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- <title>Morals of Confucius -- Reading Revolutions</title>
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- <td BGCOLOR="#C0C0C0"><blockquote>
- <blockquote><blockquote><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1">Confucius (Kongzi) (551-479 BC) <br>
- Chinese philosopher and statesman
- <br>
- <b><i>The Morals of Confucius</i> (1691 First English Edition)</b>
- </font></blockquote></blockquote>
- </blockquote>
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1">Confucius lived during the Spring and Autumn period (777 BC to 476 BC) of the
- Eastern or Later Zhou Dynasty (770 BC - 256 BC). It was a time in China's history
- when the great Zhou dynasty had broken down and the country was divided among
- rival factions. Confucius traveled from State to State to teach what he believed to
- be the best approach to government and civilization.
- <br><br><img SRC="confuciusplainsmall.jpg" height=400 width=261 align=RIGHT>
- Wherever he went, he sought positions in government as an advisor or
- administrator, but only briefly held a few such posts. While he attracted a large
- number of students and followers, his views and advice were not popular among
- the kings nor were they considered practical. A number of his students were able
- to make successful careers in government; perhaps they were more flexible or
- more politic.
- <br><br>
- The writings of Confucius would seem to appeal to a feudal lord. Confucius taught
- that the subordinate owed obedience and honor to his superior. This began in the
- home where the father was held to be the absolute ruler. The family was to follow
- him in all decisions and look to him for guidance and wisdom. This principle, filial
- piety, was then applied to the organization of civilization and government. The
- individual household owed allegiance and obedience to the local ruler who in turn
- honored and obeyed those above him.
- <br><br>
- Confucius relished the idea of ceremony and promoted it as a means to serve as a
- visual and behavioral reminder of rank. The external signs or rituals of society were
- to regulate both day to day exchanges as well as the ceremonies of State. Rank
- was dignified by rituals as well as privilege. Each rank would have specific roles in
- religious and political ceremonies and would be limited to certain ceremonies they
- could conduct. Included in the idea of ceremony were the clothes that you were to
- wear, the insignias on the clothing or your carriage, the style of hat worn on special
- occasions, where you could and could not walk, and even the colors you were
- allowed to use in clothing and decoration. Only the Emperor was to use and wear
- certain colors of gold, crimson, and purple.
- <br><br>
- One would think that rulers would embrace such a militaristic organization of the
- population. However, Confucius also taught that rulers must be responsible to their
- subordinates. They earned their privilege through promoting the welfare of the
- populace. When a father or a ruler betrayed that trust, the children or the subjects
- had the right and duty to disobey, to overthrow the ruler. At heart he was a
- humanist. When Confucius did manage to secure a position in court in one of the
- kingdoms, he didn't last long. The kingdoms were preoccupied with war.
- Resources which Confucius thought should be spent on benevolence were
- channeled into either defense of territory or the acquisition of new territories.
- <br><br>
- <a href="pictures/Confucius/DSCN2075wl.jpg">
- <img border="0" src="pictures/Confucius/DSCN2075ws.jpg" width="300" height="173" align="left" hspace="6" vspace="6"></a>Confucius seldom stayed in a place for a long time. Either the kings and dukes
- didn't have much patience with the idea of tempering their power and he was
- quickly dismissed or he would leave in disgust when prescribed rituals were
- violated. He despaired when he would witness minor nobles engage in the rituals of
- kings. He felt insulted when the proper courtesies due his rank were abridged or
- forgotten altogether. He left disciples and students behind who had been exposed
- to a radical form of thought.
- <br><br>
- Perhaps, in part. because he traveled so extensively, Confucian thought spread
- widely following his death. His students carried it to all corners of China. It influenced
- other forms of Chinese philosophy such as that of Mencius and the Legalists. As a philosophy it was a deliberate consideration of the function and
- responsibility of government and society. It contained a moral code that applied to
- the minutia of greeting a friend as well as to the proper function and ethics of
- government.
- <br><br>
- By the time that the King of Qin (221 BC) conquered the neighboring States and
- declared himself as Shi Huang Di, Emperor of China, Confucianism was a powerful
- force. As one of his first acts as emperor, Huang Di ordered that all of the books of
- Confucius should be burnt and the Confucian scholars executed. Huang Di then
- embarked upon a total reorganization of society and government, one based on
- absolute power, forced labor, conscripted military, and central control. In a few
- short years he was able to join and lengthen the Great Wall, build roads, dig canals,
- and build the great mausoleum at Xi'an for himself. The violence and disrespect
- for traditional values led to the overthrow of the Qin dynasty only 21 years after its
- inception. The Han dynasty, which replaced it, returned to Confucian principles and
- lasted until 220 AD.
- <br><a href="pictures/Confucius/Confucius2035wl.jpg">
- <img border="0" src="pictures/Confucius/Confucius2035ws.jpg" width="267" height="300" align="left" hspace="6" vspace="6"></a><br>
- The Emperor Wu Ti of the Han dynasty took the advice of his minister, Hung Kung-sun, and made Confucianism a religion by elevating Confucius to a perfection of thought and correctness that was unarguable, something simply to be learned, studied, and in the end worshiped. This had far reaching consequences for the future. Other schools of thought didn't have a chance to be explored or developed. Confucianism itself had little possibility of being significantly altered. During the Song and then the Ming dynasties Confucianism became little more than a management tool rather than a system of ethics.
