The Greatest Philosophical Confucius

Confucius

Source
Born: 551 B.C.
Birthplace: Lu, China (now Shandong province)
Died: 479 B.C.
Best Known As: Chinese sage
Also Known As: Kong Fu-Zi
Confucius was a teacher, scholar and minor political official whose commentary on Chinese literary classics developed into a pragmatic philosophy for daily life. Not strictly religious, the teachings of Confucius were a utilitarian approach to social harmony and defined moral obligations between individuals and social systems. After his death his pupils collected notes on his sayings and doings and recorded them as the Analects. This compilation was added to over the years, and many sayings attributed to him are probably only loosely based on his teachings. His approach was formalized into a political and religious system during the Han Dynasty in the early part of the third century. It was embraced by subsequent generations and was the "state religion" of China until the latter part of the 20th century. In recent years critics have condemned Confucianism, characterizing its reliance on tradition as an impediment to modernization.
"Confucius" is the Latin rendering of his Chinese name, Kong Fu-Zi, which is sometimes also spelled as Kung Fu-Zi, K'ung-fu-tze, or in other variations. The name is unrelated to the martial art known as kung fu.




Biography: Confucius
The Chinese teacher and philosopher Confucius (551-479 B.C.) was the founder of the humanistic school of philosophy known as the Ju or Confucianism, which taught the concepts of benevolence, ritual, and propriety.
In the 6th century B.C. China had begun to disintegrate into a loose confederation of city-states. The nominal ruler of China was the King of Chou, who occupied the imperial capital at Loyang in northcentral China. The Chou had been the supreme rulers of the entire Chinese Empire 500 years earlier, but now they were simply a pawn of the competing Chinese states. This period is generally depicted as a time of great moral decline, when principles and integrity meant little to the official classes.
Confucius, an obscure school teacher, found this situation horrifying, and he attempted to seek a remedy by reviving the great moral teachings of the sages of the past. That he failed is unimportant, for his teachings had a profound influence on later Chinese thought and formed the basis for the dominant Chinese ideology, known as Confucianism.
Traditions and Sources on His Life
Confucius is the Latinized name of K'ung Fu-tzu (Great Master K'ung). His original name was K'ung Ch'iu; he is also known by the style name of K'ung Chung-ni. After he died, a large number of myths and legends grew up around his name, making difficult an accurate description of the historical Confucius. Traditionally, Confucius was venerated as a Chinese saint, and for a long time a critical, objective appraisal of his life was impossible. In more recent times both Chinese and Western scholars have ventured to discard some of the legends and myths and to reconstruct a biography from more reliable sources. As a result, a variety of new images of Confucius have emerged, many of them contradicting each other, and the demythologized picture of Confucius is as confusing as the traditional, mythical one.
The most detailed traditional account of Confucius' life is contained in the Records of the Historian (Shih chi) by Ssu-ma Ch'ien, who lived 145-86 B.C. Many modern scholars have dismissed this biography as a fictionalized, romanticized legend by a Confucian apologist. Nevertheless, in spite of obvious anachronisms, when used with the Analects (Lun yü), which purports to record actual conversations between Confucius and his disciples, one can reconstruct a satisfactory outline of the philosopher's family background, his career, and the role he played in 6th-century society.
According to the Records of the Historian, Confucius was a descendant of a branch of the royal house of Shang, the dynasty that ruled China prior to the Chou. His family, the K'ung, had moved to the small state of Lu, located in the modern province of Shantung in northeastern China. There is an early tradition that Confucius' father at an advanced age divorced his first wife because she had borne him only daughters and one disfigured son and married a 15-year-old girl from the Yen clan, who gave birth to K'ung Ch'iu. Ssuma Ch'ien refers to the relationship as a "wild union," which very possibly indicates that Confucius was an illegitimate child.
Confucius' birth date is given in early sources as either 551 or 552, although the former is more commonly accepted. The exact status of his family at the time of his birth is obscured by later attempts to create for him an illustrious lineage. In the Analects, Confucius says that during his youth he was in humble circumstances and forced to acquire many different skills. It is clear that even though the fortunes of his family had declined, he was no commoner. Confucius unquestionably belonged to the aristocratic class known as the shih. By the time of Confucius most shih served as court officials, scholars, and teachers, and Confucius' first occupation appears to have been as keeper of the Lu granary and later as supervisor of the fields, both low positions but consistent with his shih status.
Career as a Teacher
We do not know exactly when Confucius embarked on his teaching career, but it does not appear to have been much before the age of 30. In 518 he may have served as tutor to one of the prominent clans of Lu, the Meng, who wished their sons to be educated in the li, or ritual. He is alleged to have journeyed to Loyang that year to instruct himself in the traditional Chou ritual. Here he is said to have met the famous Taoist teacher Lao Tzu, who reportedly bluntly rebuked Confucius for his stuffiness and arrogance. This story is undoubtedly apocryphal and belongs to the corpus of anti-Confucian lore circulated by the Taoist school.
The nominal head of state in Lu at this time was a duke (kung), but the actual power lay in the hands of three clans: the Meng, Shu, and Chi. The most powerful of the three in Confucius' time was the Chi, which was frequently in conflict with the ducal house and the other clans. In 517 Duke Chao of Lu took prisoner the prime minister, Chi P'ing-tzu, and was immediately attacked by the other two clans. The duke fled to the neighboring state of Ch'i, Confucius apparently felt a certain loyalty to the duke and fled with him. There are a number of stories about Confucius' adventures in Ch'i, but most of them appear spurious.
