FREE ESSAY ON CONFUSIANISM

CONFUSIANISM

A philosopher named Confucius founded Confucianism in China 2,500 years ago. Confucianism
is a system of ethical behavior and social responsibility that became the great
traditions of the East.1 It played an important role in the evolution in Chinese culture
over the centuries. It has influenced near-by countries and had made a mark in the
history of religion. There are today over six million people who call themselves
Confucianists. Most Confucianists live in East Asia where Confucianism is thought to be
born. For over two thousand years, Confucianism has been the dominant philosophical
system of Chinese government, which has still a great hold on their people. Because
Chinese culture has spread to the counties of Vietnam, Korea, and Japan, the values of
Confucianism can be found there too. 
Confucius
Confucius was born in 551 BC in the village of Zou in the country of Lu. During that
time, the Zhou dynasty was in decline-this was controlled by King Zhou. As a child,
Confucius would have make-believe rituals; as a young adult he quickly earned a
reputation for politeness, fairness and had a love for learning. He traveled often and
studied at the imperial capital, Zhou, where legend has it he spoke with Lao Zi, the
leader of Daoism. When Confucius returned to Lu, he became a renowned teacher. At the age
of 35, Confucius followed Duke Zhao into war. Duke Zhao was later captured and Confucius
again followed. Zhao often went to Confucius for advice, but was later advised not to by
one of his advisors. Eventually Zhao stopped going to him for advice and Confucius
returned to Lu. When he returned, he saw that conditions have been unchanged so he
retired from public life to concentrate on teaching and studying. At the age of 50, he
was asked to lead a defense against a rebellion, but he declined. Although he did not
lead in war, he later became City Magistrate. Throughout his governmental career, he was
promoted several times. Later he became Grand Secretary of Justice and, at age 56, he
became Chief Minister of Lu. Because of Confucius' increasing power, many nearby
countries became worried that Lu would over power them. They sent messengers with gifts
and dancers to distract the Duke during a sacrifice holiday and the Duke later abounded
his duties. When Confucius received word of this, he resigned and left the country.
Confucius spent the next five years of his life wandering China with his disciples until
he was able to send messenger to the sympathetic king of a nearby country, who sent his
own band of soldiers to rescue them 2. At the age of 67, Confucius returned to Lu where
he spent the rest of his years teaching until he died at 72. 
Teachings
The teaching of Confucius still has a great effect on the culture of China today. His
followers wrote down all of his teachings after his death and have been translated into
many different languages so that the entire world may benefit from them. Below are some
examples from the Analects, Book 4.
? Roger T. Ames: The Master said, "The authoritative person (ren) alone has the
wherewithal to properly discriminate the good person from the bad."
? E. Bruce Books: The Master said, It is only the rvn who can like others; who can hate
others.
Page 2
? Lionel Giles: Only he who has the sprit of goodness within him is able either to love
or to hate.
? David Hilton: The master said: "Only the Human can love people, and only they can
despise people."
? Chichung Huang: The master said: "Only a humane man is capable of loving man and
capable of loathing men."
? James Legge: The Master said: "It is only the virtuous man, who can love, or who can
hate, others."
? Simon Leys: The Master said: "Only a good man can love people and can hate people."
? Lin Yutang: Confucius said, "Only a true man knows how to love people and to hate
people." 
? A. Charles Muller: Confucius said; "Only the jen person is able to really like others
or to really dislike them. 
? Ezra Pound (1): He said: Only the complete man can love others, or hate them.
? Xin Guanjie: Confucius said; "Only a benevolent man is able to tell whom to love and
whom to hate." 3
As you can see most of his teachings taught about loving people and that people should
not hate one another. His main teachings dealt with education. He believed that throught
education; anyone could reach his or her goal. He taught people to be gentlemen. A
gentleman was defined as a person who developed the five virtues of courtesy, 
Page 3
magnanimity, good faith, diligence, and kindness. To Confucius, government service was
the highest calling of all, because good government would bring happiness to all people
4. 
Before Confucianism
When Confucius was born in 551 BC, the Zhou dynasty was in decline. The Zhou King only
controlled a small area around his capital, Luoyang where most of the religious
ceremonies were performed.5 The rest of China was divided into states where the rulers
would be called lords. The birthplace of Confucius, Lu, was not powerful enough to
overthrow the king, nor any other state. Because the emperors used forced to control,
many states tried to rebel against the government and always failed. They would often
fail because they would always have opposition from the other states and thus effected
the balance of power. The major religion at the time was Daoism, which is the most
important native philosophy of China. Its legendary founder was Laozi, who, according to
tradition, was an older contemporary of Confucious. 
After Confucianism
In his later years Confucious founded a church and taught people to be gentlemen. He
believed that over time they would become officials in government and could change
society.6 He gave his students practical teaching in the arts - rituals, writing, music,
archery, chariot driving, and mathematics. His greatest concern was to produce men of
character, which would change society for the better. After his death, his disciples
called this way of life Confucianism, which was named after their leader Confucius.7
Before Page 4
long, the disciples were able to gain enough votes to change the state charter in Lu to
Confucianism. Soon other Chinese states saw the success Confucianism brought to Lu and
changed their charters as well. After Confucianism has gone into effect, China has never
been better. Crime was lowered, it had a growing economy, and the all around quality of
life was better. 
