The Confucian Generations Four Dimensions - Essay Example

Question VI: Explain the Confucian veneration’s four dimensions Introduction In western intellectual spheres, the religious status of Confucianism has been quite controversial since the 17th century Chinese rites controversy particularly when Matteo Ricci argued that the church should accommodate ancestor worship by Chinese Christian converts since it was not a true worship but a mere veneration. What many people seem not to understand is the sheer fact that Confucianism aims at ensuring that the living are in harmony and live coherently with the way of heaven (Dao/Tao) through undertaking responsibilities and duties apposite to an individual’s position in the society. While many still argue over the nature and number of souls, Confucianism holds that a person have multiple souls which are basically grouped into hun , which is associated with yang, and po, that is often linked to yin. Apparently, upon death, the two souls separate where hun ascends into heaven and po goes into the earth where it exists in within a spirit form. Confucianism accentuation of the sanctified nature of the secular realm of human relations cannot be underrated. Confucianism accentuates ancestor reverence and veneration to the family. An individual receives aid and cooperation of deceased relatives by carrying out their rites properly. Similarly, failure to perform the proper rituals leads to misfortune since the ancestors become peeved. This paper shall candidly and comprehensively explicate the four dimensions of Confucian veneration with an aim of indicating the importance of the practices to both the living and the dead. Mourning In Confucianism, while mourning of a loved one varies according to region and sect, the mourning often involves elegant rituals. Apparently, the intensity of the mourning utterly reflects the quality of the association that an individual had with the deceased. Simply put, East Asians who were loyal to Confucianism mourned deeply or intensely when a close relative or someone who they had a strong relationship died while the mourning was not so intense when the dead was a distant relative or when the departed is someone who had not created a strong relationship with the mourners (Oldstone-Moore, 2002). From Confucius’ time to the early 20th century, the mourning period was prescribed to be 3 years which reflected the very first 3 years in a child’s life (Gardner et al, 2003). This is the period when a child is completely dependent on their parents and the parents love them unconditionally. The mourning practices are often somber and it is thought that it only attracted people due to its necessity or otherwise, the repercussions associated with failure to carry it out. Some of the practices during this period involve leaving hair unkempt, mourning in agony at specific intervals of the day, wearing simple garb or sackcloth, feeding on a restricted diet of congee twice a day and living in a grieving hut that is often beside the main house. All this practices are deemed just and necessary in establishing a strong bond with the dead, showing them how important they were and preparing them to enter into the world of spirits by praying for them through the living ancestors. As an initial stage after death, it is often accorded outstanding importance and determines the quality of the veneration that the departed will receive and the overall strength of the bond that shall exist between the departed ancestor and the living. Noteworthy, during the mourning period, the family of the deceased must display ethical conduct in everything that they do as ethics still stands out as an imperative aspect of Confucianism and its desecration is perceived to be a gross delinquency which is severely chastised (Rodney, 2013). Basically, the 3 year mourning period was initially upheld as it was believed that it was an important way of showing respect to Confucian’s teachings while still committing to the dead. Those who argue for Confucianism, a group that appears to represent an ever up surging proportion of Sinologists and scholars, argue that the “anthropocentric cosmos” is the main notion reflected in Confucian’s thought. Additionally, they reiterate that this notion must be reflected in venerating the dead, and particularly during the mourning phase, as it connotes that the Tian (mandate of Heaven) and the roads to transcendence are completely inherent authenticities which cannot be ignored. It is for these reasons that those who practice Confucianism still accord a great importance to mourning and accord the deceased every kind of respect that they think is necessary in establishing the harmonious relationship that is required in the society. Funeral rites Confucianism perceives funeral to be part of the usual family life. Moreover, it serves as a foundation in traditions between the previous generations, the present generations and the forthcoming generations. As such, Confucianism accentuates funerals as part of the normal process of life within the family. Notwithstanding religious beliefs, this practice was considered to attain three important goals; ensure that the deceased’s souls are properly separated and directed into the afterlife, demonstrate loyalty to