What the Sage had to say is as rich with mean- ing today as when he urged humanity as the way of life 2,500 years ago
Chinese everywhere will mark the anniversary of Confucius' birth September 28. The Communists of the mainland have proscribed Confucius on the overt level but they cannot eradicate him from the hearts of the Chinese people. China is a Confucian land and the people are Confucianists, which means that they are believers in the dignity and perfectability of the human spirit.
Confucius was born in 501 B.C. in the state of Lu, then the cultural center of China. His family name was K'ung. Confucius is the Latinized form of K'ung Tzu, which means Master K'ung. His given name was Ch'iu, supposedly because his head was shaped like a ch'iu (mound). His father died when he was 3 and he was at first unable to pursue a course of scholarship. For a while he was the overseer of a granary in his native district and subsequently was placed in charge of public fields.
From 528 to 525 he mourned the passing of his mother. This was a time of study. He began to teach thereafter and in only a few years had come to command attention and respect. The Duke of Lu sent him to Lo, the royal capital of Chou, in 518 to observe the relics of lost imperial greatness. He came to understand China's cultural greatness and level of accomplishment. At 52 he entered the court of Lu and attained fairly high official rank before political intrigue forced him out of the government. For 14 years he wandered from state to state, followed by a retinue of students - observing, sometimes advising and always teaching. He returned to Lu at 68 and spent his last five years editing the texts of the classics and instructing his disciples. Death came in 479. His burial place was near his birthplace. Students built houses near the tomb and continued to study the teachings of the Master.
Confucius offered no metaphysics, no promises of rewards either here on earth or in the hereafter. Of religion, he said: "If you are not able to serve men, I how can you worship the gods?" and "If you do not know life, how can you know about death?" The core of his teachings was dedication to jen, which combines the concept of humanity with benevolence and perfect virtue. The Confucian acts with jen not for reward but because that is the proper way to act. The emphasis on rites is to provide a system through which man can recognize propriety and be guided in its ways. Jen is expressed in hsiao (filial piety) and ti (fraternal love). Other basic concepts are those of chung (faithfulness) and shu (altruism). In the final analysis, jen consists of loving others.
More than a hundred years after Confucius' death, Mencius enriched and expanded Confucianism with the addition of yi or righteousness. The good man does things because they are right and not for expectation or hope of profit. Confucius himself had said: "The noble-minded man comprehends yi; the low-minded man comprehends li." Hsun Tzu added li, thus emphasizing the rites of which Confucius had been so fond. But li is more than rights. Li is law and social order and the implementation of a humanistic way of life.
Confucius teachings can be best understood from the Analects, a collection of sayings by Confucius and some of his disciples. What the Master meant by jen becomes clearer through reference to the Analects.
Confucius said:
-"Clever words and flattering looks seldom speak of jen. If a man chooses not to live where jen prevails, how can he said to be wise? It is only a man of jen who knows how to love people and hate people. When a man is devoted to jen, he will be free from evil."
-"The wise man is free from perplexity; the jen-minded man is free from anxiety; the brave man is free from fear. One who is firm of spirit, resolute in character, simple in manner and low of speech is near to jen. Strong-willed scholars and jen-minded men will not seek life at the expense of jen but rather will sacrifice their lives to preserve jen."
-"Love men." This was in answer to a disciple's request for a definition of jen. "Jen is more essential to man than fire and water. I have seen men die from stepping into fire and water, but I have never seen a tan die from stepping into jen. A man of jen is one who, in seeking to establish himself, finds a foothold or others and who, desiring attainment for himself, helps others to attain. To be able from one's own self to draw a parallel in dealing with others is indeed the way of achieving jen."
-"Jen is courtesy in private life, attentiveness in business and honesty in all human relations. Jen should lever be abandoned, even though one goes to live among the barbarians."
-(On the way of achieving jen.) "When a workman wishes to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools. So when you study in a state, serve only the worthy among its ministers and make friends with those scholars who are jen-hearted."
-"To be able to practice the five virtues of respect, magnanimity, sincerity, earnestness and kindness constitutes jen. With respect, you will avoid insult; with magnanimity, you will win over the multitude; with sincerity, men will trust you; with earnestness, you will have achievements; and with kindness, you will be fitted to command others."
