Confucius (Kongzi) (551-479 BC)

Chinese philosopher and statesman

The Morals of Confucius (1691 First English Edition)

Confucius lived during the Spring and Autumn period (777 BC to 476 BC) of the Eastern or Later Zhou Dynasty (770 BC -
256 BC). It was a time in China's history when the great Zhou dynasty had broken down and the country was divided
among rival factions. Confucius traveled from State to State to teach what he believed to be the best approach to
government and civilization.

Wherever he went, he sought positions in government as an advisor or administrator, but only briefly held a few such
posts. While he attracted a large number of students and followers, his views and advice were not popular among the
kings nor were they considered practical. A number of his students were able to make successful careers in government;
perhaps they were more flexible or more politic.

The writings of Confucius would seem to appeal to a feudal lord. Confucius taught that the subordinate owed obedience
and honor to his superior. This began in the home where the father was held to be the absolute ruler. The family was to
follow him in all decisions and look to him for guidance and wisdom. This principle, filial piety, was then applied to the
organization of civilization and government. The individual household owed allegiance and obedience to the local ruler
who in turn honored and obeyed those above him.

Confucius relished the idea of ceremony and promoted it as a means to serve as a visual and behavioral reminder of rank.
The external signs or rituals of society were to regulate both day to day exchanges as well as the ceremonies of State.
Rank was dignified by rituals as well as privilege. Each rank would have specific roles in religious and political ceremonies
and would be limited to certain ceremonies they could conduct. Included in the idea of ceremony were the clothes that
you were to wear, the insignias on the clothing or your carriage, the style of hat worn on special occasions, where you
could and could not walk, and even the colors you were allowed to use in clothing and decoration. Only the Emperor was
to use and wear certain colors of gold, crimson, and purple.

One would think that rulers would embrace such a militaristic organization of the population. However, Confucius also
taught that rulers must be responsible to their subordinates. They earned their privilege through promoting the welfare
of the populace. When a father or a ruler betrayed that trust, the children or the subjects had the right and duty to
disobey, to overthrow the ruler. At heart he was a humanist. When Confucius did manage to secure a position in court in
one of the kingdoms, he didn't last long. The kingdoms were preoccupied with war. Resources which Confucius thought
should be spent on benevolence were channeled into either defense of territory or the acquisition of new territories.

Confucius seldom stayed in a place for a long time. Either the kings and dukes didn't have much patience with the idea
of tempering their power and he was quickly dismissed or he would leave in disgust when prescribed rituals were
violated. He despaired when he would witness minor nobles engage in the rituals of kings. He felt insulted when the
proper courtesies due his rank were abridged or forgotten altogether. He left disciples and students behind who had
been exposed to a radical form of thought.

Perhaps, in part. because he traveled so extensively, Confucian thought spread widely following his death. His students
carried it to all corners of China. It influenced other forms of Chinese philosophy such as that of Mencius and the
Legalists. As a philosophy it was a deliberate consideration of the function and responsibility of government and society.
It contained a moral code that applied to the minutia of greeting a friend as well as to the proper function and ethics of
government.

By the time that the King of Qin (221 BC) conquered the neighboring States and declared himself as Shi Huang Di,
Emperor of China, Confucianism was a powerful force. As one of his first acts as emperor, Huang Di ordered that all of
the books of Confucius should be burnt and the Confucian scholars executed. Huang Di then embarked upon a total
reorganization of society and government, one based on absolute power, forced labor, conscripted military, and central
control. In a few short years he was able to join and lengthen the Great Wall, build roads, dig canals, and build the great
mausoleum at Xi'an for himself. The violence and disrespect for traditional values led to the overthrow of the Qin
dynasty only 21 years after its inception. The Han dynasty, which replaced it, returned to Confucian principles and lasted
until 220 AD.

The Emperor Wu Ti of the Han dynasty took the advice of his minister, Hung Kung-sun, and made Confucianism a religion
by elevating Confucius to a perfection of thought and correctness that was unarguable, something simply to be learned,
studied, and in the end worshiped. This had far reaching consequences for the future. Other schools of thought didn't
have a chance to be explored or developed. Confucianism itself had little possibility of being significantly altered. During
the Song and then the Ming dynasties Confucianism became little more than a management tool rather than a system of
ethics.
The system of national examinations underwrote the standardization of thought. To enter the Civil Service and thus
advance in rank boys studied the classics and their proper interpretation. Even those who would not take the
examinations were taught using the texts. It was only in the late Qing dynasty that alternative methods of education were
more readily available. Even after that, parents taught reverence for the classics. If you knew your Confucius, everything
would go right in your life.

The ten years of terror called the Cultural Revolution, both rejected, and was based on, the Confucian system. The "little
red book" of Chairman Mao was to replace the Confucian texts but be given the same inviolate devotion and obedience.
Any person carrying a copy and loudly proclaiming its contents could expect to be able to advance in the ranks. It
provided a rather immediate system of civil service exams without the need for prolonged study.

The work of Confucius was published in English when England and Europe were moving away from feudal thought and
government toward representative government with an emphasis on individual choice and rights. Confucian principles
emphasize the good of the group or community over the rights of the individual.

Confucius was developing a system of morality and politics just a little earlier than when the writings of Socrates, Plato,
and Aristotle laid the foundation for our western approach to civilization. Later philosophers in each culture would be
influenced by the assumptions of the earliest great writers. They developed their thoughts either in opposition to them
or as an extension and elaboration. By the time Confucian thought reached Europe, philosophers and politicians had
moved to limit the power of government through law and to guarantee the rights of the individual irrespective of their
place in society. In the West, the work of Confucius was, and is, valued for its beauty and great moral sense, not as an
innovative approach to civilization. In China, it is today a part of the fabric of society, and influences their philosophers
and thinkers as well as day to day living.

Quotations:

He who rules his state on a moral basis would be supported by the people, just as the Polar star is encircled by all the
other stars. p 12.

Regulated by the edits and punishments, the people will know only how to stay out of trouble but will not have a sense of
shame. Guided by virtues and the rites, they will not only have a sense of shame but also know how to correct their
mistakes of their own accord. p 13.

People will obey you if you promote righteous men and suppress evil men. And they will disobey you if you do the
contrary.

If one learns the truth in the morning, one would never regret dying the same evening. p 51.

Courtesy without following the rites leads to tiredness, caution without following the rites leads to cowardice, courage
without following the rites leads to rudeness; frankness without following the rites leads to harshness. Subordinates
imitate their superiors; when a superior man devotes himself to his own kin, the people will cherish the cultivation of
benevolence. When he does not forget his friends, people will not be indifferent to one another. p. 129.

When learning something new, one should worry about being unable to reach it. When one has learnt something, one
should worry about forgetting it. p. 138.

Fan Chi asked about benevolence. Confucius said, "Be respectful to parents, be conscientious in official affairs. Be loyal
and honest to friends. These three moral principles can never be defied anywhere." p. 241.

A gentleman always keeps even-tempered without being arrogant while a petty man is arrogant without being even-
tempered. p. 246.

Quotations from:
Analects of Confucius. (Cai Xiqin editor and translator). Beijing: Sinolingua, 1994.