Confucius (551-478 B.C.) led a life that was not altogether happy. So, too, with his contemporaries of the late-Chou dynasty in semiarid, yellow, dust-blown North China where the feudal states were constantly warring with one another and with the Tartars.
Royal prestige was high for the first 300 years of the dynasty and the Chou rulers were able to settle quarrels among power claimants in the various states. But after the Tartar invasion of 771 B.C. forced the remnants of royal family to move the capital east to Loyang, the authority of the ruler was disregarded by his vassals. In the strife and confusion that followed, the strong conquered and absorbed the weak. The feudal system and its institutions were dying.
Loss of property, social station and even life became a daily occurrence. The ancient religious teachings ceased to give consolation and could no longer explain away the causes of the evil and tragedy. People became skeptical about kindness and the righteousness of Heaven.
Among those unconventional enough to question the validity of tradition and accepted beliefs, several men rethought the problems involved in the meaning of life and the universe. These men came to be known as "philosophers" and two of them-Lao-tzu and Confucius-are especially remembered by posterity.
As keeper of the archives in Loyang, Lao-tzu (579-499 B.C.) was easily the most learned man of his age. Saturation in formal learning eventually led him to go beyond the data and minutiae in search of basic values and meanings, and finally to revolt against his heritage and all its ramifications.
Lao-tzu rejected the teachings of the old religion about a just and knowing Heaven and substituted for it the non-anthropomorphic concept of a naturalistic universe. He deplored the ideals of good, positive and even wise government and glorified a political order that approached anarchy by practicing inaction. He denounced the arts, including music, and maintained that learning and knowledge had a degenerative effect. Like Rousseau, he wanted to return to the simplicity of nature.
Lao-tzu wrote about the tao, which may be translated as the way or as truth or reason. But as he himself put it, his "words are easy to understand and easy to practice; yet in the world no one can understand and no one can practice them". Since most people could not understand or practice what Lao-tzu wrote, it was Confucius, his younger contemporary and a transmitter rather than an originator, who became the teacher of the masses.
Confucius had a message for everyone, to those who were wise and to those who were not, and showed them a better way of life. He spoke not so much of the tao as of the li, of one's behavior in every act and detail of life.
Lao-tzu did not think ceremonies were important. He believed that if a person were perfectly good, he could behave with the simplicity of a child and offend no one. Confucius knew he was dealing with a generation that was forgetful of duty and that could not grasp higher truths. He gave the people something easier to understand - their daily duty to family and the state. He taught them nothing new. He merely reminded them of the way in which their ancestors had lived and urged them to do as well. He himself believed in and sought to practice what he taught. The civilization of China was helped to survive troubled times and was handed down to future generations largely unspoiled.
Confucius was not destined, nor did he wish, to be an armchair philosopher. Scion of an old Shang Yin aristocratic family in Lu, a state that represented the essence of cultural orthodoxy, Confucius was a member of the ju group consisting of the practitioners of the arts of peace. Because of relative poverty when he was young, the Sage was also adept at menial tasks.
As a member of the cotton-clothed masses, Confucius came to know people of divergent backgrounds. This gave his wisdom a comprehensive mellowness and led him into active participation in political and social reform. But circumstances were not always in his favor. His public career both at home and else where ended in comparative failure. Nevertheless, his extensive travels gave him firsthand knowledge of the larger cultural community outside his native state and eventually raised him to greatness.
Confucius is the Latinized form of K'ung-fu-tzu or Master K'ung. His family name was K'ung and his given name was Chiu because of the peculiar shape of his skull, which looked like a chiu or mound. But this personal name is taboo: it is never written or uttered by Confucian followers. A stroke is left out in 'writing while the respectful student pronounces it mou-"a certain person". The Sage's literary name, Chung-ni, suggests he was born as a younger brother.
First among Confucius' ancestors glorified as sages is K'ung Mu-chin, great-great-great-grandfather of the Master. Son of K'ung Chia in the 8th century B.C., Mu-chin was an official of the Sung state and was killed by a colleague named Hua Tu, who coveted Mu-chin's wife.
Not much is known about Mu-chin's son K'ung Chi beyond the fact that his tablet stands in the Confucian temple. K'ung Chi's son, K'ung Fang-shu, had to escape the enmity of the descendants of Hua Tu. He fled and settled in the state of Lu (modern Shan tung) where he later became magistrate of Fang. Hence his name, meaning "an elder of Fang".
