[76] With the Zhou dynasty, which overthrew the Shang, the name for the supreme godhead became Tian ( "Heaven"). [14], Yn Hu, Confucius's most outstanding student, once asked his master to describe the rules of rn and Confucius replied, "one should see nothing improper, hear nothing improper, say nothing improper, do nothing improper. [according to whom?]. the public should not know how officials are selected, since ordinary people are in no position to judge officials beyond the local level. [82] As the Zhou reign collapsed, traditional values were abandoned resulting in a period of perceived moral decline. Specific duties were prescribed to each of the participants in these sets of relationships. [note 2] Matteo Ricci was among the very earliest to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and father Prospero Intorcetta wrote about the life and works of Confucius in Latin in 1687. While contemporary defenders of Confucian political meritocracy all accept this broad frame, they disagree with each other on three main questions: institutional design, the means by which meritocrats are promoted, and the compatibility of Confucian political meritocracy with liberalism. Some of the basic Confucian ethical concepts and practices include rn, y, and l, and zh. The abolition of the examination system in 1905 marked the end of official Confucianism. The Master replied, "What is necessary to rectify names." [citation needed] The emperors of China were considered agents of Heaven, endowed with the Mandate of Heaven. [97], Confucianists historically tried to proselytize to others,[98] although this is rarely done in modern times. [156], Ever since Europeans first encountered Confucianism, the issue of how Confucianism should be classified has been subject to debate. These scholars have held that, if not for Confucianism's influence on these cultures, many of the people of the East Asia region would not have been able to modernise and industrialise as quickly as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and even China have done. Yet there are four seasons going round and there are the hundred things coming into being. For them, Confucianism does not have to be premised on the assumption that meritorious, virtuous political leadership is inherently incompatible with popular sovereignty, political equality and the right to political participation. It is postulated that certain elements of Leibniz's philosophy, such as "simple substance" and "Pre-established harmony", were borrowed from his interactions with Confucianism. Similarly, the lower house allows citizens to be represented, have a voice in public affairs (albeit a weak one), and ensure accountability. This did not exclude martial arts culture. Based primarily on the Master's sayings, preserved in both oral and written transmissions, it captures the Confucian spirit . They uphold that its modern transformation, as a creative response to the challenge of the West, is a continuation of its classical formulation and its medieval elaboration. [29][30] The principle of Heaven (L or Do ), is the order of the creation and the source of divine authority, monistic in its structure. Sometimes viewed as a philosophy and sometimes as a religion, Confucianism may be understood as an all-encompassing way of thinking and living that entails ancestor reverence and a profound human-centred religiousness. NAS counts a total of 108 Confucius Institutes that have closed or are in the process of closing, along with the stated reason for the closure. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. If the ruler is evil, then the people have the right to overthrow him. By Confuciuss time, however, the feudal ritual system had been so fundamentally undermined that the political crises also precipitated a profound sense of moral decline: the centre of symbolic control could no longer hold the kingdom, which had devolved from centuries of civil war into 14 feudal states. Reciprocity or responsibility (renqing) extends beyond filial piety and involves the entire network of social relations, even the respect for rulers. [102] Jnz (, lit. It remains the social code of the Chinese and continues to influence other countries particularly Korea Japan and Vietnam. Hicks, George. On the contrary, the xiaoren (, xiorn, "small or petty person") does not grasp the value of virtues and seeks only immediate gains. In 9.5 Confucius says that a person may know the movements of the tin, and this provides with the sense of having a special place in the universe. This is because reciprocity is demanded from the superior as well. Confuciuss response was to address himself to the issue of learning to be human. [129], Translations of Confucian texts influenced European thinkers of the period,[130] particularly among the Deists and other philosophical groups of the Enlightenment who were interested by the integration of the system of morality of Confucius into Western civilization. Many European and American admirers such as Voltaire and Herrlee G. Creel point to the revolutionary idea of replacing nobility of blood with nobility of virtue. [88] Kang modeled his ideal "Confucian Church" after European national Christian churches, as a hierarchic and centralised institution, closely bound to the state, with local church branches, devoted to the worship and the spread of the teachings of Confucius. Although only 2% are adherents of Christianity, it is becoming a popular alternative. Some Confucians proposed that all human beings may pursue perfection by learning and practising li. On spirituality, Confucius said to Chi Lu, one of his students: "You are not yet able to serve men, how can you serve spirits? [42] He wrote in the Analects (7.23) that tin gave him life, and that tin watched and judged (6.28; 9.12). indeed!" "[55] Confucius also defined rn in the following way: "wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others."