopher, one of
the most influential figures in Chinese history. According to tradition,
Confucius was born in the state of Lu (present-day Shandong [Shantung]
Province) of the noble Kong clan. His original name was Kong Qiu (K'ong Ch'iu).
His father, commander of a district in Lu, died three years after Confucius was
born, leaving the family in poverty; but Confucius nevertheless received a fine
education. He was married at the age of 19 and had one son and two daughters.
During the four years immediately after his marriage, poverty compelled him to
perform menial labors for the chief of the district in which he lived. His
mother died in 527 BC, and after a period of mourning he began his career as a
teacher, usually traveling about and instructing the small body of disciples
that had gathered around him. His fame as a man of learning and character and
his reverence for Chinese ideals and customs soon spread through the
principality of Lu.
Living as he
did in the second half of the Zhou dynasty (Chou dynasty; 1027?-256 BC), when
feudalism degenerated in China and intrigue and vice were rampant, Confucius
deplored the contemporary disorder and lack of moral standards. He came to
believe that the only remedy was to convert people once more to the principles
and precepts of the sages of antiquity. He therefore lectured to his pupils on
the ancient classics. He taught the great value of the power of example.
Rulers, he said, can be great only if they themselves lead exemplary lives, and
were they willing to be guided by moral principles, their states would
inevitably become prosperous and happy.
Confucius had,
however, no opportunity to put his theories to a public test until, at the age
of 50, he was appointed magistrate of Zhongdu (Chung-tu), and the next year
minister of crime of the state of Lu. His administration was successful;
reforms were introduced, justice was fairly dispensed, and crime was almost
eliminated. So powerful did Lu become that the ruler of a neighboring state
maneuvered to secure the minister's dismissal. Confucius left his office in 496
BC, traveling about and teaching, vainly hoping that some other prince would
allow him to undertake measures of reform. In 484 BC, after a fruitless search
for an ideal ruler, he returned for the last time to Lu. He spent the remaining
years of his life in retirement, writing commentaries on the classics. He died
in Lu and was buried in a tomb at Qufu (Ch'ü-fu), Shandong.
Confucius did
not put into writing the principles of his philosophy; these were handed down
only through his disciples. The Lunyu (Analects), a work compiled by some of
his disciples, is considered the most reliable source of information about his
life and teachings. One of the historical works that he is said to have
compiled and edited, the Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals), is an account of
Chinese history in the state of Lu from 722 to 481 BC. In learning he wished to
be known as a transmitter rather than as a creator, and he therefore revived
the study of the ancient books. His own teachings, together with those of his
main disciples, are found in the SiShu (Ssu Shu; Four Books) of Confucian literature,
which became the textbooks of later Chinese generations. Confucius was greatly
venerated during his lifetime and in succeeding ages. Although he himself had
little belief in the supernatural, he has been revered almost as a spiritual
being by millions.
The entire
teaching of Confucius was practical and ethical, rather than religious. He
claimed to be a restorer of ancient morality and held that proper outward acts
based on the five virtues of kindness, uprightness, decorum, wisdom, and
faithfulness constitute the whole of human duty. Reverence for parents, living
and dead, was one of his key concepts. His view of government was
paternalistic, and he enjoined all individuals to observe carefully their
duties toward the state. In subsequent centuries his teachings exerted a
powerful influence on the Chinese nation.
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Confucianism
has influenced the Chinese attitude toward life, set the patterns of living and
standards of social value, and provided the background for Chinese political
theories and institutions. It has spread from China to Korea, Japan, and
Vietnam and has aroused interest among Western scholars.
Although
Confucianism became the official ideology of the Chinese state, it has never
existed as an established religion with a church and priesthood. Chinese
scholars honored Confucius as a great teacher and sage but did not worship him
as a personal god. Nor did Confucius himself ever claim divinity. Unlike
Christian churches, the temples built to Confucius were not places in which
organized community groups gathered to worship, but public edifices designed
for annual ceremonies, especially on the philosopher's birthday. Several
attempts to deify Confucius and to proselyte Confucianism failed because of the
essentially secular nature of the philosophy.
The principles
of Confucianism are contained in the nine ancient Chinese works handed down by
Confucius and his followers, who lived in an age of great philosophic activity.
These writings can be divided into two groups: the Five Classics and the Four
Books.