Fang-shu's son K'ung Po-shia had a son named K'ung Shu-liang Ho, who became the father of Confucius. "Ho" was his first given name. "Liang" was a name given him in later years. "Shu" suggests he was a younger son. Shu-liang was chief magistrate of Tsou and famed for his stature and great strength. At the age of about 40, he distinguished himself on the battlefield by saving a whole army almost single-handed.
Shu-liang's wife bore him nine daughters. He had a son, Meng-pi, by a concubine but this child was crippled. So when Shu-liang was past 50, he married for a second time, choosing Cheng Tsai, the youngest of the three daughters of a neighbor named Yen. Confucius was the only son of this union. Shu-liang was 55 (54 according to Western reckoning) when the Sage was 'born.
In Shih Chi (Records of the Historian) by Szuma Chien (died 85 B.C.) is a statement that Shu-liang and Yen's daughter were united in yeh-ho-an illicit union. Later scholars attributed the use of the word to the fact that the marriage took place after-Shu-liang had reached an advanced age while ,the girl was about 20. Then as now, such a difference in ages was unconventional.
Confucius was only 3 when his father died and there are indications that his mother told the son little of the father. Perhaps she was ashamed of having married an older man; no one knows for sure. She and her son seem not to have lived in the main K'ung house. Later they moved to Chufu, the Lu capital, and saw even less of Confucius' half-brother and half sisters. Life must have been hard for the widow and her son.
Confucius matured early. He apparently sensed his mother's feelings and avoided asking about his father. The neighbors, knowing how deeply his mother loved him, must have made it a point not to touch on the delicate issue of the boy's paternity.
The custom of the time was that married couples 'should be buried close together. When Confucius was 17 (some authorities say 23), his mother died and he had difficulty finding where his father was buried. Confucius took his mother's coffin to a busy country road outside Chufu and waited for a passerby who might know the grave's location.
When Confucius finally learned where his mother was to be buried - at Fang near his home town - he wanted to heap earth on the grave to raise it as high as possible. But it rained hard and the soft mound collapsed. Confucius wept bitterly.
The state of Lu had been given by Wu Wang (King Wu, 1169-1116 B.C.), the first sovereign of the Chou dynasty, to his younger brother, the Duke of Chou (died 1105 B.C.). The duke's descendants were given the privilege of offering sacrifices to Heaven and Earth because of the great services and the noble character of their progenitor.
Lu was a small state but was reasonably well governed and proud of its learning and progress. The capital of Chufu was a well-built city with wide moats and strong walls.
Confucius had been taken from his village birthplace to Chufu by his mother, probably as soon as he was ready for learning. Because the family was poor, he was at first unable to follow the path at scholarship. He was a solemn child. It is said that when he was 6 years old, he began to play "sage-king" with other children, performing the ancient rites, arranging sacrificial vessels and assuming ceremonial postures.
At the age of 15, he became "seriously interested in study" and through hard work gained a reputation for knowledge and propriety. This was not easy, because he had to worry about earning a livelihood even then. However, Confucius was a man who forgot even to eat when he was enthusiastic about something. That driving force must have been generated by determination to be worthy of his family name and to repay his mother for her protection and care.
At 17, Confucius already held office as superintendent of public fields and granaries for the duke. It was at this time that Confucius achieved his first attention by advising his superior against the burying of a symbolic jade gift from the Chou sovereign with a deceased official. Confucius rushed up from one of the humblest seats at the funeral ceremony and politely suggested that his lord's intended action was tantamount to exposing the dead in the field. By this he meant that the jade, once buried in a marked grave might be stolen by tomb robbers. He did not say that this would also imply disrespect for the Chou sovereign.
Confucius was careful to phrase his statement so as to save his superior's face. However, the wording could be regarded as suggesting that the dead official had failed to rid the area of robbers and thieves. Coming from a granary keeper, the statement was taken as an affront. Confucius had to resign and flee. His life may have been in danger. It was after this incident that his mother died.
Confucius was not heard of again in Lu for 10 years. Presumably he underwent three years of mourning for his mother, refraining from sensual indulgences and devoting himself to the study of history. After that he probably began his career as a teacher, for he already commanded some public attention and respect. It was customary for the rich and well-born children of his day to have tutors from the age of 10. Confucius may have already had some such young students when he had to leave Lu.
Confucius married when he was 20 and had a son and a daughter. The son was born a year after the marriage. The birth date of the daughter is not known but she was married to Kung-Yeh Ch'ang as told in Book V of the Confucian Analects. The same chapter says Confucius gave Nan Yung "the daughter of his own elder brother to wife".
When his son was born, Confucius was said to have received a present of some carp from Duke Chao of Lu. Confucius later named the boy Li (carp). K'ung Li died at the age of 50, three years before Confucius.
