Confucianism

儒學
 Confucianism is often
characterized as a system
of social and ethical
philosophy rather than a
religion. In
fact, Confucianism built
on an ancient religious
foundation to establish
the social values,
institutions, and
transcendent ideals of
traditional Chinese
society.
 origin

The philosopher Confucius (or

Kongzi, c. 551 to c. 479 BCE) is the
recognized founder
of Confucianism, also referred to
as the Ru-jia doctrine or School
of Literati as it is known by
Western scholars. Originally,
Confucianism was composed of a
set of political and moral
doctrines with the teachings of
Confucius as its basis. Later on,
the teachings of Mencius (Meng Zi)
and Xunzi (Xun zi) also became
part of Confucianism.
mencius

confucius / kong zi
 sacred texts

The Five Classics (wujing) and

Four Books (si shu)
collectively create the
foundation of Confucianism.
The Five Classics and Four
Books were the basis of the
civil examination in imperial
China and can be considered
the Confucian canon. The Five
Classics consists of the Book
of Odes, Book of Documents,
Book of Changes, Book of
Rites, and the Spring and
Autumn Annals.
 The Four Books are comprised of
the Doctrine of the Mean, the
Great Learning, Mencius, and the
Analects. From the Han to the
early Song, the Five Classics grew
into thirteen classics. In the
early Song, however, scholars
focused on the original Five
Classics again. By the mid-Song,
however, the Analects, Mencius,
Great Learning, and Doctrine of
the Mean began gaining
importance and by the early
fourteenth century, the Four Book
were the texts for the civil
examinations.
 the four books

The Great Learning

The Great Learning is a guide for moral
self-cultivation. According to the Great
Learning, the key to moral self-
cultivation is learning, or the
investigation of things

Analects
Written during the Spring and Autumn
period through the Warring States
period, the Analects is a collection of
Kongzi's teachings and discussions with
disciples. Just as The Great Learning
emphasized learning, so did the Analects.
According to the Analects, the first step
in knowing the Way is to devote oneself
to learning. In addition to learning, the
Analects emphasize the importance of
good governance, filial piety, virtue, and
ritual.
 Mencius
Mencius is a collection of conversations
Mencius had with Kongzi. Mencius places
a strong emphasis on the responsibility
of the emperor to practice good
governance through following the Way.
Additionally, Mencius believes that all
human beings are inherently good.

The Doctrine of the Mean

The Doctrine of the Mean has been
translated in many ways, including The
Constant Mean (Legge) and Maintaining
Perfect Balance (Gardener). The Doctrine
of the Mean is attributed to Zisi, Kongzi's
grandson, and deals with how to maintain
perfect balance and harmony in one's
life. The Doctrine of the Mean focuses on
following the Way and acting in
accordance with what is right and
natural, but acknowledges that people
often do not act properly.
 the five books

Book of Documents
The Book of Documents is a compilation of 58
chapters detailing the events of ancient
China. The Book of Documents tells the deeds
of the early sage-kings Yao and Shun. These
narratives are influential in the development
of the understanding of a sage. The
compilation also includes the history of the
Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. The Book of
Documents is often considered the first
narrative history of ancient China.

Book of Odes
The Book of Odes is also translated as the
Book of Songs or Book of Poetry. The Book of
Odes is comprised of 305 poems dealing with a
range of issues, including love and marriage,
agricultural concerns, daily lives, and war.
The Book of Odes contains different
categories of poems, including folk songs and
hymns used in sacrifice. Kongzi is believed to
have selected the 305 poems in this collection
from a much wider collection.
 Book of Rites
The Book of Rites described the social
norms, governmental organization, and
the ritual conduct during the Zhou
dynasty. Believed to have been compiled
by Kongzi, the Book of Rites is the
foundation of many ritual principles that
arise in later imperial China. According
to the Book of Rites, proper ritual
conduct would maintain harmony in the
empire, as well as emphasize the virtue
of piety.