The Wujing (Wu
Ching; Five Classics), which originated before the time of Confucius, consist
of the I Ching (Book of Changes), Shujing (Shu Ching; Book of History), Shijing
(Shih Ching; Book of Poetry), Liji (Li Chi; Book of Rites), and Chunqiu
(Ch'un-ch'iu; Spring and Autumn Annals). The I Ching is a manual of divination
probably compiled before the 11th century BC; its supplementary philosophical
portion, contained in a series of appendixes, may have been written later by
Confucius and his disciples. The Shujing is a collection of ancient historical
documents, and the Shijing, an anthology of ancient poems. The Liji deals with
the principles of conduct, including those for public and private ceremonies;
it was destroyed in the 3rd century BC, but presumably much of its material was
preserved in a later compilation, the Record of Rites. The Chunqiu, the only
work reputedly compiled by Confucius himself, is a chronicle of major
historical events in feudal China from the 8th century BC to Confucius's death
early in the 5th century BC.
The Sishu (Ssu
Shu; Four Books) are compilations of the sayings of Confucius and Mancius, one
of Confucius's greatest followers, and of commentaries on their teachings. This
series comprises Lunyuu (Lun Yü; The Analects), a collection of maxims by
Confucius that form the basis of his moral and political philosophy; Daxue (Ta
Hsüeh; The Great Learning) and Zhongyong (Chung Yung; The Doctrine of the Mean),
containing some of Confucius's philosophical utterances arranged systematically
with comments and expositions by his disciples; and the Mencius (Book of
Mencius), containing the teachings of Mencius.
The keynote of
Confucian ethics is ren, variously translated as "love,"
"goodness," "humanity," and "human-heartedness."
Ren is a supreme virtue representing human qualities at their best. In human
relations, construed as those between one person and another, ren is manifested
in zhong, or faithfulness to oneself and others, and shu, or altruism, best
expressed in the Confucian golden rule, "Do not do to others what you do
not want done to yourself." Other important Confucian virtues include
righteousness, propriety, integrity, and filial piety. One who possesses all
these virtues becomes a qunzi (perfect gentleman). Politically, Confucius
advocated a paternalistic government in which the sovereign is benevolent and
honorable and the subjects are respectful and obedient. The ruler should
cultivate moral perfection in order to set a good example to the people. In
education Confucius upheld the theory, remarkable for the feudal period in
which he lived, that "in education, there is no class distinction."
Confucian
Schools of Thought
After the death
of Confucius two major schools of Confucian thought emerged: one was
represented by Mencius, the other by Xunzi (Hsün-tzu, also known as Xunkuang,
or Hsün K'uang).bc Mencius continued the ethical teachings of Confucius by
stressing the innate goodness of human nature. He believed, however, that
original human goodness can become depraved through one's own destructive
effort or through contact with an evil environment. The problem of moral
cultivation is therefore to preserve or at least to restore the goodness that
is one's birthright. In political thought, Mencius is sometimes considered one
of the early advocates of democracy, for he advanced the idea of the people's
supremacy in the state.
In opposition
to Mencius, Xunzi contended that a person is born with an evil nature but that
it can be regenerated through moral education. He believed that desires should
be guided and restrained by the rules of propriety and that character should be
molded by an orderly observance of rites and by the practice of music. This
code serves as a powerful influence on character by properly directing emotions
and by providing inner harmony. Xunzi was the main exponent of ritualism in
Confucianism.
After a brief
period of eclipse in the 3rd century BC, Confucianism was revived during the
Han dynasty (206 BC-AD220). The Confucian works, copies of which had been
destroyed in the preceding period, were restored to favor, canonized, and
taught by learned scholars in national academies. The works also formed the
basis of later civil service examinations; candidates for responsible
government positions received their appointments on the strength of their
knowledge of classic literature. As a result, Confucianism secured a firm hold
on Chinese intellectual and political life.
The success of
Han Confucianism was attributable to Dong Zhongshu (Tung Chung-shu), who first
recommended a system of education built upon the teachings of Confucius. Dong
Zhongshu believed in a close correspondence between human beings and nature;
thus a person's deeds, especially those of the sovereign, are often responsible
for unusual phenomena in nature. Because of the sovereign's authority, he or
she is to blame for such phenomena as fire, flood, earthquake, and eclipse.
Because these ill omens can descend on earth as a warning to humanity that all
is not well in this world, the fear of heavenly punishment proves useful as a
curb to the monarch's absolute power.
