Confucius was introduced for the first time to the West as: Chinese philosopher,who
flourished about five hundred years before the coming of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Confucius' teachings have exercised such a molding influence
that if the Oriental way of life were to be characterized in one word it would
be "Confucian" Confucius was human, all-too-human, and the sagest
of the sages. He did not pretend to be a prophet, but dedicated his whole
life to save the mankind as a heavenly missionary. Confucius promised those
who followed him no great riches, no secrets for worldly power or fame. Instead
of gold or glory, he spoke only of a dream. Confucius spoke and lived and
dreamed of a world where happiness, good, and peace would replace misery,
evil, and war. His dream was not merely of a world as it had been or might
be; his was a dream of a world as it should be. Confucius was a man who never
led an army, ruled a kingdom, or conquered a nation, but shaped the flow of
human history and established a system of ideas that has lasted over twenty
five hundred years.[Bennett Sims] When I began to read Confucius, I found
him to be a prosaic and parochial moralizer; his collected sayings, the Analects,
seemed to me an archaic irrelevance. Later, and with increasing force, I found
him a thinker with profound insight and with an imaginative vision of man
equal in its grandeur to any I know. Increasingly, I have become convinced
that Confucius can be a teacher to us today--a major teacher, not one who
merely gives us a slightly exotic perspective on the idea already current.
He tells us things not being said elsewhere; things needing to be said. He
has a new lesson to teach.
Named for at 6th century B.C.
Chinese teacher and thinker, K'ung Fu-tzu, whose Latinized name is Confucius,
Confucianism is one of the three religions that form the traditional heritage
of China (together with Taoism and Buddhism). read more
Neo-Confucianism as propagated by Zhu Xi (1130-4200, in Japanese,
Shushi) of Song China became the most influential doctrine in shaping the
thought and behavior of the Japanese people. This was in part due to the
state sanction and encouragement given to its teachings. Tokugawa Ieyasu
and his successors found its ideal of orderly submission to the authorities
well suited to the bakufu's desire to maintain a stable political and social
order.
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In its early form (before the 3d cent. B.C.) Confucianism was primarily a system of ethical precepts for the proper management of society. It envisaged man as essentially a social creature who is bound to his fellows by jen, a term often rendered as ¡°humanity,¡± or ¡°human-kind-ness.¡± Jen is expressed through the five relations¡ªsovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend. Of these, the filial relation is usually stressed.
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The Confucian tradition has a long historical legacy in East Asia extending from China across Korea and Japan and into Vietnam. The influence of Confucianism has been significant in political thought and institutions, social relationships and ritual exchange, educational philosophy and moral teaching, cultural attitudes, and historical interpretation. Indeed, Confucian values still play an important part in East Asian life despite the striking inroads of modernization and westernization.
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The name ¡°Confucius¡± is a Latinized version of ¡°Kong Fuzi,¡± meaning ¡°Master Kong.¡± Kong Qiu (551-479 BCE) taught a system of moral wisdom that would become a predominant social force in China, from the second-century BCE until the mid-twentieth-century BCE. Confucianism does not teach as a central doctrine that a God or gods should be worshipped, or that there is a life after death; it has no priesthood, but it does embrace a system of ritual.
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Major school of thought in China which defends an ethical and political ideal that has been a dominant influence on the way of life of the Chinese. Members of the school are motivated by social and political concerns, and many take part in government at some stage of their careers, with some attaining influential official positions. They regard cultivation of the self as the basis of social and political order, and many of them are also influential teachers devoted to bettering themselves and their pupils. This predominantly practical orientation is coupled with a reflectivity that has led to the development of elaborate metaphysical views, theories of human nature, and accounts of the human psychology.
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Confucianism - Chongmyo Royal Ancestral Shrine...... Confucianism is a moral and religious system from China started by Kongfuzi, under the Pinyin system, c.551-479 B.C., Chinese sage more commonly known as Confucius, who created sayings known as the Analects and other ancient commentaries.
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Choson Korea ushered in a period of rapid development in Confucianism - Chinese Confucian rites, called 'ye,' reached into almost every part of Choson's aristocratic elite. The lifestyle and behavior of Choson's elite were prescribed in painfully minute detail, and included all facets of life: court procedures, ceremonies, customs, language, music, and all principles governing human interaction
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An Overview of Confucianism by Michael A. Ashby - Confucius was born in 551 B.C.E. in the principality of Lu (Shantungprovince), China. He became a gifted teacher who acquired a facility involvingthe Socratic method of teaching a diverse array of subjects, includinghistory and poetry. Confucius used this facility to train his students¡¯minds and to impart wisdom to them.
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An Alternative Vision of Modernity - From a Confucian Perspective
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The Cult of Confucius:Images of the Temple of Culture - During much of the imperial era of Chinese history, the teachings and ritual practices of Confucianism occupied a privileged status in the education and training of the men who served in the civil bureaucracy.
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Over the several decades in which Confucius taught it is very difficult to estimate how many students he had. Unlike the Buddha and Jesus, there is no indication that he ever spoke to large groups of people. In The Analects there are the names of about twenty men who might have been regular students or disciples.
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"The reason why the ancients did not readily give utterance to their words, was that they were afraid that their actions might not come up to them."
"He acts before he speaks and then speaks according to his action."
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Although Confucius encouraged his students to learn about many things, he suggested that they be very selective and careful in what they said and did. Since Tzu-chang was studying to attain an official salary, the master recommended, "Hear much and put aside what is doubtful while you speak cautiously of the rest. Then few will blame you. See much and put aside what seems perilous while you are cautious in carrying the rest into practice. Then you will have few occasions for regret. When one's words give few occasions for blame and his acts give few occasions for repentance, he is on the way to receiving a salary."
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Confucius and Socrates - The Teaching of Wisdom
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Confucianism is something of a derivative. As a matter of fact, Confucius insisted on close adherence to Tao. However, he was pragmatic and concerned with the existential problems of man, hence he deals less with generalities and more with the practical matters of daily and personal relationships. The essence of his system of relationships is fivefold, and fundamental to his social order: ruler and subject; father and son; husband and wife; older brother and younger brother; older friend and younger friend.
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Confucius' basic idea:the renewal of antiquity - In the troubled times following the disintegration of the Empire, Confucius was one of the many wandering philosophers who aspired to save the country with their counsels. All found the way in knowledge, Confucius in knowledge of antiquity. His fundamental questions were: What is the old? How can we make it our own? How can we make it a reality?
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To many people, Confucius is no more than the setup to a one-line joke. Few have heard or read any of his teachings. Yet the truth and importance of his words resonate today when they are heard, because Confucius' teachings developed in reaction to the times in which he lived -- and our times are very much like his.
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Confucianism, major system of thought in China, developed from the teachings of Confucius and his disciples, and concerned with the principles of good conduct, practical wisdom, and proper social relationships. Confucianism has influenced the Chinese attitude toward life, set the patterns of living and standards of social value, and provided the background for Chinese political theories and institutions. It has spread from China to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam and has aroused interest among Western scholars.
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In the Sung dynasty (960-1279), Confucianism became a powerful force of thought in what is generally called the Sung Confucian Revival.In the centuries preceding, Buddhism was the dominant force in China; the intellectual centers of China were the Buddhist temples. But in the Sung, the center of intellectual activity again devolved on the scholar.
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Confucianism: Article written by Judith A. Berling for the Asia Society's Focus on Asian Studies
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