Confucianism

1
Confucianism

• Deity Confucius held a more personal conception
  of the way of nature (Tao) than did Taoism, but
  he does not hold to a Creator God. Shang-Ti and
  Tien are both terms used in Scripture. Heaven
  supports my work. It is imp to know the ways of
  Heaven
• Cosmos (Reality) Tao yin/yang 10,000 things
  Confucius was not so much an innovator, as a
  transmitter. He held the traditional view. The
  sky represented the way of Heaven and was good
  and natural
• Human being No dualism of body and spirit.
  Heart/mind and flesh. Essentially good, endowed
  by Heaven. We need to nurture and cultivate this
  innate and potential goodness. Man is
  hierarchically superior to woman.
• Human problem The ancient ways of virtue are
  ignored. The proper way of the ancient sage kings
  are not followed. Proper relationships are not
  followed.
• Salvation Return to the way of the ancestors.
  Study the classics to find the ancient way of
  virtue. There is a looking back rather than a
  looking forward
• Conduct Follow the way of the ancients. The
  five great relationships define all human
  relationships. Li (propriety) is a guide to
  proper conduct
• Scripture The Five Classics (Ching) and Four
  Books (Analects, Mencius, Ta Hsueh (Great
  Learning), Chung Yung (Doctrine of the Mean, or
  Grand Harmony)
• Destiny Confucius is agnostic concerning ones
  destiny

2

• Kung Fu Tzu (revered master) 551 479 BC
• Confucius and Confucianism are not meaningful
  terms in Chinese
• Born in Shantung province
• His father died when Confucius was 3 years of age
• He was taught first by his mother, then by others
• He was a very eager student a deep love of
  learning
• Thus, he received a high-quality education
• Served in various minor government posts
• Married at age 19
• Mastered the six arts (ritual music
  marksmanship horsemanship calligraphy math)
• He began a brilliant teaching career when he was
  in his 30s
• In his late 40s and early 50s Confucius served in
  minor posts, finally as the Minister of Justice
  in Lu, his native home
• His loyalty to the king caused him political
  problems at the court (he was framed by
  unrighteous scholars lesser than he was)
• He left at age 56 to find rulers who might be
  interested in his ideas
• His reputation as a teacher spread (as many as
  10,000 disciples)

3

• At age 67 he returned home to teach, write, and
  edit the Classics
• He died in 479 BC at the age of 73
• His life course Analects II.4 7.16
• His meeting with Lao Tzu (seen before) in WS
• An apocryphal story

4

• Of the 100 schools, Confucius school was the Ju
  chia, the school of the literati, or scholars ??
• In a stratified society literati laborers
  artisans
• Ju literally means literatus or scholar
• Followers of this school were scholars as well as
  thinkers. It was a broad intellectual tradition
  based on the continuing interpretation of a body
  of writings known as the classics.
• They, above, others, were the teachers of the
  ancient classics and therefore the inheritors of
  the ancient cultural legacy
• Confucius was the leading figure of this school,
  and may be considered its founder, but the term
  Ju not only denotes Confucian or Confucianist,
  but has wider implications as well
• Confucius considered himself as a transmitter,
  not as an innovator
• At the time of the ancient sage kings (Yao, Shun,
  Yu) there was a period of Grand Harmony between
  the cosmic and the social order
• A transmitter of the classics
• Analects VII, 1, p 123

5
Comparison of Taoism and Confucianism (basic
values are very similar)

• Taoism Confucianism
• In retirement, a Taoist In office or society, a
  Confucianist
• Life of the individual A public life
• Lao Tzu advocate of naturalism Confucius
  advocate of culture
• People should return to the origin, to Tao People
  should reform the world through moral
  education
• Minimal human role in society small Magnified
  human role in making
• human - vast majesty of nature a perfect social
  order
• Ideal state a return to the uncorrupted Improvem
  ent of human nature
• state of nature through development of
  civilization
• Yin philosophy Yang philosophy
• Get the foundation of the self in tune with Make
  an effort to build up a
• Tao and let behavior flow spontaneously complete
  pattern of ideal responses
• to consciously imitate
• Simplicity Formalism meticulousness
• Romantic Classical
• Spontaneity and naturalness Social
  responsibility
• Focus is beyond the human as individual Focus is
  on the human element
• Wanders beyond society Roams within society

