In this set of flashcards, you will learn about the long and fascinating history of one Asia's most major religions: Confucianism. [81] Chinese thinkers, faced with this challenge to legitimacy, diverged in a "Hundred Schools of Thought", each proposing its own theories for the reconstruction of the Zhou moral order. Sometimes "exemplary person." Li is variously translated as "rite" or "reason", "ratio" in the pure sense of Vedic ta ("right", "order") when referring to the cosmic law, but when referring to its realisation in the context of human social behaviour it has also been translated as "customs", "measures" and "rules", among other terms. This theme of mutuality still exists in East Asian cultures even to this day. Wang Yangming, Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings by Wang Yang-Ming, Wing-tsit Chan tran. [83] In his view, the power of Tian is immanent, and responds positively to the sincere heart driven by humaneness and rightness, decency and altruism. In this context, people need notand should notwant to flatten hierarchies as much as possible. [22]:7, The term "Traditionalist" has been suggested by David Schaberg to emphasize the connection to the past, its standards, and inherited forms, in which Confucius himself placed so much importance. as implying that even though Tian is not a "speaking person", it constantly "does" through the rhythms of nature, and communicates "how human beings ought to live and act", at least to those who have learnt to carefully listen to it. [6] They may be practiced by all the members of a society. Submission to authority (tsun wang) was only taken within the context of the moral obligations that rulers had toward their subjects, in particular benevolence (jen). Where Is Confucianism Today Theblogy.com Demographics & Geography - Confucianism Pd. 3 - Google Sites [156], Ever since Europeans first encountered Confucianism, the issue of how Confucianism should be classified has been subject to debate. Confucianism. By being the "calm center" around which the kingdom turns, the king allows everything to function smoothly and avoids having to tamper with the individual parts of the whole. [108] In Against Political Equality, Tongdong Bai complements this account by using a proto-Rawlsian "political difference principle". Divine right no longer was an exclusive privilege of the Zhou royal house, but might be bought by anyone able to afford the elaborate ceremonies and the old and new rites required to access the authority of Tian.[80]. [48] Analects 10.11 tells that Confucius always took a small part of his food and placed it on the sacrificial bowls as an offering to his ancestors. Important military and political figures in modern Chinese history continued to be influenced by Confucianism, like the Muslim warlord Ma Fuxiang. The. [74] While the Shang identified Shangdi as their ancestor-god to assert their claim to power by divine right, the Zhou transformed this claim into a legitimacy based on moral power, the Mandate of Heaven. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [65], Many Confucians also realised that loyalty and filial piety have the potential of coming into conflict with one another. Yuri Pines. Second, and most important, is serving the interests of the people (and the common good more broadly). That Confucius admitted students of different classes as disciples is a clear demonstration that he fought against the feudal structures that defined pre-imperial Chinese society. 11th century bce), who was said to have helped consolidate, expand, and refine the feudal ritual system. [44], Confucian ethical codes are described as humanistic. Also, the Hong Kong Confucian Academy, one of the direct heirs of Kang Youwei's Confucian Church, has expanded its activities to the mainland, with the construction of statues of Confucius, Confucian hospitals, restoration of temples and other activities. While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, filial piety has been common to almost all of them; historian Hugh D.R. This represents 0.09% of the world's population, or slightly less than 1%. Women in the Teaching of Chinese Religions", "Women Existing for Men: Confucianism and Social Injustice against Women in China", http://yj.nuist.edu.cn/ch/reader/create_pdf.aspx?file_no=20130621&year_id=2013&quarter_id=6&falg=1, "Carrying the Confucian Torch to the Masses: The Challenge of Structuring the Confucian Revival in the People's Republic of China", "Confucius and the Mediums: Is There a "Popular Confucianism"? The literature opposes those who prefer evaluation by peers to evaluation by superiors, with some thinkers including quasi-democratic selection mechanisms along the way. This line of thought would have influenced all Chinese individual and collective-political mystical theories and practices thereafter. The concept of heaven (tian), unique in Zhou cosmology, was compatible with that of the Lord on High (Shangdi) in the Shang dynasty. Confucianism is one of the most influential religious philosophies in the history of China, and it has existed for over 2,500 years. Disillusioned with the culture, opposing scholars, and religious authorities of the time, he began to preach an ethical interpretation