-"Nowadays filial piety means the support of one's parents. But even dogs and horses are cared for by men. Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?"
-"A man can enlarge the Tao (way) but the Tao cannot enlarge the man." (Asked if there is one word to live by.) "Is not shu (altruism) such a word. Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself. Virtue dwells not alone but will always have neighbors."
-"Those who know virtue are few. I have never seen a man who loves virtue as much as he loves a woman's beauty."
Man must perfect himself through his relations with other men. He should demand much more from himself than from others and come to be a chun-tzu or man of virtue, which may be called a "true gentleman." The opposite of gentleman is hsiao-jen or inferior man.
Confucius said:
-"The gentleman is not a utensil. He first practices what he preaches and then preaches what he practices. The gentleman is broadminded, not biased. The inferior man is biased and not broadminded."
-"The gentleman deals with the world with enmity or affection and sides with what is righteous. He cherishes virtue, while the inferior man cherishes possessions. The gentleman thinks of sanctions; the inferior man thinks only of favor."
-"Gentlemen are calm and at ease; inferior men are worried and full of distress. While the gentleman helps the people succeed in what is good and does not help them in what is evil, the inferior man does the opposite."
-"It is easy to serve the gentleman but difficult to please him. If you try to please him in a way contrary to the Tao, he will not be pleased; but when employing the services of others, he only expects of them according to their capacity. The inferior man is difficult to serve but easy to please. Even though you please him in a way contrary to the Tao, he will still be pleased; but when he employs the services of others, he expects them to be capable of everything."
-"Gentlemen are dignified but not arrogant; inferior men are arrogant but not dignified. The gentleman may not be jen-minded at all times but the inferior man is not jen-minded at any time. The gentleman makes demands on himself; the inferior man makes demands on others."
-"Feared by gentlemen are the will of Heaven, great men and the words of the sages. Inferior men do not know the will of Heaven, treat great men with contempt and scoff at the words of the sages. Gentlemen base their character on righteousness, conduct themselves according to propriety, express themselves with modesty and are completely sincere."
-"The gentleman occupies himself with the Tao and not with his livelihood. One may attend to farming and yet sometimes be short of food. One may attend to learning and yet be rewarded with emolument. The gentleman worries about the Tao and not poverty."
-"There are nine things which occupy the thought of the gentleman. In seeing, he sees clearly; in hearing, he hears distinctly; in his looks, he is kind; in his manner, he is respectful; in his speech, he is sincere; in his work, he is serious; when in doubt, he asks questions; when in anger, he considers the consequences; and when he sees gains, he thinks of righteousness."
-"A gentleman must be on guard against three things. In his youth, when his blood and vital powers are not fully developed and settled, he is on guard against lust. In his manhood, when his blood and vital powers are vigorous and strong, he is on guard against strife. In his old age, when his blood and vital powers are weak and decaying, he is on guard against greed of gain."
-(Asked to define the perfect man.) "Suppose here was a man with the wisdom of Tsang Wu-chung, he uncovetousness of Meng King-ch'o, the courage of Pien Chuang-tzu and the talents of Jen Chiu; in addition, he is well versed in ceremonials and music: such a man may be considered a perfect man. But the perfect man of today need not be like that. In view of gain, he thinks of righteousness; in view of danger, he s ready to sacrifice his life; in addition, he never forgets his promise, however far back; such a man may also be considered a perfect man."
-"When you see a man of worth, think of attaining to his excellence. When you see an unworthy one look within and examine yourself. One who is strict with himself rarely errs."
-"To know Tao is not as good as to love it, and to love it is not as good as to practice it. Be devoted to the Tao, cling to virtue, rely on jen and then study the polite arts."
-"While I am in a party of three, I am sure to have teachers. What is good in them I should follow, and what is not good in them I should correct."
-"The young men are to be respected. Who knows but that the future generation will surpass the present? But to those who have made no name for themselves by the ripe age of forty or fifty, no respect is due."