the deceased, provide comfort for the deceased and to protect the deceased’s descents from spiteful spirits. Confucians had a strong believe that if the funeral rites are indecorously administered, the souls might be misdirected and such as occurrence will deny the departed a happy rest and their spirit will keep wandering and disturbing the living hence they had to ensure that the hun and the po are properly disjointed and directed. In china, the common elements of funerals include prolonged, embellished wailing or sniveling that expresses the grief that has befallen the family of the deceased and the members of the deceased wear white mortuary clothes that bolsters the mourning and indicate the pain in them as well as the purity of the departed soul. The prolonged wailing was done intensionally as a way of informing people about the loss that has be fallen the community and call them to marshal their support for the family of the deceased. Moreover, the corpse is washed and attired in grave clothes according to the deceased most previous type of clothes when alive. In Confucianism, it is strongly believed that the departed soul still exists in a different form and world and must, therefore, be dressed properly to have a harmonious existence in heaven where they will be living (Gardner et al, 2003). Moreover, symbolic goods such as money and food are transferred from the living to the dead and a spirit tablet where the soul po will be residing is prepared and installed. It is common for ritual specialists including Buddhist monks and Taoist priests to be hired to perform explicit rites. Additionally, music is played or scriptures chanted in a way to drive away any evils spirits that might threaten the harmonious coexistence of the living and the dead. Through the music or scriptures, the evil spirits are sent away and warned against interfering with the lives of the deceased and their descents. To Confucians, as a state of being,“ancestorhood” is attained by everyone upon death hence an ancestor is not essentially different from a deity and every respect accorded to a deity must also be accorded to the deceased to circumvent the occurrence of misfortunes or disparaging natural conditions. Confucianism considers relationships to be more important than possibly any laws that enforce understanding in the society and lets the living establish an everlasting harmony with the deceased through the aforementioned funeral rights that have often be perceived to be important in the social and political context of East Asia (Lecture November 19-21). The natural order must be fundamentally upheld and performing funeral rites is an important aspect of maintaining and/or upholding the golden rule and natural laws. Burial The duration between death and burial often depends on an individual’s social status and wealth. For a wealthy person, the coffin remains in the major room of the family’s house as it awaits preparation for burial and removed only after it has been fully prepared. In regard to social status, the corpse of commoners would be held in abeyance for 1 month, 3 months for junior officers, 5 months for magnates and that of an emperor or king would be held for 7 months. ‘Luck burials’ frequently take place among the Confucians. In this case, the bones of a corpse that was buried several years ago are dug up, washed, and thereafter dried and stored in porcelain jars. The contents are stored for a long period after which they are entombed in their ultimate quiescent resting location, a place that is often chosen by an augur to ensure that everyone is harmonized with the surrounding environment and the flow of chi is optimum. Apparently, Confucians believe that if the location is not selected properly, it might result to a bad flow of chi that would result in discontented spirits that would get in the way of the posterities and interfere with their conventional lives (Gardner et al, 2003). The deceased are buried with sacrifices which involved the things that were thought or assumed to be indispensable for a pleasant life in the next world (Kim, 2001). If a wealthy or powerful person died, they were accompanied into the grave by oracle bones, animal sacrifices, bronze vessels and human sacrifices. However, the most common sacrifices were offerings of food and wine, as it was believed that the deceased would still need food in the afterlife, and candles and incense which Confucians believed were to light their ways as they go about their normal duties in the afterlife (Lecture October 27). Noteworthy, this was a symbolic demonstration of opulence or filial piety, respect to ancestors and parents. The filial piety aspect has been interwoven into not only Confucianism customs, but also other belief systems as it does not conflict with the common notion that ancestors must be venerated since they have the aptitude and capability to affect the lives of individuals and the society in general (Anonymous, 2012). The harmonious existence in East Asia is attributed to this since most people find it important to follow the simple natural laws that oblige them to respect the dead without ineludibly being forced by state laws (Renard, 2002). In this regard, while Confucianism is not practiced typically as a religion in East