6

• The study of philosophy is not a profession, but
  a life work
• It is not to increase knowledge, but to elevate
  the mind and character
• In the tradition of Chinese philosophy, there is
  a distinction between working on learning, and
  working on Tao (the way)
• The purpose of working on learning is the
  increase of positive knowledge
• The purpose of working on Tao is the elevation
  of the mind
• Chinese philosophy belongs to the latter
  (elevation of the mind)
• Set your heart on the Tao (Analects VII, 6)
• (Moral/ethical) Education is supremely important
  in Confucianism
• The novelty of Confucius teaching it is
  character, not birth, that matters
• Education is a form of learning (learning for
  the sake of oneself)
• The fundamental concern is learning to be human -
  character building
• A ceaseless effort to make
• A healthy body
• An alert heart/mind (moral thinking)
• A pure soul
• A brilliant spirit
• Learning is considered as a continuous holistic
  process of character building

7

• The process of self-learning is for the purpose
  of acquiring self-knowledge
• Self-reflection
• Personal introspective examination
• These are constant practices (Analects 15.29-30,
  p 199)
• Learning for the sake of oneself signifies a
  process of deepening
• self-awareness for the sake of broadening ones
  human relatedness
• Self-cultivation is an end in itself, and its
  main purpose is self-realization
• The Confucian idea of the self is not built on
  the idea of individuality as the core of the
  person (as in Christianity or Hinduism)
• The self is understood as the center of
  relationships
• The self is an open self, not a closed self
• Selfgtfamilygtcommunitygtcountrygtworldgtbeyond
• The process of learning to be truly human never
  really ends
• The secret of human life lies with human beings
  (ITB) and their better relationships (CB)
  concepts taken from Unification Thought
• The Chinese/Confucian project Sageliness within
  and Kingliness without
• The human being is an integrated being

8

• The truly novel element in Confucius teaching is
  the idea that the man of real quality the
  gentleman, or chun tzu is a person of character
  (education, training, and cultivation of
  character), and not of birth or class, as
  traditionally understood
• Human beings are teachable, improvable,
  perfectible through proper endeavor
• A teacher and student sincerity, effort,
  guidance, learning
• Julia Ching Self-cultivation is not so much an
  end in itself, as it is a basis for the service
  of othersin the family, the country, and the
  world. The Confucian is a man (or woman) for
  others, even in his/her pursuit of sagehood.

9

• The issue of a Deity in Confucianism
• Shang ti ancestral spirit (Lord on high)
• Tien (Heaven) one Great a sky
  hierophany
• Confucius felt that Heaven supported his work he
  believe in prayer to Heaven
• Analects Vii, 22 (p 127) IX, 5 (p 139) XIV, 38
  (p 189) XIV, 41 (p 190) XI, 8 (p 154)
• XVII, 19 (p 214) He who offends against Heaven
  has none to whom he can pray
• Confucianism offers a transition from the earlier
  personal deity of the Classics, to the later
  God-Absolute of the philosophers (Julia Ching,
  113)
• The idea of heaven and the Mandate of Heaven
• Heaven is identified with what is good, and the
  aim of good men should be to promote and preserve
  the balance between Heaven and earth

10

• The issue of Ming
• We should do our best what we know we ought to
  do
• We should not care whether we succeed or fail
• To act in this way is to know Ming
• Analects XIV, 41 (p 190)

11

• Five key themes in Confucianism (Huston Smith)
• Jen (goodness, benevolence, human-heartedness,
  etc.)
• Chun Tzu (gentleman, the ideal man)
• Li (propriety or good manners - etiquette)
• Te (government by virtue power of moral example)
• Wen (the arts of peace versus the arts of
  war Hsun Tzu)
• Te is the power by which men rule
• It is not physical power or oppressive rule
• Te lies in the power of a moral example the
  impress of a great personality
• Government by virtue
• Men of this order are completely beyond
  (petty/small/selfish) personal ambition
• Analects IV.25 p 106 (and footnote)
• Analects XIII.12 p 174 (and footnote)
• On this foundation let us look at the Confucian
  view of the human being

12

• The Human Being
• Human beings have a natural goodness endowed from
  Heaven, but it needs to be realized and fulfilled
• This requires education/training/inculcation of
  character
• The story of the boy and the well (Mencius, 82-3)
• The four beginnings and the four constant
  virtues
• 4 seeds and the 4 blossoms which derive from
  them.

