Henricks, Robert. 1994. Title: Confucius, the Tao, the ancestors
and the Buddha: Religions of
Notes on Part
V: Confucius and Confucianism
Background
Is a Religious
Dimension to Confucianism, but it IS NOT a religion
-Yet the emperor offered regular
sacrifices to Confucius.
Confucius (Kung
Fuzi) (551bc -- 479bc)
·
Lived on
·
Teacher of young men
wanting jobs in the governance of local state
·
Wished to influence
the rules, not be a ruler
·
Taught The WAY
·
Thought that in
ancient times order existed, but had broken down
·
By his death, he
regarded himself as a failure
Shandong's name literally means "mountains' east", which refers
to the province's location east of the Taihang Mountains. The province is located in the
lower reaches of the Huang He (Yellow River) and extends out to sea in the form
of the Shandong Peninsula. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandong
His writings
were later collected into The
Analects --
"Discussed Sayings of Confucius"
-somewhat random collection of
knowledge in sayings and short dialogues
-two most important foci of his
writings
1. Correct way to rule --
addressed to leaders
2. Correct way to live --
addressed to the people
Where The Way or the Tao -- refers to how a
righteous man is to live
Family is a
key factor in Confucian thinking
One historian has referred to
Confucianism as "Familyism"
1) Ideal ruler
ought to be like a father and mother to the people
-have compassion and concern for
the his "children's" welfare
2) People
ought to have respect for the ruler, again based on a child to parent
relationship
-at times child might not agree
with parents, can point-out such differences, but must accept the parents
wishes
3) Social
hierarchy comes from these same ideas
Father & Mother over Son over Daughters over servants etc...
Likewise
Ruler over Administrators over
Merchants and Craftsmen over
Farmers over
Soldiers and Actors
(aside in
Tokagawa
4) Goal for
the individual man -- become Zhunza -- superior man or gentleman
·
limited to men
·
limited to the
educated (peasantry also mainly left-out)
5) Virtues
cultivated to become a "gentleman"
Virtues of the 5 natural
relationships (note all but one hierarchical and it is the inferior
who is to practice the virtue)
·
Father to Son Filial Piety
·
Older Brother to
Younger Brotherly Respect
·
Ruler to Subject Loyalty
(obedience & respect)
·
Friend to Friend Sincerity
(both are equals)
·
Husband to Wife Submission
Superior member in relationship
always practices virtue of Compassion
(aside -- when George W. Bush
speaks of "
6) Woman's
role
·
promotes the
education and advancement of her men or man
7)
Filial Piety -- the primary virtue
·
basic for creating a
loyal citizenry
·
requires a son to
serve his parents using the proper Rites while they are dead or alive &
with great respect
8) Two
important organizing principles for the "gentleman" to follow
Li
-- Rites and Ritual Regulations -- the proper way things are to be done
Ren
-- Benevolence -- Striving to reach full humanity by becoming a fully
benevolent human -- a goal never fully realized -- implies also a variation on
the golden rule stated in two ways --Do not do to others what you don't want
them to do to you -- or use your own feelings as a guide in how to treat others
·
Ren seems to have
some democratic undertones
·
Li however is clearly
focused on hierarchy
·
Creates a tension
that may not be fully satisfied
(aside -- in Christopher Smith's
book he also includes the principle of I -- righteousness, justice,... standards against which
proper behavior could be measured, tempered LI to particular
circumstances -- this would deal directly with such tension).