- <br><br>
- The system of national examinations underwrote the standardization of thought. To enter the Civil Service and thus advance in rank boys studied the classics and their proper interpretation. Even those who would not take the examinations were taught using the texts. It was only in the late Qing dynasty that alternative methods of education were more readily available. Even after that, parents taught reverence for the classics. If you knew your Confucius, everything would go right in your life.
- <br><br>
- The ten years of terror called the Cultural Revolution, both rejected, and was based on, the Confucian system. The "little red book" of Chairman Mao was to replace the Confucian texts but be given the same inviolate devotion and obedience. Any person carrying a copy and loudly proclaiming its contents could expect to be able to advance in the ranks. It provided a rather immediate system of civil service exams without the need for prolonged study.
- <br><br>
- The work of Confucius was published in English when<a href="pictures/Confucius/Confucius2024wl.jpg"><img border="0" src="pictures/Confucius/Confucius2024ws.jpg" width="312" height="300" align="right" hspace="6" vspace="6"></a> England and Europe were
- moving away from feudal thought and government toward representative
- government with an emphasis on individual choice and rights. Confucian principles
- emphasize the good of the group or community over the rights of the individual.
- <br><br>
- Confucius was developing a system of morality and politics just a little earlier than
- when the writings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation for our
- western approach to civilization. Later philosophers in each culture would be
- influenced by the assumptions of the earliest great writers. They developed their
- thoughts either in opposition to them or as an extension and elaboration. By the
- time Confucian thought reached Europe, philosophers and politicians had moved to
- limit the power of government through law and to guarantee the rights of the
- individual irrespective of their place in society. In the West, the work of Confucius
- was, and is, valued for its beauty and great moral sense, not as an innovative
- approach to civilization. In China, it is today a part of the fabric of society, and influences
- their philosophers and thinkers as well as day to day living.
- <br><br><br>
- </font>
- <blockquote><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quotations:</span>
- <br>
-
-
- <br>
- He who rules his state on a moral basis would be supported by the people, just as
- the Polar star is encircled by all the other stars. p 12.
- <br><br>
- Regulated by the edits and punishments, the people will know only how to stay out
- of trouble but will not have a sense of shame. Guided by virtues and the rites, they
- will not only have a sense of shame but also know how to correct their mistakes of
- their own accord. p 13.
- <br><br>
- People will obey you if you promote righteous men and suppress evil men. And
- they will disobey you if you do the contrary.
- <br><br>
- If one learns the truth in the morning, one would never regret dying the same
- evening. p 51.
- <br><br>
- Courtesy without following the rites leads to tiredness, caution without following the
- rites leads to cowardice, courage without following the rites leads to rudeness;
- frankness without following the rites leads to harshness. Subordinates imitate their
- superiors; when a superior man devotes himself to his own kin, the people will
- cherish the cultivation of benevolence. When he does not forget his friends, people
- will not be indifferent to one another. p. 129.
- <br><br>
- When learning something new, one should worry about being unable to reach it.
- When one has learnt something, one should worry about forgetting it. p. 138.
- <br><br>
- Fan Chi asked about benevolence. Confucius said, "Be respectful to parents, be conscientious in official affairs. Be loyal
- and honest to friends. These three moral principles can never be defied anywhere." p. 241.
- <br><br>
- A gentleman always keeps even-tempered without being arrogant while a petty
- man is arrogant without being even-tempered. p. 246.
- <br><br>
- <blockquote>Quotations from:<br>
- <i>Analects of Confucius.</i> (Cai Xiqin editor and translator). Beijing: Sinolingua,
- 1994.<br></blockquote>
-
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- <font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1">Photographs of the book may be used for non-commercial (no advertisements) and educational purposes. Please provide a link to this page for copyright.</font>
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- <blockquote><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1"><b>Further
- Resources:</b><br>
- <br>
- A general introduction to the
- </font><a
- href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/confucius/"><font
- face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">life of
- Confucius.</font></a>
- <br><br><font
- face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">A short introduction to <a
- href="http://sangha.net/messengers/confucius.htm">Confucianism.</a> <br>
- <br>
- A very nice introduction from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius">Wikipedia.</a>
- <br>
- <br>
- A <a href="http://www.silk-road.com/artl/chrono.shtml">chronology of early history</a>
- includes major events from both eastern and western cultures.<br>
- <br>
- A list of the <a href="http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Chinese/topics/dynasty/douying.html">Chinese dynasties </a>with sound files for pronunciation.<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Confucius/analects.html">The Analects of Confucius </a>are
- available for download at MIT. Click on the link "Download: A 151k text-only
- version is available for download." at the bottom of the page for the complete text.<br>
- <br>
- <br>
- <br>
- <br>
- <br>
- (c) Marilyn Shea, 2005, 2009<br>
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