Few civilizations of the ancient world had any scholastic or historical figure comparable to Confucius. Certainly, no other individual in Chinese history has so deeply influenced the life and thought of his people, or so strongly molded their mind and character. A dozen philosophies flourished at the time of Confucius, but were preserved only by fragmentary records. Scores of religions, from Buddhism and Taoism to Zoroastrianism and Nestorianism, had their followings in China. But the doctrines of Confucianism prevail even to this day. A Chinese may profess himself to be a Taoist, Buddhist or Christian, but deep down at heart he is first and last a Confucian. He argues that Confucianism is not a religion, hence there is no conflict between his philosophy of life and his religious faith. In saying so, he only shows how deeply ingrained he is by Confucian thoughts.
He cannot help it. If anyone is asked to characterize in one word the Chinese way of life for the last 2,000 years or more, the word would be Confucian. Just how it became so is not easy to explain. Confucius did not found a religion. He never taught his disciples to believe in God or in any supernatural force or being. He did not write many books; at most only one of the Confucian classics can be attributed to him. He was not a political success during his lifetime. While he did become the prime minister of the Kingdom of Lu, it was for only a short period. Confucius and his teachings were little respected and rarely practiced by the people of his day. Only some 300 years later was Confucianism declared the official creed of the country, and the classics became the principal study of all scholars and statesmen:
Ornate dragons adorn Confucius Temple built during Ching dynasty at Chufu. (File photo)
From the 2nd century B.C. to the present day, Confucianism has been synonymous with learning in China. Confucius was revered by the illiterate millions who could not read his classics but nonetheless practiced what he stood for. He was referred to as ta chen chih sheng hsien shih, "the all-encompassing, supremely sagacious late master." His temple can be found in everyone of China's 2,000 counties, used by the commissioner of education as his office as late as the Manchu dynasty. Confucius received the posthumous title of wen hsuan wang, "king of letters and learning," in dynasty after dynasty. His direct lineal descendant acquired the hereditary title of yen sheng kung, "duke of sages," after the 11th century. Emperors came and went in China, but the Kung family—for Kung is the last name of the great master - can boast that their kingdom of learning never changes.
Aristocratic Family
Who was Confucius and what did he teach?
Confucius is the Latinized name of Kungfutzu—his surname being "Kung" and "futzu" meaning master. He came from the state of Lu, in today's Shantung province, in the Spring and Autumn Period (722-481 B.C.), when the Chou dynasty had lost its control over the feudal lords who each held a part of the country. Born on the 27th day of the Tenth Moon in the 22nd year of Duke Hsiang of Lu (551 B.C.), he was given the name of Chiu, meaning a hill, because there was a noticeable convolution on his head. His literary name was Chung-ni. Both were rarely used because of the Chinese tradition considering it impolite to refer to one's parents, teacher or other revered persons by their name.
Confucius' tomb is located in Kung Grove near Chiifu. (File photo)
Although Confucius was born in the state of Lu, his ancestors were aristocrats from Sung, a neighboring state. His father, called Shu-liang Ho, was a man famed for his Herculean strength. Once he lifted the gate of the city wall with his bare hands. On another occasion, he led 300 suicide troops to break a siege of the city, an episode which later grew to assume legendary proportions. Shu Liang-ho was 64 when he begot Confucius. There was some question as to whether he married Confucius' mother, Yen Chen-tsai. Ssu-ma Chien (145-85 B. C.), father of Chinese historians, says in Shih Chi that Shu-liang Ho "was the father of Confucius by wild union with a girl of the Yen family." It could mean either extra-marital union or union in the wilds.
Anyway, his father died when Confucius was only three years old, and the boy was brought up by his mother, who tried to conceal the truth from him and did not even tell him where his father was buried. Confucius matured early. From childhood, he liked to play at performing sacrificial ceremonies and offerings as adults did. At 15, he made up his mind to become a scholar. It was around this time that his mother died. He was married at 19 and became a father the following year, and he had no recourse but to seek some kind of work.
Expert on Rituals
First, he became an accountant in a granary. Later, he was keeper of a grazing ground. Prosaic as these occupations were, he did everything he tried his hand at with the aplomb of a professional: his accounts came out with no discrepancies, and his sheep and cattle multiplied and grew fat. However, Confucius used these formative years to learn from everyone and about everything. When he got a job as a clerk in the memorial temple of the Duke of Chou, he'" attended all the ceremonies and would ask tirelessly about every detail of the ritual. Soon he acquired a reputation as an expert in ancient rituals, and disciples started to flock around him.