13

• 4 beginnings 4 constant virtues
• Seed Blossom
• Heart of compassion benevolence (goodness) Jen
• Heart of shame righteousness (dutifulness) I
• Heart of courtesy/modesty propriety (good
  manners) Li
• Heart of right/wrong wisdom Chih
• (conscience)
• The heart/mind of the human being is important
• It is the locus or place of mans meeting with
  heaven
• If you know human nature, you know heaven
• Mencius 7A.1 (p 182)
• The heart comes from heaven (Mencius 6A.15, p
  168)
• It is given by Heaven

14

• The Human Problem
• Human beings have failed, from moral causes, to
  live by jen (the will to seek the good of
  others), as their ancestors have done (or did)
• The ancient ways are being ignored
• Analects IX.17 (p 142) re the power of sexual
  desire
• Analects XV.26 (198)
• Analects XVII.2 (209)

15
Salvation in Confucianism

• Salvation is restoration of the proper
  relationships between people
• Jen (?) names the ideal relationship which should
  pertain between people
• Goodness, man-to-man-ness, benevolence, love,
  human-heartedness
• It is the virtue of virtues (perfect virtue) a
  kind of transcendental perfection
• Jen or human heartedness is the highest virtue an
  individual can attain
• Jen is the ultimate goal of education
• The education of an individual is a preparation
  for a peacefully ordered society
• Related attitudes magnanimity, good faith,
  charity, sincerity
• Jen is always concerned with the relationship
  between person and person
• Jen is the expression of the ideal human nature
• Dealing with other human beings as a human being
  ideally should
• Jen is the sum of virtues possible only for the
  superior and mature man
• The boy, or the inferior man, is capable only of
  hsiao (filial piety)
• Confucius did not feel that any of his
  contemporaries had achieved jen!
• Jen is the implicit capacity for goodness and
  harmony in the individual
• It must be cultivated in a social way, in
  interaction with others it is an art

16

• Chung loyalty to ones own heart and
  conscience
• Chung is the full development of the heart of jen
  within the self
• Shu reciprocity respect for consideration
  for others (Analects XV.23 p 198)
• Shu is the extension of the heart of jen to
  others
• The practice of jen is the practice of chung and
  shu (Analects IV.15 p 105)
• Jen is the center of mans nature yi is its
  external expression
• (Li) formal essence Yi or I (sense of
  oughtness) Hyung Sang (??)
• (Li) loving essence Jen (loving essence)
  Sung Sang (??)
• Yi (I) carries the sense of duty or obligation
• Jen and shu are applied to specific social
  relationships by means of I
• I means the oughtness of a situation. It is
  like Kants categorical imperative
• It is the thing that one ought to do simply
  because it is (morally) the right thing to do
  and thus should be done for its own sake, apart
  from other considerations, in whatever situation
  one finds oneself

17

• The important concept of Li
• The transformation process leading to the
  realization of jen is the practice of Li
• The path to the attainment of jen is the practice
  of Li, which is social norms
• The English translation of Li has been rites
  rituals proprieties ceremonies courtesy
  good manners politeness etiquette etc.
• Li is not something fixed and forever it is
  flexible and subject to change according to
  concrete or specific individual situations
  contextual
• The principle governing the adoption of Li is I
  (Yi) or righteousness or the sense of
  oughtness (connected with the moral reason)
• Two meanings
• Propriety
• Ritual

18

• As for ritual, Li has to do with extensive formal
  ceremonial and details of ceremony and etiquette
• Appropriate response
• The individuals life becomes stylized into a
  vast, intricate, ceremonial rite
• The Confucian regards human society in terms of
  personal relationships and the ethical
  responsibilities resulting from such
  relationships
• Life is completely ordered down to the minutest
  detail
• This is the well-conducted life
• Exemplified in the late Yi dynasty in Korea
• The True History of Queen Inhyun

19

• Li as propriety is a very important concept in
  Confucianism
• The quality or state of being proper
• The standard of what is socially acceptable in
  conduct or speech
• The outward expression of jen
• The Mean
• The way in the middle avoiding extremes
  bringing harmony and balance
• Rectification of Names (Cheng Ming)
• The various roles and relationships of life have
  been normatively delineated defined
• People should inculcate the appropriate attitudes
  and expressions

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• The Five Great Relationships
• Starting with filial piety, Confucian ethics
  analyzed all human behavior in terms of five key
  relationships
• There is a basic sense of hierarchy to these
  relationships
• Three are directly related to the nuclear family
• Father Son
• Husband Wife
• Elder brother Younger brother
• Two are related to the broader (extended) society
• (elder) friend (younger) friend
• ruler subjects
• You are never alone when you act
• What jen requires in specific instances is
  carefully prescribed by the delineation of graded
  love, the Give Great Relationships
• The sum of the conduct befitting these
  relationships is li
• A ritualization of the entire social process
• The ways of heaven are reflected in society
• All human relationships can be condensed into
  these 5 great types

