Confucianism is an ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius ( Kng Fz,

or K'ung-fu-tzu, lit. "Master Kong", 1479 BCE). Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han Dynasty.[1] Following the official abandonment of Legalism in China after the Qin Dynasty, Confucianism became the official state ideology of the Han. Nonetheless, since the Han period onward, most Chinese emperors used a mix of Legalism and Confucianism as their ruling doctrine, often with the lat ter embellishing the former. In other words, Confucian values were used to sugar coat the harsh Legalist ideas that underlie the Imperial system. The disintegrat ion of the Han in the second century CE opened the way for the spiritual and oth erworldly doctrines of Buddhism and Daoism to dominate intellectual life at that time. A Confucian revival began during the Tang dynasty. In the late Tang, Conf ucianism absorbed some aspects of Buddhism and Daoism and was reformulated (NeoConfucianism). 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. Neo-Confucianism turned into sometimes rigid orthodoxy over the following centu ries. In popular practice, however, the three doctrines of Confucianism, Buddhis m, and Daoism were often melded together. The abolition of the examination syste m in 1905 marked the end of official Confucianism. The New Culture intellectuals of the early twentieth century blamed Confucianism for China's weaknesses. They searched for imported doctrines to replace it, such as the "Three Principles of the People" with the establishment of the Republic of China, and then Communism under the People's Republic of China. In the late twentieth century, some peopl e credited Confucianism with the rise of the East Asian economy and revived both in the People's Republic and abroad. The core of Confucianism is humanism, or what the philosopher Herbert Fingarette calls "the secular as sacred." The focus of spiritual concern is this world and the family, not the gods and not the afterlife.[2] Confucianism broadly speakin g does not exalt faithfulness to divine will or higher law.[3] This stance rests on the belief that human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible throu gh personal and communal endeavor especially self-cultivation and self-creation. Confucian thought focuses on the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of ethic s. Some of the basic Confucian ethical concepts and practices include ren, yi, a nd li. Ren is an obligation of altruism and humaneness for other individuals. Yi is the upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition to do good. Li is a system of norms and propriety that determines how a person should properly act in everyday life. Confucianism holds that one should give up one's life, if nece ssary, either passively or actively, for the sake of upholding the cardinal mora l values of ren and yi.[4] Historically, cultures and countries strongly influenced by Confucianism include mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, as well as various territories settled predominantly by Chinese people, such as Singapore. In the modern times, Confucianism's influence has been vastly reduced and few pe ople identify themselves as Confucians.[5] Instead, people often see Confucian e thics as a complementary guideline for other ideologies and beliefs, including d emocracy,[6] Marxism,[7] capitalism,[8] Christianity,[9] Islam[10] and Buddhism. [11] Contents 1 Names and terminology 1.1 The Five Confucian Classics and the Confucian vision 2 Themes in Confucian thought 2.1 Humanism 2.2 Ren 2.3 Etiquette 2.4 Loyalty 2.5 Filial piety

2.6 Relationships 2.7 The gentleman 2.8 Rectification of names 3 Governance 4 Meritocracy 5 Influence in 17th-century Europe 6 Influence on Islamic thought 7 Influence in modern times 8 Criticism 8.1 Women in Confucian thought 9 Is Confucianism a religion? 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 Translations of texts attributed to Confucius 13.1 The Analects (Lun Yu) 14 External links Names and terminology Strictly speaking, there is no term in Chinese which directly corresponds to "Co nfucianism." In the Chinese language, the character R is generally used both in t he past and the present to refer to things related to Confucianism. Several diff erent terms are used in different situations, several of which are of modern ori gin:

"School of the scholars" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Rji) "Teaching of the scholars" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Rjio) "Study of the scholars" (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Rx "Teaching of Confucius" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Kngjio) "Kong Family's Business" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Kngjidin)[12] Three of these use R, meaning "scholar". These names do not use the name "Confuci us" at all, but instead center on the figure or ideal of the Confucian scholar; however, the suffixes of ji, jio, and xu carry different implications as to the nat ure of Confucianism itself. Rji contains the character ji, which literally means "house" or "family". In this c ontext, it is more readily construed as meaning "school of thought", since it is also used to construct the names of philosophical schools contemporary with Con fucianism: for example, the Chinese names for Legalism and Mohism end in ji. Rjio and Kngjio contain the Chinese character jio, the noun "teach", used in such as terms as "education", or "educator". The term, however, is notably used to const ruct the names of religions in Chinese: the terms for Islam, Judaism, Christiani ty, and other religions in Chinese all end with jio. Rxu contains xu 'study'. The term is parallel to -ology in English, being used to c onstruct the names of academic fields: the Chinese names of fields such as physi cs, chemistry, biology, political science, economics, and sociology all end in x u. The use of the term Confucianism has been avoided by some modern scholars, who f avor Ruism or Ruists in lieu of Confucianism. Robert Eno argues that the term ha s been "burdened... with the ambiguities and irrelevant traditional associations ." Ruism, as he states, is more faithful to the original Chinese name for the sc hool.[13] The Five Confucian Classics and the Confucian vision Traditionally, Confucius was thought to be the author or editor of the Five Clas