Book of Changes
The Book of Changes contains a system of
divination, which is centered largely
around the principles of yin and yang.
The Book of Changes has also been
translated as I Ching or Classic of
Changes. Some of the divination
practices are still used today.
 Spring and Autumn Annals

As the longest of the Five

Classics, the Spring and Autumn
Annals is a historical chronicle of
the State of Lu. Unlike the Book of
Documents, the Spring and Autumn
Annals appear to have been
created specifically for
annalistic purposes. The Spring
and Autumn Annals was
traditionally understood as being
written by Confucius, but modern
scholars believe the text was
actually written by various
chroniclers from the State of Lu.
 practices & beliefs

There are six main groups of

beliefs in Confucianism,
these include:

Yi
Righteousness

Xin
Honesty and Trustworthiness

Chung
Loyalty to the state, etc.
 Li
includes ritual, propriety,
etiquette, etc.

Hsiao
love within the family, love
of parents for their children,
and love of children for their
parents

Jen
benevolence, humanness
towards one another (the
most important Confucianism
virtue)
 birth
The Tai-Shen (spirit of the fetus)
protects the expectant mother, and deals
harshly with anyone/thing that harasses
or harms the woman. She receives a
special diet and is given one month to
rest after the delivery of the baby. Her
parents are responsible for everything
that is needed to support the child, on
the first, fourth, and twelfth month
anniversary of the child's birth.

marriage
There are six separate things that
happen during the marriage rituals, these
include: Proposal: Both sides of the
relationship share the hour, day, month,
and year of their birth. If any upsetting
events happens within the bride-to-be's
family within the next three days, it is
believed that she has rejected the
proposal.
 engagement
After the couple decides the
date of the wedding, the bride
announces the wedding with
invitations and gifts of
cookies shaped like the moon.

dowry
A dowry is a transfer of
parental belongings when
their daughter is getting
married. Gifts equal in value
after given to the bride and
groom.
 procession
The groom proceeds to the brides
home, and brings her back to his
place, with much happiness and
excitement.

marriage
The couple recites their vows that
will bond them together for a
lifetime, toast each other with
wine, and then take center stage
at a banquet consisting of friends,
and the families of both bride and
groom. Morning After: The bride
serves breakfast to the grooms
parents, and then the parents do
the same.
 death
After the death of a loved one, the family cry
aloud to inform the neighbors of the tragic
news. The family begin to mourn by making
clothes made of course material, and wearing
them. The corpse is placed in a coffin, and
many family and friends bring money to help
with the cost of the funeral. Food and objects
important to the deceased are placed into the
coffin with him/her. A priest or minister of
any religion performs the burial ritual. The
guests follow the coffin carrying a large
willow tree branch. This is meant to symbolize
the soul of the person who has died. Later on,
the branch is carried back to the family altar
where is used to "install" the spirit of the
deceased. A public worship (called a Liturgy)
is performed on the seventh, ninth, and forty-
ninth days after the burial, along with the
first and third year anniversary of the death.
 doctrines

The two
major doctrines of Confucianism a
re:

zhong
based on the Chinese character that
combines "heart” and "middle,"
meaning fidelity to oneself and
humanity within

shu
meaning cherish the heart as if it
were one's owner. 