22

• These five relationships should all be governed
  by appropriate dispositions
• Father son
• Father should show kindness
• Son should show filial piety
• Husband wife
• Husband should show love
• Wife should show obedience
• Elder brother younger brother
• Elder brother should show nobility
• Younger brother should show respect
• Elder friend younger friend
• Elder friend should show humaneness
• Younger friend should show deference
• Ruler subjects
• Ruler should show benevolence
• Subject should show loyalty
• All should embody chung (loyalty) and shu
  (reciprocity)

23

• Li as propriety also focuses on the family
• Basic unit of society
• Moral education should start with the family. It
  first develops through filial piety
• Key value is childrens respect for parents
  (filial piety) hsiao
• The process of developing moral virtue is the
  process of socialization through the practice of
  Li
• Li is crucial in moral education
• A respect for age (for the elderly) is important
• The Confucian society is one large family
  (Analects XII.5 p 163-4)
• The supreme method for governing a nation is to
  rule people by jen, the ruler being a model for
  all his people
• To govern a society which is out of order, the
  method of rectification of names has to be
  used this is the enforcement of li
• Confucianism is a deliberate tradition

24

• The Conduct of the individual
• Li as propriety is the right guide to conduct
• Li is the norm of human behavior in all social
  circumstances
• The conduct of the Chun-tzu is the norm

25

• Chun-tzu
• The Chun-tzu is the ideal man in Confucianism,
  the perfect gentleman
• If Jen is the relationship between two people,
  the Chun-tzu is the person
• True Manhood, the Superior Man,
  Manhood-at-its-Best
• A gentleman in the most significant sense
• The person who is fully adequate, poised,
  confident, competent, and balanced
• Opening chapter of the Ta Hsueh (Great Learning)
• Righteousness in the heart leads to beauty in
  the character
• Beauty in the character leads to harmony in the
  home
• Harmony in the home leads to order in the
  nation
• Order in the nation leads to peace in the world
• Analects XIV.32 p 188 XV.20 p 197 XV.31 p 199
• The Chun-tzus attitude toward others is jen
  (benevolence, goodness)

26

• In Neo-Confucianism, there is the concept of the
  Shung run or Sheng Jen
• The ideal person with not only moral qualities,
  but an almost ontological quality as wella
  person whose every thought and deed are in
  harmony with the universe
• There are a fewer number of Sheng Jen in the
  world than even the Chun-tzu
• The Family Pledge speaks of the ?? (saint). This
  is the equivalent of the Sheng Jen in
  Confucianism
• An important part of education is to study the
  arts of peace (wen)
• Smith, Religions of Man p 186-
• The arts of peace are in contrast to the art of
  war (by Hsun tzu)
• Music, art, poetry, the sum of culture in its
  aesthetic mode
• Art, for example, is an instrument for moral
  education
• The arts have relevance for international
  relations
• It is necessary for the Chun-tzu to study the
  arts of peace

27

• The root of jen is filial piety (hsiao)
• The blossom of filial piety is jen
• 3 ways of saying Dr. YOKim p 131
• The root of jen is filial piety
• The basis of all virtue is filial piety
• The source of all culture is filial piety
• Filial piety comes before loyalty to the
  sovereign, conjugal affection, and all else
• TF the parent-child (father-son) relationship is
  the center of the universe
• The family pledge speaks of ?

28

• Salvation in Confucianism is closely tied with
  conduct
• Salvation is a return to the (ancient) ways of
  the ancestors
• We need to study the classics to discover the
  ways of the ancients, the ancient way of virtue
• We must realize that nobility of character is not
  a matter of birth, but is a moral achievement,
  open to everyone, though actually attained only
  by very few
• Analects XV.3 p 193
• Confucius set forth a deliberate tradition in
  order to improve relationships and establish a
  well-ordered society
• As for ones destiny, Confucius was agnostic
  (Analects XI.11 p 155)

29

• Confucian scriptures
• Confucius looked back to a golden age of virtue
  the age of the sages
• The age of the sages was the source of the holy
  books
• The books are intimately linked to the tradition
  of the sages
• These books are the records of their words and
  deeds
• The sage thoroughly understood things
• Understood the ways of heaven
• Understood the ways that best serve human society
• The sage is he who hears the ways of heaven and
  manifests or reveals them to humanity
• The sage penetrates the feelings of heaven and
  earth and understands the nature of man and the
  world
• For Confucius the issue of transmitted literature
  is less a sense of textual authority as it is a
  living contact with the virtuous sage-kings of
  Chinas past
• For Confucius, the study of this literature
  (broadly speaking) is wen, the means by which
  individuals and societies might fully become
  human and virtuous

