the Basic Spirit of Pre-qin Confucianism

2013-2-26

Pre-qin :before BC221

Last time I gave you a outline of the basic spirit of per-qin confucianism.

This time I will give some examples to interpret them in detail.

These examples are mainly from two books.

CONFUCIAN ANALECTS THE WORKS OF MENCIUS

ONE CENTER

One center is human Being in the field of vision of human rationality

There are obvious differences between religions and Confucianism.

Religions care about death, the other shore and otherworldliness.

However, Confucian cares about human beings of the real world.

Confucianists don’t discuss things what will happen after death.

They don’t fantasy happiness after death and they don’t expect God’s help.

They think that human beings can realize value of life within the limited life by themselves.

Christianity thinks human beings are guilty

Buddhism thinks the life is bitter.

Otherwise, Confucian thinks human beings are noble and the life is worthy.

For example (According to Confucian Analects )

A student asked Confucius about serving the spirits of the dead.

Confucius said :“while you are not able to serve men, how can you serve their spirits?”

the student added,“I venture to ask about death?”

Confucius said :“while you do not know life, how can you know about death?”

In this dialog, we can feel that Confucius refuse to answer the question of death and he tried to guide his student to care about people alive and real life.

Then, what is the death to Confucian on earth?

In fact, in some sense, to Confucian, death means that men can have a rest in the end.

For example (According to Confucian Analects )

Before Zengzi died, he told his students that ,“It is said in the Book of Poetry, we should be apprehensive and cautious, as if on the brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin ice, and so have I been. Now and hereafter, I know my escape from all injury to my person.”

Why did Zengzi quote “we should be apprehensive and cautious ,as if on the brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin ice”?

Because as a person conforming to the moral standards of confucian is not a easy thing. You must be strict with yourself anytime and anywhere.

When you died, you need not to be strict with yourself. It meant that you may have a rest.

So Zengzi said,“now and hereafter, I know my escape from all injury to my person.”

Although Confucianists do not talk about death and What will happen after death, Confucian still pursues the immortal.

But Confucian thinks that you do not enter heaven to realize the immortal.

If you devote yourself to your careers, your achievements will make you become immortal.

The contents of careers that Confucianists talk about are very wide. It can be raising children and it can be pursuit of moral and it also can be a job for the collective interests.

For example, There is an ancient Chinese fable called "the foolish old man who removed the mountains".

There were two mountains before the foolish old man’s house. The foolish old man decided to remove these two mountains.

But a clever old man laughed at him, the clever old man told the foolish old man :“you are too old and you will be dead soon, so it is impossible to remove these two mountains for you.”

However, the foolish old man confidently said, “If I died, I still have sons; if my sons died, I still have grandsons. They will help me remove these two mountains.”

Trough his offspring, the foolish old man received a feeling of the immortal. It made the foolish old man not afraid of death.

For another example, to the confucian,if you are a writer, your good works will make you immortal.

If you are a general, your achievements will make you immortal.

If you are a strong moral man, your virtue will make you immortal.

In conclusion, if you can do well when you are alive, persons will remember you after your death.

This is the immortal to the confucian.

So Confucianists care about how to live, they do not care about death and after death.

Five basic points

Revolving around this central, Confucianism expresses five basic points.

Firstly, the virtue is regarded as the base.

On one hand, virtue is the criterion of value.

Virtue is in the first place when a confucianist selects his wife and his friend.

Virtue is in the first place when Confucian measure a governor.

For example (According to Confucian Analects )

Zixia said :“a man should withdraw his mind from the love of beauty, and he should apply it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous.”

That is to say, when a man selects his wife, he should pay attention to her virtue, rather than her beauty.

Another example (According to Confucian Analects )

Confucius said :“He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.”

That is to say, when a governor manages his people, he should adopt the means of virtue. If he does this, all people will turn towards him.

Another example (According to Confucian Analects )

Zengzi said:“ The superior man on grounds of culture meets with his friends, and by their friendship helps his virtue.”

In conclusion, virtue is in the first place when Confucian is evaluating everything of individual, government and social.

On the other hand, virtue is the most important goal of Confucian.

Confucian devotes himself to help human beings perfect their moral behavior and help social establish its moral order.

It should be noted that moral personality and moral society are the relationship between the center of a circle and the circle.

Confucian hopes to popularize moral personality to the whole society.

For example (According to Confucian Analects )

When a student asked Confucius what constituted the superior man.

Confucius answered :“He cultivates himself in reverential carefulness.”

The student continued to ask: “And is this all?”

Confucius answered :“He cultivates himself so as to give rest to others.”

The student continued to ask: “And is this all?”

Confucius answered: “He cultivates himself so as to give rest to all the people”.

Through these examples, we have learned that the virtue is regarded as the base to the Confucian.

Then, I want to talk about the best way to approach virtue to the Confucian.

That is filial piety. According to Analects, filial piety is the root of all benevolent actions.

What is filial piety? Let us to see some examples in the Analects.

The first example, when a student asked Confucius what

filial piety was. Confucius said, “The filial piety of

nowadays means the support of one’s parents. But dogs and horses likewise are able to do something in the way of support;——without reverence, what is there to distinguish the one support given from the other?”

The second example, Confucius said, “In serving his parents, a

son may remonstrate with them, but gently; when he sees that they do not incline to follow his advice, he shows an increased degree of reverence, but does not abandon his purpose; and should they punish him, he does not allow himself to murmur.”

The third example,

Confucius said, “While his parents are alive, the son may not go abroad to a distance. If he does go abroad, he must have a fixed place to which he goes.”

