Transcript Confucius(551

Confucius
(551- 479 B.C.)
Confucius (551-479 B.C.)
Was born in 551 B.C. in the State of Lu
(modern Province of Shantung)
Surname = K’ung
Name = Ch’iu
Formal name = Chung-ni
Fu-tzu – Master, Mister, Sir
K’ung Fu-tzu was Latinized by Voltaire as
Confucius!
Once Confucius was asked:
How should he be described and his answer
was
“(He is) the sort of man who forgets to eat
when he tries to solve a problem that has
been driving him to distraction, who is so
full of joy that he forgets his worries and
who does not notice that onset of old age.”
The Analects (Lun Yu) VII:19 tr. By D.C.
Lau, pp. 60-61.
The Analects (Lun YU)
Consisted of Confucius’ answer to questions,
written/recorded by his disciples. (Notes taken
by disciples)
The record of Confucius’ lifelong activities shows 3
major elements:
1.
2.
3.
service in government
teaching, &
compiling texts
John King Fairbank, East Asia: The Great Tradition
Hsiao Kung-Chuan (tr. Frederick Mote) A History of Chinese Political
Thought
The most important elements of the
Confucian learning were government
principles and administration methods.
The means for achieving its objectives was
teaching.
The goal was service in government.
(so, it was quite practical)
Therefore, when Tzu Lu, a disciple, asked
what was the first task of government,
Confucius’ answer was: “what is necessary
is to rectify names.” (The Analects XIII: 3
Hsiao (tr. Mote), p.99)
Cf. “If something has to be put first, it is,
perhaps the rectification of names.” (tr.
D.C. Lau, pp. 120-121.)
The concrete proposal for carrying his political
thought out was “the rectification of names.”
(cheng-ming)
:readjusting the powers and duties of ruler &
ministers, superior & inferior, according to the
institutions of the Chou feudal world’s most
flourishing period (Duke of Chou), i.e., back to
the good old days!
Confucius was born after the decline of the Chou,
when feudal government had degenerated; he
himself witnessed the chaos that had upset the
order of the world.
The disorder of his own days, Confucius felt,
could be corrected if men would return to
the political & social order created by the
founders of the Chou Dynasty: King Wen
& the Duke of Chou.
To return to the ancient way, Confucius
believed, men must play their assigned
roles in a fixed society of authority.
When Duke Ching of Ch’i asked about government,
Confucius answered: “Let the prince be a prince, the
minister a minister, the father a father, and the son a son.”
(The Analects, XII:11 Hsiao, p.99)
Cf. D.C. Lau’s tr. Pp. 112-13:
“Let the ruler be a ruler, the subject a subject, the father a
father, the son a son.”
Cf. Plato, Republic
Gold - the ruler (the philosopher-king)
Silver – the warriors
Iron – the common people
* “order”
Cf. I Ching (The Book of Change)
Confucius’ ideal was the chun-tzu (gentleman,
nobleman, in the sense of a cultivated man)
The essence of Confucius’ thought was the
concept of “jen”
:
:
:
:
:
“perfect virtue, benevolence” (by James Legge)
“goodness” (by Waley)
“virtue” ( by Creel)
“ human-heartedness” (by Fung Yu-lan, tr. Derk Bodde)
“humanity” (by W.T. Chan)
(Cf. Christianity)
(“Love thy neighbors as thyself”)
: “an enlargement of self-respect, extended
to become an attitude of love or concern
for the others.” (Hsiao, p.102)
Fan Ch’ih asked about benevolence. The
master said, “love your fellow men.” (The
Analects, XII: 22 tr. D.C. Lau, pp.116-117)
Liang Ch’i-Ch’ao, a great scholar and historian in
19th-20th centuries China said, “ whenever
Confucians have spoken of ethics, they have
taken jen as their basis.” (Cf. Hsiao, p.102)
The Master (Confucius) said, “do not impose on
other what you yourself do not desire.” (The
Analects, XXII: 2, Tr. D.C. Lau, pp. 108-109)
Yen Yuan, one of Confucius’ most favorite
disciples, asked about benevolence. The
Master said, “to return to the observance
of the rites through overcoming the self
constitutes benevolence.” (XII: 1 tr. D.C.
Lau, pp. 108-109, & p. xvi)
The Master said, “ It is rare, indeed, for a
man with cunning words and an
ingratiating face to be benevolent.” ( I: 3
tr. D.C. Lau, pp. 2-3)
Besides benevolence, there are other virtues which
the gentleman is supposed to possess:
Chih, wisdom, intelligence
Yung, courage
The Master said, “The man of wisdom is never in
two minds about right & wrong; the man of
benevolence never worries about the future; the
man of courage is never afraid.” (IX: 29 tr. D.C.
Lau, pp. 84-85, & p. xix)
“the man of courage is never afraid.” (IX: 29 & XIV:
28)
“Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows
a lack of courage.” (II :24 tr. D.C. Lau, pp. 16-17,
xxi)
“A benevolent man is sure to possess courage.”
(XIV: 4)
Cf. George Washington: “ courage” to admit
mistakes – the story of the cherry tree)
[Christianity of the west: “sin”; in the east:
“shame”]
The most important thing in our attitude
towards knowledge is being honest
with ourselves. Confucius said, “ To
say you know when you know, and to
say you do not when you do not, that
is knowledge.” (II: 17 tr. D.C. Lau, pp.
14-15) (Cf. Socrates/Plato)
Cf. Christianity: “God, grant me the serenity
to accept things I cannot change; Courage
to change the things I can; and the
wisdom to know the difference.”
When Fan Ch’ih asked about wisdom, the
Master said, “Know your fellow men.”(XII:
22)
“Those who are born with knowledge are
the highest. Next come those who turn to
study after having been vexed by
difficulties.” (XVI: 9 tr. D.C. Lau, pp. 16465)
Filial piety (Hsiao)
“Nowadays for a man to be filial no more than that
is to provide his parents with food. Even hounds
and horses are, in some way, provided with food.
If a man shows no reverence, where is the
difference?” (II: 7 tr. D.C. Lau, pp. 12-13)
“If, for three years, a man makes no changes to
his father’s way, he can be said to be a good
son.” (IV: 20 tr. D.C. Lau, pp. 32-33)
Other virtues a gentleman should possess:



Righteousness (I)
Conscientiousness toward others or loyalty (chung)
Altruism or reciprocity (shu)
“The way of the Master consists in doing one’s
best and in using oneself as a measure to gauge
others. That is all.” ( IV:15 tr. D.C. Lau, pp. 3233)
“Supreme indeed is the ‘mean’ as a moral
virtue” (VI: 29 tr. D.C. Lau, pp. 54-55)
Confucius set the pattern of the “golden mean”
(like Aristotle), of always seeking the middle
path. As Mencius so aptly says, “Confucius
did not go to the extremes.” Moderation and
balance may help explain the eventual
triumph of Confucianism. Its basic political
conservatism made is popular with most
subsequent rulers in East Asia, and its high
ethical principles gave political authority
than mere hereditary right and served as a
constant stimulus for the improvement of
government.