Kǒngzǐ
Historical context & Biography
Kongzi has had an influence on Chinese society lasting up to present day. He is considered the original teacher of the world. His main philosophical ideas are virtuous life, filial piety, and worship of the ancestors. He worked for the prince as well as the director of public works and the justice department. His influence is still relevant today around the world. He was the original teacher who spread the importance of education around. He would probably view today's education system as detrimental to society simply because people do not learn to know the knowledge but with the end result of the grade in mind. The knowledge acquired should be the ultimate goal. Also, it seems as though Kongzi has always had society's best interest in mind as he was part of everything he could to improve social works and increase the amount of good in the world.
Confucius was a philosopher, teacher, and political figure. Most believe he was born in the year 551. Confucius’s ancestors were believed to be members of the royal state of song. Although his grandfather left the turmoil and moved to Lu, where his family then became impoverished. Confucius studied ritual with the fictional Daoist Master Lao Dan, music with Chang Hong, and the lute with Music-master Xiang.
The sources of Kongzi’s life were written down well after his death. The Analects are specifically drawing on the concepts of morality and good behavior even at the expense of hardship or poverty. Confucius was poverty stricken and had such jobs as accounting and caring for livestock. His teachings from the analects showed ethical behavior toward family and social interactions as well as setting educational standards. He became the official imperial philosophy of China under the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties.
Confucius existed at a time where china was in an ideological crisis. As the Chinese states threatened the Chou empire, society was in a state of moral decline. Confucius felt it was important to influence society and come up with structure to recreate societies values. He heavily believed in the golden rule “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.” His political belief leaned toward self-discipline. A leader must follow self-discipline to keep humble and teach others through action, and treat them with kindness. In regards to his education and teachings, he strove to revive the traditional values of benevolence, propriety and ritual in Chinese society.
By: Ruth Kaplan
Thought
The Role of the Sages, Tradition, and Ritual:
Tradition and the role of the sages in Confucius' analects play a crucial role in the development of Confucius' thinking process within this time period. Many people have identified this as ritual propriety. This was something that many of his analects and teachings rely heavily upon which can be attributed to the time in which he grew up. Confucius himself was a witness to the morality of the Chinese people deteriorating and the aristocracy turning their back on the traditions of the Zhou which allowed him to realize his path as a Chinese philosopher. His way of taking this issue on was emphasizing his reliance on ritual propriety (tradition, sages, ritual). In many instances, Confucius explains the importance of studying the sages and reflecting on what they are saying in order to really become good. For him, this is a crucial element which allows goodness to stem from. In a sense, he views the teachings of the antiques as providing guidance for the way he was able to see things. This is evident in the very first analect that we discussed, having to do with reheating the old to use in the present. Confucius really believed in the power of tradition and the sages as a means to provide this base where the Chinese community was always able to look back on. I feel like maybe this is why he saw himself more as a transmitter. He was not all for being labeled as an innovator, which makes me think that maybe it was because of how heavily he relied on what was taught by the sages. Overall, throughout many of the analects we were able to see that the sages and tradition really played a significant role in how Confucius was able to process things and how he was able to come up with a more peaceful way to handle the unifying of the Chinese community. He had a mission to return China to its former glory, and Confucius handled this mission by encouraging the community and his disciples to return to carrying out their tradition of self cultivation as well as emphasizing the way of virtue. Although this was the case, as explained in the Stanford Encyclopedia, Confucius did not want to suppress your desires through ritual. Instead he wanted one to understand that desires should go beyond the self and rather look beyond into our families or community and take a look at what is crucial. In this way, we are able to evaluate ritual and adjust our desires accordingly, keeping in mind that our individual selves are not the only ones that will be affected Riegel 2013.
