Confucian Concepts in East Asia - Essay Example

Confucian Concepts in East Asia

Ideally, culture is one of the essential elements of any society. Indeed, no society can exist without culture. Moreover, culture is valued because it agitates the sense belonging and a bond that binds a community. Confucianism is considered the widely known culture of the East Asian nations. According to Yao (2000), Confucianism emanated from the Confucius of the 5th and 6th Centuries before spreading to other regions. In recent times, Confucianism is found in countries such as Vietnam, Japan, and Korea amongst others. Therefore, essay shall examine the six core Confucian (East Asian) concepts.

Indeed, culture is one of the greatest and the most treasured assets of any community. It not only gives a community a sense of belonging, but also helps communal members have a traceable history that bonds the society together. As the most important culture of the East Asian countries, Confucianism has various aspects that make it the most treasured asst. Despite emanating in the olden days, Confucianism is still considered a source of teachings. To such extent, its teachings and moral values have spread to other neighboring Asian countries, spacking debates among various scholars (Lim, 20114).

Like in all other communities, there exist set of principles that determine the very existence of the Confucian way of Life (Lim, 2014). Given the Confucians way of Life, one finds the presence of six core principles or concepts that determine activities and way of life observed by the Confucian. Observably, studies by Yao by (2000) show that the policies are almost interrelated and interdependent.

The six concepts are the Xi, which is the capacity for one to learn and to instill moral attributes. Zhi, which is the native substance that one acquires through education forms the second concept. In fact, it is considered the overall building of characters on individuals. Li refers to the dignity and etiquette as well as the advancement of one`s societal values. Yi, which is almost an essential concept of Confucianism articulates the standards by which all are judged, but in itself cannot be decided. It incorporates right action, duty, and righteousness (Yao, 2000). Wen as one of the Confucius principles refers to the leisure activities that are restricted to the virtues that promote creativity in a way by perpetuating societal values. Ren, which forms the hallmark of Confucianism, is the valued as the highest development of an individual`s distinctive nature. Arguably, it is the most challenging concept to attain (Lim, 2014).

The natural capacity for learning, Xi, is the concept of instilling virtues and certain habits in one`s self. Xi points to the fact that goodness or badness is not innate. No one is born with such a concept of right. All these are values that one develops over a period in their lives, either through learning processes such as the acquisition of education or experience and have to be taught for one to be complete. Since it is not part of the original humans, individuals have to learn ethics to achieve it (Yao, 2000).

Confucianism, however, points out to the fact that everyone has the same capability to learn and grasp things. Besides, it appreciates that in the process of learning and acquiring of virtues, everyone proceeds at their own pace as they continuously practice, before they eventually attain the desired level of virtues (Yao, 2000). Therefore, the speed through which individuals learn to does not matter because the end justifies the means. Moreover, Xi provides the starting point for learning in Confucianism and is considered its backbone. It provides the basis for learning of ethics, virtues, truth, and morality. In doing so, Xi by extension offers the basis for the inception of other Confucian concepts.

Zhi, which is the entire process of the building of strong character traits in an individual, is mainly acquired through learning processes. Since human beings are not born with the goodness or the badness that later appear in the stages of life, they are required to inculcate them over time. Zhi deals with the natural traits that are not innate to the humans. Naturally, Zhi shows that the desire for building a good moral character is dependent on one`s will and desire to do so. Such passion boils down to the commitment by the individuals to achieve the best level of moral characters (Yao, 2000).

In many cases, Zhi is acquired in finishing schools. However, its effectiveness has always been brought to question, considering that one can easily mimic the qualities and virtues of pure exuberance without necessarily having inculcated them inwardly. This is because of the assimilation of the concept by the student would merely repeat the idea to the teacher for approval and yet remain hollow inside. Such system of teaching has been compromised. Therefore, in the modern society, for one to attain the best of Zhi, one has to have the concept Li, in their belief system without which, everything will be mere mimicry if not hypocrisy.

Yao (2000) indicates that Li is the most detailed of all the Confucian concepts. Moreover, it may be summed up in two simple terms of propriety and etiquette. Arguably, it is the concept that trains on how to act well in the society. It provides the moral and ethical rules that form the backbone of the peaceful coexistence in the society. It also trains adherence to the culture of the community as a whole. This concept is arguably the most important because it has teachings that give the young and adults the education they need for their advancement in the societal life. Moreover, its effectiveness is dependent on Zhi, with which they relate a great deal (Lim, 2014). Since Li involves the whole societal values and culture, it also involves the ritual and the hierarchical understanding in the community.

Therefore, it enlightens the young adults of the various community rituals. It shows the authorities hierarchically from the senior most downwards (Lim, 2014). Practicing Li shapes one`s character and motivates the individual to behave in a certain desired way and accordance to the societal norms. An individual, who has been able to practice Li well and mastered its art, has a great sense of equity. One also realizes that Li forms the foundation of many laws and their application in the society. Through such concepts, judges can make a sound and fair judgment, not only based on the use of the law letter by letter but also take into consideration the context within which the offense was committed (Yao, 2000).

The Yi is a vital part of Confucianism. It gives the guidelines and the standards by which all must be judged. However, no standard exists that can be able to decide it. It is the object of all learning. Therefore, all rights and rules of conduct are based on it because it involves right action, duty, and righteousness that form the foundation of all morals (Yao, 2000). Observably, Yi and Li are interdependent and when well balanced, bring out the best in an individual. When the two are entirely mastered, they harmoniously bring out beauty and perfection in an individual`s life.