sics which were the basic texts of Confucianism. The scholar Yao Xinzhong allows that there are good reasons to believe that Confucian classics took shape in th e hands of Confucius, but that nothing can be taken for granted in the matter of the early versions of the classics. Yao reports that perhaps most scholars today hold the pragmatic view that Confucius and his followers, although they did not in tend to create a system of classics, contributed to their formation. In any case, it is undisputed that for most of the last 2,000 years, Confucius was believed t o have either written or edited these texts. [14] The scholar Tu Wei-ming explains these classics as embodying five visions" which underlie the development of Confucianism: I Ching or Classic of Change or Book of Changes, generally held to be the ea rliest of the classics, shows a metaphysical vision which combines divinatory ar t with numerological technique and ethical insight; philosophy of change sees co smos as interaction between the two energies yin and yang, universe always shows organismic unity and dynamism. Classic of Poetry or Book of Songs is the earliest anthology of Chinese poem s and songs. It shows the poetic vision in the belief that poetry and music conv ey common human feelings and mutual responsiveness. Book of Documents or Book of History Compilation of speeches of major figure s and records of events in ancient times embodies the political vision and addre sses the kingly way in terms of the ethical foundation for humane government. Th e documents show the sagacity, filial piety, and work ethic of Yao, Shun, and Yu . They established a political culture which was based on responsibility and tru st. Their virtue formed a covenant of social harmony which did not depend on pun ishment or coercion. Book of Rites describes the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rit es of the Zhou Dynasty. This social vision defined society not as an adversarial system based on contractual relations but as a community of trust based on soci al responsibility. The four functional occupations are cooperative (farmer, scho lar, artisan, merchant). Spring and Autumn Annals chronicles the period to which it gives its name, S pring and Autumn Period (771-476 BCE) and these events emphasize the significanc e of collective memory for communal self-identification, for reanimating the old is the best way to attain the new. [15] Themes in Confucian thought This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help im prove this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material m ay be challenged and removed. (September 2009) Humanism Humanism is at the core in Confucianism.[3] A simple way to appreciate Confucian thought is to consider it as being based on varying levels of honesty, and a si mple way to understand Confucian thought is to examine the world by using the lo gic of humanity. In practice, the primary foundation and function of Confucianis m is as an ethical philosophy to be practiced by all the members of a society.[1 6] Confucian ethics is characterized by the promotion of virtues, encompassed by the Five Constants, or the Wuchang (), extrapolated by Confucian scholars during the Han Dynasty.[17] The five virtues are:[17] Rn (, Humaneness) Y (, Righteousness or Justice) L (, Propriety or Etiquette) Zh (, Knowledge) Xn (, Integrity). These are accompanied by the classical Sz () with four virtues:

Zhng (, Loyalty) Xio (, Filial piety) Ji (, Continency) Y (, Righteousness).