Filial Piety (family):
Filial piety is a element in which plays a huge part in Confucius' way of thinking. Filial piety is the respect for the relationship between subbordinates and their superiors, such as sons and there fathers or subjects and their rulers. The emphasis Confucius puts on filial piety is evident from the start. There are many instances where Confucius talks about the importance of respecting your elders. Not only is it within the household that Kongzi sees as being important, but also outside the home is where this respect for elders is also crucial. This brings about the following Confucius idea which further puts emphasis on filial piety: the family is where your root of kindness first stems from. It is through the family that you are able to form a foundation of kindness and tradition. Your family are the first people you come in contact with and it is your first source of connecting with people, which is important to the development of oneself in the community. Through the teachings of your family you are able to develop this sense of kindness, unity, and compassion. This need and stress put on the importance of family can be mainly attributed to Confucius' upbringing where it is explained that his father was an officer in the Lu military and died when Confucius was the age of three Ames and Hall 1987. This little piece of information allows us to connect the dots with Confucius. It shows us that his perspective and character as a person is a product of the warring states. This time period really had an overall effect of the way he was able to develop his thoughts and teachings. We can also conclude that the significance of honoring filial piety and family being the root of kindness is especially evident because of the lack of unity and compassion he saw throughout this time period in the Chinese community. The community at this time was filled with hate, violence, and the abandoning of tradition/family which Confucius sought to restore.
**More Analect examples of Kongzi talking about Filial Piety: Analect 1.2 and Analect 1.6**
Benevolence:
Benevolence, or kindness, is a foundational virtue in which Confucius deemed necessary to cultivate a flourishing human community. Through Kindness Confucius felt like people were able to identify with each other. But at the same time, like tradition it is a muscle that is able to develop over time and needs to be applied in order for benevolence to be cultivated and brought into existence. As stated in the section of filial piety, benevolence or kindness is first taught through the family. This is where your root of kindness first develops. By kindness, Confucius is talking about the importance of showing empathy or compassion towards others, also called “sympathetic understanding”. Through sympathetic understanding one is able to give out kindness, meaning you are able to put yourself in other people's position and sympathize with them. This is important for Confucius because it provides opportunity for kindness tempered by understanding to spread amongst the community. Another important aspect within benevolence or kindness is “self cultivation” this is most apparent in Analect 15.21 where Confucius says “The gentleman seeks it in himself, the petty person seeks it in others”. Here Confucius is explaining the principle of self cultivation which he believes is the key that guides you to finding value in what you are doing. The opportunity to develop a sense of oneself and growth in turn would allow you towards being able to share this kindness and compassion with your community. It is an imperative element in Confucius’ teachings because it disrupted the current way of going about things, calling for a more peaceful way of doing things within the Chinese community. Instead of violence, he urged the need to be understanding of the people around you as well as the importance of being able to show compassion through kindness. Rather than the promotion of violence and war Confucius knew that in order to achieve the unification of China, benevolence was a key element in the process, allowing people the opportunity to react in a manner that deviates away from violence. Overall, his idea with benevolence is one that requires the one embody goodness (kindness/compassion) in one’s relationship with others.
Education (knowledge):
A hallmark of Confucius' thought is his emphasis on education and study. Through many of his Analects that we studied Confucius argues that a broad understanding (intuition) is not good enough, the real truth and understanding of your culture and tradition comes from long, careful reflection and study along with action. Like tradition and ritual Confucius called for people to apply their knowledge within the community as a means to unify people and gain a better understanding about each other. Education in his mind served as a way for one to cultivate the knowledge learned and to cultivate one’s personal life. Cultivating your personal life and your knowledge gained through education then leads you towards the path of kindness and empathy allowing you to be a part of the human team (being for the community). Much of what was taught by Confucius dealt with moral education because “it is the means by which one can rectify this situation and restore the meaning to language and values to society” Riegel 2013. This is significant to Confucius especially due to the fact that he was growing up in a time in which morality was disintegrating and values were out of joint. With this in context, action and behaviors were no longer corresponding with the labels that were originally attached to them. Confucius’ only way to combat this was to uplift the power of education for one. His teachings were not limited to moral education, he also spent a lot of time on educating his disciples on the teaching of the sages. Where he stressed the importance of studying tradition in order to gain a deep understanding and apply its goodness within society. A love for learning is an essential virtue and if it is not included in your life then there will be foolishness instead of goodness Ames and Hall 1987.