Li, also known as Po-yu (Elder Fish), is mentioned in the following passages from the Analects:
Ch'en K'ang asked Po-yu, saying, "Have you heard any lesson from your father different from what we have all heard?"
Po-yu replied, "No. He was standing alone once, when I passed below the hall with hasty steps, and said to me, 'Have you learned the Odes?' On my replying 'Not yet', he added, 'If you do not learn the Odes, you will not be fit to converse with.' I retired and studied the Odes.
"Another day, he was in the same way standing alone, when I passed by below the hall with hasty steps, and said to me, 'Have you learned the rules of propriety?' On my replying 'Not yet: he added, 'If you do not learn the rules of propriety, your character cannot be established.' I then retired and learned the rules of propriety.
"I have heard only these two things from him."
Ch'en K'ang retired, and, quite delighted, said "I asked one thing, and I have got three things. I have heard about the Odes. I have heard about the rules of propriety. I have also heard that the superior man maintains a distant reserve towards his son."
Li Chi (Record of Rites, also known as the Book of Ceremony) says young people of the Confucian era were supposed to start learning about music and poetry at the age of 13 and about propriety at 20. The foregoing conversation .between the Sage's son and a disciple must have taken place after the child was 13.
Almost nothing is known of Confucius' wife. It is presumed the marriage took place while the Sage was a protege of Chief Minister Tzu-chan at Tung1i (Eastern District) in Cheng. Many scholars are of the opinion that Confucius called his son after a district name that is similar to the word "carp" in both appearance and pronunciation.
Some say that Confucius divorced his wife. Others suggest that they were separated because the Sage had to travel. Anyway, both father and the son were away when she died. K'ung Li was a child but old enough to observe the rules of mourning. The Record of Rites says that K'ung Li was often seen crying even after a year of mourning.
Confucius mourned his wife's passing. It is said that when journeying through Cheng, Confucius was separated from his disciples. When they found him, one of them said, "While I was looking for you, I met a man who said to me, 'At the East Gate I saw a man who was as tall as Yu, who had a brow like Yao's and the neck and shoulders of a hero, but he looked as forlorn as a dog at a funeral.' I knew it must be you." Confucius laughed and said, "The first part of the description was not quite correct but that about the dog was excellent."
Confucius wouldn't have been lost in Cheng, a town where he lived as a young man and where he was probably married. In the Works of Mencius there is a story about a man of Cheng who pretended he was always wining and dining with wealthy friends but who actually was going to the graveyard "beyond the outer wall on the east" to beg among those who were making sacrifices at the tombs. Confucius must have slipped away from his disciples to have a brief hour or so at his wife's grave. Apparently he was overwhelmed by emotion and thus looked "as forlorn as a dog at a funeral". He became a widower in his early 30s. He could have gotten married again but didn't.
Confucius was 37 when he went to the state of Ch'i and met Music Master Chih. It was about this time that the image of another woman began to occupy the Sage's mind. She was I-chiang, the first queen of the Chou dynasty, who had lived some 600 years earlier. It was at Ch'i that Confucius heard the Shao (music of Emperor Shun, 2255-2205 B. C.) and for three months forgot the taste of meat. He said he had never thought music could be so beautiful.
The Master later said: "The prelude as played by the chief musician and the final strains of the song Kuan-chu (the first piece of the Odes) are certainly magnificent and beautiful." He also commented that "Kuan-chu expresses joy without being licentious and grief without being injurious". Confucius once asked his son Po-yu: "Have you ever learned the odes Chou-nan and Shao-nan (Books I and II of the Odes)? A man who has not learned them is like one who stands with his face against the wall; is he not so?"
The Odes (Shih Ching) is also known as the Book of Poetry, Book of Songs or Classic of Poetry. It is a unique anthology of 305 poems of the Chou period, believed to have been chosen and compiled by Confucius from more than 3,000 pieces. At the beginning of the Chou dynasty, the kings sent out officials to search the countryside for songs sung by the .people. These songs were taken back to the court so that the kings could learn firsthand of the state of affairs in their feudal principalities.
The Sage must have culled these poems from the library of the royal house and the archives of the feudal courts. Presumably the Book of Poetry was the text used by Confucius to teach his students how to give expression to their feelings and thoughts. In the Sage's own words, one idea dominates all the poems in the book: it is "to keep the heart right". He told his students that "if you do not study poetry, your language will not be polished".
The first few stanzas of the Book of Poetry attracted the special attention and praise of the Sage. These verses are part of the "Lessons From the States" and concern the virtue, industry and duty of a queen. Confucius was attracted by the character of the poems as well as the versification.
