1782 Chinese Philosophy of
Confucius CHINA Confucianism Levesque Ethics Politics
Confucius (551 – 479 BC) was a Chinese
teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of
Chinese history. Confucianism, also known as Ruism, is a system of
philosophical and "ethical-sociopolitical teachings" sometimes
described as a religion.
Confucianism has long been one of the
world’s most popular and practiced theological and philosophical systems. The
teachings of Confucius and collections of his moral works remain some of the
most popular works worldwide, especially in the East.
Main author: Confucius;
Pierre Charles Levesque
Title: Pense�es morales
de Confucius, recueillies et traduites du latin par M. Levesque.
Published: A Paris, chez Didot l'aîne�, imprimeur du clerge�, en surv. rue
Pave�e S. A. Et De Bure l'aîne�, quai des Augustins. M. DCC. LXXXII.
Language: French
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Confucius (/kənˈfju�ʃəs/, /kɒn-/; September 28, 551 – 479 BC)[1][2]
was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and
Autumn period of Chinese history.
The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental
morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. His
followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred
Schools of Thought era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during
the Qin Dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of
Qin, Confucius's thoughts received official sanction and were further developed
into a system known as Confucianism.
Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited
many of the Chinese classic texts including all of the Five Classics, but
modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific assertions to Confucius
himself. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects, but
only many years after his death.
Confucius's principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and
belief. He championed strong family loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of
elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. He also recommended
family as a basis for ideal government. He espoused the well-known principle
"Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself", the
Golden Rule.
Contents [hide]
1 Names
2 Family
background
3 Biography
3.1 Early life
3.2 Political career
3.3 Exile
3.4 Return home
4 Philosophy
4.1 Ethics
4.2 Politics
5 Disciples
6 Legacy
7 Visual
portraits
8 Death and
legacy
8.1 Memorials of
Confucius
8.2 Descendants
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Bibliography
12.1 Hard copy
12.2 Online
13 Further reading
14 External links
Names
Confucius' family and personal name respectively was Kong Qiu (å”丘 KÇ’ng QiÅ«).[3] His courtesy name was Zhongni (仲尼 ZhòngnÃ).[3] In Chinese, he is most often known as Kongzi (å”å� KÇ’ng ZÇ�, literally "Master Kong").[4][5] He is also
known by the honorific Kong Fuzi (å”夫å� KÇ’ng FÅ«zÇ�, literally "Grand Master Kong").[5] In the
Wade–Giles system of romanization, the honorific name is rendered as
"K'ung Fu-tzu". The Latinized name "Confucius" is derived
from "Kong Fuzi", and was first coined by 16th-century Jesuit
missionaries to China, most probably by Matteo Ricci.[5]
Within the Analects, he is often referred to simply as "the
Master" (å� ZÇ�). In
1 AD, Confucius was given his first posthumous name, the "Laudably
Declarable Lord Ni" (褒�宣尼公). In 1530, he was declared the "Extremely Sage Departed
Teacher" (至�先師). He is
also known separately as the "Great Sage" (至�), "First Teacher" (先師), and "Model Teacher for Ten Thousand Ages" (�世師表).[6]
Family background
Main article: Family tree of Confucius in the main line of descent
According to tradition, three generations before Confucius' time,
his ancestors had migrated from the Song state to the Lu state.[7] Confucius
was a descendant of the Shang dynasty Kings through the Dukes of
Song.[8][9][10]
Biography
Early life
Lu can be seen in China's northeast.
