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    Confucianism is an ancient Chinese philosophy centered around the teachings of Confucius. Some key Confucian doctrines include the belief in Tian or heaven as the moral order, the rectification of names which advocates playing one's assigned social role, and differing views on human nature as originally good or evil. The Five Constants such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity are important Confucian ethics. Filial piety is also emphasized as an important virtue. The Confucian classics like the Book of Changes, Book of History, Book of Poetry and the Analects are considered sacred scriptures containing Confucian teachings.

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    Confucianism is an ancient Chinese philosophy centered around the teachings of Confucius. Some key Confucian doctrines include the belief in Tian or heaven as the moral order, the rectification of names which advocates playing one's assigned social role, and differing views on human nature as originally good or evil. The Five Constants such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity are important Confucian ethics. Filial piety is also emphasized as an important virtue. The Confucian classics like the Book of Changes, Book of History, Book of Poetry and the Analects are considered sacred scriptures containing Confucian teachings.

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    346 views67 pages

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    Jaikonnen
    Confucianism is an ancient Chinese philosophy centered around the teachings of Confucius. Some key Confucian doctrines include the belief in Tian or heaven as the moral order, the rectification of names which advocates playing one's assigned social role, and differing views on human nature as originally good or evil. The Five Constants such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity are important Confucian ethics. Filial piety is also emphasized as an important virtue. The Confucian classics like the Book of Changes, Book of History, Book of Poetry and the Analects are considered sacred scriptures containing Confucian teachings.

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    CONFUCIANISM

    CONFUCIAN DOCTRINES/BELIEFS
    ●BELIEF IN TIAN

    “When you have offended against Heaven, there is nowhere you can turn to
    in your prayers.” (Analects 3.13) This is one of the passages in the Analects which
    shows Kung Fuzi’s idea of Tian or heaven. Although Confucius is well-known to be a
    practical philosopher who was not much interested in the superhuman realm, he
    believed in Tian or “heaven,” an all-encompassing god. Tian may also refer to that
    which is beyond human control. He believed that Tian is analogous with moral
    order but dependent upon human inter-vention to bring its will into action. For
    him, the li or ritual propriety is the way through which the family, the state, and
    the world may become parallel with Tian’s moral order. He believed that only by
    performing the ancient rituals, which was done by earlier kings, could harmony
    between heaven and earth be revived.
    ●RECTIFICATION OF NAMES
    Confucius believed that to return to the ancient Dao, people must
    play their assigned roles in society. This was later called the rectification
    of names, or zhengming, The Five Relationships include: 1) ruler-subject;
    2) father-son; 3) husband-wife; 4) elder and younger brother; and 5)
    friend and friend. The responsibilities originating from these
    relationships are shared and reciprocal. For example, a minister owes
    loyalty to his ruler, and a child owes filial respect to the parent. In return,
    rulers must care for their subjects, and parents must care for their
    children. The Five Relationships emphasize the upright sense of
    hierarchy. Among friends, for example, seniority of age requires a certain
    deference. Zhengming helps bring social order for it advocates the idea
    that every person has a particular role at a particular time in life, and
    that by abiding to this particular role, one is able to fulfil one’s social
    duties and responsibilities, thus creating social harmony.
    ● Human Nature as Originally Good or Evil
    Confucius himself was silent on the concept of human nature, but there were
    two philosophers who had different interpretations on the subject of human
    nature based on the Analects. They were Mengzi and Xunzi (Hsun tzu). Their views
    on human nature were opposed to one another. For Mencius, renxingor human
    nature is naturally disposed toward ren, or virtue of the superior man. Mengzi
    believed that all human beings are born with innate goodness which, on one hand,
    can be cultivated through proper education and selfdiscipline (li); or be thrown
    away through neglect and bad influence, on the other. However, it needs
    cultivation through li (ritual propriety) as well as obedience to one’s qi (vital
    energy). Human nature may be impeded through negligence or an unfavourable
    environment naturally organized toward ren. On the other hand, Xunzi believed
    that human nature is basically evil but can be improved through self-cultivation.
    Like Mencius, Xunzi considers the li as the key to the cultivation of human nature.
    ● The Five Constants

    The Five Constants, also known as the Five Classical Virtues, or Wuchang,
    are the. five most important Confucian ethics mentioned in the Analects and the
    Book of Mencius. These include the following: ren or benevolence; yi or
    righteousness; li or propriety; zhi or knowledge/wisdom; and xin or fidelity.
    ●Filial Piety as an Important Virtue

    For Confucius, family relations provide a model for social behaviour.