There are still many other elements, such as Chng (, honesty), Sh (, kindness and fo rgiveness), Lin (, honesty and cleanness), Ch (, shame, judge and sense of right and wrong), Yng (, bravery), Wn ( , kind and gentle), Ling (, good, kindhearted), Gng ( pectful, reverent), Jin (, frugal), Rng (, modestly, self-effacing). Among all eleme nts, Ren and Yi are fundamental. Ren Main article: Ren (Confucianism) Ren (Chinese: ; pinyin: rn) is one of the basic virtues promoted by Confucius, and is an obligation of altruism and humaneness for other individuals. Confucius' c oncept of humaneness is probably best expressed in the Confucian version of the ethic of reciprocity, or the Golden Rule: "Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you."[18] In another instance, Confucius defined Ren as to "love others."[19] Confucius never stated whether man was born good or evil,[20] noting that 'By na ture men are similar; by practice men are wide apart' [21]implying that whether g ood or bad, Confucius must have perceived all men to be born with intrinsic simi larities, but that man is conditioned and in uenced by study and practise. Xunzi's opinion is that men originally just want what they instinctively want despite p ositive or negative results it may bring, so cultivation is needed. In Mencius' view, all men are born to share goodness such as compassion and good heart, alth ough they may become wicked. The Three Character Classic begins with "People at birth are naturally good (kind-hearted)", which stems from Mencius' idea. All th e views eventually lead to recognize the importance of human education and culti vation. Rn also has a political dimension. If the ruler lacks rn, Confucianism holds, it w ill be difficult for his subjects to behave humanely. Rn is the basis of Confucia n political theory: the ruler is exhorted to refrain from acting inhumanely towa rds his subjects. An inhumane ruler runs the risk of losing the "Mandate of Heav en", the right to rule. A ruler lacking such a mandate need not be obeyed. But a ruler who reigns humanely and takes care of the people is to be obeyed, for the benevolence of his dominion shows that he has been mandated by heaven. Confuciu s himself had little to say on the active will of the people, though he believed the ruler should definitely pay attention to the wants and needs of the people and take good care of them. Mencius, however, did state that the people's opinio n on certain weighty matters should be polled. Etiquette Main article: Li (Confucianism) In Confucianism, the term "li" (Chinese: ; pinyin: l), sometimes translated into E nglish as rituals, customs, rites, etiquette, or morals, refers to any of the se cular social functions of daily life, akin to the Western term for culture. Conf ucius considered education and music as various elements of li. Li were codified and treated as a comprehensive system of norms, guiding the propriety or polite ness which colors everyday life. Confucius himself tried to revive the etiquette of earlier dynasties. It is important to note that, although li is sometimes translated as "ritual" or "rites", it has developed a specialized meaning in Confucianism, as opposed to its usual religious meanings. In Confucianism, the acts of everyday life are con sidered rituals. Rituals are not necessarily regimented or arbitrary practices, but the routines that people often engage in, knowingly or unknowingly, during t he normal course of their lives. Shaping the rituals in a way that leads to a co

ntent and healthy society, and to content and healthy people, is one purpose of Confucian philosophy. Loyalty Loyalty (Chinese: ; pinyin: zhng) is particularly relevant for the social class to which most of Confucius' students belonged, because the most important way for an ambitious young scholar to become a prominent official was to enter a ruler's civil service. Confucius himself did not propose that "might makes right", but rather that a su perior should be obeyed because of his moral rectitude. In addition, loyalty doe s not mean subservience to authority. This is because reciprocity is demanded fr om the superior as well. As Confucius stated "a prince should employ his ministe r according to the rules of propriety; ministers should serve their prince with faithfulness (loyalty) [22] Similarly, Mencius also said that when the prince rega rds his ministers as his hands and feet, his ministers regard their prince as th eir belly and heart; when he regards them as his dogs and horses, they regard hi m as another man; when he regards them as the ground or as grass, they regard hi m as a robber and an enemy.[23] Moreover, Mencius indicated that if the ruler is incompetent, he should be replaced. If the ruler is evil, then the people have t he right to overthrow him.[24] A good Confucian is also expected to remonstrate with his superiors when necessary.[25] In later ages, however, emphasis was often placed more on the obligations of the ruled to the ruler, and less on the ruler's obligations to the ruled. Like fili al piety, loyalty was often subverted by the autocratic regimes in China. Noneth eless, throughout the ages, many Confucians continued to fight against unrighteo us superiors and rulers. Many of these Confucians suffered and sometimes died be cause of their conviction and action.[26] During the Ming-Qing era, prominent Co nfucians such as Wang Yangming promoted individuality and independent thinking a s a counterweight to subservience to authority.[27] The famous thinker Huang Zon gxi also strongly criticized the autocratic nature of the Imperial System and wa nted to keep imperial power in check.[28] Many Confucians also realized that loyalty and filial piety have the potential o f coming into conflict with one another. This can be true especially in times of social chaos, such as during the period of the Ming-Qing transition.[29] Filial piety Main article: Filial piety "Filial piety" (Chinese: ; pinyin: xio) is considered one of the great virtues and must be shown towards both the living and the dead (including even remote ances tors). The term "filial" (meaning "of a child") characterizes the respect that a child should show to his parents. The main source of our knowledge of the importance of filial piety is the Classi c of Filial Piety, a work attributed to Confucius and his followers. The Analect s, the main source of the Confucianism of Confucius, actually has little to say on the matter of filial piety. While the Classic of Filial Piety emphasizes the need of the child to pay reverence to his/her parents, the child should also not blindly follow his/her parents wishes. As chapter 15 of the text reads: "Zheng Zi said, 'if its about being kind and loving, being respectful, bringing p eace to the minds of parents, and spreading ones namethose instructions have alrea dy been heard. May I ask: if the son obeys the orders of the father, can that be called xiao?' The Teacher said, 'What kind of talk is that? What kind of talk is that?' 'Formerly when a Son of Heaven has seven subordinates who will dispute him, even