Confucius eventually returned to Lu; one suggested date is 515. For several years after his return he does not appear to have accepted a governmental position and instead spent most of his time studying and teaching. He gathered around him a large number of students. Although we can only guess at the exact curriculum of the school, it undoubtedly included instruction in ritual, music, history, and poetry.
In 510 Duke Chao died without ever having returned to Lu, and the Chi clan set up another member of the ducal house as Duke Ting. Shortly thereafter, in 505, a swash-buckling adventurer named Yang Hu, who had been a supporter of the Chi family, rebelled and seized power in Lu.
The clans were able to gather enough strength to expel Yang Hu from Lu in 501, but at the same time another military commander, Kung-shan Fu-jao, gained control of the fortified city of Pi, which was the fief of the Chi clan. Kung-shan Fu-jao issued an invitation to Confucius to join his government. The Analects records that Confucius was tempted to accept the offer, and only after being rebuked by his disciple Tzu-lu, who was in the employ of the Chi clan, did the master reluctantly decline. The decision to violate his own principles and serve a man in open revolt against the constituted authority of his state is a good indication of Confucius' intense desire to obtain a position, no matter how compromising, from which to implement his ideas.
Political Career
Confucius finally did obtain the post he wanted in 501, this time with the legitimate government of Lu. He first served as magistrate of the city of Chang-tu and later was promoted to the important position of minister of justice (ssu-k'ou). There are a number of stories about Confucius' actions in this office, most of which cannot be verified. One of these stories concerns Confucius' role at the Chia-ku convention in the state of Ch'i, a meeting between the dukes of Ch'i and Lu in 500. At least five sources record that Confucius was responsible for thwarting a plot by Ch'i to kidnap the Duke of Lu and was able to force Ch'i to restore territory it had seized from Lu. Scholars have questioned the historicity of Confucius' participation in this event, but the wide currency of the account must indicate some grain of truth.
Confucius probably owed his position in Lu to the influence of the Chi family, which was still the dominant power. We know from the Analects that he was on especially good terms with Chi K'ang-tzu, the son of the head of the Chi clan. Several of Confucius' disciples were employed by the Chi family. Because of his close association with the Chi clan, which in effect was a usurper of the ducal power, it might be supposed that Confucius had compromised his integrity. However, Confucius and his disciples actually seem to have worked to reduce the power of the three clans. For example, in 498 they were able to extract promises from the Chi, Meng, and Shu families to demolish their fortified cities, which were their bases of power. The Chi and Shu actually had begun preparations to dismantle their cities when the Meng reneged and the plan was abandoned. Nevertheless, the episode is a clear example of Confucius' interest in restoring legitimacy in Lu.
His Travels
It must have been shortly after the failure of his plan to dismantle the fortified cities that Confucius decided to leave his home in Lu and embark on a long journey throughout eastern China. The traditional explanation for Confucius' decision to leave is that Ch'i believed that if Confucius continued to advise the Duke of Lu, Lu would become more powerful and eventually dominate the other states around it. Therefore, in order to distract the duke from his political duties, Ch'i sent him 80 beautiful dancers and 30 teams of horses. The duke accepted them and became so engrossed that he did not hold court for 3 days, which so incensed Confucius that he resigned his post. This story clearly is a fabrication designed to disguise a less noble motive for Confucius' departure, namely, pressure from the clans, who must have been alarmed by Confucius' attempt to reduce their power.
Confucius left Lu accompanied by several of his disciples, including the former soldier Chung Yu (Tzu-lu) and Yen Hui, his favorite. They wandered throughout the eastern states of Wei, Sung, and Ch'en and at various times had their lives threatened. Confucius was almost assassinated in Sung by one Huan T'ui. On another occasion he was mistaken for the adventurer Yang Hu and was arrested and held in confinement until his true identity became known.
Confucius was received with great respect by the rulers of the states he visited, and he even seems to have received occasional emoluments. He spent much of his time developing and expounding his ideas on the art of government, as well as continuing his teaching. He acquired a large following, and the solidification of the Confucian school probably occurred during these years of exile. Not all of his disciples followed him on his travels, and several of them actually returned to Lu and assumed positions with the Chi clan. It may have been through their influence that in 484 Confucius was invited back to Lu.
Final Years
Confucius was warmly received in Lu, but there is no indication that he was given a responsible position. Little is known about his last years, although this would have been a logical time for him to work on the many texts and documents he is reputed to have acquired on his journey. Much of his time was devoted to teaching, and he seems to have remained more or less aloof from political affairs.
This was an unhappy period for Confucius. His only son died about this time; his favorite disciple, Yen Hui, died the very year of his return to Lu; and in 480 Tzu-lu was killed in battle. All these losses Confucius felt deeply, and his despair and frustration must have been intensified by the realization that his political ideas had found no sympathetic ear among the rulers of his own state. Confucius died in 479. His disciples conducted his funeral and observed a mourning period for him.
Confucius' Writings
Confucius has been considered responsible for editing and writing some of the most important works in the Chinese tradition. According to relatively early sources, he arranged the classical anthology of early Chinese poetry, the Book of Odes (Shih ching), into its present order and discarded spurious material from a historical work known as the Book of Documents (Shu ching). He is also credited with writing parts of the great divination classic, the Book of Changes (I ching), and the book of ritual, the Records of Rites (Li chi). His name is also associated with a work on music, the Book of Music (Yüeh ching), which is now lost. Few modern scholars accept any of these traditional attributions, and Confucius' connection with these books is simply another aspect of the traditional Confucian myth.