    Respect for elders, whether your own or others, is emphasized, as well as kindness
    to your own children and juniors, including those of others. These were said to be
    instructed by Mencius and have provided inspiration for generations of Confucians.
    Filial piety is said to have provided China with a strong sense of solidarity not only
    in the Chinese family, but also in Confucian social organi-zations and even among
    Chinese communities in different parts of the world.
    SACRED SCRIPTURES: THE CONFUCIAN
    CLASSICS
    The Five Classics are a group of books which was
    regarded as early Confucianism’s basic texts. This includes
    the Book of Changes, the Book of History, the Book of
    Poetry, the Classic of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn
    Annals. The Analects is also considered an important source
    of Confucian teachings since it contains a record of his
    conversations with his disciples.
    BOOK OF CHANGES

    Also known as the I-Ching, the Book of Changes is


    believed to have existed at the time of Confucius and is the
    oldest of the Classics. It focuses on short predictions
    following a type of divination called cleromancy wherein six
    random numbers are picked and arranged under sixty-four
    hexagrams. A hexagram is any of a set of sixty-four figures
    made up of six parallel or broken lines. Later on,
    commentaries were added to the predictions, the longest
    of which was the Hsi-tz’u or Appended Remarks, which
    discusses early cosmological and metaphysical
    assumptions in an obscure language.
    BOOK OF HISTORY
    Also known as the Book of Documents or Shangshu,
    the Book of History is conventionally attributed to Confucius
    by early scholars. It is composed of speeches (or prose) of
    royalty and ministers mainly from the Shang and Zhou
    dynasties. It also consists of chronological accounts of
    imperial achievements and rules of government.
    BOOK OF POETRY
    The Book of Poetry, also known as the Book of
    Songs/Odes/Shijing, is a collection of three hundred and
    five songs compiled around 600 B.C.E. which includes four
    sections of various themes such as love, courtship,
    abandonment and dances. It also includes feast songs or
    state chants. It was supposedly compiled by Confucius from
    an ancient repertory of three thousand, and is considered
    as the oldest existing compilation of Chinese poetry.
    CLASSIC OF RITES
    Originally the Three Li/Three Rites/San Li, the Classic of Rites is a
    compilation of ceremonial rituals, administration, and social forms of the
    Zhou Dynasty. It is considered as a complete body of work which includes
    the Ceremonials (I-li/Yili), an early manual of protocol for the nobility,
    describing such occasions as marriages and funerals, sacrifices and even
    archery competitions. It also includes the Book of Rites (Li-chi/Liji) which is
    composed of forty-nine sections of ritual and government guidelines, as
    well as essays on education, the rites, music and philosophy. Also included
    is the Institutes of Chou (Chou-li/Zhou Li) which is supposedly an ultimate
    depiction of government offices in early Zhou times. These texts were
    supposedly compiled in the early first century B.C.E. based on earlier
    materials.
    ANALECTS
    The Analects, or Lunyu (“conversations” or “sayings”), is also known as
    the Analects of Confucius. It is a collection of sayings and ideas attributed
    to the Chinese philosopher Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally
    believed to have been written by Confucius' followers. It is believed to have
    been written during the Warring States period (475 B.C.E.-221 B.C.E.) and
    finalized during the middle of the Han dynasty. At first it was considered as
    merely a commentary on the Five Classics, but later on acquired tremendous
    significance that it has been classified as one of the Four Books along with
    Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, and Book of Mencius. Among other
    important Confucian works, it has become an influential canonical resource
    in Chinese and East Asian philosophy.

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