though he has no virtue he will not lose All Under Heaven (the Empire-translato r). When a Duke has five subordinates who will dispute him, even though he has n o virtue he will not lose his state. When a Minister has three subordinates who will dispute him, even though he has no virtue he will not lose his clan. With a friend who will dispute him, an Officer will not lose his good name. With a son who will dispute him, a father will not fall into unrighteousness. So when ther e is unrighteousness, then the son must not refrain from disputing his father an d the subordinate must not refrain from disputing his lord. So when there is unr ighteousness one must dispute it. How can obeying the fathers orders be considere d xiao?' [30] Therefore, the child has a duty to dispute his/her parents if needed. The same i s true with a subordinate, who should dispute his/her lord or superior if necess ary. The idea of filial piety also influenced the Chinese legal system: a criminal co uld be punished more harshly if the culprit had committed the crime against a pa rent, while fathers often exercised enormous power over their children. Filial piety has continued to play a central role in Confucian thinking to the p resent day. Relationships Social harmonythe great goal of Confucianismtherefore results in part from every i ndividual knowing his or her place in the social order, and playing his or her p art well. When Duke Jing of Qi asked about government, by which he meant proper administration so as to bring social harmony, Confucius replied: There is government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister ; when the father is father, and the son is son. (Analects XII, 11, trans. Legge ) Relationships are central to Confucianism. Particular duties arise from one's pa rticular situation in relation to others. The individual stands simultaneously i n several different relationships with different people: as a junior in relation to parents and elders, and as a senior in relation to younger siblings, student s, and others. While juniors are considered in Confucianism to owe their seniors reverence, seniors also have duties of benevolence and concern toward juniors. The same is true with the husband and wife relationship where the husband needs to show benevolence towards his wife and the wife needs to respect the husband i n return. This theme of mutuality still exists in East Asian cultures even to th is day. The Five Bonds Ruler to Ruled Father to Son Husband to Wife Elder Brother to Younger Brother Friend to Friend Specific duties were prescribed to each of the participants in these sets of rel ationships. Such duties were also extended to the dead, where the living stood a s sons to their deceased family. This led to the veneration of ancestors. The on ly relationship where respect for elders wasn't stressed was the Friend to Frien d relationship, where mutual equal respect is emphasized instead. In all other r elationships, high reverence was usually held for elders. Though some Confucian texts do suggest a more equal relationship between husband and wife (more on thi s below). The gentleman

Main article: Junzi The term jnz (Chinese: ; literally "lord's child") is crucial to classical Confucian ism. Confucianism exhorts all people to strive for the ideal of a "gentleman". I n modern times the masculine translation in English is also traditional and is s till frequently used. Elitism was bound up with the concept, and gentlemen were expected to act as moral guides to the rest of society. They were to: cultivate themselves morally; show filial piety and loyalty where these are due; cultivate humanity, or benevolence. The great exemplar of a gentleman is Confucius himself. Perhaps the tragedy of h is life was that he was never awarded the high official position which he desire d, from which he wished to demonstrate the general well-being that would ensue i f humane persons ruled and administered the state.

The opposite of the Jnz was the Xiorn (Chinese: ; pinyin: xiorn; literally "small p "). The character in this context means petty in mind and heart, narrowly self-i nterested, greedy, superficial, or materialistic. Rectification of names Main article: Rectification of Names

Confucius believed that social disorder often stemmed from failure to perceive, understand, and deal with reality. Fundamentally, then, social disorder can stem from the failure to call things by their proper names, and his solution to this was Zhngmng (Chinese: []; pinyin: zhngmng; literally "rectification of terms"). He g ve an explanation of zhengming to one of his disciples. Zi-lu said, "The vassal of Wei has been waiting for you, in order with you t o administer the government. What will you consider the first thing to be done?" The Master replied, "What is necessary to rectify names." "So! indeed!" said Zi-lu. "You are wide off the mark! Why must there be such rectification?" The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu! The superior man [Junzi] can not care about the everything, just as he cannot go to check all himself! If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the trut h of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs c annot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know ho w to move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may b e spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropri ately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be not hing incorrect." (Analects XIII, 3, tr. Legge) Xun Zi chapter (22) "On the Rectification of Names" claims the ancient sage-king s chose names (Chinese: []; pinyin: mng) that directly corresponded with actualiti es (Chinese: []; pinyin: sh), but later generations confused terminology, coined n ew nomenclature, and thus could no longer distinguish right from wrong. Governance Confucian temple in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China