One work that cannot be dismissed so easily, however, is the Spring and Autumn Annals (Ch'un ch'iu), which is a chronological record of the reigns of the 12 dukes of Lu, beginning with the year 722 and ending in 479 B.C. As early as the philosopher Mencius (ca. 317-289 B.C.), Confucius has been credited with compiling or editing this work, which was claimed to contain hidden criticisms of many of the Lu rulers. Later Confucian scholars tried to discover these hidden criticisms, but most scholars now agree that the Spring and Autumn Annals is simply a dry chronicle, containing no hidden meanings, and in spite of Mencius's testimony, Confucius had nothing to do with it.
Confucius' Teachings
Although we cannot be certain that Confucius wrote any of the works attributed to him, it is still possible to know something about the general nature of his philosophy. Shortly after his death his disciples compiled a work known as the Lun yü, commonly translated as the Analects but more accurately rendered as the Edited Conversations. This work consists of conversations between Confucius, his students, and an occasional ruler.
The primary emphasis of the Lun yü is on political philosophy. Confucius was concerned about the rampant immorality and amorality of much of the government of his time, and he spent much of his life trying to find a ruler who would accept his teaching that ethical considerations should be the guiding principle of government. Confucius taught that the primary task of the ruler was to achieve the welfare and happiness of the people of his state. To accomplish this aim, the ruler had first to set a moral example by his own conduct, and this example would in turn influence the people's behavior. Confucius rejected the use of a rigid legal system and believed instead that moral custom and voluntary compliance were the best ways of maintaining order in society.
Confucius considered the early years of the Chou dynasty as the embodiment of the perfect form of government. It was not the rulers of this period that he admired so much as the chief minister, Chou Tan, or the Duke of Chou. The Duke of Chou was known in early Chinese tradition as the founder of the state of Lu, and he was probably the chief culture hero in this state. Because Confucius came from Lu, some scholars have claimed that much of Confucius' teachings were simply a revival of this cult. It is certainly true that Confucius himself never claimed to be teaching original ideas but rather termed himself a "transmitter."
Nevertheless, Confucius is the first Chinese thinker to introduce concepts that became fundamental not only to Confucian philosophy but to Chinese philosophy in general. The most important of these are jen (benevolence), yi (propriety), and li (ritual). Confucius believed that the chün-tzu, or "gentleman," must set the moral example for others in society to follow. The word chün-tzu originally meant "ruler's son," but in the Lun yü it refers to the educated "man of virtue," who was not necessarily an aristocrat. The chün-tzu was expected to follow a set of ethical principles, of which jen, yi, and li were the most important. Jen meant in the Lun yü what has been translated as humaneness or benevolence, a quality a chün-tzu should cultivate and, once acquired, attempt to transfer to others. Li was considered the rules of decorum and ritual that were observed in religious and non-religious ceremonies and, as applied to the chün-tzu, composed his rules of behavior. According to the Lun yü, it was through a knowledge of the li that yi, or propriety, could be attained. Yi represents what is right and proper in a given situation, and the chün-tzu, by observing the ritual and because of his inclination toward goodness, always knows what is right.
Confucius was basically a humanist and one of the greatest teachers in Chinese history. His influence on his immediate disciples was profound, and they continued to expound his theories until, in the first Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 8), they became the basis of the state ideology.
Further Reading
The Lun yü has been translated many times. There are two acceptable translations: James Legge, Confucian Analects (1861), and Arthur Waley, The Analects of Confucius (1938).
Because of the nature of the sources, there is no definitive account of Confucius' life. Herrlee Glessner Creel, Confucius the Man and the Myth (1949; republished as Confucius and the Chinese Way, 1960), is an attempt to discard the Confucian myth and write a biography based on historical material. Creel concludes that Confucius was basically a democrat and revolutionary. At the other extreme is Wu-chi Liu, Confucius: His Life and Times (1955), which accepts almost all of the legends rejected by Creel. It is a good example of the traditional Chinese approach to Confucius. A good balance between these two works is Shigeki Kaizuka, Confucius, translated from the Japanese by Geoffrey Bownas (1956). Kaizuka critically examines the apocryphal stories but does not dismiss them as readily as Creel.
The significance of Confucius for Chinese thought and society can be studied in any history of Chinese civilization. The best of these are C. P. Fitzgerald, China: A Short Cultural History (1938) and The Horizon History of China (1969); William Theodore de Bary and others, eds., Sources of Chinese Tradition (1960); and Wing-Tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (1963).