Given that society is not all about rules and laws, the Wen concept of the Confucian principles comes in to guide the community. Wen is the concept that deals with all the leisure activities in the societies that include the various works of art, music, poetry, and dances among others. For instance, if it is music, Wen states that should be able to sensitize the society on the societal values and morals (Yao, 2000). Poetry, according to Confucian, should be able to express the beauty of words and at the same time expertise in the way it relays information to the community. The same yardstick cuts across to the other leisure activities. In short, Wen helps the existence of a well-balanced society in as far as leisure activities are concerned

According to Li, (2014), Ren is the hallmark of the Confucian way of life. It is the highest virtue that aids development of an individual`s distinctive nature and one of the most difficult to attain. Notably, it is also considered the highest level of morality and righteousness in Confucianism. Yao (2000) describes it as the loftiest of moral excellence. It is associated with benevolence, love, humaneness, compassion and the summation of all the other virtues expressed in different concepts of Confucianism. For one to acquire and master the art of Ren, one has to be of all the virtues and to exhibit high levels of patience and perseverance. Those who have been able to achieve this level of spiritualism are mostly considered superhuman. Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Buddha, and Confucius are the individuals believed to have attained Ren.

For one to attain this level, they always have their role models to whom they much imitate. In such instances, they use the way of Life of their role models as a yardstick and a guide to what they should do to attain their desired level of spiritualism (Paramore, 2015). Equally, the Ren concept can be used to describe the people who were able to achieve so much in history. For instance, Albert Einstein can be said to have reached Ren in the field of Physical Science, Michael Phelps realized Ren in the swimming, and Tiger Woods achieved it in Golf (Yao, 2000).

In sum, Confucianism is the most respected Culture in the East Asian regions. According to many scholars, all the six concepts of Confucianism are intertwined in some ways. Moreover, they are still of relevance to our current society despite emanating in the past. The six policies form the basis of goodwill and peaceful coexistence in a community when observed to the latter. Moreover, the six beliefs have been found relating to some of the world religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism. Such mutual relations emanate from the fact that all of them stand for righteousness and morality.

The natural capacity for learning, Xi, is the concept of instilling virtues and certain habits in one`s self. Xi points to the fact that goodness or badness is not innate. No one is born with such a concept of right. All these are values that one develops over a period in their lives, either through learning processes such as the acquisition of education or experience and have to be taught for one to be complete. Since it is not part of the original humans, individuals have to learn ethics to achieve it (Yao, 2000).

Confucianism, however, points out to the fact that everyone has the same capability to learn and grasp things. Besides, it appreciates that in the process of learning and acquiring of virtues, everyone proceeds at their own pace as they continuously practice, before they eventually attain the desired level of virtues (Yao, 2000). Therefore, the speed through which individuals learn to does not matter because the end justifies the means. Moreover, Xi provides the starting point for learning in Confucianism and is considered its backbone. It provides the basis for learning of ethics, virtues, truth, and morality. In doing so, Xi by extension offers the basis for the inception of other Confucian concepts.

Zhi, which is the entire process of the building of strong character traits in an individual, is mainly acquired through learning processes. Since human beings are not born with the goodness or the badness that later appear in the stages of life, they are required to inculcate them over time. Zhi deals with the natural traits that are not innate to the humans. Naturally, Zhi shows that the desire for building a good moral character is dependent on one`s will and desire to do so. Such passion boils down to the commitment by the individuals to achieve the best level of moral characters (Yao, 2000).

In many cases, Zhi is acquired in finishing schools. However, its effectiveness has always been brought to question, considering that one can easily mimic the qualities and virtues of pure exuberance without necessarily having inculcated them inwardly. This is because of the assimilation of the concept by the student would merely repeat the idea to the teacher for approval and yet remain hollow inside. Such system of teaching has been compromised. Therefore, in the modern society, for one to attain the best of Zhi, one has to have the concept Li, in their belief system without which, everything will be mere mimicry if not hypocrisy.

Yao (2000) indicates that Li is the most detailed of all the Confucian concepts. Moreover, it may be summed up in two simple terms of propriety and etiquette. Arguably, it is the concept that trains on how to act well in the society. It provides the moral and ethical rules that form the backbone of the peaceful coexistence in the society. It also trains adherence to the culture of the community as a whole. This concept is arguably the most important because it has teachings that give the young and adults the education they need for their advancement in the societal life. Moreover, its effectiveness is dependent on Zhi, with which they relate a great deal (Lim, 2014). Since Li involves the whole societal values and culture, it also involves the ritual and the hierarchical understanding in the community.

Therefore, it enlightens the young adults of the various community rituals. It shows the authorities hierarchically from the senior most downwards (Lim, 2014). Practicing Li shapes one`s character and motivates the individual to behave in a certain desired way and accordance to the societal norms. An individual, who has been able to practice Li well and mastered its art, has a great sense of equity. One also realizes that Li forms the foundation of many laws and their application in the society. Through such concepts, judges can make a sound and fair judgment, not only based on the use of the law letter by letter but also take into consideration the context within which the offense was committed (Yao, 2000). Read More