Confucius
 | Engraving of Confucius |
| | Confucius |
|---|
Ancestral name:
(") | Zi¹ (子)
(Pinyin: Zǐ)Clan name:
(氏) | Kong (")
(Pinyin: K'ng)Given name:
(名) | Qiu (丘)
(Pinyin: Qiū)Courtesy name:
(字) | Zhongni (仲尼)
(Pinyin: Zhòngní) | Posthumous name:
(謚) | The Ultimate Sage
Master of Yore² | | (Ch: 至聖先師 ;
Py: Zhìshèng Xiānshī)| Styled: | Master Kong³ | | (Ch: "子,
less frequently "夫子; | Py: K'ngzǐ, less fr.
K'ngfūzǐ; | WG: K'ung-tzu, less fr.
K'ung Fu-tzu) | 1This Chinese word (子), the ancestral name of
Confucius, should not be confused with the word
"master" as used in the style of Confucius "Master
Kong" ("子). These are two different words written
with the same character in Chinese. Zi was the
surname of the ruling family of Shang.| | 2 Posthumous name since 1530. Between 1307
and 1530, his posthumous name was: "The Lord
of Culture Ultimate Sage and Great
Accomplisher" (大成至聖文宣王) which is
the name on his tomb.| | | 3 Romanised as "Confucius". | | | | | | | | |
Confucius (, transliterated
Kong Fuzi or
K'ung-fu-tzu, lit.
"Master Kong", traditionally
September 28,
551 –
479 BCE) was a famous
Chinese thinker and social
philosopher, whose teachings and
philosophy have deeply influenced
East Asian life and thought.
His philosophy emphasised personal and
governmental
morality, correctness of
social relationships,
justice and
sincerity. These values gained prominence in
China over other doctrines, such as
Legalism or
Daoism during the
Han Dynasty. Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as
Confucianism. It was introduced to Europe by the
Jesuit Matteo Ricci, who was the first to
Latinise the name as "Confucius".
His teachings are known primarily through the
Analects of Confucius, a short collection of his discussions with his disciples, which was compiled posthumously.
At 30, I took my stand; (三十而立)
At 40, I no longer had doubts; (四十不惑)
At 50, I knew the will of the heavens; ("十而知天命)
At 60, my ear was attuned; (六十而耳順)
At 70, I follow all the desires of my heart without breaking any rule. (七十而從心欲)::(
Analects, translation by James Legge)
According to tradition, Confucius was born in
551 BCE (during the
Spring and Autumn Period, at the beginning of the
Hundred Schools of Thought philosophical movement) in the city of
Qufu, which was located in the Chinese
State of Lu (now part of present-day
Shandong Province and culturally and geographically close to the royal mansion of Zhou). He was born into a deposed noble family which had recently fled from the
State of Song.
The
Records of the Grand Historian (史記), compiled some 400 years later, indicate that Confucius was conceived out of wedlock (野合). His father was seventy, and his mother only fifteen at his birth. His father died when he was three, and he was brought up in poverty by his mother. His social ascendancy links him to the growing class of
Shì (士), a class between the old
nobility and the common people. This class later became the prominent class of
literati because of the cultural and intellectual skills they shared.
According to "Kongzide Gushi," Confucius's father's name was Shu Lianghe (). Shu Lianghe originally had nine daughters and one crippled son. He decided to marry another woman in the hope of having a healthy son. This new wife became Confucius's mother. However, on the day that Confucius was born, Shu Lianghe briefly seemed frustrated on seeing his "ugly" son.
As a child, Confucius was said to have enjoyed putting ritual vases on the sacrifice table. As a young man, he was a minor administrative manager in the State of Lu and rose to the position of Justice Minister. After several years he resigned because he disapproved of the politics of his Prince. Around age fifty, seeing no way to improve the government, he gave up his political career in Lu, and began a 12-year journey around China. He sought the "Way" and tried unsuccessfully to convince many different rulers of his political beliefs and to push them into reality. When he was about 60, he returned home and spent the last years of his life teaching an increasing number of disciples by sharing his experiences with them and transmitting the old wisdom via a set of books called the
Five Classics.