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Political Dictionary: Confucius
(551-479 bc) Confucius was the founder of the philosophy which came to dominate Chinese life from ad 124 to 1906, and spread to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Little is known of Confucius himself. The provenance of most of the texts associated with him is uncertain. They are written in the literary language, wenyan, a sort of elegant grammarless telegraphese full of ambiguities, so that the texts themselves have become dwarfed by accumulated exegesis; but these very uncertainties stimulated interpretations which were often in themselves valuable philosophical innovations.At first sight, his work seems to be concerned mainly with moral self-cultivation. However, the premisses of this process of self-improvement are of some importance for political philosophy. They are: that knowledge is not knowledge until applied in action; that knowledge unrelated to values is vain; that self-fulfilment is possible only through participation in the public sphere; and that only the enlightened scholar can explain and predict the rise and fall of states, and the scholars are thus the repository of accumulated political wisdom and of social norms. In this theory of the rise and fall of power, only government by consent can create and sustain a strong state. The aim of the enlightened man should be to serve as a minister. In doing so, he represents not just himself, but the collective wisdom of the scholars who are in a sense the leaders of civil society. In this role the scholar-counsellor should be completely loyal, but loyalty does not mean subservience; faced with a ruler who decides to commit evil or folly, loyalty dictates that he should be opposed. If necessary, the enlightened man should retire, or in extreme cases accept martyrdom. Implicit in Confucius' philosophy is the assumption that human nature is perfectible; it is perfected through ‘reciprocity’; justice will be responded to with justice, generosity with generosity. And this is the basis of political consent. Socialization begins in the home. A well-regulated family in which the child experiences affection, rational discipline, and mutual responsibility is the source of altruism. Regulation is through a hierarchy by generation, age and sex, headed by the paterfamilias. The greatest virtue is filial piety, which covers all the family relationships involved. This is still, in spite of revolution, a deep-rooted view in China: in an opinion poll in the 1980s, in which respondents were asked to rank certain social vices, a large majority named lack of filial piety as the worst misdemeanour. Society is the family writ large, and is based on similar hierarchical relations, but Confucius stressed that the senior in the relationship had responsibilities to the junior as great as the junior had to the senior. Only through the acceptance of the mutual ties of hierarchy do rights and obligations come into existence. These rights and obligations create the loyalties which held society together.Confucius' philosophy was essentially secular. He occasionally deferred to Heaven as if personified, but this idea was never pursued, and he instructed his followers that, while as a social duty they should participate in religious ceremonies, they should ‘keep the spirits at a distance’. No religious belief was required of his students. His acceptance of religious ceremonial illustrates his belief that ritual was a vital influence in sustaining society. Much of the Analects is concerned with the importance of the ritualization of behaviour, which imparts a sort of sanctity to social ties.Several centuries of debate began from his teaching. The debate produced three main schools of thought. On the one hand, the Legalists asserted that human nature was incorrigibly selfish and therefore society could be sustained only by strict laws ruthlessly enforced. On the other hand, the Daoists insisted that human beings were naturally sociable, and that the intervention of authority could only deprave them. Confucians offered, at least by implication, a middle position: human nature was not perfect, but perfectible, and government was necessary because socialization could not be totally effective.Confucius' theory was essentially anti-despotic, and although he proposed no specific institutional controls of despotism, the first emperor of reunited China, Chin Shu Huang Di (255 bc) took Confucianism seriously enough to attempt to destroy the Confucian texts and put the scholars to death, but his ruthless tyranny was destroyed within a generation by widespread rebellion, an event which thereafter was flourished by the Confucians as proof that consent was the necessary basis of government.Mencius, in striking epigrams and vivid illustrations, launched Confucianism afresh. On the question of human nature, he asserted that human beings were instinctively good: ‘when a child falls down a well, we do not ask ourselves whose child it is before we pull it out’. On government by consent he said, on the occasion of the assassination of the tyrant Zhou Wang: ‘I did not hear that that a king was murdered, only that a knave called Zhou was killed.’The first ruler of the Han dynasty (202 bc-ad 220) made Confucianism the doctrine of the state, but this victory was somewhat hollow: the emperors, from claiming to be the supreme patrons of the sages, soon claimed to be the supreme sages. In the Sui dynasty (ad 581-618) the system of public examination was established as a means to recruit able officials. When the reigning emperor saw the first examinees assemble, he said: ‘The heroes of the Empire have fallen within range of my bow.’ Yet the moral authority of the Confucian officials was never wholly fraudulent. (See Chinese political thought.)
— Jack Gray
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Confucius

(born 551 BC, Ch'ü-fu, state of Lu — died 479, Lu) Ancient Chinese teacher, philosopher, and political theorist. Born into a poor family, he managed stables and worked as a bookkeeper while educating himself. Mastery of the six arts — ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmetic — and familiarity with history and poetry enabled him to begin a brilliant teaching career in his thirties. Confucius saw education as a process of constant self-improvement and held that its primary function was the training of noblemen (junzi). He saw public service as the natural consequence of education and sought to revitalize Chinese social institutions, including the family, school, community, state, and kingdom. He served in government posts, eventually becoming minister of justice in Lu, but his policies attracted little interest. After a 12-year self-imposed exile during which his circle of students expanded, he returned to Lu at age 67 to teach and write. His life and thoughts are recorded in the Lunyu (Analects). See also Confucianism.
The Religion Book: Confucius

Confucius (551-479 bce) was born, lived, and died in the Chinese province of Lu. He was raised by his mother after his father died when Confucius was a young child. A member of the ru class, he learned the "six arts" of ceremony, music (in which he is said to have excelled), archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmetic.
By the time he was thirty-two he was a teacher. This was about the time he was said to have visited with Lao Tzu (See Confucianism/ Daoism).
At the age of fifty-one he became active in political life. But after only four years he was forced to leave his position of influence. For about twelve years he wandered, hoping to be called back into active politics where he could use his influence, believing he had the answer for China's volatile social climate.
Although he never again filled an important political post, his writings exerted a profound influence on Chinese history. On the last day of his life Confucius is reported to have said, "The great mountain must collapse, the mighty beam must break and the wise man wither like a plant.… No wise ruler arises, and no one in the Empire wishes to make me his teacher. The hour of my death has come."
