Confucianism

Confucianism History K ung Fu Tzu commonly pronounced Confucius in English was born in 551 BCE in the state of Lu modern day Shantung Province He lived during the Chou dynasty and era known for its moral laxity Later in life he wandered through many states of China giving advice to their rulers He accumulated a small band of students during this time The last years of his life were spent back in Lu where he devoted himself to teaching His writings deal primarily with individual morality and ethics and the proper exercise of political power by the rulers In China and some other areas in Asia the social ethics and moral teachings of Confucius are blended with the Taoist communion with nature and Buddhist concepts of the afterlife to form a set of complementary peacefully co existent and ecumenical religions There are approximately 6 million Confucians in the world About 26 000 live in North America almost all of the remainder are found throughout China and the rest of Asia Beliefs Confucian ethical teachings include the following values Li includes ritual propriety etiquette etc Hsiao love within the family love of parents for their children and of children for their parents Yi righteousness Xin honesty and trustworthiness Jen benevolence humaneness towards others the highest Confucian virtue Chung loyalty to the state etc Practices Confucianism does not contain all of the elements of some other religions like Christianity and Islam It is primarily an ethical system to which rituals at important times during one s lifetime have been added Since the time of the Han dynasty 206 CE four life passages have been recognized and regulated by Confucian tradition birth The T ai shen spirit of the fetus protects the expectant woman and deals harshly with anyone who harasses the mother to be A special procedure is followed when the placenta is disposed of The mother is given a special diet and is allowed rest for a month after delivery The mother s family of origin supplies all the items required by the baby on the first fourth and twelfth monthly anniversary of the birth reaching maturity This life passage is no longer being celebrated except in traditional families It takes the form of a group meal in which the young adult is served chicken marriage This is performed in six stages Proposal the couple exchange the eight characters the year month day and hour of each of their births If any unpropitious event occurs within the bride to be s family during the next three days then the woman is believed to have rejected the proposal Engagement after the wedding day is chosen the bride announces the wedding with invitations and a gift of cookies made in the shape of the moon Dowry This is carried to the groom s home in a solemn procession The bride price is then sent to the bride by the groom s parents Gifts by the groom to the bride equal in value to the dowry are sent to her Procession The groom visits the bride s home and brings her back to his place with much fanfare Marriage and Reception The couple recite their vows toast each other with wine and then take center stage at a banquet Morning after The bride serves breakfast to the groom s parents who then reciprocate death At death the relatives cry out aloud to inform the neighbors The family starts mourning and puts on clothes made of a course material The corpse is washed and placed in a coffin Mourners bring incense and money to offset the cost of the funeral Food and significant objects of the deceased are placed into the coffin A Buddhist or Taoist priest or even a Christian minister performs the burial ritual Friends and family follow the coffin to the cemetery along with a willow branch which symbolizes the soul of the person who has died The latter is carried back to the family altar where it is used to install the spirit of the deceased Liturgies are performed on the 7th 9th 49th day after the burial and on the first and third anniversaries of the death Schools of Confucianism There are six schools Han Confucianism Neo Confucianism Contemporary Neo Confucianism Korean Confucianism Japanese Confucianism and Singapore Confucianism Sacred Texts These were assembled by Chu Hsi 1130 1200 CE during the Sung dynasty They include The Si Shu or Four Books The Lun Yu the Analects of Confucius The Chung Yung or the Doctrine of the Mean The Ta Hsueh or the Great Learning The Meng Tzu the writings of Meng Tzu 371 289 BCE a philosopher who like Confucius traveled from state to state conversing with the government rulers The Wu Jing or Five Classics Shu Ching or Classic of History writings and speeches from ancient Chinese rulers The Shih Ching or Classic of Odes 300 poems and songs The I Ching or Classic of Changes the description of a divinitory system involving 64 hexagrams The hexagrams are symbols composed of broken and continuous lines one is selected to foretell the future based on the casting of 49 sticks The Ch un Ch iu or Spring and Autumn Annals a history of the state of Lu from 722 to 484 BCE The Li Ching or Classic of Rites a group of three books on the LI the rites of propriety Confucian Thought K ung Fu Tzu Leadership of the Confucian school centers around its foremost teacher K ung Fu Tzu kuhng foo dzuh 551 479 B C Though not the founder per se as the transmitter and true embodiment of the Confucian Way Kung the Master the supreme editor of Chinese culture is without peer His integrity of person and perseverance in answer to a call set the example for followers to emulate His vision centered on respect children show to their parents the high regard given elders and lawful authority figures and an appreciation for learning protocol and ceremony Confucian practice became the characteristic world view and practice of the Chinese people for over 2 000 years Mencius Mencius MEN shee uhs 372 289 B C systematized Confucius s teaching Believing in the innate goodness of all people he popularized the five relationships father son