| Confucius, in Chinese K'UNG FU-TZU (circa
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 K'ung clan.
His original name was K'ung 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 (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 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 Ch'ü-fu,
Shandong. Confucius did not put into writing the principles of his philosophy;
these were handed down only through his disciples. The Lun Yü (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 Ch'un Ch'iu (Spring
and Autumn Annals), is an annalistic 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 Shih 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. See also Confucianism.
Contributed by: Wu-Chi Liu
Another source says:
Confucius (born Kong Qiu, styled Zhong Ni) was born in the village of
Zou in the country of Lu in 551 B.C., a poor descendant of a deposed noble
family. As a child, he held make-believe temple rituals; as a young adult,
he quickly earned a reputation for fairness, politeness and love of learning,
and he was reputed to be quite tall. He traveled extensively and studied
at the imperial capital, Zhou, where he is said to have met and spoke with
Lao Zi, the founder of Daoism.
Upon his return to Lu, he gained renown as a teacher, but when he was
35, Duke Zhao of Lu led his country to war, was routed and fled to the
neighboring country of Qi; in the disorder following the battle, Confucius
followed. Duke Zhao frequently came to him for advice, but upon counsel
of one of his ministers, he decided against granting land to Confucius
and gradually stopped seeking his counsel. When other nobles began plotting
against Confucius' position, Duke Zhao refused to intervene, and Confucius
returned to Lu. But conditions there were no better than before, and Confucius
retired from public life to concentrate on teaching and studying.
At age 50, he was approached by the Baron of Qi to help defend against
a rebellion, but he declined. He was later made a city magistrate by the
new Duke of Lu, and under his administration the city flourished; he was
promoted several times, eventually becoming Grand Secretary of Justice
and, at age 56, Chief Minister of Lu. Neighboring countries began to worry
that Lu would become too powerful, and they sent messengers with gifts
and dancers to distract the duke during a sacrifice holiday. When the duke
abandoned his duties to receive the messengers, Confucius resigned and
left the country.
Confucius spent the next five years wandering China with his disciples,
finding that his presence at royal courts was rarely tolerated for long
before nobles would begin plotting to drive him out or have him killed.
He was arrested once and jailed for five days, and at 62 he was pursued,
along with his disciples, into the countryside by a band of soldiers sent
by jealous nobles, until he was able to send a messenger to the sympathetic
king of a nearby country, who sent his own soldiers to rescue them. Once
again, Confucius was to be given land but was denied it upon counsel of
another high minister. After further wanderings, he eventually returned
to Lu at age 67. Although he was welcomed there and chose to remain, he
was not offered public office again, nor did he seek it. Instead he spent
the rest of his years teaching and, finally, writing. He died at 72.
Confucianism
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. 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 Wu Ching (Five Classics), which
originated before the time of Confucius, consist of the I Ching (Book of
Changes), Shu Ching (Book of History), Shih Ching (Book of Poetry), Li
Chi (Book of Rites), and 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 Shu Ching is a collection of ancient historical documents, and the
Shih Ching, an anthology of ancient poems. The Li Chi 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 Ch'un Ch'iu, 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 Shih Shu (Four Books), compilations of the sayings of Confucius
and Mencius and of commentaries by followers on their teachings, are the
Lun Yü (Analects), a collection of maxims by Confucius that form the
basis of his moral and political philosophy; Ta Hsüeh (The Great Learning)
and 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 one of Confucius's great followers. The keynote of Confucian ethics
is jen, variously translated as "love," "goodness," "humanity," and "human-heartedness."
Jen is a supreme virtue representing human qualities at their best. In
human relations, construed as those between one person and another, jen
is manifested in chung, 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 chün-tzu (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 Hsün-tzu
(Hsün K'uang, 300?-235? 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, Hsün-tzu 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. Hsün-tzu
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-AD 220).
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 Tung
Chung-shu, who first recommended a system of education built upon the teachings
of Confucius. Tung Chung-shu 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 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 Tang 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. Neo-Confucianism The
intellectual activities of the Song (Sung) dynasty (960-1279) gave rise
to a new system of Confucian thought based on a mixture of Buddhist and
Taoist 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 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 Chu Hsi represented, all objects in nature are composed of two inherent
forces: li, an immaterial universal principle or law; and ch'i, the substance
of which all material things are made. Whereas ch'i may change and dissolve,
li, the underlying law of the myriad things, remains constant and indestructible.
Chu Hsi 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 ch'i
found among individuals. Thus, those who receive a ch'i 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 hsin (mind) school of Neo-Confucianism.
The chief exponent of the hsin school was Wang Yang-ming, 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 (Ch'ing) dynasty (1644-1911)
there was a strong reaction to both the li and hsin 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 Taoist 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 Tai 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.
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.
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 '70s.
Contributed by: Wu-Chi Liu |