Confucius' preoccupation with rituals requires explanation. The original word for "ritual" is Li, which means a sense of propriety, the order of things, and in the late Ku Hung-ming's opinion, it should be translated as "moral and religious institutions (of the Three Dynasties)." In fact, Confucianism has been known in China through the centuries as Li chiao, "the religion of Li, or ritual." This conception of li, meaning much more than mere ritualism, is Confucius' central theme for an ideal social order. Throughout his life, he sought to restore a social order based on. love for one's kind and respect for authority, of which the social rites of public worship and festivities in ritual and music should be the outward symbols.
The table of dynasties in the box (left) gives the necessary background leading to the time of Confucius. China was then still in the Bronze Age, for iron was not discovered until the beginning of the Han Dynasty (206 B. C.). From the ancient legends, Confucius selected as his ideals the sage kings Yao, Shun, Yu and King Tang, founder of the Yin or Shang dynasty, and above all the great ancestors of the ruling house of Chou, Kings Wen and Wu and the Duke of Chou. With the beginning of the Spring and Autumn period, the feudal system was crumbling. There were hundreds of duchies, baronies and townships which had emerged as independent states, The stronger ones were growing in power and constantly warring with one another. The king, who was the symbol of the Chou Dynasty, had been reduced to a nobody. Indeed, many powerful dukes usurped the title of king, a practice made universal during the Warring States period that followed.
This kind of international anarchy and political and social chaos led to the most creative period in Chinese thinking. Between the 6th and 3rd centuries B. C., there were a hundred philosophical schools in China, ranging from Taoist, Legalist, Sophist, Stoicist, Hedonist, Naturalist to Confucianist, known at his own time as Ju. Confucius held up his ideal rulers—Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Kings Wen and Wu, and the Duke of Chou—as embodiments of humanity and the perfect virtue that he advocated. Their deeds and their reigns represented, in his opinion, all that was wise and good in Chinese history and society. In particular, Confucius looked back to an age of peace and order at the beginning of the Chou Dynasty, when its founders, in the depth of their wisdom and virtue, had set up the institutions and organized the complex feudal hierarchy of the new dynasty, and had created solemn rites and music for its people.
(File photo)
Confucius attributed all the ills of his day to the fact that the leaders of society had neglected the old rites, were performing them incorrectly, or usurping rites and ceremonies to which they were not entitled. He believed that the neglect and abuse of the rites reflected a deepening moral chaos and the beginning of spiritual darkness. Such was the state of affairs in his native place of Lu. The Duke Chao of Lu ascended to the throne at 19, too young to attend to his duties. Political power therefore fell to the hands of three of his ministers who were brothers, Chi Sun, Su Sun and Meng Sun. Of the three, Chi Sun was unruly and unprincipled, using the ritual and music of the throne at will, driving Confucius to exclaim: "If this situation is to be tolerated, then anything can be tolerated!"
Way of Government
Not long afterward, Duke Chao was deposed by Chi Sun, and Confucius left in disgust with the state of Chi, also in today's Shantung province. He had an audience with Duke Ching of Chi, who asked him what is the way of government. Confucius' answer was plain: "The king should be like a king, the ministers like ministers, fathers like fathers, sons like sons." He meant that if everyone keeps to his place, the natural order of things will be preserved, and social and political stability will ensue. Duke Ching was impressed with Confucius, but could not make use of his talents because of objections from his ministers. Realizing this, Confucius told his disciples to gather up the uncooked rice, and hurriedly left Chi without even eating his next meal.
From Chi he returned to Lu, where Duke Ting had just become ruler. Chi Sun was still in power, but he in turn was being undermined by Yang Huo, who tried to enlist Confucius' services. Confucius subtly fended off all invitations because he could not reconcile himself to the idea of working for Yang Huo. When Chi Sun regained control, out·of gratitude he made Confucius Ssu Kou, the secretary of justice and one of the six highest ranking official positions. He was then 50 years old, vigorous and full of energy, and set out to put his ideals into practice.
Two episodes stood out during his term of office: the conference at Chiaku and the taming of the three Huans—Chi Sun, Su Sun and Meng Sun.