[56]. They call this approach "progressive conservatism", a term that reflects the ambiguous place of the Confucian tradition within the Left-Right dichotomy. This represents 0.09% of the world's population, or slightly less than 1%. Bell and Wang favour a system in which officials at the local level are democratically elected and higher-level officials are promoted by peers. [3] Confucianism was suppressed during the Legalist and autocratic Qin dynasty (221206BCE), but survived. In so doing he attempted to redefine and revitalize the institutions that for centuries had been vital to political stability and social order: the family, the school, the local community, the state, and the kingdom. Please select which sections you would like to print: Professor of Chinese History and Philosophy, Harvard University. About 7% of the world's population are true Confucianism followers. [30] Rn, translated as "humaneness" or the essence proper of a human being, is the character of compassionate mind; it is the virtue endowed by Heaven and at the same time the means by which man may achieve oneness with Heaven comprehending his own origin in Heaven and therefore divine essence. In a much-discussed passage, women are grouped together with xiaoren (, literally "small people", meaning people of low status or low moral) and described as being difficult to cultivate or deal with. Wang Yangming, Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings by Wang Yang-Ming, Wing-tsit Chan tran. "[32], Confucianism conciliates both the inner and outer polarities of spiritual cultivation, that is to say self-cultivation and world redemption, synthesised in the ideal of "sageliness within and kingliness without". The followers of the Buddhist religion accounts for 6% of the population. Legge), Xun Zi chapter (22) "On the Rectification of Names" claims the ancient sage-kings chose names (; mng) that directly corresponded with actualities (; sh), but later generations confused terminology, coined new nomenclature, and thus could no longer distinguish right from wrong. Zhou kings declared that their victory over the Shang was because they were virtuous and loved their people, while the Shang were tyrants and thus were deprived of power by Tian.[3]. Chinese folk religious temples and kinship ancestral shrines may, on peculiar occasions, choose Confucian liturgy (called r or zhngtng, "orthopraxy") led by Confucian ritual masters ( lshng) to worship the gods, instead of Taoist or popular ritual. [44] However, Confucianism does venerate many aspects of nature[16] and also respects various dao. Meanwhile, the meritocratic house preserves competence, statesmanship, and Confucian virtues. as the embodiment of Confucian ideas. It remains the social code of the Chinese and continues to influence other countries, particularly Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Confucianism regards texts such as the Five Classics as examples that should be followed to increase the harmony of the family, social order as a whole, and the world. "[143] Chaste widows were revered and memorialised during the Ming and Qing periods. In fact, Confuciuss sense of history was so strong that he saw himself as a conservationist responsible for the continuity of the cultural values and the social norms that had worked so well for the idealized civilization of the Western Zhou dynasty. [95][96] It was the first of a nationwide movement of congregations and civil organisations that was unified in 2015 in the Church of Confucius ( Kngshnghu). [44] The Confucian classic Xiaojing ("Book of Piety"), thought to be written around the Qin-Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of xio. [124] These thinkers accuse the meritocrats of overestimating the flaws of democracy, mistaking temporary flaws for permanent and inherent features, and underestimating the challenges that the construction of a true political meritocracy poses in practiceincluding those faced by contemporary China and Singapore. [105], In Just Hierarchy, Daniel Bell and Wang Pei argue that hierarchies are inevitable. In 771 bce, however, they were forced to move their capital eastward to present-day Luoyang to avoid barbarian attacks from Central Asia. Like many contemporaries, Confucius saw ritual practices as efficacious ways to access Tian, but he thought that the crucial knot was the state of meditation that participants enter prior to engage in the ritual acts. Referred to variously as the Confucian hypothesis and as a debated component of the more all-encompassing Asian Development Model, there exists among political scientists and economists a theory that Confucianism plays a large latent role in the ostensibly non-Confucian cultures of modern-day East Asia, in the form of the rigorous work ethic it endowed those cultures with. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. So, in light of Xi's call for Confucianism to benefit society in concrete ways, private . By the 6th century BCE, the power of Tian and the symbols that represented it on earth (architecture of cities, temples, altars and ritual cauldrons, and the Zhou ritual system) became "diffuse" and claimed by different potentates in the Zhou states to legitimise economic, political, and military ambitions. [118] Because they believe that promotion should depend upon peer evaluations only, Bell and Wang argue against transparencyi.e. [139][140], Confucianism "largely defined the mainstream discourse on gender in China from the Han dynasty onward. [14] Y (; ) is the upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition to do good. Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics John C. Didier and David Pankenier relate the shapes of both the ancient Chinese characters for Di and Tian to the patterns of stars in the northern skies, either drawn, in Didier's theory by connecting the constellations bracketing the north celestial pole as a square,[77] or in Pankenier's theory by connecting some of the stars which form the constellations of the Big Dipper and broader Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor (Little Dipper). Spotlight on Other Religions The "other religions" category is diverse and comprises all groups not classified elsewhere. The founder of Confucianism, named Confucius, lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E. Inspired by the statesmanship of Zhougong, Confucius harboured a lifelong dream to be in a position to emulate the duke by putting into practice the political ideas that he had learned from the ancient sages and worthies. This includes one, St. He gave an explanation of zhengming to one of his disciples. [86] The most enthusiastic New Confucians proclaim the uniqueness and superiority of Confucian Chinese culture, and have generated some popular sentiment against Western cultural influences in China. Real power thereafter passed into the hands of feudal lords. Streng, Frederick, "Understanding Religious Life," 3rd ed. The broad range of subjects touched on by Confucianism lends itself to all three of these interpretations depending on which aspects one focuses on. . [25], Traditionally, Confucius was thought to be the author or editor of the Five Classics which were the basic texts of Confucianism. William Theodore De Bary, Waiting for the Dawn: A Plan for the Prince (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), 91110. Confucius may have initiated a cultural process known in the West as Confucianism, but he and those who followed him considered themselves part of a tradition, later identified by Chinese historians as the rujia, scholarly tradition, that had its origins two millennia previously, when the legendary sages Yao and Shun created a civilized world through moral persuasion. First is raw efficiency, which may require centralized rule in the hands of the competent few. This view was reinforced by Pope Benedict XIV, who ordered a ban on Chinese rituals,[158] though this ban was re-assessed and repealed in 1939 by Pope Pius XII, provided that such traditions harmonize with the true and authentic spirit of the liturgy.[159]. The appeal to cultural values and social norms for the maintenance of interstate as well as domestic order was predicated on a shared political vision, namely, that authority lies in universal kingship, heavily invested with ethical and religious power by the mandate of heaven (tianming), and that social solidarity is achieved not by legal constraint but by ritual observance. His journey into the past was a search for roots, which he perceived as grounded in humanitys deepest needs for belonging and communicating. [88], In contemporary China, the Confucian revival has developed into various interwoven directions: the proliferation of Confucian schools or academies (shuyuan ),[87] the resurgence of Confucian rites (chuntng ly ),[87] and the birth of new forms of Confucian activity on the popular level, such as the Confucian communities (shq rxu ). Defenders of Confucian political meritocracy all champion a system in which rulers are selected on the basis of intellect, social skills, and virtue. While the lower house does not have any legislative power per se, it acts as a popular accountability mechanism by championing the people and putting pressure on the upper house. There is no deity worshipped in Confucianism, though the worship of ancestors and of Confucius himself as a sage master and teacher are practiced. There are approximately 6.1 million followers of Confucianism worldwide. The scholar Tu Weiming explains these classics as embodying "five visions" which underlie the development of Confucianism: Confucianism revolves around the pursuit of the unity of the individual self and the God of Heaven (Tin ), or, otherwise said, around the relationship between humanity and Heaven. [86], The idea of a "Confucian Church" as the state religion of China has roots in the thought of Kang Youwei, an exponent of the early New Confucian search for a regeneration of the social relevance of Confucianism, at a time when it was de-institutionalised with the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the Chinese empire. East Asians may profess themselves to be Shintists, Daoists, Buddhists, Muslims, or Christians, but, by announcing their religious affiliations, seldom do they cease to be Confucians. The State of Religion in China Confucius conceived these qualities as the foundation needed to restore socio-political harmony. Li also means religious rites which establish relations between humanity and the gods. This reinvigorated form was adopted as the basis of the imperial exams and the core philosophy of the scholar-official class in the Song dynasty (9601297). ", Volume I: The Ancient Eurasian World and the Celestial Pivot, Volume II: Representations and Identities of High Powers in Neolithic and Bronze China, Volume III: Terrestrial and Celestial Transformations in Zhou and Early-Imperial China, "The Religiousness of "Confucianism" and the Revival of Confucian Religion in China Today", "Kang Youwei: The Martin Luther of Confucianism and His Vision of Confucian Modernity and Nation", "To Inherit the Ancient Teachings of Confucius and Mencius and Establish Modern Confucianism", "The Civil Theology of Confucius' "Tian" Symbol", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry: Confucius, Oriental Philosophy, "Topic:Confucianism", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Confucianism&oldid=1152735062, This page was last edited on 2 May 2023, at 00:15. [9] While Tin has some characteristics that overlap the category of godhead, it is primarily an impersonal absolute principle and not considered a true deity by most scholars[10] and practitioners, like the Do () or the Brahman,[further explanation needed] and gods worshiped by Confucians do not originate from orthodox