-"There are three kinds of enjoyments which are beneficial and three kinds of enjoyments which are detrimental. To enjoy performances of ceremonies and music, to enjoy speaking of other's goodness and to enjoy the company of worthy friends are beneficial. To enjoy extravagant pleasures, to enjoy licentious idleness and to enjoy wild feastings are detrimental."
How to lead the good life has troubled man since first he began to think. Confucius found answers not only in man's relationships with man but also in the heart of man and without reference to mystical influence of metaphysical reword.
Confucius said:
-"Grieve not that men do not know you; grieve that you do not know men."
-(How a man should conduct himself.) "Let him be faithful and true in his words; let him be sincere and reverent in his actions; and then he will conduct himself even among barbarians. But if he is not faithful and true in his words, nor sincere and reverent in his actions, even among his own villagers, how can he be expected to conduct himself? When standing, see these precepts in front of you; when in a carriage, see them on the yoke. Then may you conduct yourself well wherever you go."
-"Clever words confound virtue. Lack of forbearance in small matters makes a mess of greater schemes."
-"In the presence of a prince, one is subject to three errors: To speak out of one's turn, this is called rashness; to refrain from speaking in one's turn, this is called bashfulness; to speak without observing the prince's countenance, this is called blindness."
-"There are three kinds of friendships which are beneficial and three kinds of friendships which are detrimental. To make friends with the upright, with the trustworthy and with the learned is beneficial. On the other hand, to make friends with the obsequious, with the flattering and with the glib-tongued is detrimental."
-"The gentleman has his hatreds. He hates those who divulge the evils of others; he hates those who, in low position, malign their superiors; he hates those who have courage without propriety; he hates those who are not resolute and forward, but rash and impetuous."
The Master taught thousands, of whom 72 are supposed to have been close disciples and friends. Learning was the passion of his life. He is therefore the patron saint of Chinese teaching and his philosophy lies at the core of the Chinese respect for education. His birthday also is Teachers' Day in the Republic of China.
Confucius said:
-"At fifteen I set my mind on learning; at thirty I could stand; at forty I had no doubts; at fifty I knew the Fate; at sixty I was already obedient (to the Fate); at seventy I could follow my heart's desires without transgressing the standards of right."
-"I transmit but I do not create. I have faith in and a passion for ancient studies."
-"As to being a sage or even a man of jen, how dare I make such claims? But it may be said of me that I have strived to learn with satiety and to teach others without becoming weary."
-"I am a person who forgets to eat when he is in pursuit of knowledge, forgets all worries when he is in his enjoyment of it and is not aware that old age is coming on."
-"Study without thought is labor lost; thought without study is perilous."
-"Learn as though you would never be able to master it; hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it."
-"In education there is no class distinction. By nature men are pretty much alike; it is learning and practice that set them apart."
-"Those who are born wise are the highest type of men; those who become wise through learning come next; those who are dull-witted and yet strive to learn come after that. Those who are dull-witted and yet make no effort to learn are the lowest type of men."
-"The one who never changes is either the wisest of the wise or the dullest of the dull."
-"I won't teach a man who is not eager to learn, nor will I explain to one incapable of forming his own ideas. Nor have I anything more to say to those who; after I have made clear one corner of the subject, cannot deduce the other three."
-"To be able to acquire new knowledge while reviewing the old qualifies one as an instructor of men."
-"Am I possessed of wisdom? Far from it. But if an ignorant fellow from the lower classes should come to me with a question, I would discuss the subject from beginning to end and set all I know fully before him."
-"I wish I could do without speaking. Does the Heaven speak? The four seasons run their course and all things live and grow. Yet does Heaven speak?"
-"I shall tell you what knowledge is. Say that you know when you really know and concede your ignorance when you do not know."
-"It is my wish to nourish the old, cherish the young and be 'true to friends."
Confucius stressed rites and music in the training of the gentleman. Li meant rites, ceremonials and rules of good conduct, thus adding up to proper decorum. The Master's preoccupation with li is not unlike that of the elder of today who bemoans the fact that "young people have no respect for anything any more." Traditional modes of behavior were breaking down in his time, too.
Confucius said:
-"Personal cultivation begins with poetry, is established by rites and is perfected by music."