30

• The Confucian Scriptures
• The literary works that have stood the test of
  time are called Ching (classic)
• They record the very deeds and sayings of the
  sages
• Wu Ching and Ssu Shu (5 classics and 4 books)
• Five Classics (Wu Ching)
• Depending on who you consult 5, 6, 9, 12, and
  13 classics
• I-Ching (Book of Changes) very popular in the
  West
• A divinatory work with philosophical commentaries
  (called wings) which explain the patterns of
  change inherent in the universe
• Shih-Ching (Book of Poetry or Songs)
• An anthology of about 300 poems/songs
• Thought to exemplify the essential expression of
  poetic beauty and moral virtue
• Analects II.2 p 88
• Shu-Ching (Book of History)
• Records the words and deeds of ancient sage-king
  rulers

31

• Li-Chi (Canon of Ritual and Protocol)
• Detailed accounts of the philosophical meanings
  of the rituals of the ancient sage-kings
• The Universe Story Virtuous Women (Queen Inhyon
  p 265)
• Sokdam 47
• Chun Chiu (Annals of Spring and Autumn)
• A record of events
• Sometimes a sixth one Hsiao-Ching (Classic of
  Filial Piety)

32

• The Four Books (Ssu Shu)
• A unique combination of works that served as an
  entire program of learning and self-cultivation
• They were arranged in a specific order to reflect
  a cumulative learning experience
• Chu Hsi I want people first of all to read the
  Great Learning to set a pattern, next to read the
  Analects to establish a foundation, next to read
  the Book of Mencius for stimulation, and next to
  read the Doctrine of the Mean to find out the
  subtle points of the ancients.
• A programmed order of ones moral and ethical
  education in terms of studying these texts.

33

• The Great Learning (Ta Hsueh)
• Theme the ordering of society through
  self-cultivation of the individual
• Expounds the three guiding principles and the
  eight general rules (or 3 cords and 8 minor
  wires)
• The Ta Hsueh was placed first so that it might
  provide a framework in terms of its enunciation
  of stages of learning (handout)
• Individual, family, nation, world, etc.
• Compare with Bennet (Book of Virtues)
• Analects (Lun Yu)
• Embodiment of Confucian ideas
• Words and actions of Confucius and his disciples
• Was placed second to reinforce the primacy of
  Confuciuss teachings as the foundation upon
  which learning can best be built

34

• The Book of Mencius (Mencius)
• Lengthy conversations providing insight into his
  thought
• Was placed third to indicate its basis as the
  interpretative tool and elaborative text of the
  basic Confucian teachings
• The Doctrine of the Mean (Chung Yung)
• It deals with the personal and political
  implications of human nature and self-cultivation
  and looks at the relationships of moral human
  beings to a moral universe
• Was placed fourth a text appreciated for its
  subtlety and abstraction, as well as its depth of
  thought

35
Confucianism

• Deity Confucius held a more personal conception
  of the way of nature (Tao) than did Taoism, but
  he does not hold to a Creator God. Shang-Ti and
  Tien are both terms used in Scripture. Heaven
  supports my work. It is imp to know the ways of
  Heaven
• Cosmos (Reality) Tao yin/yang 10,000 things
  Confucius was not so much an innovator, as a
  transmitter. He held the traditional view. The
  sky represented the way of Heaven and was good
  and natural
• Human being No dualism of body and spirit.
  Heart/mind and flesh. Essentially good, endowed
  by Heaven. We need to nurture and cultivate this
  innate and potential goodness. Man is
  hierarchically superior to woman.
• Human problem The ancient ways of virtue are
  ignored. The proper way of the ancient sage kings
  are not followed. Proper relationships are not
  followed.
• Salvation Return to the way of the ancestors.
  Study the classics to find the ancient way of
  virtue. There is a looking back rather than a
  looking forward
• Conduct Follow the way of the ancients. The
  five great relationships define all human
  relationships. Li (propriety) is a guide to
  proper conduct
• Scripture The Five Classics (Ching) and Four
  Books (Analects, Mencius, Ta Hsueh (Great
  Learning), Chung Yung (Doctrine of the Mean, or
  Grand Harmony)
• Destiny Confucius is agnostic concerning ones
  destiny