According to "The sayings of Confucius", the state of Lu was doing economically very well because of Confucius, that its neighbour the state of Qi was worried that it will become the supreme state and Qi will be the first to be conquered. They then decided to sabotage Lu's reforms by sending one hundred horses and eighty beauties to the King of Lu.
The King of Lu then indulged himself in pleasure seeking and did not attend to any official duties for three days. At the sacrificial rites he did not give the councelors the meat in accordance to the rites. By then, Confucius had done all he could to bring Lu to its height and decided to leave.
In the
Analects, Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing". He put the greatest emphasis on the importance of
study, and it is the
Chinese character for study (學) that opens the text. In this respect, he is seen by Chinese people as the Greatest Master. Far from trying to build a systematic theory of
life and
society, he wanted his disciples to think deeply for themselves and relentlessly study the outside world, mostly through the old
scriptures and by relating past political events (like the
Annals) or past feelings of common people (like the
Book of Odes).
In times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the
Mandate of Heaven that could unify the "world" (i.e., China) and bestow peace and prosperity on the people. Therefore, Confucius is often considered a great proponent of
conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and maybe twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: rulers to be chosen on merit, not parentage, rulers who were devoted to their people, and rulers who reached for
perfection. Such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.
One of the deepest teachings of Confucius, one of the hardest to understand from a Western point of view, may have been the superiority of exemplification over explicit rules of
behavior. His
ethics may be considered one of the greatest
virtue ethics. This kind of "indirect" way to achieve a goal is used widely in his teachings by way of
allusions,
innuendo, and even
tautology. This is why his teachings need to be examined and put into context for access by Westerners. A good example is found in this famous anecdote:
When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court, Confucius said, "Was anyone hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.::::::
Analects X.11, tr. A. Waley
The anecdote is not long, but it is of paramount importance. In his time horses were perhaps 10 times more expensive than stablemen. By not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrated his greatest priority: human beings. Thus, according to many Eastern and Western commentators, Confucius' teaching can be considered a Chinese variant of
humanism.
Confucius also heavily emphasised what he calls "rites and music," referring to these social conventions as two poles to balance
order and
harmony. While rites, in short, show off social hierarchies, music unifies hearts in shared enjoyment. He added that rites are not only ways to arrange sacrificial tools, and music is not only the sound of sticks on a bell. Both are communications between someone's humanity and his social context; both feed social relationships, such as the five prototypes: between father and son, husband and wife, prince and subject, elder and youngster, and friend and friend. Duties are always balanced, and if a subject must obey his ruler, the subject must tell the ruler when he is wrong.
Confucius' teachings were later turned into a
corps de doctrine by his numerous disciples and followers. In the centuries after his death,
Mencius and
Xun Zi both wrote a prominent book on it, and in time, a philosophy was elaborated, which is known in the West as
Confucianism.
|
Confucius, illustrated in Myths & Legends of China, 1922, by E.T.C. Werner |
* The
Jesuits, while translating Chinese books into Western languages, translated "夫子 as
Confucius. This Latinised form has since been commonly used in Western countries.
* In systematic Romanisations:
** K'ng Fūzǐ (or K'ng fū zǐ) in
pinyin.
**
K'ung fu-tze in
Wade-Giles (or, less accurately, Kung fu-tze).
*** Fūzǐ means teacher. Since it was disrespectful to call the teacher by name according to Chinese culture, he is known as just "Master Kong", or Confucius, even in modern days.
*** The character 'fu' is optional, so he is commonly also known as
Kong Zi.
* His actual name was "丘, K'ng Qiū.
K'ng is a common
family name in China.
* His
courtesy name was 仲尼,
Zhòng Ní.
* In
1 CE (first year of the
Yuanshi period of the
Han Dynasty), he was given his first
posthumous name: '成宣尼公, Lord Bāochéngxūan, which means "Laudably Declarable Lord Ni."