ruler minister husband wife old young friend friend concept Hsun Tzu Hsun tzu shuhn dyuh 298 238 B C was another early leader in Confucian philosophy Thinking all individuals were essentially evil he promoted the cultivation of ritual as antidote to humankind s depravity Kung te Cheng Today Kung te Cheng b 1920 a direct descendant of Confucius and resident of Taiwan is a leading spokesperson for Confucian values Sun tzu SWUN dyuh The Sun tzu is a Chinese classic on military tactics and strategy It dates from the era 400 320 B C The Sun tzu shows how superior mental attitudes can effect military political change Emphasis is on unsettling the enemy s mind and upsetting his plans Confucian Belief The fundamental concern of the Confucian tradition is learning to be human Tu Wei ming Three dimensions of the human condition the self community and tradition are expressed in Confucian spirituality Self cultivation A healthy body mind and heart alert pure soul and brilliant spirit are seen as good for their own sake This self transformation draws resources from cultural tradition a sympathetic society the energy of nature and power of heaven Confucius sought dignity for all humankind a sense of respect for oneself and understanding of the humanity found in all Tu Wei ming Professor of Chinese History and Philosophy at Harvard University identifies three characteristics of the human rootedness of Confucian thought ChengCheng juhng designates the state of absolute quiet and inactivity being sincere authentic real One can be genuinely human without engaging in a flurry of activities ShenShen shen signifies spirituality Crucial Shen concerns are the heavenly aspect of the soul and its development ChiChi jee Based upon the cumulative effect of self transformation Chi an originating power an inward spring of activity a critical point at which one s direction toward good or evil is set can be identified and used to further flourish the soul Tu Wei ming Community The community is necessary for this self transformation to occur It broadens and deepens the self expressing the fundamental integration of all segments of our world Once rooted the soul contributes to the four visions that identify the classic Confucian vision of the world The four visions are 1 ability to respond to the world in a poetic sense 2 social sense of ritual as means for verbal and non verbal communication within the human community 3 historical ability to relate to the collective memory 4 politics as responsive and responsible to the whole community See Tu Wei ming Tradition Throughout their shared history spanning millenniums the people of China valued harmony and mutual consensus rather than conflict and individual exertion Historian Barbara Tuchman writes The people of China stayed in one place enclosed by a series of walls around house and village or city Tied to the soil living under the authority of the family growing their food among the graves of their ancestors they were perpetuators of a system in which harmony was more important than struggle During Confucius s life societal conflict rather than harmony was the norm Believing there had been an earlier period of prosperity and peace in China Confucius advocated a return to the traditions and values of that earlier time These traditions which maintained peace and social order became the focus of Confucian thought Professor Samuel Huntington describes China s reliance upon her traditional Confucian culture even today Since the late 1970s Chinese leadership chose a new version of Ti Yong capitalism and involvement in the world economy on the one hand combined with political authoritarianism and recommitment to traditional Chinese culture on the other At the end of the superpower competition China set two goals 1 to become the champion of Chinese culture and 2 to resume its historical position which it lost in the nineteenth century as the supreme power in East Asia Confucian Texts The Five Classics TheThe FourFour Books Books Chu Hsi joo shee A D 1130 1200 emphasized the Four Books Ta hsueh Chung Yung Lun Yu and Meng Tzu Two chapters originally from the Li chi comprise books one and two of the four Books the Ta hsueh great learning and Chung Yung Doctrine of the Mean The Lun Yu luhn yoo Discussed Sayings is known to most Western audiences as the Analects AN ehlekts or recorded actions and saying of Confucius Most of the twenty Analects books describe Confucius as he answers questions discusses issues and lives his beliefs The Meng Tzu mung dzuh by Mencius MEN shee ahs systematized Confucian teaching advocating study of the Classics practicing moral disciplines and developing natural ying yang energies Shu chingShu ching shoo jing Book shoo jing Book ofof History Documents History Documents This text compiles historical documents of the ninth to sixth centuries B C It describes the political vision of Confucian thought outlining an ethical foundation for humane government Shih chingShih ching shuhr jing Book shuhr jing Book ofof Poetry Songs Poetry Songs Common human feelings expressed in some 300 poems and religious hymns from the early Chou Dynasty 1027 402 B C comprise the Shih ching LiLi chichi lee jee Book lee jee Book ofof Rites Rites Consciousness of duty pervades the ceremonial rituals collected in Li chi A cooperative society organized by four principle occupations scholar farmer artisan merchant is the ideal Ch Ch un ch un ch iuiu chuhn chuhn chyoh Springchyoh Spring andand AutumnAutumn Annals Annals This text emphasizes history and the significance of the collective memory in individual and societal identification Confucian Ethics It is these ethics which even today we meet all over East Asia Hans Steinger Religions in China in Ways to the Center The question What is the character of the social life Confucian education should engender addresses the ethical center of Confucianism Historian of world religions Huston Smith specifies the following four terms