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Who is Confucius? To some he may appear as a joke. However, Confucius, in reality, was not a laughingstock. He was a man who strived to bring peace and happiness to a world ravaged by crime and war. Confucius did not look for paradise in the next world like other religions but rather he was more concerned with achieving happiness in ones own lifetime. A respected Chinese philosopher, Confucius, or Kung Fu Tzu, began as a teacher, stressing the importance of self-discipline and generosity.
He thought the gentlemen, or Chun Tzu was the key to a good social life. Although Chun Tzu was a title reserved for princes, Confucius expanded its meaning to include anyone of good moral character. He believed that these people were rulers and that others would be encouraged to follow in their example. He believed in treating others with respect and in turn, they would reciprocate that respect. This could be linked to what came to be referred to by Confucius as the golden rule Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. More philosophical than religious, his teachings act more as a guide for self-improvement.
It is based upon these teachings for a better self and an improved government that led to the concept of Confucianism. Confucius took an angle with his teachings that was moral, political and ethical. He felt that if there was righteousness in the heart that it would to beauty in the character, which would lead to harmony in the home and then order in the nation. Finally, if there were total order in the nation, order would create peace in the world. Confucius believed that rule should be through morality and not violence or force. He believed that the center of relationships was the self and it forms from interactions with others.
His goal was to become more human and this served as the basis for forming strong relationships. The teachings of Confucius contain many values. The most important value is jen. This virtue deals with love and humaneness towards others. This is the highest Confucian value. An early form of this is hsiao, which is honoring your parents.
Other staples of Confucian thinking include Li and Yi. Li is respect towards ritual practices. Confucius believed that combining it with jen would help to improve social standards. Yi is responsibility towards others. Yi represents the strong bonds and commitments that are formed out of friendship. The supreme deity of Confucianism is called Tien.
Although translated to mean Heaven, Tien appears to be more of a god in charge of maintaining moral order. The path to Tien is called the Tao, or way. The Tao is composed of the struggle for balance of two opposite forces: the yin and the yang. The yin and yang bring about change through manipulating five material elements. The five material agents, water, metal, fire, earth, and wood, alternate with each other through a cycle.
It is the yin and yang's control over these elements that brings about change through the universe and make up the Tao. Confucianism also extends its belief to certain ritualistic practices. For instance, birth is a major event. While the woman is carrying the child, she is prohibited from doing anything physically strenuous. From the moment of conception to the day of birth the mother is believed to be guarded by a spirit called the Taishen. After the child is born, she continues her rest period for another month.
After the first month of the childs life, they are named in a special naming ceremony. The act of marriage takes place in six stages. The first stage involves matching the horoscopes of the bride and groom. The second stage is the wedding announcement. The third stage is the exchange of the dowry. In the fourth stage, the groom escorts the bride from her home.
In the fifth stage, vows are exchange. In the final stage of the marriage ceremony, the bride makes breakfast for her in-laws. In death, people must continue to be treated with honor and respect. The death rites are usually performed by a priest of another religion. Once the dead is laid to rest it is very important to maintain the graveside. If the spirit world is unhappy then this can have repercussions on the physical world.
The beliefs and teachings of Confucianism were documented into scripture. Confucian scripture consists of four books and five classics. The four books are: ? The Lun Yu (Analects) -This book contains many saying of Confucius? The Chung Yung?
The Ta Hsueh? The Meng Tzu The five classics of Confucianism are: ? Shu Ching Classic of History? Shih Ching Classic of Odes, consisting of poems and songs?
I Ching Classic of Changes? Chun Chiu History of Confucius home province of Lu? Li Ching Classic of Rites Confucianism became the accepted state ideology and orthodoxy under the Han Dynasty (206 BC 220 AD). Emperor Wu (140 87 BC) wanted to use Confucius doctrine to guide and maintain law and order, but Confucianism soon came to extend far beyond that. Books and lectures about Confucius moral principles and responsibilities began to spread across China. Duty to people and the state were emphasized.
Confucian works formed the basis of civil service examinations (Confucian Schools of Thought, Confucianism). Confucians were divided into at least eight schools of thought with each claiming to be the true teaching of Confucius after his death. These schools differed in respect to rituals, sacrifices, and sacred dress. Eventually, two major schools of thought would form. Mencius (372 289 BC) would bring the first. Mencius believed that humanity was the innate virtue of men (Eber 29).
He believed that a persons innate goodness can become depraved through ones own destructive effort or through contact with an evil environment (Confucian Schools of Thought, Confucianism). Mencius took Confucius beliefs about relationships with people and equated them with society. He saw righteousness as a social standard that helped determine and shape a persons conduct. For a person to have humanity and righteousness, society must exhibit it, but society must in turn get it from the people.
He is also responsible for writing one of the four books: The Meng Tzu. The second school was brought about by Hsun-Tzu. Hsun-Tzu disagreed with Mencius. He believed that people naturally possess an evil nature but it can be corrected through moral education. For Hsun-Tzu the answer to morality lied within rituals and ceremonies (Eber 35). Hsun-Tzu thought that rituals would help establish social guidelines that would lead people to moral goodness.
After the Han Dynasty came to an end, Taoism and Buddhism started to emerge and Confucianism became less prominent. Confucianism would not rise in popularity again until the Tang Dynasty (618 907 AD). During this period, a new form of Confucianism would appear, known as Neo-Confucianism. It fused together beliefs of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The influence of Confucianism can still be seen today in many Chinese festivals. One such festival is the Duan Wu Yi, or the Dragon Boat Festival.
The festival is in honor of a Chinese patriot and Confucianist, Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was born around 340 BC, in a time known as The Warring States. He was a nobleman in the kingdom of Chu, so he had the privilege of being educated from youth. Word of his intellect eventually spread to King Huai and he was appointed to his court in his twenties. Qu Yuan felt that the state of Qin possessed the largest threat to the state of Chu so at his suggestion, the six-nation alliance was formed. In Chu Qu Yuan learned of the peoples disdain with the aristocracy so he attempted to suggest to King Huai to attract better people to the court.
Before he could succeed, the court convinced the king that Qu Yuan was arrogant and was not showing him the proper respect so Qu Yuan was dismissed from his court post. With Qu Yuan away, the king of Qin tricked King Huai into coming under the ruse of peace talks. Once there, King Huai was imprisoned in the Qin court and died three years. Qu Yuan went on to wander around aimlessly through life, moving from place to place, watching helplessly as the Qin began to take over his home. To see his people suffering made him so distraught that over time he withered away becoming frail and old. Left with nowhere to turn, Qu Yuan ended his own life by jumping in the Mi Luo River.
Once news of his death spread, the people began an exhaustive, but unsuccessful, search for his body in the river. Realizing that they would not find it, they threw rice wrapped in leaves into the river so that the fish would not disturb him. Today, on the fifth of May in the Lunar month, people make rice wrapped in leaves and race boats to honor Qu Yuan. Despite the celebration of lavish festivals, however, it is believed that Confucianism will never again be formally practiced in China. It has succumbed to a communist government that has no place for it.
Sources Religions of the World CD-ROM- Mentorom Multimedia 1995 The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia 1997 web web web web web Attachment: yuan. html
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