CHAPTER THREE - CONFUCIANISM
CONFUCIUS
Of all the philosophies or
ideologies which emerged during the period of the "hundred schools of
thought", none had the impact or longevity of Confucianism. There
is, quite simply, no way to understand the continuity and success of Chinese
civilization without understanding the key ideas of Confucius, and the impact
these ideas had on Chinese culture and politics. The teacher / thinker
who founded this ideology - Kung Fu
Tzu (Confucius) - is arguably the most important figure in Chinese history.
Confucius
is believed to have been born somewhere around 551 BCE. This, remember, was during
the time that effective control by the Zhou dynasty was falling apart. During
his life, Confucius served as a minor governmental official; he never achieved
his desired goal of high office or an influential position. He had to be
content with teaching (not actually implementing) his ideals of proper social
and political order; these ideas were clearly impacted by the disorder and
breakdown he saw taking place during the period of Zhou decline. Those
teachings became the basis for an elaborate and complex philosophical system.
Confucius, like many of the great teachers and founders in history, did not
write any of his ideas down. His ideas and lessons were preserved by eager
students and passed down orally, finally taking written form in texts such as The
Analects.
One important point to make
- Confucius was teaching in the 6th century BCE. Although his ideas
gained followers during his life, they did not have a widespread audience and did
not have an impact on government until centuries after his death.
And, between the period of the 6th century and the 2nd
century BCE when the ideas of Confucianism were officially adopted, other
thinkers added their interpretations and ideas. The philosophy that ultimately
emerged was based on Confucius and later thinkers; Confucianism is the name for
this institutionalized and formalized ideology. In the description below,
we address the core ideas of this emerging philosophy of Confucianism as they
took root during the Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BCE.
HARMONY
At the heart of
Confucianism is a simple yet elusive goal - social and political stability, a
harmonious society. This emphasis is not surprising if one remembers that Confucius
lived in a turbulent age when the feudal structure was breaking down into civil
war and violence. The core purpose of his teachings was to outline what was
needed for a stable, peaceful community. There are three key features of
Confucius' response to this question of how to achieve stability: a secular
focus, reverence for tradition and the central role of the family.
SECULARISM:
This is a term we use again in future discussions. Secularism means a focus on
humans and their actions, rather than a religious focus on a god (or gods) and
their intervention. It is an emphasis on earthly forces and human actions. It
does not mean a rejection of religious belief or practices; however in a
secular based society, religion or religious issues are not at the core of
social and political life. Most Western societies today are secular in nature,
as opposed to cultures such as
TRADITION: One of the most important
features of Confucianism was its focus on the importance and stabilizing
function of tradition. The belief was that the achievement of a virtuous
citizenry and government, and thus a stable society, was based on the degree to
which people maintained proper rituals, traditional relationships, and decorum.
The proper and necessary patterns of behavior were determined by tradition - by
looking to the past and maintaining those rituals or relations. Thus, in a
culture already oriented towards maintaining traditions, Confucianism became
the philosophical support for maintaining and strengthening that conservative
focus.
FAMILY: Confucianism stressed the
central importance of the family; it was the core or the heart of society. In
Confucian thought, there first had to be harmony within the family, then this
peace spreads out to the larger society and governmental relations.
HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
One of the fundamental
ideas of Confucianism which tied all three of these ideas together was the
importance of stable, harmonious human relationships. Key to this
was the Confucian belief that in all human relationships and interactions,
there are duties, obligations and rites/rituals that must be observed. These
duties are based on tradition, on the past. If both parties know what is
expected (thus the importance of education) and perform their
obligations/duties properly, than harmony is achieved.
As an example, one of the
most important relationships in the eyes of Confucian adherents was that
between father and son. Both parties in this relationship have traditionally
based obligations to each other. The father is to protect, provide for and
guide the son; the son is to obey, respect and revere the father. When both do
what is expected, there is peace. There were other such relationships that were
seen as central to social stability. These are often referred to as the Five
Cardinal Relationships. The first three are within the family. They
are:
In each of these
relationships, there are obligations and expectations to be met; if these
duties are fulfilled, there is harmony between the parties. A pattern is clear
in these relationships; there are hierarchical differences to be maintained -
age is superior to youth and male is superior to female. These patterns
of the superior status of elders and the dominant social status of men remained
prominent traditional beliefs and still underlie social interactions in Chinese
culture - to the present day. Although there were and are obviously
several other relationships that make up the family, these three were deemed
the principal, or Cardinal, relationships within the family structure.
The other two Cardinal
relationships take the concept of traditional duties and obligations, and
extend them to the society at large.
The same
ideas apply - in both of these relationships there are duties to maintain; if
tradition is maintained, harmony is achieved.