To govern by virtue, let us compare it to the North Star: it stays in its pl ace, while the myriad stars wait upon it. (Analects II, 1) Another key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one must first g overn oneself. When developed sufficiently, the king's personal virtue spreads b eneficent influence throughout the kingdom. This idea is developed further in th e Great Learning, and is tightly linked with the Taoist concept of wu wei (simpl ified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: w wi): the less the king does, the e gets done. By being the "calm center" around which the kingdom turns, the king allows everything to function smoothly and avoids having to tamper with the ind ividual parts of the whole. This idea may be traced back to early Chinese shamanistic beliefs, such as the k ing being the axle between the sky, human beings, and the Earth.[citation needed ] Another complementary view is that this idea may have been used by ministers a nd counselors to deter aristocratic whims that would otherwise be to the detrime nt of the state's people. Meritocracy In teaching, there should be no distinction of classes. (Analects XV, 39) The main basis of his teachings was to seek knowledge, study, and become a bette r person. Although Confucius claimed that he never invented anything but was only transmit ting ancient knowledge (see Analects VII, 1), he did produce a number of new ide as. Many European and American admirers such as Voltaire and H. G. Creel point t o the revolutionary idea of replacing nobility of blood with nobility of virtue. Jnz (, lit. "lord's child"), which originally signified the younger, non-inheriting , offspring of a noble, became, in Confucius' work, an epithet having much the s ame meaning and evolution as the English "gentleman". A virtuous plebeian who cu ltivates his qualities can be a "gentleman", while a shameless son of the king i s only a "small man". That he admitted students of different classes as disciple s is a clear demonstration that he fought against the feudal structures that def ined pre-imperial Chinese society. Another new idea, that of meritocracy, led to the introduction of the Imperial e xamination system in China. 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. The Chinese Imperial examination system started in the Sui dynasty. Over the following centuries the system grew until finally almost anyon e who wished to become an official had to prove his worth by passing written gov ernment examinations. The practice of meritocracy still exists today in the Chinese cultural sphere, i ncluding People's Republic of China, Taiwan, modern Singapore and so forth. Influence in 17th-century Europe "Life and works of Confucius, by Prospero Intorcetta, 1687 The works of Confucius were translated into European languages through the agenc y of Jesuit scholars stationed in China.[31] Matteo Ricci was among the very ear liest to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and father Prospero Intorcetta wro te about the life and works of Confucius in Latin in 1687.[32] Translations of C onfucian texts influenced European thinkers of the period,[33] particularly amon g the Deists and other philosophical groups of the Enlightenment who were intere sted by the integration of the system of morality of Confucius into Western civi lization.[32][34] Confucianism influenced Gottfried Leibniz, who was attracted t o the philosophy because of its perceived similarity to his own. It is postulate d that certain elements of Leibniz's philosophy, such as "simple substance" and

"preestablished harmony", were borrowed from his interactions with Confucianism. [33] The French philosopher Voltaire was also influenced by Confucius, seeing th e concept of Confucian rationalism as an alternative to Christian dogma.[35] He praised Confucian ethics and politics, portraying the sociopolitical hierarchy o f China as a model for Europe.[35] Confucius has no interest in falsehood; he did not pretend to be prophet; he claimed no inspiration; he taught no new religion; he used no delusions; flatte red not the emperor under whom he lived... Voltaire[35] Influence on Islamic thought From the late 17th century onwards a whole body of literature known as the Han K itab developed amongst the Hui Muslims of China who infused Islamic thought with Confucianism. Especially the works of Liu Zhi such as Tinfng Dinl sought to am with not only Confucianism but Daoism and is considered to be one of the crow ning achievements of the Chinese Muslim culture.[36] Influence in modern times Important military and political figures in modern Chinese history continued to be influenced by Confucianism, like the Muslim warlord Ma Fuxiang.[37] The New L ife Movement in the early 20th century was also influenced by Confucianism. 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 i n the ostensibly non-Confucian cultures of modern-day East Asia, in the form of the rigorous work ethic it endowed those cultures with. 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 modernize and industrialize as quickly as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and ev en China has done. For example the impact of the Vietnam War on Vietnam was deva stating, however over the last few decades Vietnam has been re-developing in a v ery fast pace. Most scholars attribute the origins of this idea to futurologist Herman Kahn's World Economic Development: 1979 and Beyond.[38][39] In years sinc e, this hypothesis has been thoroughly discredited. See Hicks' account of it ref erenced above for details, or for an alternate and more current explanation, Cri stobal Kay's "Why East Asia Overtook Latin America: Agrarian Reform, Industriali zation, and Development."[40]