Up@dawn 2.0

Thursday, March 21, 2019

The Life and Philosophy of Confucius: By Rahimin A Rahim and Alex Walker

The Life and Philosophy of Confucius
        Confucianism is a system of thought based on the teachings of a Chinese man named Kongfuzi or Confucius, which is a Latinized version of his name. He was born in 551 and lived until 479 BC. He is China’s most popular philosopher. Besides that, he was also a teacher and a political theorist, whose ideas had influenced the civilization of China and East Asia. Confucianism was later developed in the era of the “Hundred Schools of Thought”. During this period of time (from the 6th century ro 221 BC), many philosophies and schools were established and flourished. It was an era that contributed a lot in enhancing China’s cultural and intellectual expansion. Wide-ranging of ideas and thoughts were developed and discussed freely. Confucianism is the school of thought that arguably had the most enduring effects on China and its people.


       Confucius is widely known for his down to earth personality which had mostly shaped his philosophy. He claimed that his ideas were not original, and neither were his teachings, but believed himself to be a “transmitter of wisdom of the past”. The past that he was referring to is the theology or values inherited from “the ancestors”. Devotion to one’s ancestors is really essential in Confucianism as a sign of obedience and loyalty. The core of Confucianism is humanistic values, it transcends “the dichotomy between religion and humanism, considering the ordinary activities of human life - especially human relations – as a manifestation or representation of the sacred.”


        Confucianism is more than just a philosophy but also, “a religion, a rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or simply a way of life”. It places emphasis on the importance of personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. In other words, it focuses on the ideals of order and harmony with the idea that people should live in harmony both with one another and with nature. To achieve this, Confucius created a system of human relationships and strong government. Good governance to him was one of the most important characteristics needed in a society. The political aspect of his philosophy is what really sets it apart from others.


        In Confucius’ time, he was involved in politics and held a position in government. In the state of Lu, the government was then headed by a ruling ducal house which consisted of three aristocratic families. The position of “Minister over the Masses”, who was also the “Prime Minister”, was held by the Ji family. The Meng family and the Shu family held the positions “Minister of Works” and “Minister of War” respectively. In the year 501 BC, he was appointed to the minor position of governor of a town and eventually, Confucius rose to become the Minister of Crime. According to Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), Confucius had a conflict with the duke of Lu when the neighboring Qi state sent the duke 100 good and healthy horses and 80 beautiful girls in a bid to sabotage Lu that was, at that time, becoming too powerful. He fell for it and indulged himself in the pleasure of the world, and as a result, abandoned his official duties. Confucius, obviously, did not agree with him and decided to leave both his post and the Lu State. This was the point when he began his long journey of wandering and at the same time, spreading his teachings.


        During his odyssey (consisting of a set of journeys) around the principality states (monarchical, feudatory, or sovereign states, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince) of north-east and central China, while spreading his teachings, his followers collected his ideas and sayings and compiled it into the Analects of Confucius (Lunyu, in Chinese). At first, it was considered merely as a commentary to compliment the Five Classics (five Chinese books consisted of poetry, documents, ancient rites, and etc. Its’ authorship is still unknown, but scholars believe Confucius had compiled and edited them), but instead, the status of the Analects grew to become one of the central texts of Confucianism. The Analects is still one of China’s most widely-read and studied documents for the last 2000 years and it continues to have a substantial influence on Chinese and East Asian values and thought, both socially and politically. Some of his proverbs are easily recognizable - most notably his version of the “Golden Rule”, often referred to as the “Silver Rule”: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself”.


        One trait that sets Confucius apart from many other people is that he certainly seemed to value the lives of animals, as evidenced by a parable of his in which a stable burns down. “The stable burned down when Confucius was at court. On his return he said, ‘Has any man been hurt?’ He did not ask about the horses.” This suggests that the lives of animals were important to him. However, another of his parables suggests that he placed even higher importance on ceremony. This parable reads:

“Tsze-kung wished to do away with the offering of a sheep connected with the
inauguration of the first day of each month.

The Master said, “Tsze, you love the sheep; I love the ceremony.”

        Although Confucius valued the lives of animals, to him, they clearly came secondary to ceremony, even if the ritual involves sacrificing an animal. This is because he felt that ceremony and formality were essential to societal order. Without them, he felt there was no way for people to learn how to properly behave, which could cause problems.


        Another trait that Confucius felt essential to a properly functioning society was obedience to one’s parents. He felt that people should always submit to their parent’s commands, and that if they should take issue with them, they must politely suggest that they make a change, but if they choose not to accept the suggestion, the child should simply continue to submit without complaint, regardless of how unreasonable or distressing their commands may be. He believed that this would instill a proper reverence in individuals for people in classes or positions of authority above themselves. One of his famous ideals was to “Let the ruler be a ruler, the subject a subject, a father a father, and a son a son.” To him, a proper, structured hierarchy with clearly defined separation of classes was extremely important to a strong society.


        Overall, the philosophy of Confucius was largely focused on the value of order in social interaction and politics, with the objective of helping a society to run more efficiently and effectively. This sets him apart from many philosophers in that everything he taught had a specific functional purpose and focused on fixing existing issues rather than focusing on the hypothetical or abstract. While his teachings often parallel with those from many world religions, Confucianism is not in itself a religion, and could be applied to anyone to help them become a more productive member of society. The philosophies of Confucius have already become an integral part of Asian culture, and Confucianism contains many teachings that would improve the world we live in a great deal if we just integrated even a few of them into our own culture.


Quiz Questions
1. What was Confucius’ real name?
2. Confucius became the Minister of what in the state of Lu?
3. What name was given to the compilation of his teachings?
4. What is his standpoint on how a ruler should govern?
5. What is the Confucianism's aim of education?

Discussion Questions
1. How is Confucianism's take on education still relevant to this day?
2. Do you think Confucianism is a religion or a philosophy?

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.