It is generally thought that Confucius was born on September 28,
551 BC.[1][11] His birthplace was in Zou, Lu state (near present-day Qufu,
Shandong Province).[11][12] His father Kong He (å”ç´‡), also known as Shuliang He (å�”æ¢�ç´‡), was an officer in the Lu military. Kong He died when Confucius
was three years old, and Confucius was raised by his mother Yan Zhengzai (�徵在) in poverty.[13] His mother would later die at less than 40 years
of age.[13] At age 19 he married his wife, surnamed Qiguan (亓官), and a year later the couple had their first child, Kong Li (å”鯉)[13] who was later known as "Boyu", which means
"Top Fish" in Chinese.[14] Qiguan and Confucius would later have two
daughters together, one of whom is thought to have died early in her life as a
child.[15]
Confucius was educated at schools for commoners, where he studied
and learned the Six Arts.[16]
Confucius was born into the class of shi (士), between the aristocracy and the common people. He is said to
have worked in various government jobs during his early 20s, and also worked as
a bookkeeper and a caretaker of sheep and horses, which he used the proceeds
from to give his mother a proper burial.[13][14] When his mother died,
Confucius (aged 23) is said to have mourned for three years as was the
tradition.[14]
Political career
The Lu state was headed by a ruling ducal house.[17] Under the duke
were three aristocratic families, whose heads bore the title of viscount and
held hereditary positions in the Lu bureaucracy.[18] The Ji family held the
position "Minister over the Masses", who was also the "Prime
Minister"; the Meng family held the position "Minister of
Works"; and the Shu family held the position "Minister of
War".[18] In the winter of 505 BC, Yang Hu—a retainer of the Ji
family—rose up in rebellion and seized power from the Ji family.[18] However, by
the summer of 501 BC, the three hereditary families had succeeded in expelling
Yang Hu from Lu.[18] By then, Confucius had built up a considerable reputation
through his teachings, while the families came to see the value of proper
conduct and righteousness, so they could achieve loyalty to a legitimate
government.[19] Thus, that year (501 BC), Confucius came to be appointed to the
minor position of governor of a town.[19] Eventually, he rose to the position
of Minister of Crime.[19]
Confucius desired to return the authority of the state to the duke
by dismantling the fortifications of the city-strongholds belonging to the
three families.[20] This way, he could establish a centralized government.[20]
However, Confucius relied solely on diplomacy as he had no military authority himself.[20]
In 500 BC, Hou Fan—the governor of Hou—revolted against his lord of the Shu
family.[20] Although the Meng and Shu families unsuccessfully besieged Hou, a
loyalist official rose up with the people of Hou and forced Hou Fan to flee to
the Qi state.[20] The situation may have been in favor for Confucius as this
likely made it possible for Confucius and his disciples to convince the
aristocratic families to dismantle the fortifications of their cities.[20]
Eventually, after a year and a half, Confucius and his disciples succeeded in
convincing the Shu family to raze the walls of Hou, the Ji family in razing the
walls of Bi, and the Meng family in razing the walls of Cheng.[20] First, the
Shu family led an army towards their city Hou and tore down its walls in 498
BC.[20] Soon thereafter, Gongshan Furao[a]—a retainer of the Ji family—revolted
and took control of the forces at Bi.[21][22] He immediately launched an attack
and entered the capital Lu.[20]
Earlier, Gongshan had approached Confucius to join him, which
Confucius considered.[21] Even though he disapproved the use of a violent
revolution, the Ji family dominated the Lu state force for generations and had
exiled the previous duke.[21] Although he wanted the opportunity to put his
principles in practice, Confucius gave up on this idea in the end.[21] Creel
(1949) states that, unlike the rebel Yang Hu before him, Gongshan may have
sought to destroy the three hereditary families and restore the power of the
duke.[23] However, Dubs (1946) is of the view that Gongshan was encouraged by
Viscount Ji Huan to invade the Lu capital in an attempt to avoid dismantling
the Bi fortified walls.[22] Whatever the situation may have been, Gongshan was
considered an upright man who continued to defend the state of Lu, even after
he was forced to flee.[23][24]
During the revolt by Gongshan, Zhong You (仲由) had managed to keep the duke and the three viscounts together at
the court.[24] Zhong You was one of the disciples of Confucius and Confucius
had arranged for him to be given the position of governor by the Ji family.[25]