He died at the age of seventy-three, never knowing he would one day be acknowledged as one of the greatest philosophers the world has ever known. Twenty-five hundred years later, people would apply his wisdom to everyday problems by saying, "Confucius said.…"
But all this took time. It wasn't until 56 ce that Chinese children began to offer sacrifices to him, and in 1908 he was finally granted a form of divinity when he was declared "equal with heaven and earth."
Meanwhile, Confucian scholars would pride themselves on studying his writings, showing their dedication by growing two-inch-long fingernails. After all, anyone with two-inch fingernails can't be doing any manual labor, so he must be studying. In this society, at least, the pen really was thought to be mightier than the sword.
Sources: Ellwood, Robert S., and Barbara A. McGraw. Many Peoples, Many Faiths. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. Olsommer, Ronald Henry. Confucius’ Life. http: //www.olsommer.com/tsoh/textonly/conlife-t.html. September 29, 2003.

Philosophy Dictionary: Confucius
(551-479 BC) (Chinese, K'ung fu-tzu, venerable master Kung) Born in poverty in Shantung, Confucius rose to become a major administrator in his native state. In 496 BC he began a period of wandering with the intention of persuading the various rulers he came among to practise his moral doctrines. Settling once more he became the most celebrated teacher of poetry, history, and moral philosophy of Chinese history. His sayings were collected by pupils in the Lun Yü or Analects, which form the principal source for his philosophy.Confucius lived at a time of gross civil disorder, as rival warlords shared out the power of the crumbling Chou dynasty. His philosophy is aimed at injecting moral principle into the exercise of political power: to substitute government by virtue for government by force. By cultivating humanity (jen), a person becomes great in personal and public life, and when all individuals do this, happiness will be achieved. Doing this requires observing the rules of propriety (li) embedded in social life, so Confucianism also stands for a defence of the moral significance of the extant traditional forms of social order. Li is the principle that channels respect for each other and for the world, and regulates human nature. The Way (tao) is to live within the structures of the social order, adopting the virtues appropriate to a son, mother, ruler, etc.

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Asian Mythology: Confucius

Master Kong, or Kongzi, lived in the Lu state of China in the sixth century BCE. Legends about the great sage are contained in the conversations between Confucius and his followers in the Analects. Confucius was a government worker, a traveler, and a lover of the arts. Gradually gaining a reputation as a wise man, he attracted many disciples as he searched for balance and a better society based on an essential humanism. Although not particularly interested in religion as such or with myth, he accepted the idea of a supreme divinity that is Heaven. Although undermined by the communist revolution, Confucianism—the teaching of Confucius—has dominated Chinese philosophy for some two thousand years, sometimes confronting but usually interacting well enough with Buddhism (see Buddhism) and Daoism (see Daoism).
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Columbia Encyclopedia: Confucius
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Confucius (kənfyū'shəs) , Chinese K'ung Ch'iu or K'ung Fu-tzu [Master K'ung], c.551–479? B.C., Chinese sage. Positive evidence concerning the life of Confucius is scanty; modern scholars base their accounts largely on the Analects, a collection of sayings and short dialogues apparently collected by his disciples, and discard most of the later legends. Confucius was born in the feudal state of Lu, in modern Shandong prov. Distressed by the constant warfare between the Chinese states and by the venality and tyranny of the rulers, he urged a system of morality and statecraft that would preserve peace and provide people with stable and just government. He gathered about him a number of disciples, some occupying high positions, although Confucius himself was at most granted an insignificant sinecure, possibly because of his extremely outspoken manner toward his superiors. From about his 55th to his 65th year he journeyed to several neighboring states, but he was never able to induce any ruler to grant him high office so that he might introduce his reforms. Later tradition depicts Confucius as a man who made special study of ancient books, in an effort to restore an older social order. It is said that he was a minister of state and the author, editor, or compiler of the Wu Ching [five classics] (see Chinese literature). His supposed doctrines are embodied in Confucianism.
Bibliography
For bibliography, see Confucianism.
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Quotes By: Confucius
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Quotes: "The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools." "What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others." "To go too far is as bad as to fall short." "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." "A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake." "Faithfulness and sincerity are the highest things."




Confucius
Chinese philosophyAncient philosophy
孔夫子
Full name
孔丘 Kong Qiu
School/tradition
Founder of Confucianism
Main interests
Moral philosophy, Social philosophy, Ethics
Notable ideas
Confucianism
Influenced by
Zhou Era Chinese Thought
Influenced
Many Eastern philosophers, Christian Wolff, Robert Cummings Neville
Confucius (Chinese: 孔夫子; pinyin: Kǒng Fūzǐ; Wade-Giles: K'ung-fu-tzu), lit. "Master Kong,"[1] (traditionally September 28, 551 BC – 479 BC) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life.
His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism (法家) or Taoism (道家) during the Han Dynasty[2][3][4] (206 BC – 220 AD). Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism (儒家). It was introduced to Europe by the Jesuit Matteo Ricci, who was the first to Latinise the name as "Confucius."
His teachings may be found in the Analects of Confucius (論語), a collection of "brief aphoristic fragments", which was compiled many years after his death. Modern historians do not believe that any specific documents can be said to have been written by Confucius,[5][6] but for nearly 2,000 years he was thought to be the editor or author of all the Five Classics (五經)[7][8] such as the Classic of Rites (禮記)(editor), and the Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋) (author).
Contents
[hide]
1 Personal life and family
2 Teachings
3 Names
4 Philosophy
5 Ethics
6 Politics
7 Disciples and legacy
8 Memorial ceremony of Confucius
9 Influence in Asia and Europe
10 Home town
11 Descendants
12 See also
13 References
14 Further reading
15 External links
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Personal life and family
According to tradition, Confucius was born in 551 BC, in the Spring and Autumn Period, at the beginning of the Hundred Schools of Thought philosophical movement. Confucius was born in or near the city of Qufu (曲阜), in the Chinese State of Lu (魯) (now part of Shandong Province). Early accounts say that he was born into a poor but noble family that had fallen on hard times.[9]
The Records of the Grand Historian (史記), compiled some four centuries later, indicate that the marriage of Confucius's parents did not conform to Li (禮) and therefore was a yehe (野合), or "illicit union",[10] for when they got married, his father was a very old man and past proper age for marriage but his mother was only in her late teens. His father died when Confucius was three years old,[11] and he was brought up in poverty by his mother. His social ascendancy linked him to the growing class of shì (士), a class whose status lay between that of the old nobility and the common people, that comprised men who sought social positions on the basis of talents and skills, rather than heredity.
As a child, Confucius was said to have enjoyed putting ritual vases on the sacrifice table.[10] He married a young girl named Qi Quan (亓官) at 19 and she gave birth to their first child Kong Li (孔鯉) when he was 20. Confucius is reported to have worked as a shepherd, cowherd, clerk and book-keeper.[12] His mother died when Confucius was 23, and he entered three years of mourning.
Confucius is said to have risen to the position of Justice Minister (大司寇) in Lu at the age of 53.[13] According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the neighboring state of Qi (齊) was worried that Lu was becoming too powerful. Qi decided to sabotage Lu's reforms by sending 100 good horses and 80 beautiful dancing girls to the Duke of Lu. The Duke indulged himself in pleasure and did not attend to official duties for three days. Confucius was deeply disappointed and resolved to leave Lu and seek better opportunities, yet to leave at once would expose the misbehavior of the Duke and therefore bring public humiliation to the ruler Confucius was serving, so Confucius waited for the Duke to make a lesser mistake. Soon after, the Duke neglected to send to Confucius a portion of the sacrificial meat that was his due according to custom, and Confucius seized this pretext to leave both his post and the state of Lu.[10][14]
According to tradition, after Confucius's resignation, he began a long journey (or set of journeys) around the small kingdoms of northeast and central China, including the states of Wei (衞), Song (宋), Chen (陳) and Cai (蔡).[15] At the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them implemented.
According to the Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals, when he was 68[13] Confucius returned home. The Analects pictures him spending his last years teaching disciples and transmitting the old wisdom via a set of texts called the Five Classics.[16][17]
Burdened by the loss of both his son and his favorite disciples,[18][19] he died at the age of 72 or 73.[20]
Teachings
In the Analects (論語), Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing".[7] He put the greatest emphasis on the importance of study,[21][22] and it is the Chinese character for study (or learning) that opens the text. In this respect, he is seen by Chinese people as the Greatest Master.[23] Far from trying to build a systematic theory of life and society or establish a formalism of rites, he wanted his disciples to think deeply for themselves and relentlessly study the outside world,[24] mostly through the old scriptures and by relating the moral problems of the present to past political events (like the Annals) or past expressions of feelings by common people and reflective members of the elite, preserved in the poems of the Book of Odes (詩經) [25][26].
In times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the Mandate of Heaven (天命) that could unify the "world" (天下, all under Heaven, i.e. China) and bestow peace and prosperity on the people.[27] Because his vision of personal and social perfections was framed as a revival of the ordered society of earlier times, Confucius is often considered a great proponent of conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and perhaps twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: a revival of a unified royal state, whose rulers would succeed to power on the basis of their moral merit, not their parentage;[28][29] these would be rulers devoted to their people, reaching for personal and social perfection.[30] Such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.[31]
One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. Because his moral teachings emphasise self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules, Confucius's ethics may be considered a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument, and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed more indirectly, through allusions, innuendo, and even tautology. This is why his teachings need to be examined and put into proper context in order to be understood.[32][33] A good example is found in this famous anecdote:
廄焚。子退朝，曰：“傷人乎？”不問馬。
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. Arthur Waley
The passage conveys the lesson that by not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrated that a sage values human beings over property; readers of this lesson are led to reflect on whether their response would follow Confucius's, and to pursue ethical self-improvement if it would not. Confucius, an exemplar of human excellence, serves as the ultimate model, rather than a deity or a universally true set of abstract principles. For these reasons, according to many Eastern and Western commentators, Confucius's teaching may be considered a Chinese example of humanism.[34]
Perhaps his most famous teaching was the Golden Rule stated in the negative form, often called the silver rule:
子貢問曰、有一言、而可以終身行之者乎。子曰、其恕乎、己所不欲、勿施於人。
Adept Kung asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?"The Master replied: "How about 'shu' [reciprocity]: never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself?"
Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton
Confucius's teachings were later turned into a very elaborate set of rules and practices by his numerous disciples and followers who organised his teachings into the Analects. In the centuries after his death, Mencius (孟子)[35] and Xun Zi (荀子)[36] both composed important teachings elaborating in different ways on the fundamental ideas associated with Confucius. In time, these writings, together with the Analects and other core texts came to constitute the philosophical corpus known in the West as Confucianism. After more than a thousand years, the scholar Zhu Xi (朱熹) created a very different interpretation of Confucianism which is now called Neo-Confucianism, to distinguish it from the ideas expressed in the Analects. Neo-Confucianism held sway in China and Vietnam[37] until the 1800s.