**More Analect examples of Kongzi talking about Education: Analect 12.11 & Analect 13.5**
The Role of the Leader in Governing its People:
Although Confucius did not think of himself as a leader of his people he had a strong sense of what he thought a leader should look like. In his eyes, a leader is one who is able to unify the people peacefully, governing by his own example and treating his people with love and compassion. This is ultimately what he wanted to see in a leader which was revolutionary because at that time Confucius knew nothing more than the leaders that were ruling through violence and punishments in the warring states. He believed in having a leader that was for the people rather than for profit. He believed that a Leader should be the best team player in terms of the human community, creating an environment that everyone wants to be a part of. In Analect 2.3, Confucius says “If you try to guide the common people with coercive regulations and keep them in line with punishments, the common people will become evasive and will have no sense of shame. . .”, here you can see that Confucius did not agree that a ruler or leader of a community should rule through law and order. Instead, Confucius saw the necessity for a leader to guide through virtue (superior rulership) and keep them in lines of ritual, which in turn would allow the people to have a sense of shame when doing wrong in the community. There is no use to force upon regulations amongst the common people, in his perspective, because this will only cause trouble. While ruling with kindness allows the common people to come in harmony with one another as a community (team).
**More Analect examples of Kongzi talking about a Leader: Analect 2.3 & Analect 12.11**
The Way:
In Confucius' mind, The Way is that which is mapped out through tradition and rituals. There can be many interpretations of Confucius' thoughts on "The Way" but I felt that he strongly emphasized the importance of maintaining the continuity of the past (sages) through ritual and through the Chinese traditions. Again, this part of his thinking stems back to the significance of the sages and as well as the importance on acting on what you are taught. Not only acting on it, but also taking time to reflect. In Analect 5.10 Confucius explains that when evaluating people he used to listen to their words and trust that they would act accordingly to what was said but he saw that this was flawed so he now focused his attention to closely observing peoples conduct once they have said what they needed. This scenario comes to show that The Way is not just about being able to relay the information taught or given to you. In Confucius' eyes The Way is being able to take in this new information, reflect on it, and then be able to truly act upon what the antiques are telling you. The Way needs action from the people, this is something that Confucius truly believes is a crucial part in the process of "The Way" because it provides opportunity for the people to find value and meaning in what you are saying/being taught. This leads me into one of my favorite Analects which is where Confucius says "Human beings can broaden The Way- it is not the Way that broadens human beings" (Analect 15.29). I found this to be very interesting in the sense that Confucius lets us know that there really is no one way of knowing "The Way". There is no right or wrong. Instead there are people with different perspectives on what "The Way" is, the only important thing about this is that we have to put it all into practice ("Practice what we preach") in order to truly live an authentic life. To Confucius, The Way has many elements including tradition, rituals, knowledge, kindness, and practice, which allows you to conclude that The Way can simply be all the elements that mean the most to you in your life.
**More Analect examples of Kongzi talking about The Way: Analect 5.10 & Analect 13.5**
By: Kassie Alvarado
Influences
It is believed that Kongzi was inspired by the Duke of Zhou, known as the founder of the state of Lu. The rituals of and institutions of the Western Zhou Dynasty which was about 500 years before his time. The Western Zhou belief in heaven as a force guiding the universe, importance of harmonious rulership, and practice of ancestor worship all have an impact of Kongzi and his philosophy. Kongzi most likely related to how much these things influenced him and therefore wanted to build on those thoughts and have an influence on many generations to come. Confucius’ life and thought were influenced greatly by the decline of central authority in China. A lot of Confucius’s influences were people who had differing views. He saw what they had to say and came up with his own way to make problems better based on his ideology. He has much more of an influence on the world existing after his death than he had during the time he was alive, but also way more than anyone who has influenced him and his teachings.