Asia, it has intensely influenced the thought of people practicing it predominantly in the spheres of interpersonal etiquette and social ethics as evident in japan, a strong associate and neighbor of china. Sustained obeisance After the deceased is buried, the family mounts an ancestral tablet at an altar belonging to the family and this is essentially the place where other deceased ancestors were placed and continue residing. This is done to unite the deceased with the descendants and honor the family heredity. Every day, incense is lit next to the altar and offerings and announcements made at the same place. The offerings included favored beverages and foods. Spirit money, often known as hell notes, and other significant offerings are offered bi-monthly and during exceptional occasions such as Ghost festival and the most celebrated Qingming festival (Gardner et al, 2003). Their deeds and memories are honored by providing for their welfare in the afterlife and children left behind were strongly warned against ignoring their roles and responsibilities to the dead. It is not uncommon for slippers, towel, water and combs to be taken to the graveside as this were believed to be important items in an individual’s life and were still needed even after death since death was merely a transformation in live but not the end of living. The offerings were believed to reach the ancestors who often came for them in other forms such as crows or hawks and tasted it to confirm to the family and reassure them that they are still together even in death. Apparently, the family bond transcends death and the close relationships that existed during an individual’s life still persist. The Confucian golden rule which states “Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you” is upheld and the living does to the dead what they would wish to be done to them (Rodney, 2013). Additionally, there is a separate room that is believed to house the po of the ancestors and the eldest male in the family was expected to regularly speak to the enshrined altar. In some communities that practice Confucianism, the eldest son is required to beseech the spirit to sanctify the family since the special supremacies or powers are attributed to the departed. The deceased become guardian angels that protect the living against serious and solemn accidents and guide their path in natural life. Conclusion The above explication ostensibly and extensively indicates that mourning, funeral rites, burial and continual obeisance are important dimensions of the veneration in Confucianism and are basically a single thread that binds the way. They are important pillars of ancestor veneration and helped in the existence of a harmonious relationship between the deceased and the living. The living are expected to uphold the aforementioned dimensions of venerations so as to receive benediction and good luck in life. The living must pay rectitude and respect to their antecedents and ancestors lest calamities will befall them from time to time. Children are expected to venerate their parents, whether dead or alive, as this is the fountain from which all virtues spring from. While it seems to be far from universal, ancestral veneration and its outstanding pillars occur in cultures with every degree of technological, political and social convolution and remains a significant constituent of several pious practices in contemporary times as evident in the Catholic Church where saints who are perceived to be conciliators with God are venerated. The four dimensions of veneration helped steered the growth and development of Confucianism and led to creation of societies where ethics were greatly valued and veneration accorded to people, both living and dead, a reason for existence of a harmonious East Asia. By maintaining serene and reverential relationships with all, conflicts in the society are circumvented. While Confucianism’s influence seems to have been greatly abridged in the contemporary world, some of its practices might live for more years, whether Confucianism will be revived or not. Works Cited Anonymous. "Interactions of Ancestor Worship, Confucianism, and Toaism." AP World Belief Systems Project. N.p., 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2014. . Gardner, Daniel K, and Confucius. Zhu Xis Reading of the Analects: Canon, Commentary, and the Classical Tradition. New York: Columbia UP, 2003. Print. Kim, Hyun K. The Controversy on Ancestor Veneration between Confucians and Chritians [sic.] During Yi Dynasty Korea. N.p., 2001. Print. Lecture November 19-21 Lecture October 27 Liu, James H., Sik H. Ng, Cynthia Loong, Susan Gee, and Ann Weatherall. "Cultural Stereotypes and Social Representations of Elders from Chinese and European Perspectives." Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology (2003): n. pag. Print. Oldstone-Moore, Jennifer. Confucianism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2002. Print. Renard, John. 101 Questions and Answers on Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto. New York: Paulist Press, 2002. Print. Rodney Leon Taylor. "The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism - Rodney Leon Taylor." Google Books. N.p., 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2014. . Read More