The Chinese Way of Life Is the Confucian Way - Term Paper Example

1 THE CHINESE WAY OF LIFE IS THE CONFUCIAN WAY Introduction If we ask students to enumerate ten religions that they are well acquainted with, almost always Confucianism is included in that short list. But that is a big misconception because practically all historians and scholars belie that it is a religion. They all claim that Confucius, unlike Jesus Christ, Mohammed or Gautama Buddha is not a spiritual guru. There never was an instance where Confucius appealed to any ultimate higher authority or god. Although Confucius attracted so many adherents or disciples, yet Confucius never attempted to establish any monastic order or some sort of priesthood to perpetuate Confucianism as a religion. In fact he almost always avoided being drawn into discussions dealing with God and the supernatural. His theories tried to steer clear from any involvement with any supernatural being. For instance, when one disciple queried him about the afterlife, he quickly retorted that because man does not yet fully understand the mortal world, it is very unlikely that he can contemplate on such concepts as heaven and god (The Analects). He did also express the notion that men do not need any god because men are capable of living a harmonious existence without any help from any supernatural being The Confucian Analects, which is a document comprising all his sayings and discourses, conversations and travels, is no Bible or Koran or any kind of scripture (Legge 2006, p. 1). There is nothing in it that makes reference to revealed teachings. It is neither a religious nor a political treatise but instead, it is just a record of his conversations with his disciples as well as narrations of Confucius’ deeds during particular occasions. In the Analects, nowhere did Confucius teach the people to believe in a higher being or power. If Confucianism is tinged with a patina of religion, it is because his zealous disciples and admirers deified him after his death. 2 They constructed a temple in his honor and refurbished his tomb in Chu-fou (Kufow), Shantung province, his birthplace and made this a mecca for all educated Chinese. They replicated the Analects and distributed them all throughout China after his demise. They reprinted his Classic series i.e. Classic of Poetry, Classic of Historical Documents, Classic of Changes, Record of Rites and Classic of Spring and Autumn Annals, which are not religious books at all but mere literary collections cum history (Legge 2006, p. 1). Because of these publications, his teachings soon electrified citizens all over the country with his words of wisdom, principles and tenets that never fail to stun and capture people’s hearts and minds. Soon his influence had spread to Japan, Vietnam and Korea ( Tamura et al 1997, p. 48). Today, Confucian temples can be found in almost every major towns or cities all throughout China thus painting Confucianism as a pseudo-religion in China. But in reality, Confucianism seems to be just a philosophy. Confucius himself is not renowned as a religious person. He does not commune with divine beings, saints or gods; does not perform miracles ; does not purport to possess some divine or mystic knowledge or experience (Taylor 1998, p. 81). As a child, bearing the name Kung Fu-tzu or Grand Master K’ung, he nor his family were never known to be adherents to Taoism or Animism, which were the religions in China at that time. In fact as an adult, Confucius, like Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, passionately assailed Animism, which concept of attribution of conscious life to inanimate objects or to phenomena of nature was totally repugnant to him. But in his Analects, Confucius confessed that at age 50, he became conscious of the will of heaven (Kramer 1986, p.115) and started to pray, fast and participate in religious ceremonies, make sacrifices and swear “oaths in the name of heaven” (Messadie 1997, p. 62). But still other scholars countered this, saying that Confucius founded a philosophy of life with a code of conduct of its own and not a religion. If he participated in ritualistic ceremonies, 3 it was because he deemed it good conduct which helps to maintain social harmony and peace. But he never did at any instance promote worship of god or gods nor the concept of life after death. Confucius preached ethical philosophy and not religious philosophy and pushed for political and educational principles and goaded all Chinese to acquire social virtues or ‘jen’, which corrects personal behaviour and fosters individual duties to society. He preached the practice of good moral conduct such as altruism, benevolence, goodness, charity, respect for others, diligence and magnanimity. All these teachings caught the attention of foreign thinkers who found the values fostered by Confucianism appealing (Wong 1997, p. 201). Through the years Confucianism had spread like wildfire from its birthplace in China and had been embraced by South Korea’s Choson Dynasty, Japan’s Tokugawa Dynasty and the ruling classes in Vietnam, Taiwan and Singapore. The Confucianism mystique had been analyzed and its mysterious appeal that made it ‘embedded in social structure and individual attitudes as well as in an embracing state-backed intellectual edifice’ put to dissection. Confucianism is said to be unique and nonpareil because it is the only concept on earth that is a “cross between religion, way of life, system of belief about society and state ideology” (Rozman 