* His most popular posthumous names are
** 至聖先師, Zhìshèngxiānshī, meaning "The Former Teacher who Arrived at Sagehood" (comes from
1530, the ninth year of the
Jianing period of the
Ming Dynasty);
** 至聖,
Zhìshèng, "the Greatest Sage";
** 先師, Xiānshī, "the First Teacher".
* He is also commonly known as 萬世師表, Wànshìshībiǎo, "the Model Teacher of a Myriad Ages" in
Taiwan.
Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, arguments continue over whether it is a religion, because it makes little reference to
theological or
spiritual matters (god(s), the
afterlife, etc.).
Confucius' principles gained wide acceptance primarily because of their basis in common Chinese opinion. He championed strong familial loyalty,
ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives, and the family as a basis for an ideal government. He expressed the well-known principle, "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself" (similar to the
Golden Rule). He also looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly the politicians, to model themselves on earlier examples.
Ethics
The Confucian theory of ethics is based on three important concepts:
While Confucius grew up,
lǐ referred to the three aspects of life: sacrificing to the gods, social and political institutions, and daily behavior. It was believed that
lǐ originated from the heavens. Confucius argued that it flowed not from heaven but from humanity. He redefined
lǐ to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society.
Lǐ, to Confucius, became every action by a person aiming to meet his surface desires. These can be either good or bad. Generally attempts to obtain short term pleasure are bad while those, which in the long term try to make one's life better, are generally good. These concepts are about doing the proper thing at the proper time.
To Confucius,
yì (義 [义]) was the origin of
lǐ.
Yì can best be translated as
righteousness. While doing things because of
lǐ, one's own
self-interest was not necessarily bad, one would be a better, more righteous person if one bases one's life upon following
yì. This means that rather than pursuing one's own selfish interests, one should do what is right and moral. It is doing the right thing for the right reason.
Yì is based upon
reciprocity. An example of living by
yì is how one must mourn one's father and mother for three years after their death. Since they took care of the child for the first three years of one's life, one must reciprocate by living in mourning for three years.
Just as
lǐ flows out of
yì, so
yì flows out of
rén (仁).
Ren can best be translated as kindness. His moral system was based upon
empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To live by
rén was even better than living by the rules of
yì. To live by
rén one used another Confucian version of the Golden Rule: he argued that one must always treat others just as one would want others to treat you.
Virtue under Confucius is based upon harmony with other people.
He applied an early version of the Golden Rule: "What one does not wish for oneself, one ought not to do to anyone else; what one recognises as desirable for oneself, one ought to be willing to grant to others." (
Confucius and Confucianism, Richard Wilhelm)
Politics
Confucius' political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argues that the best government is one that rules through "rites" and people's natural morality, rather than using bribery and force. He explained that this in one of the most important analects: 1. "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good." (Translated by
James Legge) This "sense of shame" is an internalisation of
duty, where the punishment precedes the evil action, instead of following it in the form of laws as in
Legalism.
While he supported the idea of the all-powerful
Emperor, probably because of the chaotic state of China at his time, his philosophies contained a number of elements to limit the power of the rulers. He argued for according language with
truth; thus
honesty was of the most paramount importance. Even in
facial expression, truth must always be represented. In discussing the relationship between a subject and his king (or a son and his father), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors. This demanded that the inferior must give advice to his superior if the superior was considered to be taking the wrong course of action. This was built upon by his disciple
Mencius to argue that if the king was not acting like a king, he would lose the
Mandate of Heaven and be overthrown. Therefore,
tyrannicide is justified because a
tyrant is more a thief than a king. Attempted tyrannicide, however, is not justified.
Confucius' disciples and only grandson,
Zisi, continued his philosophical school after his death. While relying heavily on Confucius' ethico-political system, two of his most famous disciples emphasized radically different aspects of his teachings.
Mencius articulated the infinite goodness inherent in humanity, while
Xun Zi underscored the realistic and materialistic aspects of Confucian thought.