of traditional Zhou religion. Confucianism, the way of life propagated by Confucius in the 6th5th century bce and followed by the Chinese people for more than two millennia. Confucianism, a Western term that has no counterpart in Chinese, is a worldview, a social ethic, a political ideology, a scholarly tradition, and a way of life. FOUNDED: c. 1050-256 b.c.e. By 2040, 28.1% of the Chinese population will be over 60, compared to 12.4% in 2010, according to the UN. [66], In Confucian philosophy, filial piety (, xio) is a virtue of respect for one's parents and ancestors, and of the hierarchies within society: fatherson, elderjunior and malefemale. Confucius (551479 BCE) appeared in this period of political decadence and spiritual questioning. The founder of Confucianism, named Confucius, lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E. Later, Zhu Xi defined junzi as second only to the sage. The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu! Confucius created the model of junzi, gentleman, which may be achieved by any individual. He was educated in Shang-Zhou theology, which he contributed to transmit and reformulate giving centrality to self-cultivation and agency of humans,[3] and the educational power of the self-established individual in assisting others to establish themselves (the principle of irn, "loving others"). [142] Starting from the Han period, Confucians began to teach that a virtuous woman was supposed to follow the males in her family: the father before her marriage, the husband after she marries, and her sons in widowhood. The Master said: "In teaching, there should be no distinction of classes.". These names do not use the name "Confucius" at all, but instead focus on the ideal of the Confucian man. [162][163] But using a broader definition, such as Frederick Streng's characterisation of religion as "a means of ultimate transformation",[164] Confucianism could be described as a "sociopolitical doctrine having religious qualities. Zhou kings declared that their victory over the Shang was because they were virtuous and loved their people, while the Shang were tyrants and thus were deprived of power by Tian.[3]. Though Confucius is sometimes credited with founding Confucianism, he said that he was interpreting the philosophy of Zhougong, the duke of Zhou, rather than creating new doctrine. It remains the social code of the Chinese and continues to influence other countries particularly Korea Japan and Vietnam. The individual stands simultaneously in several different relationships with different people: as a junior in relation to parents and elders, and as a senior in relation to younger siblings, students, and others. [30] Rn, translated as "humaneness" or the essence proper of a human being, is the character of compassionate mind; it is the virtue endowed by Heaven and at the same time the means by which man may achieve oneness with Heaven comprehending his own origin in Heaven and therefore divine essence. "[60] Moreover, Mencius indicated that if the ruler is incompetent, he should be replaced. Kim said that filial piety is one-sided and blind, and if it continues, social problems will continue as government keeps forcing Confucian filial obligations onto families. Yet there are four seasons going round and there are the hundred things coming into being. While contemporary defenders of Confucian political meritocracy all accept this broad frame, they disagree with each other on three main questions: institutional design, the means by which meritocrats are promoted, and the compatibility of Confucian political meritocracy with liberalism. The works of Confucius were translated into European languages through the agency of Jesuit missionaries stationed in China. Confucianism regards texts such as the Five Classics as examples that should be followed to increase the harmony of the family, social order as a whole, and the world. This system allowed anyone who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position which would bring wealth and honour to the whole family. "[55] Confucius also defined rn in the following way: "wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others."[56]. The Analects as the embodiment of Confucian ideas, Formation of the classical Confucian tradition, Mencius: The paradigmatic Confucian intellectual, Xunzi: The transmitter of Confucian scholarship, Confucian ethics in the Daoist and Buddhist context, Confucian learning in Jin, Yuan, and Ming, The age of Confucianism: Chosn-dynasty Korea, Tokugawa Japan, and Qing China. Muslims make up about 1.8 percent of China's population, accounting for around twenty-two million people . [41], Confucius used the term in a mystical way. Zhougong was said to have helped consolidate, expand, and refine the feudal ritual system. There is no deity worshipped in Confucianism, though the worship of ancestors and of Confucius himself as a sage master and teacher are practiced. First published Tue May 20, 2008; substantive revision Mon Oct 3, 2022. [75] In Shang theology, the multiplicity of gods of nature and ancestors were viewed as parts of Di, and the four fng ("directions" or "sides") and their fng ("winds") as his cosmic will. The scholar Ronnie Littlejohn warns that tin was