In the summer of 500 B.C., Duke Ting of Lu met Duke Ching of Chi at Chiaku. Chi officials had craftily schemed to hire mercenaries from Laiyi to threaten Duke Ting at the conference. Confucius prepared his own warriors for just such a contingency, and used his knowledge of rituals to foil every Chi attempt. Defeated in his plot and feeling ashamed, Duke Ching of Chi returned the land on the southern bank of the Wen River which he had seized from Lu. It was a notable diplomatic victory for Confucius.
Prime Minister
In 497 B.C., Confucius began his campaign to clip the wings of the three ministers. He suggested to Duke Ting: "A subject ought not to keep private armor, and a lord ought not to have a town with over a. hundred parapets." The castles of Chi Sun and Su Sun were razed to the ground, and that of Meng Sun was laid siege by the Duke's loyal troops. The significance lies not in the fact that the power of the three was broken, but that this was a conflict between Confucius and all that represented evil in the government. The next year, Confucius was promoted to be the prime minister. He was then 55 years old.
According to Shih Chi; "After three months of his premiership, the mutton and pork butchers did· not adulterate their meat, and men and women followed different lanes in the streets. Things lost on the streets were not stolen, and foreigners visiting the country did not have to go to the police, but all came to Lu like a country of their own."
This state of affairs alarmed the neighboring state of Chi, which then made a present to the Duke of Lu of 80 of its prettiest maidens and 120 fine horses. The Duke took the gifts and soon began to neglect his duties, even forgetting to make his sacrifice to heaven and then share the gifts with his ministers. Thereupon Confucius quit, and started on travels which took him and his disciples to many states for the next 14 years.
The wandering years bespoke better than anything else the character of Confucius. He was not only a scholar, but a man of positive political ideals and a burning desire to see them materialize. When Tzu Lu, a militant disciple whose name was Chung Yu, was passing through a city gate, a gatekeeper called out to him:
"Where have you come from?"
"From Confucius," Tzu Lu answered, not without pride at the mention of his illustrious teacher.
"Oh, you mean that fellow who knows that a thing can't be done, but persists in trying it," was the gatekeeper's retort.
Confucius was indeed persistent, even in choosing his sovereign. Many rulers in subsequent years sought his services, yet he would rather spurn their offer than grasp at any opportunity. Sometimes even his own disciples had doubts that he really wanted to put his political concepts into practice and to build his ideal society.
One of his best students, Tzu Kung, whose name was Tuan-mu Ssu, once hesitantly asked: "Here is a piece of beautiful jade. Should it be hidden in the mountains or should it be sold at a high price?"
Confucius replied: "For sale! For sale! I am the one waiting for a good price to be sold." His tireless journeys through the various states, including Wei, Sung, Chen, Tsai, Tsao, Cheng and Chu, was to sell that piece of jade.
Troubled Journeys
When Confucius first arrived at the state of Wei, on the borders of to day's Hopei province, he found the place bustling and prosperous. Duke Ling of Wei treated him with courtesy and provided for his needs. The Duke, however, was under the strong influence of Nan Tzu, his favorite wife, known as beautiful but wanton. She dispensed favors and positions at will. When Nan Tzu heard Confucius was in Wei, she peremptorily sent for him. It was an embarrassing situation, and Confucius went through with it. The interview was conducted with Nan Tzu sitting behind a curtain of linen. Tzu Lu was greatly displeased at the impropriety of the whole thing, and Confucius swore an oath: "If I have done anything wrong, may heaven strike me! May heaven strike me!"
Bronze bell is sounded to open September 28 ceremony. (File photo)
Confucius' journeys to many of the states were beset by troubles. It was said that Confucius' appearance resembled that of Yang Hu, a retainer of Chi Sun. Yang Hu had done great wrong to the people of the city of Kuang. When Confucius and his disciples passed through Kuang, he was mistaken for Yang Hu and surrounded by angry peasants for five days. On another occasion, while in the state of Sung, Confucius taught ritual to a group of his disciples under a huge tree. A Sung officer, Huan Tuei, wanted to kill him. Confucius learned of the plot against his life and left under disguise. Huan-tuei was so angered that he uprooted the tree.
The most trying incident happened to Confucius and his retinue in 489 B. C., when they were en route between two small states, Chen and Tsai. The southern kingdom of Wu dispatched soldiers to declare war on Chen, which sought aid from the kingdom of Chu. The troops of Chen and Tsai surrounded Confucius' party in the countryside. Food supplies ran low and many of' his disciples fell sick or were wounded. There was some grumbling and discontent. They were finally rescued by Chu forces. The king of Chu was going to give Confucius land of 700 li (or settlements of 25 families each:' but his jealous ministers managed to change his mind. So Confucius returned to Wei again.