When Confucius heard of the raid, he requested that Viscount Ji Huan allow the
duke and his court to retreat to a stronghold on his palace grounds.[26]
Thereafter, the heads of the three families and the duke retreated to the Ji's
palace complex and ascended the Wuzi Terrace.[27] Confucius ordered two
officers to lead an assault against the rebels.[27] At least one of the two
officers was a retainer of the Ji family, but they were unable to refuse the
orders while in the presence of the duke, viscounts, and court.[26] The rebels
were pursued and defeated at Gu.[27] Immediately after the revolt was defeated,
the Ji family razed the Bi city walls to the ground.[27]
The attackers retreated after realizing that they would have to
become rebels against the state and against their own lord.[26] Through
Confucius' actions, the Bi officials had inadvertently revolted against their
own lord, thus forcing Viscount Ji Huan's hand in having to dismantle the walls
of Bi (as it could have harbored such rebels) or confess to instigating the
event by going against proper conduct and righteousness as an official.[26]
Dubs (1949) suggests that the incident brought to light Confucius' foresight,
practical political ability and his insight into human character.[26]
When it was time to dismantle the city walls of the Meng family,
the governor was reluctant to have his city walls torn down and convinced the
head of the Meng family not to do so.[27] The Zuo Zhuan recalls that the
governor advised against razing the walls to the ground as he said that it made
Cheng vulnerable to the Qi state and cause the destruction of the Meng
family.[26] Even though Viscount Meng Yi gave his word not to interfere with an
attempt, he went back on his earlier promise to dismantle the walls.[26]
Later in 498 BC, Duke Ding personally went with an army to lay
siege to Cheng in an attempt to raze its walls to the ground, but he did not
succeed.[28] Thus, Confucius could not achieve the idealistic reforms that he
wanted including restoration of the legitimate rule of the duke.[29] He had
made powerful enemies within the state, especially with Viscount Ji Huan, due
to his successes so far.[30] According to accounts in the Zuo Zhuan and Shiji,
Confucius departed his homeland in 497 BC after his support for the failed
attempt of dismantling the fortified city walls of the powerful Ji, Meng, and
Shu families.[31] He left the state of Lu without resigning, remaining in
self-exile and unable to return as long as Viscount Ji Huan was alive.[30]
Exile
The Shiji states that the neighboring Qi state was worried that Lu
was becoming too powerful while Confucius was involved in the government of the
Lu state. According to this account, Qi decided to sabotage Lu's reforms by
sending 100 good horses and 80 beautiful dancing girls to the Duke of Lu. The
Duke indulged himself in pleasure and did not attend to official duties for
three days. Confucius was deeply disappointed and resolved to leave Lu and seek
better opportunities, yet to leave at once would expose the misbehavior of the
Duke and therefore bring public humiliation to the ruler Confucius was serving.
Confucius therefore waited for the Duke to make a lesser mistake. Soon after,
the Duke neglected to send to Confucius a portion of the sacrificial meat that
was his due according to custom, and Confucius seized upon this pretext to
leave both his post and the Lu state.
After Confucius' resignation, he began a long journey or set of
journeys around the small kingdoms of north-east and central China,
traditionally including the states of Wei, Song, Chen, and Cai. At the courts
of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them
implemented.
Return home
According to the Zuo Zhuan, Confucius returned home to his native
Lu when he was 68, after he was invited to do so by Ji Kangzi, the chief
minister of Lu.[32] The Analects depict him spending his last years teaching 72
or 77 disciples and transmitting the old wisdom via a set of texts called the Five
Classics.
During his return, Confucius sometimes acted as an advisor to
several government officials in Lu, including Ji Kangzi, on matters including
governance and crime.[32]
Philosophy
Main article: Confucianism
The Dacheng Hall, the main hall of the Temple of Confucius in Qufu
Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by
the Chinese, many argue that its values are secular and therefore it isn't a
religion, but more akin to a secular morality. Proponents argue that despite
the secular nature of Confucianism's teachings, it is based on a worldview that
is religious.[33] Confucianism discusses elements of the afterlife and views
concerning Heaven, but it is relatively unconcerned with some spiritual matters
often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of souls.