not to be interpreted as a personal God comparable to that of the Abrahamic faiths, in the sense of an otherworldly or transcendent creator. In accordance with the Master, they identified mental tranquility as the state of Tian, or the One ( Y), which in each individual is the Heaven-bestowed divine power to rule one's own life and the world. Flashcards - Confucianism Flashcards | Study.com Legge), Xun Zi chapter (22) "On the Rectification of Names" claims the ancient sage-kings chose names (; mng) that directly corresponded with actualities (; sh), but later generations confused terminology, coined new nomenclature, and thus could no longer distinguish right from wrong. [76] With the Zhou dynasty, which overthrew the Shang, the name for the supreme godhead became Tian ( "Heaven"). [43] Rather it is similar to what Taoists meant by Dao: "the way things are" or "the regularities of the world",[40] which Stephan Feuchtwang equates with the ancient Greek concept of physis, "nature" as the generation and regenerations of things and of the moral order. This includes one, St. This represents 0.09% of the world's population, or slightly less than 1%. Ruism, as he states, is more faithful to the original Chinese name for the school. said the share of the world's population living in autocracies had risen from . Confucius and Confucianism were opposed or criticised from the start, including Laozi's philosophy and Mozi's critique, and Legalists such as Han Fei ridiculed the idea that virtue would lead people to be orderly. You will learn about the central elements of Confucian religion . While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. In 17.19 Confucius says that tin spoke to him, though not in words. [31], According to the scholar Stephan Feuchtwang, in Chinese cosmology, which is not merely Confucian but shared by all Chinese religions, "the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy" (hundun and qi ), organising through the polarity of yin and yang which characterises any thing and life. In the past few decades, there have been talks of a "Confucian Revival" in the academic and the scholarly community,[18][19] and there has been a grassroots proliferation of various types of Confucian churches. The petty person is egotistic and does not consider the consequences of his action in the overall scheme of things. [86] In 2003, the Confucian intellectual Kang Xiaoguang published a manifesto in which he made four suggestions: Confucian education should enter official education at any level, from elementary to high school; the state should establish Confucianism as the state religion by law; Confucian religion should enter the daily life of ordinary people through standardisation and development of doctrines, rituals, organisations, churches and activity sites; the Confucian religion should be spread through non-governmental organisations. During the Han dynasty (206BCE 220CE), Confucian approaches edged out the "proto-Taoist" HuangLao as the official ideology, while the emperors mixed both with the realist techniques of Legalism.[4]. It focuses on innate human goodness and the importance of interpersonal human relationships. 551-479 BCE) has been portrayed as a teacher, advisor, editor, philosopher, reformer, and prophet. They uphold that its modern transformation, as a creative response to the challenge of the West, is a continuation of its classical formulation and its medieval elaboration. They argue that voters tend to act in irrational, tribal, short-termist ways; they are vulnerable to populism and struggle to account for the interests of future generations. Although the earliest dynasty confirmed by archaeology is the Shang dynasty (18th12th century bce), the historical period that Confucius claimed as relevant was much earlier. All these duties take the practical form of prescribed rituals, for instance wedding and death rituals.[44]. What is the Difference Between Daoism and Confucianism? ", Volume I: The Ancient Eurasian World and the Celestial Pivot, Volume II: Representations and Identities of High Powers in Neolithic and Bronze China, Volume III: Terrestrial and Celestial Transformations in Zhou and Early-Imperial China, "The Religiousness of "Confucianism" and the Revival of Confucian Religion in China Today", "Kang Youwei: The Martin Luther of Confucianism and His Vision of Confucian Modernity and Nation", "To Inherit the Ancient Teachings of Confucius and Mencius and Establish Modern Confucianism", "The Civil Theology of Confucius' "Tian" Symbol", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry: Confucius, Oriental Philosophy, "Topic:Confucianism", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Confucianism&oldid=1152735062, This page was last edited on 2 May 2023, at 00:15. Strictly speaking, there is no term in Chinese which directly corresponds to "Confucianism". Confucianism is a philosophy developed by Master Kong (known more commonly as Confucius) during China's Zhou Dynasty (1045 - 253 BC). When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Analects. Confucianism is concerned with finding "middle ways" between yin and yang at every new configuration of the world. The Lunyu ( Analects ), the most-revered sacred scripture in the Confucian tradition, was probably compiled by the succeeding generations of Confucius's disciples. In the late twentieth century, the Confucian work ethic has been credited with the rise of the East Asian economy. Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism,[1] is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a way of life. This practice is defined as "centring" ( yng or zhng). Examples of such xiaoren individuals may range from those who continually indulge in sensual and emotional pleasures all day to the politician who is interested merely in power and fame; neither sincerely aims for the long-term benefit of others. [154] Moreover, some Confucian texts like the Chunqiu Fanlu have passages that suggest a more equal relationship between a husband and his wife. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. The same is true with the husband and wife relationship where the husband needs to show benevolence towards his wife and the wife needs to respect the husband in return. [110], In The China Model, Bell argues that Confucian political meritocracy providesand has provideda blueprint for China's development. [11] Confucianism focuses on the practical order that is given by a this-worldly awareness of the Tin. In a much-discussed passage, women are grouped together with xiaoren (, literally "small people", meaning people of low status or low moral) and described as being difficult to cultivate or deal with. [63] During the Ming-Qing era, prominent Confucians such as Wang Yangming promoted individuality and independent thinking as a counterweight to subservience to authority. ASARB conducted its first congregations count in 1990. [citation needed], In South Korea, there has long been criticism. In other words, while examinations may ensure that early-career officials are competent and educated, how is it thereafter ensured that only those who rule well get promoted? Many European and American admirers such as Voltaire and Herrlee G. Creel point to the revolutionary idea of replacing nobility of blood with nobility of virtue. This "cult of chastity" accordingly condemned many widows to poverty and loneliness by placing a social stigma on remarriage. The appeal to cultural values and social norms for the maintenance of interstate as well as domestic order was predicated on a shared political vision, namely, that authority lies in universal kingship, heavily invested with ethical and religious power by the mandate of heaven (tianming), and that social solidarity is achieved not by legal constraint but by ritual observance. [23] This translation of the word r is followed by e.g. Rather, Confucius considered himself a transmitter who consciously tried to reanimate the old in order to attain the new. [129][131], Confucianism influenced the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who was attracted to the philosophy because of its perceived similarity to his own. For example, South Korean writer Kim Kyong-il wrote an essay[when?] [according to whom?]. As Confucianism was able to nourish the population and civilization, during the Han Dynasty, emperor Wu Di (reigned 141-87 BC) made Confucianism the official state ideology. The junzi enforces his rule over his subjects by acting virtuously himself. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. Being well received by the population, even Confucian preachers have appeared on television since 2006. [134] The New Life Movement in the early 20th century was also influenced by Confucianism. the public should not know how officials are selected, since ordinary people are in no position to judge officials beyond the local level. The story of Confucianism does not begin with Confucius. He gave an explanation of zhengming to one of his disciples. In later ages, however, emphasis was often placed more on the obligations of the ruled to the ruler, and less on the ruler's obligations to the ruled. For them, Confucianism does not have to be premised on the assumption that meritorious, virtuous political leadership is inherently incompatible with popular sovereignty, political equality and the right to political participation. The fact that traditional ways had lost vitality did not, for him, diminish their potential for regeneration in the future. [61] A good Confucian is also expected to remonstrate with his superiors when necessary. If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. An estimated 5 to 6 million people follow Confucianism worldwide. [88] Kang modeled his ideal "Confucian Church" after European national Christian churches, as a hierarchic and centralised institution, closely bound to the state, with local church branches, devoted to the worship and the spread of the teachings of Confucius. Confucianism was initiated by the disciples of Confucius, developed by Mencius (c. 372-289 BCE) and inherited by later generations, undergoing constant transformations and restructuring since its establishment, but preserving the principles of humaneness and righteousness at its core. Social harmony or morality is identified as patriarchy, which is expressed in the worship of ancestors and deified progenitors in the male line, at ancestral shrines.
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