Soon after Confucius' death,
Qufu, his hometown, became a place of devotion and remembrance. It is still a major destination for cultural tourism, and many Chinese people visit his grave and the surrounding temples. In China, there are many temples where representations of
Buddha,
Lao Zi and Confucius are found together. There are also many
temples dedicated to him, which have been used for Confucianist ceremonies.
Confucius' descendants were repeatedly identified and honored by successive imperial governments with titles of nobility and official posts. They were honored with the rank of a
marquis thirty-five times since
Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, and they were promoted to the rank of
duke forty-two times from the
Tang Dynasty to the
Qing Dynasty.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang first bestowed the title of "Marquis Wenxuan" on
Kong Sui of the 35th generation. In 1055,
Emperor Zhenzong of Song first bestowed the title of "
Duke Yansheng" (, literally "overflowing with sainthood") on
Kong Zong of the 46th generation. Despite repeated dynastic change in China, the title of Duke Yansheng was bestowed upon successive generations of descendants until it was abolished by the
Nationalist Government in 1935. The last holder of the title,
Kung Te-cheng of the 77th generation, was appointed Sacrificial Official to Confucius.
Today, there are thousands of reputed descendants of Confucius. The main lineage fled from the Kong ancestral home in
Qufu to
Taiwan during the
Chinese Civil War. The current head of the household is
Kung Te-cheng is a professor at
National Taiwan University. He previously served in the
Republic of China government as President of the
Examination Yuan. Kung married Sun Qifang, the great-granddaughter of the
Qing dynasty scholar-official and first president of
Beijing University Sun Jianai, whose family created one of the first business combines in modern-day China, which included the largest
flour mill in
Asia, the
Fou Foong Flour Company. The Kongs are related by marriage to a number of prominent Confucian families, among them that of the
Song Dynasty prime minister and martyr
Wen Tianxiang. The
Qianlong Emperor married a daughter to
Kong Xianpei of the 72nd generation, linking the
Aisin-Gioro imperial house with the Kong family.
*
Neo-Confucianism*
Important publications in Chinese philosophy*
Temple of Confucius*
Confucius Institute* Confucius. (1997).
Lun yu, (In English
The Analects of Confucius). Translation and notes by Simon Leys. New York : W.W. Norton. ISBN 0393040194
* Confucius. (2001). "The Analects". Translated by E. Slingerland. In P. Ivanhoe, & B. Norden,
Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. New York: Seven Bridges Press. (Original work published c. 551–479 BCE). ISBN 1889119091.
* Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2005). "Confucianism: An Overview". In
Encyclopedia of Religion (Vol. C, pp 1890–1905). Detroit: MacMillan Reference USA.
*
Herrlee Glessner Creel,
Chinese Thought, from Confucius to Mao Zedong, ISBN 0226120309
* Mengzi (2001).
Mengzi Translation by B. Van Norden. In P. Ivanhoe & B. Norden,
Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. New York: Seven Bridges Press. ISBN 1889119091.
* Wu, J. (1995a). "Confucius". In I. McGreal (ed.),
Great Thinkers of the Eastern World: The Major Thinkers of the Philosophical and Religious Classics of China, India, Japan, Korea and the world of Islam (pp 3–8). New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0062700855
* Wu. J. (1995b) "Mencius". In I. McGreal (ed.),
Great Thinkers of the Eastern World: The Major Thinkers of the Philosophical and Religious Classics of China, India, Japan, Korea and the world of Islam (pp 27–30). New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0062700855
*
Multilingual web site on Confucius and the Analects *
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Confucius *
Free ebook of Confucius at
Project Gutenberg*
Confucian Analects (Project Gutenberg release of James Legge's Translation)
*
Analects in Chinese and translations by
James Legge (en),
D.C. Lau (en) and
Séraphin Couvreur (fr).
*
"子世系 (Confucius' Genealogy) (in
Traditional Chinese): a table shows the immediate ancestors and direct descendants of Confucius
*
Life of Confucius and selections from The Analects*
Kong Family (in
Simplified Chinese)
**
Genealogy (very slow download)
*
《論語》白文 Analects (chinese plain text, no punctuation), edited by Shum Miao Ken