Confucianism is a social code based

on morality rather than laws.
 denominations

The different sect of

Confucianism
include Mencius,
Xunzi, Dong
Zhongshu, Ming,
Korean, Song, Qing,
and the Modern sect.
 Mencius
In the fourth century B.C.,
Mencius, a student of Confucius,
used Confucian ideals to teach
that human nature is essentially
good. Also advocating the benefits
of divisions of labor to exercise
the mind as well as the body, he
believed that if a person truly
lived in the mold of Confucius, he
could not be corrupted by riches,
conquered by power, or affected by
poverty. Because of his influence
and esteem, Mencius' teachings
have lasted through the Song, Ming
and Qing dynasties, as well as into
today.
 Xunzi
After Muncius, Xunzi (third century
B.C.) was the next great Confucian
thinker for whom a school of thought
is named. He took the opposite stance
of Muncius when he taught that human
nature is essentially evil and drew
followers with his polarizing
opposite choice. Xunzi, like Mencius
and Confucius, believed that
education and self-cultivation were
important, but differed from them by
placing importance on the need for
authority, social structure and
intense scholastic work to stop the
evilness of human nature from
spreading too widely.
 Dong Zhongshu
Like all serious students of
Confucius, Dong (179-104 B.C.) was
extremely dedicated to scholarly
pursuits. He differed from the
previous two students of Confucius in
that he took a neutral stance on
human nature, stating only that a
person’s actions have consequences
in the universe. Dong used the five
natural elements -- fire, wood,
metal, earth and water -- to form his
version of Confucian cosmological
theory, although his view was not as
widely shared as the more earthly,
rational take shared by Han
Confucians.
 Song Confucianism
Song Confucianism (960-1279) did not
consist of any one scholar teaching
Confucian ideals, but a collection of
them. The men in this school of
thought brought Confucian teachings
back to what they thought were truer
representations of Confucius, and
preached living a life of self-
cultivation and balance between
humanity and the cosmos. Their
themes of balance and synthesis were
so popular that Song Confucianism
extended beyond China and into Korea
and Japan. Confucianism during the
Song Dynasty was focused more on
education, politics, literature and
history than on promoting
militaristic powers. 
 Ming Confucianism
In China, the next notable Confucian
school of thought was started during
the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Scholars in this era focused on
uniting a person’s mind with his
actions and how they related to the
earth instead of the heavens. Moral
idealism, as originally taught by
Mencius, was heavily promoted as
Ming Confucians preached balancing
Confucianism with everyday life. In
spite of constant scuffling with the
Mongols, which deflected attention
away from Confucianism, several
scholars rose to prominence. 
 Korean Confucianism
Confucianism had long since spread
to neighboring Korea, and one scholar
stands out: Yi T’oegye (1501-1570). Yi
took an intellectual approach to
Confucianism by incorporating
Mencius’ ideas of basic feelings and
emotions in his treatise, "Discourse
on the Ten Sagely Diagrams," written
to educate the king. Yi discussed how
a person enters into a relationship
with himself and others using
Mencius' concepts of the four
emotions -- commiseration, shame,
modesty and integrity -- and seven
feelings -- pleasure, anger, sorrow,
fear, love, hatred and desire.
 Qing Confucianism
By the mid-17th century,
Confucianism in the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911) in China was starting to
become associated with politics
instead of remaining a spiritual and
philosophical school of thought. One
of the most significant consequences
of this was the imposition of literary
inquisitions that forced Confucian
scholars to find a way to spread
Confucius' teachings without
arousing emperors' anger and
jealousy. Books and treatises were
still published but with the absence
of overt political messages.
Confucian philosophers like Dai Zhen
gave the impression of spearheading
scholarship in the humanities -- the
classics, philosophy and literature.
 Modern Confucianism
Religious and political ideologies in
the West began to have a large impact
on the East at the start of the 19th
century, and Confucianism was one of
the victims. The first movement that
overshadowed Confucianism in China
was Marxism-Leninism, followed by
the economic rise of power in Japan
after World War II. Young Chinese
intellectuals attacked traditional
Confucianism and embraced
democracy and science. The call for
reform came to a head with the May
Fourth Movement in 1919, a student-
led revolution protesting the
government's reaction to the
Versailles Treaty, which would have
transferred the Shandong Province to
Japan.
 challenges
When the religion of Confucianism was just
starting its journey around China, it
became very popular and well known during
the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). The
teachings of Confucius have always been
praised and criticized, especially the
teachings of the “Five Relationships” and
“Three Bonds” that Confucius has laid out.
The “Five Relationships” was seen as a way
to maintain the order in a society, while
many others find them to be the cause of
gender inequalities. This was the same idea
with the “Three Bonds,” as the two beliefs
worked together in harmony. Confucius’
ideas in the “Five Relationships,” the
“Three Bonds,” and The Analects created
strong discrimination against women
during its time in the Han Dynasty, and
established gender inequality throughout
the history of China and while still
protruding in Asia today.
 One of the most famous sayings from
Confucius regarding women in The
Analects is that “Shaoren and girls are
difficult to handle. If you get familiar
with them they cease to be humble. If
you keep them away, they get
resentful.” (Analects 17:25) With these
beliefs in the minds of men in Asia, it
established a clear line between the
superior and the inferior of a family
and society as a whole in Asia. Women
were not able to get an education,
other than getting an education for
“women jobs” such as medical
practitioners, restaurant waitresses or
managers, and occasional writers.
Confucianism in Asia made it clear that
men were to follow the Three Bonds,
Five Relationships, and analects’
orders, and women were to accept their
small role in society.
thank you
谢谢
xièxiè