Confucianism as Compared to Other Religions
Although Confucianism is not considered a religion, it is very similar to one. The main
likeness is that they both deal with moral values and to live a good life. Confucianism
does not have a church nor any priests, but they do have governmental leaders and places
for special ceremonies.8 Instead of prophets, their leaders are called sages (or people
who had made a major contribution to the religion's history or formation). Confucianism
is a whole way of life that includes having the government follow the rules and rituals.
Confucianism deals with the way people should live and act and requires no sacrifices or
worshipping. Other religions, such as Christianity, deal with rules and certain
sacrifices that have to be made in order to go to heaven, or to reach other ways to be
one with the creator. Confucianism has always allowed different types of religious
worship and is not forced upon people. They both want the well being of the people who
follow their guidelines. In religion, they want the well being of the people even if it
means breaking the law. In Confucianism the most respect a person can get is those who
follow the law and respect all government leaders. 
Page 5
Confucianism under Communism
At the end of WWII, civil war broke out between Chiang's Nationalist government and
Communist Chinese rebels led by Mao Zedong.9 Communists won the war in 1949 and
established the People's Republic of China. Mao had no symphony for Confucianism and
vowed to abolish it in all its forms. Mao accused Confucius of having a "feudal
mentality", and helped a small group of people take for themselves a wealth of society.
He was also accused of being responsible for the conditions the country and his ethics
were called a "slave morality". This kept women subordinate to their husbands and gave
authority to abusive parents. Part of Mao's anti-Confucius program was to end the
traditional family system. Arranged marriages were banned, as men and women had equal
rites, and both sexes could obtain a divorce. All of the power the father had was ended.
In school, tales of filial piety were replaced by slogans advocating loyalty to the
state. 10 Respect for the elderly had also vanished. 
Mao made himself emperor, which replaced the idle ruler of Confucianism. He showed the
same amount of pride in his calligraphy as the scholar of the old. Although he went
against many of the Confusions books, he still did understand the importance of the
written word. He had a Red Book, or what was called a collection of Mao's thoughts, which
contained his own revolutionary maxims. Anyone seeking to become an official in Mao's
China had to know Mao's book as thoroughly as the candidates for the original book, the
Five Classics. As a guide for daily life, the Red Book was carried and studied by all of
Mao's "subjects". Marxist ideology, as interpreted by Mao, became the basis for 
Page 6
a new system of ethics. Study groups in every town and village replaced the family as the
enforcers of the social structure. Mao even adopted the Confucian world-view of China as
the teacher of other nations. He broke with the Soviet Union over differences in Marxist
ideology, and sought to spread his brand of Marxism to other nations in Asia and Africa.
After Mao's death in 1976, the new Chinese rulers have brought back the old Confucian
traditions. They have restored the temples, altars, and other places that are a part of
Confucian civilization. 
Benefits of Confucianism 
The benefits of Confucianism are better than the original form of government that China
had before. There is now much better organization and the public is now more under
control than it has been before. The financial market has been up since the arrival of
Confucianism. People are happier with their lives, and seek to be a better person in the
field of government. In factories, cooperation is the motto and no person in management
makes a decision without first talking to the workers. Every day the workers sing a song
to signify a type of family that they are in. Workers will often work over time and often
miss vacations to get the job done on time. Respecting elders is not limited to the
family; all people respect one another, which has lowered crime rates over the year. The
people seek a balance between nature and humankind. Confucius' teachings still have an
effect on the whole world. People in China especially still honor Confucius teachings and
ceremonies today. Some ceremonies include Confucius's birthday, which is celebrated
annually in Hong Kong on September 28. On this holiday, all teachers are 
Page 7
honored for carrying the tradition of the "Teacher of All Generations". Special services
including dances dating from the Ming Dynasty, are conducted at the many Confucian
temples on the island. In June, Taiwan's Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the death, in
299 BCE, of the Confucian diplomat Chu Yuan, who drowned himself to call attention to
unheeded demands for government reform. 
Quotes:
Page 8
Bibliography
1Confucianism - World Religions
by Thomas and Dorothy Hoober P. 3
2 Confucianism - World Religions
by Thomas and Dorothy Hoober P. 75
3 Confucianism 
http://albany.net/~geenius/kongfuzi/teach.html
4 Confucianism - Encarta Encyclopedia
http://www.encarta.com
5 Confucianism - World Religions
P. 56 
6 Confucianism
http://www.albany.net/~geenius/kongfuzi/modkong.html
7 World Book Encyclopedia - Confucianism
8 Confucianism
http://www.encyclopedia.com
9 Confucianism
http://connect.net/ron/confucianism.html
10 Confucianism
http://www.encarta.com
(I would check it first)