2002, p.1). The Chinese Way of Life is the Confucian Way Confucianism quickly spread because its code of conduct found easy acceptability to everybody in the society including the religious sects, which were not at all threatened by Confucianism. After Confucius’ death in 479 B.C., his disciples publicized and disseminated the scripture of Confucius’ life and teachings, the Analects of Confucius, which is made up of 20 books and 496 chapters. Because the Analects contained the desiderata or rules of conduct that 4 would provide harmony within family, society, the government and practically everybody within the state, it was considered at that time as the solution or key for the amelioration of society. Thus, the Chinese revered him as China’s “Supreme Sage and Foremost Teacher” and the Han Dynasty mandated in 210 BC that his principles and precepts be incorporated into the Chinese statutes (Yao & Yao 2000, p. xv). Moreover he was designated as “Co-Assessor with the deities of Heaven and Earth”. Finally he was ordered to be worshipped by the government and temples all over China were constructed in his honor. His Golden Rule, which is “Do not do unto others, what you do not want done to yourself” is probably the most popular adage in Christendom if not in the whole world. Another Confucian familiar saying which makes us recall the Biblical passage, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:39) is “the injuries done to you by an enemy, should be returned with a combination of love and justice”. Confucius’ “universal virtues” also found wide acceptance even in the West. These universal virtues are Wisdom, Benevolence and Fortitude. According to Confucius, Wisdom is knowing all men; Benevolence is loving all men and the perfect virtue is “gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness” (The Analects). But Confucius regarded as the best of all virtues, the purity of heart and conduct. Confucius believed that man is basically good but in order to reach his ideal state, he should try hard to cultivate his character by leading a virtuous life and by accomplishing his duties with truthfulness, sincerity and selflessness. According to him, man is considered superior when he has a noble character, is dignified, humble and magnanimous while he is an inferior person if he is evil, arrogant, corrupt and proud. Confucius also introduced the concept of Tao which is a Chinese word meaning “path” or “way”. Taoism also had its own concept of Tao but Confucius’ is different. While the Taoism Tao is related to being in tune with nature, the Confucian Tao is concerned with practical matters 5 relating to other beings. For Confucius, the Tao involved discovering the “right mix of convention and personal awareness” (Stevenson 2002, p. 100) and refers to the “moral law of the universe” and it is the right way of life in a moral sense. The Tao is the way above all other ways that men should follow. Central to Confucius’ philosophy was humanity as well as brotherhood. Confucius viewed humanity as one large family. As he reputedly said, “within the four seas all men are brothers”. He also exhorted men that as brothers, they must help their fellow men attain success. Thus, the “truly virtuous man, desiring to establish himself, seeks to establish others; desiring success for himself, he strives to help others succeed (The Analects). Confucius taught also that the virtuous man should be loyal and zealous. As such, he demanded loyalty to the principle of the Tao and loyalty also by his own followers. He expected them to be ready to lay down their lives for their principles with the effect that many of them did so and became martyrs for the Confucian principles during the Xin Dynasty from 221 to 206 BCE (Yao & Yao 2000, p.xv). The Confucian way of life was not however limited to how men should conduct their own personal lives. He also emphasized the rules of conduct for those who are in governance. Confucius was severely distressed by the conduct of those who held the reins of power; by the deep quagmire of corruption in the government and by the sufferings and misery of the people. Moreover, he was appalled by the disunity of China at that time where the people were at the mercy of powerful feudal lords who partitioned China among themselves. Because he was idealistic, he took it upon himself to enter government service and politics. Thus, he made a career as administrator in his native state of Lu. He was efficient, capable and successful and 6 soon he rose up from county magistarate to acting premier of the state government. But he soon realized that his crusade to reform the government and to relieve the common people of their misery cannot be pursued because China’s rulers cannot be refrained from wantonly taxing their subjects and mercilessly exhausting the common people with forced labor. He was soon marked as an enemy of the state and his ideas dangerous. Finally, he was forced to relinquish his post. As an offshoot of his short-lived government service, he passionately preached good moral conduct in government and a code of conduct with the end in view of establishing a good government. He particularly stressed that the ruler himself must be virtuous, just, honest and dutiful, saying that the virtuous ruler is like the Pole-star which, by keeping its place, makes all other stars to revolve around it (Taylor 1986, p. 4). As is the ruler, so will be the subjects. Confucius theorized that a country would be ideally governed if all the parties in the society