However, Confucius is said to have believed in astrology saying: "Heaven
sends down its good or evil symbols and wise men act accordingly".[34]
The Analects of Confucius
In the Analects, Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter
who invented nothing". He puts the greatest emphasis on the importance of
study, and it is the Chinese character for study (å¸) that opens the text. Far from trying to build a systematic or
formalist theory, he wanted his disciples to master and internalize the old
classics, so that their deep thought and thorough study would allow them to
relate the moral problems of the present to past political events (as recorded
in the Annals) or the past expressions of commoners' feelings and noblemen's
reflections (as in the poems of the Book of Odes).
Ethics
One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the
superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His
moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and
the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules. Confucian
ethics may be considered a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on
reasoned argument and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed more indirectly,
through allusion, innuendo, and even tautology. His teachings require
examination and context in order to be understood. A good example is found in
this famous anecdote:
廄焚。å�退æœ�,曰:“傷人乎?â€� ä¸�å•�馬。
When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court Confucius
said, "Was anyone hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.
Analects X.11 (tr. Waley), 10–13 (tr. Legge), or X-17 (tr. Lau)
By not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrates that the
sage values human beings over property; readers are led to reflect on whether
their response would follow Confucius' and to pursue self-improvement if it
would not have. Confucius, as an exemplar of human excellence, serves as the
ultimate model, rather than a deity or a universally true set of abstract principles.
For these reasons, according to many commentators, Confucius' teachings may be
considered a Chinese example of humanism.
One of his teachings was a variant of the Golden Rule sometimes
called the "Silver Rule" owing to its negative form:
己所�欲,勿施於人。
"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."
å�è²¢å•�曰:“有一言而å�¯ä»¥çµ‚身行之者乎â€�?å�曰:“其æ�•ä¹Žï¼�己所ä¸�欲ã€�勿施於人。â€�
Zi Gong [a disciple] asked: "Is there any one word that could
guide a person throughout life?"
The Master replied: "How about 'reciprocity'! Never impose on
others what you would not choose for yourself."
Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton
Often overlooked in Confucian ethics are the virtues to the self:
sincerity and the cultivation of knowledge. Virtuous action towards others
begins with virtuous and sincere thought, which begins with knowledge. A
virtuous disposition without knowledge is susceptible to corruption and
virtuous action without sincerity is not true righteousness. Cultivating
knowledge and sincerity is also important for one's own sake; the superior
person loves learning for the sake of learning and righteousness for the sake
of righteousness.
The Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in L� (禮) is based on three important conceptual aspects of life: (a)
ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities of various types,
(b) social and political institutions, and (c) the etiquette of daily behavior.
It was believed by some that l� originated from the heavens, but Confucius
stressed the development of l� through the actions of sage leaders in human
history. His discussions of l� seem to redefine the term to refer to all
actions committed by a person to build the ideal society, rather than those
simply conforming with canonical standards of ceremony.
In the early Confucian tradition, l� was doing the proper thing at
the proper time, balancing between maintaining existing norms to perpetuate an
ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good.
Training in the l� of past sages cultivates in people virtues that include
ethical judgment about when l� must be adapted in light of situational
contexts.
In Confucianism, the concept of li is closely related to yì (義), which is based upon the idea of reciprocity. Yì can be
translated as righteousness, though it may simply mean what is ethically best
to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out of
self-interest. While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad,
one would be a better, more righteous person if one's life was based upon following
a path designed to enhance the greater good. Thus an outcome of yì is doing the
right thing for the right reason.
Just as action according to L� should be adapted to conform to the
aspiration of adhering to yì, so yì is linked to the core value of rén (�).Rén consists of 5 basic virtues: seriousness, generosity,
sincerity, diligence and kindness.[35] Rén is the virtue of perfectly
fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as
"benevolence" or "humaneness"; translator Arthur Waley
calls it "Goodness" (with a capital G), and other translations that
have been put forth include "authoritativeness" and
"selflessness." Confucius' moral system was based upon empathy and
understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's
spontaneous responses of rén so that these could guide action intuitively was
even better than living by the rules of yì. Confucius asserts that virtue is a
means between extremes. For example, the properly generous person gives the
right amount—not too much and not too little.