In the Confucian view, a
person has several relationships which make up their social life; in each
of these, one must know and follow the traditional duties and rituals. If
a society could educate its citizens in this way, if everyone were educated and
brought up to know tradition and followed these traditional patterns of social
interaction in all of their relationships, then the society achieved harmony,
stability and virtue. Here is a depiction of the Confucian ideal society:
When the perfect order prevails, the world is like a home
shared by all. Virtuous and worthy men are elected to public office...All men
love and respect their own parents and children, as well as the parents and
children of others. There is caring for the old; there are jobs for the adults;
there are nourishment and education for the children. There is a means of
support for the widows and the widowers; for all who find themselves alone in
the world; and for the disabled.... Intrigues and conniving for ill gain are
unknown. Villains such as thieves and robbers do not exist. The door to every
home need never be locked and bolted by day or night. These are the
characteristics of an ideal world, the commonwealth state."
(The
Record of Rites, Book IX)
GOOD GOVERNMENT
Not surprisingly (given the
interests of its founder) governmental service was held in high esteem in the
ideals of Confucianism. One of the five cardinal relationships was ruler to
ruled; ruler in this equation meant both the emperor and the bureaucracy
that held the country together and gave the emperor his power.
An interesting connection
was made during the period of the Han Dynasty - the ancient belief in the
Mandate of Heaven was refined to include Confucian concepts. According to
Confucian thought, there was an identifiable reason why a ruling dynasty lost
the Mandate of Heaven; when an emperor did not fulfill the traditional
obligations of a ruler to protect, to establish a stable political order and to
avoid the exploitation of citizens, the support of the Heavens was
withdrawn. If an emperor became corrupt, lax, inept, or ruthless (thus
not fulfilling the proper, traditional role of the ruler), it was this
which led to the loss of citizen support, the loss of heavenly support, and the
dynasty would fall. According to Confucian thought, (which explicitly and
officially influenced political life from 200 BCE until the 20th century CE!)
the Mandate of Heaven was lost when leaders of a dynasty failed to carry out
their proper role and fulfill traditionally based obligations to the
people. The beliefs of Confucianism thus helped to explain and support
earlier existing traditions. Recognize the important implication - rulers could
not just do as they wished or rule arbitrarily - they must fulfill their duties
and obligations based on tradition. Confucianist ideas became the basis for
defining good government and the legitimacy of the Emperor.
The second manifestation of
"ruler" or government was the bureaucracy - civil servants or public
officials. It was extremely important that these officials were ready to
fulfill their central important function of ruling, to maintain traditional
duties and rites and strive for stability at the level of the state and empire.
Preparation for fulfilling this role required exhaustive education based
on a firm grounding in the past and tradition. Government officials had
to be ready to look to and know the past to sustain those traditions and
patterns in the present and future. Thus, there was a conservative
emphasis in education, particularly the education of those who were to serve
the emperor and the state. The intellectual and political elite studied and
grounded themselves in the past and in mastering traditional patterns and
rituals. In other words, for thousands of years, the ruling and cultural
elite were chosen and defined by their mastery of tradition and Confucianism -
reinforcing a focus on the past.
After years
of education in the classics of the Chinese past, and in particular all of the
texts and commentaries on Confucian thought, those who aspired to be
governmental officials were tested through the "civil service
exam". This was not like any exam you have ever taken! Recognize
how much was at stake - governmental service was the path to higher status,
power and wealth for a candidate and his family. For the society at large, the
purpose was to select competent and traditional leaders to fulfill one of the
Cardinal Relationships - to sustain the stability of the political state. Thus,
these exams were extensive and rigorous. To pass the government service
exam, called the Confucian or civil service exam, one had to display the skills
of a an educated and cultured gentleman - proficiency in the arts of
horsemanship, etiquette, calligraphy, and poetry. More importantly,
however, the candidate had to show complete mastery of the past and
traditional scholarship, in particular Confucianism, and other 'classics'
identified by Confucian scholars. This mastery was demonstrated by copying
out key texts - word for word, and with elegance and decorum! No
bluffing, no writing around a half understood concept! One either knew those
pages from the Analects, or the Record of Rites, or other classic
texts, or one failed ....period. Imagine if you were asked to show your
knowledge of a classic text by having to write it out word for word. And
what if your penmanship counted! Clearly, those who passed and became
government officials reflected a conservative training and outlook.
It was during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE) that the first universities
were built, and the first civil service exam was given. Thus, beginning with
the Han Dynasty, the entire political and educational system began to be dominated
by the ideas of Confucianism. Chinese education, selection of leadership,
and the dynastic cycle of imperial rule all became rooted in Confucian ideas
and interpretations. Thus, as a result of the increasing influence and
acceptance of Confucian ideas during the Han Dynasty,
This is only a brief
overview of this influential philosophical aspect of Chinese civilization -
however you should have a sense of why
As important as Confucian
thought was to the development of
Interesting Related Web Sites
Ancient Dynasties
Full
Translation of the Analects
GO TO CHAPTER FOUR
BACK TO CHAPTER TWO