-"Why don't you study the Odes? They are evocative of thoughts; they are material for introspection; they contribute to social intercourse; they alleviate one's frustrations. From the Odes one learns the immediate duty of serving one's father and the remote duty of serving one's prince. And in the Odes one may become better acquainted with the names of the birds and beasts and the plants and trees."
-"A man without jen, what has he to do with rites? A man without jen, what has he to do with music."
-"Ceremonials! Ceremonials! Do they mean no more than offerings of jade and silk? Music! Music! Does it mean no more than bells and drums?"
-"Extravagance begets arrogance; frugality begets niggardliness. It is better to be niggardly than arrogant."
For Confucius, government was an exercise in ethics and morality. He said that a ruler had nine basic duties: To cultivate his personal conduct, honor men of worth, cherish affection for his kinsmen, show respect for able ministers, have an interest in the welfare of all officials, take paternal care of the people, promote useful crafts, be hospitable to strangers and be friendly to neighboring princes.
Confucius said:
-"To rule a state of a thousand chariots, there must be a reverent attention to duties and sincerity, economy in expenditure and love for the people, working them only at the proper seasons."
-"One who governs by virtue is comparable to the polar star, which remains in its place while all the stars turn toward it."
-"Govern the people by laws and regulate them by penalties, and the people will try to do no wrong, but they will lose their sense of shame. Govern the people by virtue and restrain them by rules of propriety, and the people will have a sense of shame and be reformed of themselves."
-"Promote the upright and banish the crooked. Then the people will be submissive. Promote the crooked and banish the upright. Then the people will not be submissive."
-"Approach the people with dignity and they will be respectful. Show filial piety and kindness and they will be loyal. Promote those who are worthy and train those who are incompetent; then they will be encouraged and cultivate virtues."
-(Tzu Kung asked about government.) "The essentials are sufficient food, sufficient arms and the confidence of the people." "But if you had to part with one of the three, which would you give up?" T'zu Kung asked, "Arms," said the Master. (Supposing a second had to be relinquished.) "Food," said the Master. "From time immemorial, death has been the lot of all men, but a people without confidence is lost."
-"Let the ruler be the ruler, the minister the minister, the father the father and the son the son."
-"If a prince himself is upright, all will go well without orders. But if he himself is not upright, even though he gives orders, they will not be obeyed."
-"Only if good men were to govern a country for one hundred years would it be really possible to transform the evil and do away with the killings."
-"To take an untrained multitude into battle is equivalent to throwing it away."
-"Suppose a prince has sufficient wisdom to attain power, but he has no jen to secure it. Though he gets it, he will certainly lose it. Suppose his wisdom brings him to power, and he has jen to secure it; if there is no dignity in his rule, the people will not show respect. Suppose his wisdom has brought him into power; he has jen to secure it and rules with dignity. However, if he acts contrary to the code of rituals, he is still not a good ruler."
Details of Confucius' life may be in doubt but the Master's character is not. The kind of a man he was is to be discerned in these passages from the Analects.
"In his leisure hours the Master was easy in his manners and cheerful in his looks. He was gentle yet strict, dignified yet not awesome, respectful yet at ease."
-"The Master was cautious in regard to fasting, war and sickness. He never spoke of prodigies, prowess, rebellions or the supernatural. He fished but not with a net; he shot but not at a roosting bird."
-"As to his food, the Master never tired of rice so long as it was clean and pure, nor of hashed meats when finely minced. Rice spoiled by damp and turned sour he would not touch, nor tainted fish or bad meat. He would not eat anything of a bad color or smell, nor anything ill cooked or out of season. He would not eat anything that was not properly cut or that was not served with its proper sauce. Although there might be an abundance of meat, he would not take an amount to exceed the due proportion of the rice. Only in the matter of wine did he set himself no limit, but he never drank so much as to confuse himself. He would not touch wine and dried meat bought from the market, nor would he remove ginger from the table during the meal. He never let himself overeat. The meat from the official offerings he would not keep overnight; nor would he keep the meat of his own offerings over three days, for after three days none were to eat it."
-"The Master would not carryon discourse when at meals; he would not say a word when in bed. Even though an offering consisted of coarse rice and vegetable broth or melons, the Master would make it with reverence."