The forth example,

Confucius said, “The years of parents may by no means not be kept in the memory, as an occasion at once for joy and for fear.”

Through these examples, we have learned that where to start to pursue virtue.

Then , is pursuing virtue difficult for confucian?

From one angle, it is easy.

For example, according to the Analects, Confucius said, “Is virtue thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, virtue is at hand.”

From another angle, it is very difficult. For example, according to the Analects, Zengzi said, “Superior man may not be

without breadth of mind and vigorous endurance. His burden is heavy and his course is long. Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers it is his to sustain; ——is it not heavy? Only with death does his course stop;——is it not long?”

On the first point, that's all I want to say. Then I will talk about the second point of basic spirit of Confucianism.

Secondly, the profit of community is regarded as the most important

thing. As I mentioned before, Confucian regards

human beings as the center. The human being in the field of Confucian vision is not that refers to isolated individual, but that refer to a person of community.

Confucian cares about personal responsibility and obligation to the community.

Confucian seldom talks about independence and freedom.

For example, according to Analects Confucius said,” The prince is prince and

the minister is minister; the father is father and the son is son.”

When a conflict occurs between individual interests and community interests, Confucian considers that community interests should be protected.

For example, according to Analects

Confucius said, “ Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud.”

Confucian also thinks that how many contributions to the community is the most important standard to measure a person’s character.

Ok, about the second point, so much for my remarks for now. Then, let’s see the third point.

Thirdly, rites is regarded as the political system.

In order to protect moral order and community interests, Confucian built a series of institutions.

Confucian named these institutions as the rites.

Rites help a person to clearly know his roles and his duties.

For example (According to the works of Mencius )

Mencius said, “ Between father and son, there should be affection; between sovereign and minister, righteousness; between husband and wife, attention to their separate functions; between old and young, a proper order; and between friends, fidelity.”

In the same time, rites help the governor adjust social orders and human actions by adopting a more moderate way than law.

Confucian thinks this kind of way is very good.

For example, according to Analects

Confucius said, “If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given then by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good.”

We should know that rites are not simply forms.

Rites are a combination of virtue and forms.

Forms are the expression of virtue.

For example (according to the analects)

Confucius raised doubts, “‘Are gems and silk all that is meant by propriety? Are bells and drums all that is meant by music?”

For another example (according to the analects)

Zizhang said, “In sacrificing, his thoughts are reverential. In mourning, his thoughts are about the grief which he should feel. Such a man commands our approbation indeed.”

Fourthly, the harmony is regarded as the most precious.

The harmony what Confucian talked about is universal harmony. Not only it refers to interpersonal harmony, but also it includes harmony between man and nature. Besides, it includes harmony between physical and mental.

The harmony what Confucian talked about is deep harmony in the kinetic system. It is not simple gather of various factors;

moreover, it is also not simple sameness by erasing personality. In this kind of harmony, every factor has its status and every factor has its role. In short, the most important characteristic of harmony is just right.

This is the golden mean of Confucianism.

Let us to see a example of “just right”, according to Analects,

A student asked Confucius “Shi and Shang,was the superior?”

Confucius said, “Shi goes beyond the due mean, and Shang does not come up to it.”

“Then，” said the student, “the superiority is with Shi, I suppose.”

Confucius said, “To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.”

In order to realize this kind of “just right”, Confucian told us that we should think about a thing in its entirety and we should think about a thing in the development of dynamic.

It is for this reason that we should not stand on the form of rites, although Confucian commend the rites. When rites become barrier of harmony, rites must be changed.

For example ,according to analects

Confucius considered himself to be a man，“ I have no course for which I am predetermined, and no course against which I am predetermined.”

For another example, according to the works of Mencius

when a man asked Mencius,“Is it the rule that males and females shall not allow their hands to touch in giving or receiving any thing?”

Mencius replied, “It is the rule.” Then the man continue to ask, “If a man’s sister-

in-law be drowning, shall he rescue her with his hand?”

Mencius said, “He who would not so rescue a drowning woman is a wolf. For males and females not to allow their hands to touch in giving and receiving is the general rule; when a sister-in-law is drowning, to rescue her with the hand is a peculiar exigency.”

Fifthly, the education is the method what is usually used.

Confucian thinks education and study was very important.

For example, according to Analects,

Confucius said, “In a hamlet of ten families, there may be found one honorable and sincere as I am, but not so fond of learning.”

Confucius also said, “There are only the wise of the highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed.”

As a teacher, Confucius puts forward a series of methods of teaching and learning.

In terms of learning, according to the Analects, studying hard was required.

For example(according to Analects)

Confucius has a student named Zaiyu. One day, Zaiyu was asleep during the daytime , Confucius knew this thing and scolded, “Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dirty earth will not receive the trowel. This YU!——what is the use of my reproving him?”

It is necessary to combine learning and thought.

For example, Confucius said, “Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.”

To be able to infer other things from one fact is very valuable.

For example, Confucius said, “When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, and he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my lesson.”

In terms of teaching, Confucius stressed teaching students according to their aptitude.

For example, The first student asked whether he should

immediately carry into practice what he heard.

Confucius replied, “ There are your father and elder brothers to be consulted;——why should you act on that principle of immediately carrying into practice what you hear?”

The second student asked the same question, whether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard.

Confucius replied, “Immediately carry into practice what you hear.”

The third student was confused. He asked Confucius , “ why is your answer to the same question is difference? Please give me an explanation.”

Confucius replied, “ The second student is retiring and slow; therefore I urged him forward. The first student has more than his own share of energy; therefore I kept him back.”

That's all I want to say today.

My English is poor and may make you suffer.

I’m sorry and I’m shamed.

Thank you very much.