perfectly perform their assigned roles in the five relationships that he established i.e. of ruler and minister or subject; of parent and child; of elder and younger brother; of friend and friend; of elders and youngsters; and of husband and wife. He then continued that there will be the right path or Tao when rulers were rulers and when ministers were ministers and fathers were fathers and sons were sons. Although Confucianism is not a religion yet the Confucian Way stresses Confucian spirituality and identifies it as its transcendental power. Confucius taught that the Confucian Way is composed of 3 elements and there will be no harmony and peace in this world if one of the elements is lacking. These elements are the Way of Heaven, the Way of Humans and the Way of Harmony and these are not separable from each other. Moreover, Confucius added that there are 3 powers of the universe which sustain and structure the world i.e. Way of Heaven . 7 (called the yin and the yang); the Way of Earth (called the yielding and the firm); and the Way of Humans (called humaneness and righteousness” (Yao & Yao 2000, p. 139). The Way of Heaven and the Way of Humans can be unified by sincerity. This is because the Way of Heaven is through sincerity while the Way of Humans is atained by striving how to be sincere (The Book of Mengzi and the Doctrine of the Mean). It is sincerity which is the foundation of the aforesaid 5 human relations and without it, one will fail to please his own parents and will be unable to understand what is good (Mengzi 4a, p. 12). And without sincerity one cannot transform himself and others. But in order to attain sincerity, one must practice spiritual cultivation, which has two dimensions i.e. internal, which is done by nourishment of the vital force called yangzi and external, which is accomplished by the practice of virtues and doing good. To become sincere, one must first calm his heart and mind and Confucius and his disciple Mengzi found a way, which is by sitting quietly in meditation (jingzuo). Confucius believed it to be the path leading to enlightenment because in this way, one can ponder on one’s achievements and what he has learned. As part of the Confucian Way, Confucius emphasized the integration of rituals, music and poetry. Confucius enlightens that it is not enough to be wise, faithful and sincere, loving, friendly with the good, reverent, brave and versatile but man must be a ‘complete man’ and he must be refined through rituals, dance, music, literature, history and poetry. Confucius inculcated that understanding of the above is the core of the way of life. He further stressed that in order to become a person of virtue, one must avoid the four ‘nots’: “not looking, not listening, not speaking and not acting, unless it was in accordance with ritual or propriety” (Lunyu 1993, p. 1). Confucianism was renowned at that time because of the importance it gave to the 8 hereinabove subjects, which were important aspects for moral training and which pursuits, gave meaning and value of life to its adherents. That these had become incorporated in the lives of ‘Confucianists’ was illustrated when Liu Bang on his way to violently conquering the throne of the Han Dynasty encountered the Lu Confucian scholars who in the face of death continued “reciting and discussing their books, practicing rites and music, and never allowing the strings and voices to die out” (Watson 1961, p. 397). If there is a Confucian principle that really lasted up to this modern era, despite communism and socialism, it is the Confucian Sacred Way of Life, the Tao of Humanism. The Chinese are so sensitive with the concept of human dignity or humaneness because of this Confucian principle as well as the stress on a culture that is based in a “sense of the beautiful, the noble and the sacred as distinctive dimensions of the human existence” (Stent 2002, p. 189). The Tao of Humanism imparts humanity because it commands adherence to civilizations’ moral precepts and insists respect to social norms and rules of ethics and etiquettes. The theme of ‘li’ “specifies the manners, social graces and show of sympathy that promotes harmony in interpersonal relations” while the theme of “jen” specifies the need for acquisition of high morals, conscientiousness and obligations of familial-social relationships (Stent 2002, p. 190). Confucius deemed these as fundamental because without morals and proper manners, civilization certainly will vanish. The world has also seen political activism blooming in China recently which culminated to the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. We should note down that Confucius encouraged the Chinese to improve their human conditions, either in individual or communal efforts. Confucius believed in the primacy of active participation in politics. But Confucius quickly put up a word of caution, that the “Confucian way demands that moral rectitude precedes political 9 expediency” (Wei-Ming 1993, p. vi). Confucius himself was not a pacifist because he firmly believed that as a last resort, war must be contemplated in order to enforce the power of justice. He said that there are moments when force must be utilized to repel belligerent forces whose design is to enslave and who use force as the only argument settler. The Confucian code of conduct had been etched deeply into the ethos of Chinese society. The five relations and the Confucian traditional cultural concepts of loyalty, obedience, selflessness and diligence had made a mark in the