Confucianism. In 3.12, he explains that religious rituals produce meaningful experiences,[47] and one has to offer sacrifices in person, acting in presence, otherwise "it is the same as not having sacrificed at all". [11] Confucianism focuses on the practical order that is given by a this-worldly awareness of the Tin. To Confucius, the junzi sustained the functions of government and social stratification through his ethical values. Grades 5 - 8 Subjects Religion, Social Studies, Ancient Civilizations Image Confucian Philosopher Mencius Partly because of the vitality of the feudal ritual system and partly because of the strength of the royal household itself, the Zhou kings were able to control their kingdom for several centuries. Confucianism Beliefs: The Four Tenets When actual, the king's personal virtue (de) spreads beneficent influence throughout the kingdom. In accordance with the Master, they identified mental tranquility as the state of Tian, or the One ( Y), which in each individual is the Heaven-bestowed divine power to rule one's own life and the world. What was happening in China when Confucius lived? Such duties are also extended to the dead, where the living stand as sons to their deceased family. [29] The scholar Promise Hsu, in the wake of Robert B. Louden, explained 17:19 ("What does Tian ever say? [citation needed] Modern Confucianism is the descendant of movements that greatly changed how they practiced the teachings of Confucius and his disciples from previous orthodox teachings. Confucius (551479 BCE) appeared in this period of political decadence and spiritual questioning. [25] Five Classics (, Wjng) and the Confucian vision [30] This transformation of the self may be extended to the family and society to create a harmonious fiduciary community. Corrections? [128] This synthesis, blending Confucians rituals and institutions with a broader liberal democratic frame, is distinct from both Western-style liberalismwhich, for Tseng, suffers from excessive individualism and a lack of moral visionand from traditional Confucianismwhich, for Tseng, has historically suffered from rigid hierarchies and sclerotic elites. China's latest attempt to rally the world against Western values [126] Baogang He and Mark Warren add that "meritocracy" should be understood as a concept describing a regime's character rather than its type, which is determined by distribution of political poweron their view, democratic institutions can be built which are meritocratic insofar as they favour competence.[127]. [86] Another modern proponent of the institutionalisation of Confucianism in a state church is Jiang Qing. Confucianism Though not formally recognized as a religion by the Chinese government, Confucianism has had an undeniable impact on Chinese history and culture since its conception by the Chinese philosopher Confucius around 479 BC. How Does Confucianism Influence Health Behaviors, Health Outcomes and Over the following centuries the system grew until finally almost anyone who wished to become an official had to prove his worth by passing a set of written government examinations. Later, Zhu Xi defined junzi as second only to the sage. [86] In 2003, the Confucian intellectual Kang Xiaoguang published a manifesto in which he made four suggestions: Confucian education should enter official education at any level, from elementary to high school; the state should establish Confucianism as the state religion by law; Confucian religion should enter the daily life of ordinary people through standardisation and development of doctrines, rituals, organisations, churches and activity sites; the Confucian religion should be spread through non-governmental organisations. How many Confucianism followers are there worldwide? See full answer below. Confucianism was initiated by the disciples of Confucius, developed by Mencius (c. 372289BCE) and inherited by later generations, undergoing constant transformations and restructuring since its establishment, but preserving the principles of humaneness and righteousness at its core. [31], According to the scholar Stephan Feuchtwang, in Chinese cosmology, which is not merely Confucian but shared by all Chinese religions, "the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy" (hundun and qi ), organising through the polarity of yin and yang which characterises any thing and life. This system allowed anyone who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position which would bring wealth and honour to the whole family. As Confucianism was able to nourish the population and civilization, during the Han Dynasty, emperor Wu Di (reigned 141-87 BC) made Confucianism the official state ideology. The scholarly tradition envisioned by Confucius can be traced to the sage-kings of antiquity. [46], Some Confucian movements worship Confucius,[49] although not as a supreme being or anything else approaching the power of tian or the dao, and/or gods from Chinese folk religion. This elaborate system of mutual dependence was based on blood ties, marriage alliances, and old covenants as well as on newly negotiated contracts. Although transformed over time, it is still the substance of learning, the source of values, and the social code of the Chinese. [14], Tin (), a key concept in Chinese thought, refers to the God of Heaven, the northern culmen of the skies and its spinning stars,[36] earthly nature and its laws which come from Heaven, to "Heaven and Earth" (that is, "all things"), and to the awe-inspiring forces beyond human control. It is thought that his pure virtue would lead others to follow his example. Confucianism - Wikipedia . Author of. The scholar Yao Xinzhong allows that there are good reasons to believe that Confucian classics took shape in the hands of Confucius, but that "nothing can be taken for granted in the matter of the early versions of the classics".
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