Confucianism

Confucius of China (551 B.C. 449 B.C.)

Confucius, considered the greatest Chinese philosopher, was born in town of Chufu, state of
Lu (part of the present province of Shantung). His name was the Latinized form of the Chinese name
king-fu-tzu king being the family name, fu the given name, and tzu the word for master. His father
died when he was still a child, so his mother became his constant companion and teacher. She taught
him such values of authority, reverence for ancestors, and obedience to elders.

He married at the age of 19 while he was working for the government. He had one son and
two daughters. He resigned from the government at the age of 30 and began a teaching career. He
traveled throughout the provinces for many years, propagating his philosophy of life. In 479 B.C., he
fell ill and died at the age of 73. His teachings gave him great fame among the people, who deeply
mourned his death.

The Teachings of Confucius

Confucius taught his people the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom,
piety and loyalty. His favorite saying was a negative of the Golden Rule: What you do not want done
to you, do not do to others.

Confucius was silent on the subject of God. He had little interest in the idea of eternal life. He
was more of an intellectual and social reformer, having lived in China during its period of turmoil.

The heart of the Confucian doctrine was contained in two words: morality and harmony.
According to Confucius, the social order was based on Five Fundamental Relationships:

1. Between ruler and subjects

The rulers should be kind and the subjects should be loyal
2. Between parents and children
The parents should show love and the children, filial piety and humility
3. Between husband and wife
 The husband must treat the wife properly and the wife must show obedience
4. Between older and younger children
The elder children must act with gentility and the younger with humility
5. Between friends
Friends must show mutual concern

For Confucius, the stability of the family was a basic requirement in attaining a harmonious
and peaceful society.

The teachings of Confucius have been preserved in the Confucian Classics, which consists of
five classics and four books.

The five classics are:

1. Book of Changes
2. Book of History
3. Book of Oder
4. Spring and Autumn Annals
5. Book of Rites

The four books are:

1. Analects
2. Great Learning
3. Doctrine of the Mean
4. Book of Mencius
 The only piece of writing done by Confucius himself is the Spring and Autumn Annals, which is
a brief story of the state of Lu, his home province. His disciples compiled his other teachings.

The Analects is a collection of the dialogues of Confucius with his disciples. The following are
excerpts from this collection:

1. Wherever you go, go with your whole heart. The serious fault is to have faults and not try
to mend them. Dont think of yourself as so big that other people look small.
2. Learning without thought is labor lost. Thought without learning is intellectual death.
3. The superior man blames himself; the inferior man blames others.
4. If you desire that is good, the people will become good also. The character of the ruler is
like the wind, and the character of the common people is like grass, and the grass bends
in the direction of the wind.
5. With humility or a pious attitude, a man seldom commits errors; with sincerity of heart, a
man is generally reliable; and with simplicity of character, he is usually generous. You
seldom make a mistake when you start off from these points.
6. Let the ruler be a ruler, the minister be a minister, the father be a father, and the son be
a son.