Although the poems do not refer to persons by name, most historians believe the reference is to the first queen of the Chou dynasty.
I-chiang was a beautiful girl of lowly birth who became a woman of highest virtue. She was modest and concerned herself with preparations to become the prince's bride. Then she busied herself at court and in the field to assist her husband. She contributed much to the establishment of the Chou dynasty.
It was only natural that the people should expect a truly outstanding child from this union. But the baby was weak physically and mentally. It was because of I-chiang's care and devotion that her hunch-back son grew to up to be a strong and able man, succeeding his father as King Ch'eng (ruled 1115-1078 B.C.).
Fragments of the early part of this story are told at the beginning of the Book of Poetry and in Chou-nan and Shao-nan (Odes of Chou and the South and Odes of Shao and the South). All the songs consist of four-character (or four-syllable, since each character is monosyllabic) lines. A four-line stanza of 16 syllables requires two or three times as many English words, as may be seen ill the following translation of the Book of Poetry's first stanza by James Legge, the British sinologist:
Hark! from the islet in the stream the voice
Of the fish hawks that o'er their nest rejoice!
From them ourr thoughts to that young lady go,
Modest and virtuous, loath herself to show.
Where could be found, to share our prince's state,
So fair, so virtuous and so fit a mate?
The second and third stanzas of Kuan-chu (The Murmuring of Chu) may be interpreted as reflecting the maiden's anxiety to be a praiseworthy bride. Legge told of the prince's quest for the maiden in the same lines. Some confusion is caused by the fact that subjects can be omitted from Chinese sentences. The two stanzas each contain 32 syllables. They have been rendered into English by Legge as follows:
See how the duckweed's stalks, or short or long,
Sway left and right, as moves the current strong!
So hard it was for him the maid to find!
By day, by night, our prince with constant mind
Sought for her long, but all his search was vain.
Awake, asleep, he ever felt the pain
Of longing thought, as when on restless bed,
Tossing about, one turns his fevered head.
Here long, there short, afloat the duckweed lies;
But caught at last, we seize the longed-for prize.
The maiden modest, virtuous, coy, is found;
Strike every lute, and joyous welcome sound.
Ours now, the duckweed from the stream we bear,
And cook to use with other viands rare.
He has the maiden, modest, virtuous, bright;
Let bells and drums proclaim our great delight.
Of the industry and reverence of the prince's wife, assisting him in the sacrifices, Shao-nan has this poetic description:
Around the pools, the islets o'er.
Fast she plucks white southernwood,
To help the sacrificial store;
And for our prince does service good.
Where streams among the valleys shine,
Of southernwoods she plucks the white;
And brings it to the sacred shrine,
To aid our prince in solemn rite.
In headdress high, most reverent, she
The temple seeks at early dawn.
The service o'er, the headdress see
To her own chamber slow withdrawn.
I-chiang, the noble queen of King Wu, must have appeared to Confucius much as did Mary the mother of Christ to the Christendom of later times. The world was imperfect. Even I-chiang had a hunchback for a son. But that did not change her attitude toward life and duty. The Sage believed that perfection was with in the reach of man and that Heaven smiled on such a quest. Confucius advised princes to be less selfish and less quarrelsome and to remember the ways of the ancient kings. Sometimes he was listened to, more often he was not.
At the age of 52, Confucius entered the court of Lu and soon reached high rank. Then a political intrigue compelled his resignation and he spent the next 14 years abroad with a handful of students-traveling, teaching and visiting feudal lords. When he returned to his native state, he was 68 and unable to influence the government. He endeavored to attain his ends by instructing youth and editing and recording the ancient documents. These are now known as the Five Classics (the Wu Ching), including the Book of Poetry, Book of Ceremony, Book of History, Book of Changes and the Spring and Autumn Annals.
For more than 2,000 years, the teachings of Confucius have provided moral and ethical guidance for China. All the temples dedicated to Confucius contain a central inscription reading: "He forms a triad with Heaven and Earth." It is in Confucian humanism that the dual powers of Heaven and Earth are joined.
The central thesis of the Confucian system is the doctrine of humanity. True and unselfish love of man was what Confucius meant by jen-humanity. Confucius walked a path of thorns. He is not clothed with godliness. It was as a man that he taught a practical, practicable way of life. His appeal has gone directly to the hearts of listeners down through the centuries. On Taiwan publicly and on the mainland secretly (because the Communists proscribe him) Confucius' natal day will be remembered September 28. This is also Teachers' Day in the Republic of China to recall that the Sage was, first and foremost, a mentor in the eternal verities.