The record of the itinerary of Confucius during these years is scanty and sometimes contradictory. After being stranded between Chen and Tsai, he spent another five years abroad. Many of his disciples became famous. When he was 68, he packed up his political aspirations and went home to Lu.
For the next five years, he devoted himself to teaching and editing the classics.
Before Confucius' time, education was a privilege of the aristocracy. Advocating that "where education took root, class distinction would not exist," Confucius was the first person to bring the knowledge previously reserved for the temples of the ruling class to the market place of the common men. He had taught, over a period of 40 years, some 3,000 pupils, of whom 72 had mastered the "six arts"—ritual, music, archery, driving of chariot, history and mathematics. They came from all over China, not just the state of Lu, but from Wei, Chi, Chu, Chin, Cheng, Tsin, Sung, Wu and Yueh. It was something unheard of before him, and the popularization of learning produced the unexpected effect of cultural unity for China, coming some 300 years before Chin Shih Huang united the country in the first Chinese empire.
The Six Classics
For use in teaching, Confucius edited the "six classics." They were:
* Shih Ching (Book of Odes), a collection of 305 songs and sacred anthems, said to be chosen from more than 3,000.
* Li Chi (Book of Rites), allegedly a record of government system and rituals of the early Chou Dynasty.
* Shu Ching (Book of History), composed of early historic documents, chiefly kings' proclamations, the earliest of Chinese documents and most archaic in style of all the classics.
* Chun Chiu (Annals of Spring and Autumn), written by Confucius, a bare chronicle of events from 722 to 481 B. C., based on the history of the state of Lu. The only work attributed to him.
* I Ching (Book of Changes), the philosophy of mutations in human events, originally a divination system based on changing arrangements of the lines of an octogram, but which developed into a full philosophy for human conduct in varying circumstances.
* Yueh Ching (Book of Music), a book which has been completely lost.
With the Book of Music no longer existing, the six classics became only five. Later on, two chapters were taken from the Book of Rites and became two independent books: Ta Hsueh (The Great Learning) and Chung Yung (The Golden Mean). But the most popular of all was Lun Yu (Analects of Confucius), a collection of the master's sayings recorded by his disciples. A century later, Confucianism found its most effective spokesman in Mencius (372-289 B. C.), who since has been regarded by the Chinese as their "second sage." His disciples collected his sayings into a book called Mencius. Together, these volumes form the treasure of Confucian teachings as well as classical Chinese learning,' and are known as the "Four Books and Five Classics."
In 479 B. C., Confucius died at 72. He was buried in Lu, in the present city of Chufu. His disciples all observed the traditional mourning of three years by living in huts beside his grave. Endless dynasties in 25 centuries added to the buildings and the surrounding garden, so that today it has become one of the most imposing temples and tourist attractions in China.
What are the essences of Confucianism? According to Lin Yu-tang, there are five:
Confucius identified politics with ethics. His definition of "ritual and music" embodied the entire aim of the Confucian social order. He was aiming at the moral basis for peace in society, out of which political peace should naturally ensue. His idea of government was: "Guide the people by governmental measures, and regulate them by the threat of punishment and the people will try to keep out of jail, but will have no sense of honor or shame. Guide the people by virtue and regulate them by Li (sense of propriety), and the people wilt have a sense of honor and respect."
Confucius was trying to restore a social order, particularly a rationalized feudal order, which was breaking down in his day. His means were the ritual and music. He also insisted on the rectification of names, i. e., calling a spade a spade. Once Tzu Lu asked him: "If the ruler of Wei should put you in power, how would you begin?" "I would begin with the rectification of names," Confucius answered. "Do you really mean it?" asked Tzu Lu. "How old and impractical you are! What do you want·to do it for?" "Ah, you are simple-minded indeed," Confucius replied. "If the name is not rectified, then the whole style of one's speech falls out of form; if one's speech is not in form, then orders cannot be carried out; if orders are not carried out, then the proper forms of worship and social intercourse (in ritual and music) cannot be restored; if the proper forms of worship and social intercourse are not restored, then legal justice in the country wilt fail; when legal justice fails, then the people are at "a loss to know what to do or what not to do."