Chinese character. The Confucian philosophy of Tao of Humanity, Heaven and Earth had been embedded into the Chinese trait for centuries that Mao Tse Tung and the Communist Party used these Confucian traits to control the Chinese masses. Thus, the introduction of communist rule was facilitated by the taking advantage of the Confucian characteristics. Mao pictured his ideal communist man as a “selfless individual who sacrifices his interest for the greater interest of the people and the country” (Malik 1992, p. 92). This is one basic Confucian trait. Thus Mao deftly presented his Leninist-Marxist views to the people as pure Confucianism. But eventually the communist disruption and radical rupture of the economic, social and cultural traditions affected the Confucian traditional values and ideas. Thus, during the communist era of 1949-1976, private entrepreneurs were ejected out from the economic arena only for them to reemerge during the rule of Deng Xiaoping, who tried to revive the moribund Chinese economy. In China’s history, Confucian tenets and traditional Chinese culture have always been intertwined and it is these Confucian principles that have nurtured and guided the Chinese way of life. It’s also Confucian code of conduct which guides the behavior of everybody in the society, whether ruler or ruled, wealthy or peasant. 10 And the tentacles of the Confucian way of life has reached beyond Chinese shores. It has infiltrated South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore. In Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew claimed that Confucianism operates as “the guiding principles for the society”. In Taiwan, Agnes Syu claimed that the 5 relations of Confucianism especially the master-follower or father-son relation govern Taiwan’s society (Malik 1992, p. 94). In China, it was agreed upon that there is stability of Chinese society because of the Confucian mandate of respect for people in authority. Author Malik was positive in saying that Confucianism is alive and well in today’s China. In fact, he espied hundreds of Chinese visiting Confucius’ tomb in Qufu’ and more were praying and bowing in front of his statue as if awaiting for Confucius’ aid to reach them. The rationale behind Confucianism’s continued existence in China and elsewhere is that “Confucianism depicts the essence of Chinese culture”. Confucianism is now so deeply rooted that even authoritarian regimes use Confucian idelogies to rule over the people (Malik 1992, p. 95). But despite Malik’s assertions, there are prophets of doom who foresee that the death knell of Confucianism is forthcoming. They argue that the Asian financial crisis, the increasing globalization and democratization in Taiwan and South Korea would have the effect of weakening Confucianism’s hold in China and elsewhere. They said that in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, China has turned to great power nationalism rather than Eastern values” (Rozman 2002, p.1). Another author has observed that Confucianism has been dislodged in China and that the moral vacuum has been pervaded by such sects as Falun Gong and other Christian sects which is abominable to Chinese authorities that they intend to revive Confucianism (Bell 2008, p. 8). 11 Conclusion It is easy to differentiate Westerners from East Asian denizens particularly the Chinese. While Westerners are generally independent and values freedom from the control of other people, the Chinese values obedience, loyalty, altruism, respect for others, diligence, sincerity magnanimity. The Chinese character is also described as giving importance to the five relationships i.e. ruler and subject; parent and child; elder and younger brother; friend and friend; husband and wife. The Chinese would make all the sacrifices in order to attain harmony of relations. They also believe in the power of meditation and give import and substance to various rituals, to dancing, music, and poetry and finally they stress the value of humanity. The reason that west is so different from east is because of Confucianism, which is the philosophical code of conduct that the Chinese have relayed from one generation to the next generations. However, these traits had been taken advantage of Leninists- Marxists to control the Chinese masses and impose their authoritarian dogma to billions of Chinese. Today, there have been opposing arguments about the state of Confucianism in China. Some claim that it has been expunged from the face of China. Others argue that globalization and the Asian economic crisis have slowed it down. Others assert that it is very much alive and well. Even if it has lost intensity, Chinese authorities have realized its importance to Chinese society and expressed determination to revive it. REFERENCE Ames, R and Rosemont, H. The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation, Ballantine Books, 199. Bell, Daniel. China’s New Confucianism, Princeton University Press, 2008. Chan, W.T. Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, University of Hawaii Press, 1963a. Kramer, Kenneth. World Scriptures, Pualist Press, 1986. Legge, James. The Life and Teaching of Confucius, Cosimo, Inc., 2006. Lunyu . Analects of Confucius, chapter 12, John Jenkins Taligent, Inc., 1993. Malik, Rashid. ChineseEntrepreneurs in the Economic Development of China, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997. Messadie, Gerald. A History of the Devil, Kodansha Globe, 1997. Rozman, Gilbert. 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