which designate this heart of the Confucian ethical tradition Jen ruhn chun tzu juhn dyuh li lee and wen alike are ethical motivational topics influential in the folk Confucian tradition of the family government bureaucracy and village life especially Jen ruhn This basic virtue as outlined in the Analects signifies benevolence humaneness and human heartedness Cultivating courtesy and unselfishness promotes the dignity of human life wherever it appears Public displays focus upon diligence steadfastness and a magnanimity of heart which pursues a mission that of redeeming the world through human effort This sense of mission makes the world safer and more livable improves the quality of life and transforms society into a moral community Jen is not only a humanistic objective but also a profoundly spiritual goal of Confucian ethics Chun tzu juhn dyuh This term refers to the mature cultivated humane person It is the opposite of petty mean spirited individuals A chun tzu person aims to live by the highest of ethical standards He she seeks to answer by action and attitude the question what can I do to accommodate others Li lee ritual mores ceremony Li finds its origin in religious ceremony and rite Its broader meaning describes the way things are done Attitude becomes as important as correct conduct Manners an order to behavior and family relations honoring elders and the concept of the golden mean all describe Li The family still the single most important social institution in imparting ways of learning to be human is the framework for establishing graceful interactions with others It is the glue for social solidarity Filial piety relations encompassing not only children to their parents but generations to each other is the underpinning for all other interactions Cultivation of genuine feelings for parents and siblings rather than estrangement and alienation between them is the principle This family communal orientation also plays itself out in salvation schemes Individualistic approaches are frowned upon Family society country or the whole world must be included in such appeals We see the depths of family devotion in death and grieving practices After a parent dies the child son may retire from public affairs simplify living arrangements and devote himself to grieving for as long as three years Li further expresses itself through the five relationships Father son Ruler minister Husband wife Old young and Friend friend These bonds and practices are not only critical to a well ordered society but provide a training ground for the effective development of a humane flourishing soul Critics sometimes describe the three bonds ruler over minister father over son and husband over wife as promoting despotic autocratic patriarchal and male chauvinistic practice A Confucian response sees these bonds not as confining or limiting practices Rather when seen from a broader perspective the patterns of social stability maintenance of the social order and a world at peace overcome particular frustrations of such hierarchical relations Wen refers to the arts of peace music art poetry the aesthetic and spiritual aptitudes The mark of a cultured person is the knowledge and appreciation of culture breeding and grace The Analects record By poetry the mind is aroused from music the finish is received The odes stimulate the mind They induce self contemplation They teach the art of sensibility They help to restrain resentment They bring home the duty of serving one s parents and one s prince XVIII 9 Neo Confucian Practice The neo Confucian movement developed in response to Buddhism was dominant in East Asia from the twelfth to early twentieth century It honed and perfected early Confucian thought Chu Hsi joo shee 1130 1200 with his School of Principle saw a pattern running through all material By practicing asceticism or moral discipline followers could ascertain this inner design Wang Yang ming wahng yahng ming 1472 1529 another major neo Confucianist established the School of Mind Innate knowledge found within the mind is the basis on which to view humanity rather than pursuing external patterns A Third Wave Confucian movement seeks to explain the current economic revival in East Asia in terms of application of Confucian principles to the post modern world This school of thought seeks to outmaneuver competitors based on superior self knowledge and knowledge of others Harvard professor Tu Wei ming discusses the impact of Confucian thought on the East Asian economy After describing the economic growth taking place in East Asia Dr Wei ming discusses the human factor involved in the process What they East Asian have shown is that culture matters that values people cherish or unconsciously uphold provide guidance for their actions that the motivational structure of people is not only relevant but also crucial to their economic ethics and that the life orientation of a society makes a difference in the economic behavior of its people Women The Confucian Tradition Traditional Chinese society was male centered Sons were preferred to daughters women were expected to be subordinate to fathers husbands and sons A young woman had little voice in the decision of her marriage partner neither did a young man When married it was she who left her natal family and community and went to live in a family and community of strangers where she was subordinate to her mother in law Far fewer women were educated than men and sketchy but consistent demographic evidence would seem to show that female infants and children had higher death rates and less chance of surviving to adulthood than males In extreme cases female infants were the victims of infanticide and daughters were sold as chattels to brothels or to wealthy families Bound feet which were customary even for peasant women symbolized the painful constraints of the female role L of C Country Studies China Author John Hersey in his novel The Call elaborates on the practice of foot bi