By: Ruth Kaplan
Kongzi compared to other Philosophers
Mozi and Kongzi differ in the fact that Kongzi believed people are inherently good. Kindness in his view is something you are born with that needs practice in order to develop it. Mozi believes people are naturally bad and therefore need rules with rewards and punishments to enforce good behavior. This is where Confucius and Mozi were shown to disagree. Instead of establishing and forcing upon rules and punishments Confucius valued the means of ruling through virtue. He did not see any good coming through laws and believed fully that establishing these laws would only create more evil and distrust in the world.
Confucius has always had the vision of creating a great society by changing it and implementing certain practices, most directly related to ritual and tradition. Laozi think that it is a waste of time trying to change the way things are because you cannot go against human nature.
Mengzi was heavily influenced by Confucianism and expanded and developed the philosophy even further. He believed Laws should be set by examples. Rulers need to show the people by their own actions.
Zhuangzi said that Understanding yourself is more important. Kindness is not the same for everyone. It is subjective. He was not concerned with trying to fix society but concerned with being aware with yourself. Much different from Kongzi who insisted that being part of society and living by example through kindness was the key to a good society which should be the ultimate goal for everyone.
Xunzi is similar to Kongzi in his value of education. He believes you never stop learning and that it is unnatural but necessary. Although, he does not believe that people are naturally good which is where he differs when he believed that regulation is necessary. Xunzi believes in ritual and tradition, but is self-minded and does not value family as much as the self. This contradictory to Kongzi’s valuation of family.
Kongzi and Han Fezi both believe is aiming toward what is good for the state, but Han Fezi does not emphasize at all on individuality or concern for others, and thinks morals are irrelevant. Where Kongzi believed that morality is what makes society good and decides what is good for the state.
By: Ruth Kaplan
Modern Reception
Why is Confucius still relevant today?
Where is Confucianism practiced? China follows the beliefs of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Confucianism is practiced widely in Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan.
The Revival of Confucianism The last couple of years have seen the revival of Confucianism in China. There are now eighty Confucius Centers in the United States and more outside of the United States, all of these centers are funded by the People's Republic of China. The new embrace is said to be because of the openness and reform heading through China. As China continues through this reform it's thought that Confucian thinking will be more intensely focused on.
Confucius and Communism First, it is important to know that Confucius was a philosopher whose pithy epigrams became China’s handbook on government and its code of personal morality.
Today, Confucius's views have been highly adapted by the Communist party. Confucius's political beliefs and practices are seen to be supportive of the type of Authoritarian rule that the Communist party seeks so heavily. His teachings can also help keep them from having to believe in things such as democracy or human rights.
The political future can be based on what it sees as its philosophical past Communists are making the case that China has it's own political culture because of their philosophical history. Because of this, they do not have to lean towards a democracy. Basically using Confucian thoughts to create a base for a Communist rule "it's about a society where everyone fulfills their responsibilities and creates a harmonious situation where the whole country prospers"
Modern Age Confucianism has been both boasted about and condemned in the modern day. Confucianism has been said to be the key to China's unique cultural heritage and social order. There has been a Confucian revival and it has been named "New Confucianism". This New Confucianism has become a way in which Chinese thinkers could be both modern and traditional at the same time.
Leadership in change
Confucius has always been looked upon as a leader. He took the initiative in his time to educate himself and then to share his knowledge. He turned himself into an expert on the literature and history and poetry of an earlier age in China, and with that he created his own doctrine. The purpose of the doctrine was to restore peace and order. The time in which he lived was a time of war and conflict in China between numerous feudal states, and he believed he had devised a doctrine of virtue that could bring prosperity back to China. He took it upon himself to try and find the answers to Chinas problems, leaders primary purpose is to serve the people and that is what he was doing. He believed that leaders should lead through virtue not through law; the leader develops virtue through education, experience, and hard work. Setting punishments will only create chaos; leaders should govern their subjects by their own example and treat them with love and concern.
He could be seen as transmitter and an innovator. A 'transmitter' because he is relaying his thoughts to his community and students but also an 'innovator' because he can be seen as one of the first "philosophers." He brought new ideas that people had not thought of before, he was thinking outside of the box and brought those ideas to his community.