Names


Confucius (illustration from Myths & Legends of China, 1922, by E.T.C. Werner)
Michele Ruggieri, and other Jesuits after him, while translating Chinese books into Western languages, translated 孔夫子 as Confucius. This Latinised form has since been commonly used in Western countries.
In systematic Romanisations:
Kǒng Fūzǐ (or Kǒng fū zǐ) in pinyin.
K'ung fu-tzu 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; in modern Chinese he is more often called Kong Zi.
His actual name was 孔丘, Kǒng Qiū. Kǒng is a common family name in China.
(In Wade-Giles translation by D. C. Lau, this name appears as Kung Ch'iu.)
His courtesy name was 仲尼, Zhòng Ní.
In 9 BC (first year of the Yuanshi period of the Han Dynasty), he was given his first posthumous name: 褒成宣尼公, Lord Bāochéngxūanni, 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, literally meaning "first teacher". It has been suggested that '先師' can be used, however, to express something like, "the Teacher who assists the wise to their attainment".[38]
He is also commonly known as 萬世師表，Wànshìshībiǎo, "the 10,000 Generation Model Teacher" in Chinese.
Philosophy
Main article: Confucianism


A portrait of Confucius, by Tang Dynasty artist Wu Daozi (680-740).
Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, arguments continue over whether it is a religion. Confucianism lacks an afterlife, its texts express complex and ambivalent views concerning deities, and it is relatively unconcerned with some spiritual matters often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of the soul.
Confucius' principles gained wide acceptance primarily because of their basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong familial loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children (and, according to later interpreters, 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 those with political power, to model themselves on earlier examples.
Because no texts survive that are demonstrably authored by Confucius, and the ideas associated with him most closely were elaborated in writings that accrued over the period between his death and the foundation of the first Chinese empire in 221 BC, many scholars are very cautious about attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself.
Ethics
The Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in Lǐ (禮) is based on three important conceptual aspects of life: ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities of various types, social and political institutions, and the etiquette of daily behavior. It was believed by some that lǐ originated from the heavens. Confucius's view was more nuanced. His approach stressed the development of lǐ through the actions of sage leaders in human history, with less emphasis on its connection with heaven. His discussions of lǐ seem to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society, rather than those simply conforming with canonical standards of ceremony. In the early Confucian tradition, lǐ, though still linked to traditional forms of action, came to point towards the balance between maintaining these norms so as to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. These concepts are about doing the proper thing at the proper time, and are connected to the belief that training in the lǐ that past sages have devised cultivates in people virtues that include ethical judgment about when lǐ must be adapted in light of situational contexts.
In early Confucianism, yì (義) and lǐ are closely linked terms. Yì can be translated as righteousness, though it may simply mean what is ethically best to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out of self-interest. While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad, one would be a better, more righteous person if one based one's life upon following a path designed to enhance the greater good, an outcome of yì. This is doing the right thing for the right reason. Yì is based upon reciprocity.
Just as action according to Lǐ should be adapted to conform to the aspiration of adhering to yì, so yì is linked to the core value of rén (仁). Rén is the virtue of perfectly fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as "benevolence" or "humaneness"; translator Arthur Waley calls it "Goodness" (with a capital G), and other translations that have been put forth include "authoritativeness" and "selflessness." Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous responses of rén so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living by the rules of yì. To cultivate one's attentiveness to rén one used another Confucian version of the Golden Rule: one must always treat others just as one would want others to treat oneself. Virtue, in this Confucian view, is based upon harmony with other people, produced through this type of ethical practice by a growing identification of the interests of self and other.
In this regard, Confucius articulated 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" (lǐ) and people's natural morality, rather than by using bribery and coercion. He explained that this is 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) in the Great Learning (大學). 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 government by an all-powerful sage, ruling as an Emperor, probably because of the chaotic state of China at his time, his ideas contained a number of elements to limit the power of rulers. He argued for according language with truth; thus honesty was of 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 a century after Confucius's death by his latter day disciple Mencius, who argued 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. Other Confucian texts, though celebrating absolute rule by ethical sages, recognise the failings of real rulers in maxims such as, "An oppressive government is more feared than a tiger."
Some well known Confucian quotes:
"When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."
"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others"
"With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my crooked arm for a pillow - is not joy to be found therein? Riches and honors acquired through unrighteousness are to me as the floating clouds"
Disciples and legacy
Main article: Disciples of Confucius
Confucius' disciples and his only grandson, Zisi, continued his philosophical school after his death. These efforts spread Confucian ideals to students who then became officials in many of the royal courts in China, thereby giving Confucianism the first wide-scale test of its dogma. While relying heavily on Confucius' ethico-political system, two of his most famous later followers emphasized radically different aspects of his teachings. Mencius (4th century BC) articulated the innate goodness in human beings as a source of the ethical intuitions that guide people towards rén, yì, and lǐ, while Xun Zi (3rd century BC) underscored the realistic and materialistic aspects of Confucian thought, stressing that morality was inculcated in society through tradition and in individuals through training.
This realignment in Confucian thought was parallel to the development of Legalism, which saw filial piety as self-interest and not a useful tool for a ruler to create an effective state. A disagreement between these two political philosophies came to a head in 223 BC when the Qin state conquered all of China. Li Ssu, Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty convinced Qin Shi Huang to abandon the Confucians' recommendation of awarding fiefs akin to the Zhou Dynasty before them which he saw as counter to the Legalist idea of centralizing the state around the ruler. When the Confucian advisers pressed their point, Li Ssu had many Confucian scholars killed and their books burned - considered a huge blow to the philosophy and Chinese scholarship.