The 76th lineal descendant of Confucius, Kung Te-chen and his family. (File photo)
Advocate of Humanism
Confucius advocated humanism. He recognized that "the measure of man is man." The central tenet of Confucian teaching is jen, humanity, benevolence, or perfect virtue. The late Ku Hung-ming rendered this word as "the moral sense," which is probably closest to it. The other tenet is shu, tolerance or reciprocity. Confucius repeatedly said: "Do not do unto others what you would not have others do unto you." In explaining jen, Confucius listed five virtues: "Courtesy, magnanimity, good faith, diligence, and kindness. He who is courteous is not humiliated, he who is magnanimous wins the multitude, he who is of good faith is trusted by the people, he who is diligent attains his objective, and he who is kind can get service from the people." On another occasion, when asked about the meaning of jen, he replied in two words: "Love men."
Confucius stressed personal cultivation as the basis of a world order. Hsiao, or filial piety, is the basis of this. For having acquired the habits of love and respect in the home, one could not but extend this mental attitude of love and respect to other people's parents and elder brothers and to the authorities of the state. The idea is best expressed by the opening chapter of Ta Hsueh (The Great Learning): "The ancients who wished to preserve the fresh or clear character of the people of the world would first set about ordering their national life. Those who wished to order their national life would first set about regulating their family life. Those who wished to regulate their family would first set about cultivating their personal life. Those who wished to cultivate their personal lives would first set about setting hearts right. Those who wished to set their hearts right would first set about making their wills sincere."
The Ideal Man
Confucius' ideal man is the chun tzu, or gentleman. He is not an aristocrat, but merely a kind and gentle man of moral principles. He is a man who loves learning, who is calm himself and perfectly at ease and constantly careful of his own conduct, believing that by example he has great influence over society in general. He is also perfectly at ease in his own station of life and has a certain contempt for the mere luxuries of living. Confucius said: "The gentleman makes demands on himself; the inferior man makes demands on others."
These ideas of Confucius have dictated the development of Chinese history for the last 25 centuries. They not only exerted a vital influence on the Chinese way of life, but also on those of Korea, Japan, the Ryukyus and Vietnam. For the last 800 years, the Confucian classics have been the basic text in Chinese education, known to every school-age boy or girl. Coupled with the examination system peculiar to China, the study of these classics provided the only means for young men of ambition to distinguish themselves, to ascend to official positions and to reap the awards of life. In the old Chinese society, Confucian scholars, shih, occupied the highest position, before farmers, artisans and merchants. Since Confucianism became inseparable from scholastic studies, the people believed that "every trade and profession is inferior; studying the classics is supreme."
Old Order Changes
Then came the 19th century, and Europe knocked on China's door. The old empire, built on an agricultural society held together by Confucian ethics, crumbled before western gunboats and manufactured goods. Inevitably, there were people who resented the changes that had to be made, and what better defense than to use Confucianism as a shield against the onslaught. In the last days of the Manchu dynasty, diehard officials and scholars could be heard screaming that Confucius would never approve of the attempts "to change traditional Chinese ways' with foreign methods." But they were overwhelmed. The revolution of 1911 was therefore more the beginning of a social and cultural transition than an immediate political or military changeover.
Confucianism was the center of the old order, and it thus became, in the eyes of the impatient reformists, the main obstacle on China's road to modernization. During and immediately after World War I, the new culture movement swept across the country. Slogans such as "Down with the Confucian shop" and "Welcome, Mr. Science and Mr. Democracy" were plastered on the wall. Confucian scholarship also suffered a setback through the work of historians and archeologists who chipped away bit by bit the authenticity of certain parts of ancient Chinese history.
Ethical Guidance
In time China went through all the agonies of a difficult transition, social as well as political, spiritual as well as material. The Chinese have regained their confidence and self respect, and can afford to look back and laugh at their own extremes. The leaders of the Kuomintang, both the late Dr. Sun Yat-sen and President Chiang Kai-shek, have always upheld the value of Confucian teachings, particularly the ethical standards. Confucian classics have come back to the curricula of universities and colleges, as examples of classical writing and as textbooks of an ancient philosophy. As a political system aiming at the restoration of a feudal order, Confucianism is long out of date. But as a system of humanist culture, as a fundamental viewpoint concerning the conduct of life and of society, and above all, as a way of life which has proved its value after 2,500 years, there is no doubt that it is still very much alive, and dear to the heart of every Chinese.