If Confucius were to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator I think he would be on the border line for the first two categories. The first category of "where you focus your attention" I think he would be in the middle between being an extrovert and introvert. The second category is "the way you take in information" and again I believe he would land in the middle between sensing and intuition. The following category is "the way you make decisions" and with this category I think he would land on the feeling side rather than the thinking side. Feeling because I think he would tend to make decisions based primarily on values and on subjective evaluation of person-centered concerns. He wouldn't land so far on the scale with feeling because he would make decisions also based on logic which would be on the thinking side but he would just have more points on the feeling side. For the last section "how you deal with the outer world" he would definitely land on the perceiving side rather then judging. He seems like a flexible and spontaneous person and would have that type of approach to life and would want to keep his options open.
Appendices:
Helpful YouTube Vids
Key passages
- Analect 7.30 ****
- Analect 2.11 ***
- Analect 9.17 ***
- Analect 4.14 ***
- Analect 7.28 ****
- Analect 13.3 ****
- Analect 4.17 ****
- Analect 15.3***
- Analect 2.15 ***
- Analect 11.12 ***
- Analect 7.35 ***
- Analect 5.12 **
- Analect 7.37 ***
- Analect 4.17B ***
- Analect 2.21 ***
- Analect 8:12 ****
- Analect 7.16 ***
- Analect 4.12 ***
- Analect 7.9 **
- Analect 4.5 **
- Analect 4.22 ****
- Analect 13.5 ****
- Analect 3.17 ***
- Analect 4.1 **
- Analect 7.22 **
- analect 7.20 *
- Kongzi 251.1****
- Analect 9.23****
- Analect 5.10 ****
Key terms
- Uprightness **
- diligently **
- Tahsueh ****
Bibliography
- Ames and Hall 1987. Ames, Roger, and Hall, David. Thinking Through Confucius. Albany: State University of New York, 1987. Print. *****
- Ames, Roger, and Rosemont, Henry. (1998). The Analects of Confucius: a philosophical translation. New York: Random House/Ballantine Books. This is an interesting alternative translation, based on the theory of language that they outline in the introduction.
- Creel, Herrlee. (1949). Confucius, the Man and the Myth. New York: John Day. Reprinted as: Confucius and the Chinese Way, New York: Harper, 1960. An old book but still one of the best biographies of Confucius.
- Fingarette, Herbert. (1979). “Following the One Thread of The Analects. ” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 47(3): pp. 373–405. An excellent study of Analect 15.2 with a comparison to the Christian idea of the Golden Rule.
- Tu Weiming. (1968). “The Creative Tension between Jen and Li.” Philosophy East and West, 18(2): pp. 29-39.
- Goldin, Paul R. (2011). "Confucianism", Los Angeles, University of California Press. pp. 99-113. This book discusses Neo-Confucianism and Confucianism today. It also discusses how many of the other philosophers had concepts that came from Confucianism and took over the world.
- Ivanhoe, Philip J., and Bryan W. Van Norden. Readings In Classical Chinese Philosophy. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2005. Print.
- Yao, Xinzhong. An Introduction To Confucianism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000. Print.
- Riegel 2013. Riegel, Jeffery. (2013). "Confucius", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2013 Edition). Edward N. Zalta (ed.). ***
- Richey, Jeffery. "Religion Library: Confucius." Pathos Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.
- Origin and Developement Shryock, John. The American Historical Association. New York: Paragon Book Reprint, 1966. Print. *
- Ancient History Encyclopedia "Confucius." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. *
- Pow, Anne Vaughan. "Confucianism in the Modern Day." Ancient China: Confucianism. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.
- Woo, Alex. "Much of What Was Taught by Confucius Is Still Relevant in Our Modern World." South China Morning Post. N.p., 31 July 2011. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.
- Worrall, Simon. "Why Is Confucius Still Relevant Today? His Sound Bites Hold Up." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. *
- Richey, Jeff. "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016. *
- Richey, Jeffrey. "Library." Influences. Patheos Library, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016. **
Contributors: Paul Kjellberg, McKenna Wilder, Kassie Alvarado, Ruth Kaplan, Isabella Gorrocino