Confucianism and Confucius

Confucianism is a philosophy based on the ideas of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It originated about 500 B.C. From the 100's B.C. to the A.D. 1900's, Confucianism was the most important single force in Chinese life. It influenced Chinese education, government, and atti­tudes toward correct personal behaviour and the indi­vidual's duty to society.

Many people consider Confucianism a religion. But Confucianism has no clergy and does not teach the wor­ship of a God or gods, or the existence of a life after death. Confucianism can more accurately be considered a guide to morality and good government.

Early Confucianism. Confucius was born about 551 B.C. At that time, constant warfare raged among the many states that made up China. Rapid political change altered the structure of Chinese society, and many peo­ple no longer respected the established standards of behaviour. Confucius feared that this threat to orderly social life would lead to the destruction of civilization.

Confucius believed his society could be saved if it emphasized sincerity in personal and public conduct. The key to orderly social life was the gentleman. Confu­cius defined a gentleman not as a person of noble birth, but as one of good moral character. A gentleman was truly reverent in worship and sincerely respected his fa­ther and his ruler. He was expected to think for himself, guided by definite rules of conduct. Confucius formu­lated many of these rules into sayings. For example, Confucius taught a version of the golden rule—"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others" (see Golden rule). A gentleman also studied constantly and practised self-examination. He took, as Confucius said, "as much trouble to discover what was right as lesser men take to discover what will pay."

Confucius believed that when gentlemen were rulers, their moral example would inspire those beneath them to lead good lives. Virtuous behaviour by rulers, he de­clared, had a greater effect in governing than did laws and codes of punishment.

When Confucius died about 479 B.C., he was largely unknown. His followers spread his ideas. The most im­portant early Confucian philosophers were Mencius (390?-305? B.O and Xunzi (mid-200s B.O. Mencius be­lieved people were born good. He stressed the need to preserve "the natural compassion of the heart" that makes people human. Mencius emphasized the pastas an ideal age and a model for examining present prob­lems. In contrast, Xunzi believed people could be good and live together peacefully only if their minds were shaped by education and clear rules of conduct

By about 200 B.C, the first large, unified Chinese em­pire had begun. The rulers approved of Confucianism's emphasis on public service and respect for authority. In 124 B.C, the government established the Imperial Uni­versity to educate future government officials in Confu­cian ideals. The university based its teachings on five books of Confucian thought called the Five Classics. Mastery of the Classics became proof of moral fitness and the chief sign of a gentleman.

Later Confucianism. The early Confucianists con­cerned themselves primarily with the needs of society. However, ideas from Taoism and other philosophies helped shift the emphasis to additional areas of human experience. For example, a person's ability to live in har­mony with nature was a minor issue to Confucius. But it became an important theme in Confucian thought dur­ing the 20Cfs and 100's B.C

From about A.D. 200 to 600, interest in Confucianism declined in China. Many Chinese turned instead to Buddhism and Taoism. These religions dealt with problem that the teachings of Confucianism largely ignored, such as the meaning of suffering and death.

A revival of interest in Confucius' philosophy began is the 600's. By the 700's, candidates for government jobs had to take a civil service examination based on Confucian ideas. The examination carried out Confucius' belief that an enduring state must be built on the merit of its rulers' advisers.

Zhu Xi (1130-1200) became a leader of a movement called Neo-Confucianism. Zhu developed a branch of Neo-Confucianism called the rational wing. It empha­sized study and investigation of Li, the pattern behind human and natural relationships. Scholars led by Wang Yangming (1472-1529) developed the intuitional wing of Neo-Confucianism. They sought enlightenment by a combination of meditation and moral action.

Confucianism continued to actively influence Chinese life until it came into conflict with Western ideas, especially Communism, in the 1900's. For many years, the Chinese Communist government opposed Confucianism because the philosophy encouraged people to look to the past rather than to the future. However, government opposition ended in 1977. See also Confucius; I Ching; Mencius; Religion (Confucianism; picture: Confucius' birthday); Xunzi.

Confucius (551?-479? B.C) was the most influential; respected philosopher in Chinese history. From the 100’s B.C to the A.D. 1900’s, the ideas of Confucius served as the single strongest influence on Chinese society. These ideas, which are called Confucianism, stress the need to develop moral character and responsibility.

Chinese governments made Confucius' teachings the official state philosophy. Millions of people in China-and in such nearby countries as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam—honoured Confucius in much the same way as other peoples honour founders of religions. For details of the philosophy of Confu­cius, see Confucianism.

Confucius was born in the duchy of Lu, in what is now Shandong Province,

China. His real name was Kong Qiu. The name Con­fucius is a Latin form of the title Kongfuzi, which means Great Master Kong.

Confucius' parents died when he was a child. He failed in an attempt to be­come an adviser to a wise ruler. Confucius had wanted the position so he could put into practice his ideas for reforming society. Confucius received some minor official appointment: but at his death he was largely unknown throughout China. His disciples spread his teachings.
No book exists that was definitely written by Confucius. His conversations and sayings were recorded b; his disciples in a book called the Analects (or "Conversations"). See also Religion.