Under the succeeding Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, Confucian ideas gained even more widespread prominence. Under Wudi, the works of Confucius were made the official imperial philosophy and required reading for civil service examinations in 140 BC which was continued nearly unbroken until the end of the 19th Century. As Moism lost support by the time of the Han, the main philosophical contenders were Legalism, which Confucian thought somewhat absorbed, the teachings of Lao-tzu, whose focus on more mystic ideas kept it from direct conflict with Confucianism, and the new Buddhist religion, which gained acceptance during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era.
During the Song Dynasty, the scholar Zhu Xi (1130-1200 CE) added ideas from Daoism and Buddhism into Confucianism. In his life, Zhu Xi was largely ignored, but not long after his death his ideas became the new orthodox view of what Confucian texts actually meant. Modern historians view Zhu Xi as having created something rather different, and call his way of thinking Neo-Confucianism. Both Confucian ideas and Confucian-trained officials were relied upon in the Ming Dynasty and even the Yuan Dynasty, although Kublai Khan distrusted handing over provincial control. In the modern era Confucian movements, such as New Confucianism, still exist but during the Cultural Revolution, Confucianism was frequently attacked by leading figures in the Communist Party of China. This was partially a continuation of the condemnations of Confucianism by intellectuals and activists in the early 20th Century as a cause of the ethnocentric close-mindedness and refusal of the Qing Dynasty to modernize that led to the tragedies that befell China in the 19th Century.
In modern times, Asteroid 7853, "Confucius," was named after the Chinese thinker.
Quote: "Respect yourself and others will respect you."Quote: "Today I have seen Lao-tzu and can only compare him to the dragon."[39]
Memorial ceremony of Confucius
The Chinese have a tradition of holding spectacular memorial ceremonies of Confucius (祭孔) every year, using ceremonies that supposedly derived from Zhou Li (周禮) as recorded by Confucius, on the date of Confucius' birth. This tradition was interrupted for several decades in mainland China, where the official stance of the Communist Party and the State was that Confucius and Confucianism represented reactionary feudalist beliefs where it is held that the subservience of the people to the aristocracy is a part of the natural order. All such ceremonies and rites were therefore banned. Only after the 1990s, did the ceremony resume. As it is now considered a veneration of Chinese history and tradition, even communist party members may be found in attendance.
In Taiwan, where the Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang) strongly promoted Confucian beliefs in ethics and behavior, the tradition of memorial ceremony of Confucius (祭孔) is supported by the government and has continued without interruption. While not a national holiday, it does appear on all printed calendars, much as Father's Day does in the West.
Influence in Asia and Europe


"Life and works of Confucius", by Prospero Intorcetta, 1687.
Confucius's works, words are studied by many scholars in many other Asian countries, such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam, etc. And many of those countries still hold the traditional memorial ceremony every year.
The works of Confucius were translated into European languages through the agency of Jesuit scholars stationed in China[40]. Matteo Ricci started to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and father Prospero Intorcetta published the life and works of Confucius into Latin in 1687.[41] It is thought that such works had considerable importance on European thinkers of the period, particularly among the Deists and other philosophical groups of the Enlightenment who were interested by the integration of the system of morality of Confucius into Western civilization.[42][43]
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes Confucius was a Divine Prophet of God, as was Lao-Tzu and other eminent Chinese personages.[44]
Home town
Soon after Confucius' death, Qufu, his hometown in the state of Lu and now in present-day Shandong Province, 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 pan-China cultures, there are many temples where representations of the Buddha, Laozi and Confucius are found together. There are also many temples dedicated to him, which have been used for Confucianist ceremonies.
In November 1966, during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the Qufu Confucian monuments suffered much damage and 6000 artifacts were destroyed[45]. The area was later restored.
Descendants
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" 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. Te-Chang died in October 2008, and his son, Kung Wei-yi, the 78th lineal descendant, died in 1989. His grandson, Kung Tsui-chang, was born in 1975, the 79th lineal descendant, and his great-grandson, Kung Yu-jen, the 80th lineal descendant, was born in Taipei on January 1, 2006. His sister, Kong Demao, lives in mainland China and has written a book about her experiences growing up at the family estate in Qufu. Another sister, Kong Deqi, died as a young woman.[46]
Confucius's family, the Kongs, has the longest recorded still extant pedigree in the world today. The father-to-son family tree, now in its 83rd generation,[47] has been recorded since the death of Confucius. According to the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee, he has 2 million known and registered descendants, and there are an estimated 3 million in all.[48] Of these, several tens of thousands live outside of China.[48] In the 1300s, a Kong descendant went to Korea, where an estimated 34,000 descendants of Confucius live today.[48] One of the main lineages fled from the Kong ancestral home in Qufu during the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s, and eventually settled in Taiwan.[46]
Because of the enormous interest in the Confucius family tree, there was projects in China to test the DNA of known family members.[49] Among other things, this would allow scientists to identify a common Y chromosome in male descendants of Confucius. If the descent is truly unbroken, father-to-son, since Confucius's lifetime, the males in the family will all have the same Y chromosome as their direct male ancestor, with slight mutations due to the passage of time.[50] However, in 2009, the family authorities decided not to agree to DNA sn-dytop"