A Passage to China (走近中国) - Confucianism

Confucianism might be a Western label for what the Chinese referred to as Rujia, “Confucian School”. It should not be called a religion, but rather a set of moral and social values designed to bring the ways of man and government in harmony with each other and with the Universe, on the basis of the humanistic teaching of Confucius, enriched with a scholarly tradition. Confucius preached that through proper training in the scholarly classics and rigid adherence to the rules of propriety, the superior man could attain a level of moral righteousness, which would, in turn, assure a stable and righteous social order. As a political theory Confucianism called for the wisest sage, the one whose moral sense was most refined, to be a ruler. With a good ruler, if one practiced the virtuous ways of the ancestors and was exemplary in terms of the five Confucian virtuous ways of the ancestors and was exemplary in terms of the five Confucian virtuous ways of the ancestors and was exemplary in terms of the five Confucian virtues, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness, the world and society would naturally be in order. Force would be unnecessary. More of a philosophy than a religion, Confucianism has nevertheless became become intertwined with the Chinese religious beliefs. Confucianism has influenced the Chinese attitude toward life, set the patterns of living and standards of social value, and provided the background for Chinese political theories and institutions. It has spread from China to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam and has aroused interest among Western scholars.

Confucianism taught that social order was based on virtue that came from ritual performance, beginning with household ancestor worship and moving up the hierarchy to the emperor. Analects is considered the main books of Confucius teaching. Confucius sought to promote practical ideals of good government, citizenship, and domestic life that would preserve a stable social system. The main themes of Confucius teaching are li(礼)，ren(仁)，zhongyong（中庸）, junzi（君子）.

Li has two meanings. The first meaning of li is “propriety,” a set of manners or knowledge of how to behave in a given situation. It presumes that the various roles and relationships of life have been clearly defined. The second meaning of li is “ritual”-when life is detailed to Confucian lengths it becomes completely ordered. According to Confucius, there were five basic relationships in life. The five hierarchical relationships define the basis of a well-ordered society and when given proper performance of the duties of mutual responsibility and obedience, the power of the state becomes redundant. If li were present in these relationships throughout society, the social order would be ideal. The five Confucian relationships outline a strict structure of duty and obedience to authority as follows:

1. Father to son – There should be kindness in the father and filial piety.
   
2. Elder brother to younger brother- There should be gentility in the elder brother and humility in the younger.
   
3. Hushand to wife- There should be righteous behavior in the husband and obedience among the juniors.
   
4. Elder to junior- There should be consideration among the elders and deference among the juniors.
   
5. Ruler to subject-There should be benevolence among the rulers and loyalty among the subjects.

In Confucian ideals, the principle of li was the outward expression of the superior individual toward others in his society. The inward expression of Confucian ideals was called ren.

Ren is frequently translated as love, goodness, or human-heartedness. According to Confucius, only the great sages of antiquity truly possessed ren, but it was a quality that all should seek to develop. Thus, Confucius taught that people should love each other and practice respect and courtesy toward each other in their daily life. If the principles of li and ren were present and operative in a person, the end product would be the Confucian goal, the superior human being.

But how to make li and ren present and operative in a person is a problem. The way is zhongyoung-the doctrine of the mean. ”Going to extremes” is the enemy of the great method in dealing with problems. “Too much” or “too little” has the same harm in our life. In using this method, a person has to balance well between or among several solutions to a problem, and try to make all parties involved happy. This method is not a make-every-body-happy compromise method as many people thought and criticized, but, as a matter of fact, it has the strict principles of li and ren as guide. It seems very difficult same time to make all people to find a method of matching both li and ren and at the same time to make all people concerned happy. So Confucius invented a good model for the people, which he called junzi- a man of great moral quality or a gentleman, in the sense of a cultivated or a superior man. To be a junzi, one must first of all follow the principles of li and ren and then develop the following personalities: loyal to his ruler, loving his family, wise and brave, modest and humble, honest and sincere, kind and generous, having a heart of gratitude and a feeling of shame in doing something wrong. If all people were junzi and followed the principles of li and ren, society would be an ideal one.

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