In the
political chaos that followed the fall of the Han dynasty, Confucianism was
overshadowed by the rival philosophies of Daoism (Taoism) and Buddhism, and the
philosophy suffered a temporary setback. Nevertheless, the Confucian Classics
continued to be the chief source of learning for scholars, and with the
restoration of peace and prosperity in the Tahg dynasty (618-907), the spread
of Confucianism was encouraged. The monopoly of learning by Confucian scholars
once again ensured them the highest bureaucratic positions. Confucianism
returned as an orthodox state teaching.
The intellectual
activities of the Song dynasty (Sung dynasty; 960-1279) gave rise to a new
system of Confucian thought based on a mixture of Buddhist and Daoist elements;
the new school of Confucianism was known as Neo-Confucianism. The scholars who
evolved this intellectual system were themselves well versed in the other two
philosophies. Although primarily teachers of ethics, they were also interested
in the theories of the universe and the origin of human nature.
Neo-Confucianism
branched out into two schools of philosophy. The foremost exponent of one
school was Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi), an eminent thinker second only to Confucius and
Mencius in prestige, who established a new philosophical foundation for the
teachings of Confucianism by organizing scholarly opinion into a cohesive
system. According to the Neo-Confucianist system Zhu Xi represented, all
objects in nature are composed of two inherent forces: li, an immaterial
universal principle or law; and qi (ch'i), the substance of which all material
things are made. Whereas qi may change and dissolve, li, the underlying law of
the myriad things, remains constant and indestructible. Zhu Xi further
identifies the li in humankind with human nature, which is essentially the same
for all people. The phenomenon of particular differences can be attributed to
the varying proportions and densities of the qi found among individuals. Thus,
those who receive a qi that is turbid will find their original nature obscured
and should cleanse their nature to restore its purity. Purity can be achieved
by extending one's knowledge of the li in each individual object. When, after
much sustained effort, one has investigated and comprehended the universal li
or natural law inherent in all animate and inanimate objects, one becomes a
sage.
Opposed to the
li (law) school is the xin (mind) school of Neo-Confucianism. The chief
exponent of the xin school was Wang Yangming, who taught the unity of knowledge
and practice. His major proposition was that "apart from the mind, neither
law nor object" exists. In the mind, he asserted, are embodied all the
laws of nature, and nothing exists without the mind. One's supreme effort
should be to develop "the intuitive knowledge" of the mind, not
through the study or investigation of natural law, but through intense thought
and calm meditation.
During the Qing
dynasty (Ch'ing dynasty, 1644-1911) there was a strong reaction to both the li
and xin schools of Neo-Confucian thought. Qing scholars advocated a return to
the earlier and supposedly more authentic Confucianism of the Han period, when
it was still unadulterated by Buddhist and Daoist ideas. They developed textual
criticism of the Confucian Classics based on scientific methodology, using
philology, history, and archaeology to reinforce their scholarship. In
addition, scholars such as Dai Chen introduced an empiricist point of view into
Confucian philosophy.
Toward the end
of the 19th century the reaction against Neo-Confucian metaphysics took a
different turn. Instead of confining themselves to textual studies, Confucian
scholars took an active interest in politics and formulated reform programs
based on Confucian doctrine. Kang Yuwei (K'ang Yu-wei), a leader of the
Confucian reform movement, made an attempt to exalt the philosophy as a
national religion. Because of foreign threats to China and the urgent demand
for drastic political measures, the reform movements failed; in the
intellectual confusion that followed the Chinese revolution of 1911,
Confucianism was branded as decadent and reactionary (see Republican
Revolution). With the collapse of the monarchy and the traditional family
structure, from which much of its strength and support was derived,
Confucianism lost its hold on the nation. In the past, it often had managed to
weather adversities and to emerge with renewed vigor, but during this period of
unprecedented social upheavals it lost its previous ability to adapt to
changing circumstances.
In the view of
some scholars, Confucius will be revered in the future as China's greatest
teacher; Confucian classics will be studied, and Confucian virtues, embodied
for countless generations in the familiar sayings and common-sense wisdom of
the Chinese people, will remain the cornerstone of ethics. It is doubtful,
however, that Confucianism ever again will play the dominant role in Chinese
political life and institutions that it did in past centuries.
The Chinese
Communist victory of 1949 underlined the uncertain future of Confucianism. Many
Confucian-based traditions were put aside. The family system, for example, much
revered in the past as a central Confucian institution, was deemphasized. Few
Confucian classics were published, and official campaigns against Confucianism
were organized in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Wu-Chi Liu,
Ph.D.
Professor
Emeritus of Chinese Language and Literature, Indiana University. Author of Introduction
to Chinese Literature. Coeditor, Sunflower Splendor: Three Thousand
Years of Chinese Poetry.