-"He would not sit on a mat that was not properly laid. In bed he did not lie like one dead. At home he was easy in his manners."
A teacher may be best known by what his students have to say about him. These are comments from some of Confucius' followers.
-Tzu Ch'in said: "when our Master comes to a country, he is sure to find out its administration. Does he demand this information or do the people tell him of their own accord?" Tzu Kung said: "Our Master is gentle, upright, courteous, temperate and compliant, and thus gets the information. That is his way of inquiry - a different matter from the way in which inquiries are usually made."
-Tzu Kung said: "We can comprehend our Master's views on culture and arts, but we cannot comprehend his discourses about man's nature and the Tao of Heaven."
-Yen Hui said: "The more I gaze up toward it (the Master's wisdom), the higher it soars; the deeper I drill down into it, the harder it becomes. One moment it appears before me; the next it is behind. Step by step the Master gently and skillfully lures me on. He has broadened me by culture and restrained me by ceremonies. And now, even though I want to stop, I cannot. Having exhausted all my abilities, I seem to see something stand out in front of me, sharp and clear, but while I want to follow it, the way is closed."
The great minister asked Tzu Kung, saying: "Your Master is surely a sage. What varied acquirements he has!" "Of a' truth," said Tzu Kung, "Heaven has endowed him with sageness and he also has many acquirements." The Master, hearing of this, said: "Does the great minister know me? When I was young, my condition was low; that is why I have acquirements in lowly pursuits. Must a gentleman have many acquirements? No, he is in need of no acquirements at all."
Lao said: "The Master used to say: 'I have not been officially employed, so that I have acquired many arts.' "
Nan-kung Kuo questioned Master K'ung, saying: "Yi was well versed in archery and Ao could shape the boat, yet neither of them died a natural death; whereas Yu and Chi, both engaged personally in farming, came into possession of the world." At the time the Master made no rely. When Nan-kung Kuo had left, the Master said: "A gentleman indeed is this man! A lover of virtue indeed is this man."
Tzu Lu happened to pass the night in Shimen. The gatekeeper asked: "Where are you from?" "From Master K'ung's" was the reply. "Is he not the one," asked the man, "who knows that what he does is in vain but keeps on trying?"
Kung-sun Chao of Wei asked Tzu Kung: "From whom did Chung-ni (Master K'ung) get all his learning?" "The Tao of Kings Wen and Wu has not been lost to this world," said Tzu Kung, "but is still to be found among men. The men of worth have recorded the major teachings of the Tao, while those of less worth recorded its minor teachings. They, however, all share in varying degrees of the Tao of Wen and Wu. From whom indeed did our Master not learn? But what need had he of a regular teacher?"
Shu-sun Wu-shu said to the officials at court: "Tzu Kung is superior to Chung-ni." Tzu-fu Ching-p'o told this to Tzu Kung, who said: "Let me take as an example the palace walls. My walls reach only to the shoulder, and the people outside may see the attractive chambers and rooms within. But the walls of our Master rise fathoms high, and if one is not let in by the door, one cannot have a good look inside at the beauty of the ancestral temple or the grandeur of the hundred officers. But few indeed are those who have found the gate. What Shu-sun said is therefore to be expected, is it not?"
Tzu Kung said: "You cannot hurt Chung-ni. The goodness of other men is like hillocks or mounds which one may step over. But (the goodness of) Chung-ni is like the sun and moon, which one cannot step over. Although a man may deny himself to the sun and moon, what damage can he cause to either of them? It only shows that he did not know his own measures."
Tzu Kung said: "Just as Heaven cannot be reached by ladders, so our Master cannot be attained. Were our Master ever in control of a state or a family, it would have been as is said in the following remarks: He raises the people, and so they remain; he guides the people, and so they follow; he makes the people content, and so they come; he labors the people, and so they act in accord; when he lives, he is honored; when he dies, he is mourned. How can one be a peer to our Master?"
In these days it is popular to denigrate the great minds and leaders of the past. Confucius would understand; it was the same in his time. But there is a difference today. The sage kings of Confucius' time had been forgotten by everyone except the Master. In 1970, Confucius and his teachings are very much alive and still a continuous influence in Chinese thought and conduct.