Confucianism – what it’s all about
Confucius lived during a turbulent and chaotic period of China’s history. China was not united, and different states were at war against each other. This meant widespread social instability – and it was this that Confucius sought to deal with.
His answer was to look to the past and revive the rites and rituals of earlier generations. He particularly liked the way the state of Zhou maintained the practices of the previous two dynasties, seeing that this was the best way of maintaining order in a disorderly world. From the Analects of Confucius:
Analects VII, 1
Instead of maintaining social order through external rules and regulations, Confucianism sought to regulate human activity by cultivating an internalised system where one punishes oneself with shame for violating the social order. Here again, from the Analects:
place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be
without a sense of shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in
their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to
developing a sense of shame, they will order themselves harmoniously.
For instance, according to Confucius a ruler was not meant to govern by leadership and making decisions. Instead, he was to remain in his palace and perform the required rituals! The idea behind this is when those around him saw that he was calm and behaved in the way required of him, others would follow – and so calm and order would radiate out from the palace into the nation. From the Analects:
The Master said, ‘If a man is able to govern a state by observing the rites and showing deference, what difficulties will he have in public life? If he is unable to govern a state by observing the rites and showing deference, what good are the rites to him?’
Confucianism was not all about the ruler – the cultivated person, according to Confucianism, was a person who observed the rules of propriety in the five key relationships, or li, of society. They are:
- ruler and subject
- father and son
- older brother and younger brother
- husband and wife
- friend and friend
The heart of all these is the concept of filial piety – where the child worries about the father, never travels too far away from the father, and obeys the will of the father – even if the wishes of the father are bad, and even beyond the grave! Again, from the Analects:
The idea behind Confucianism is that by observing the past, they could develop cultured, humane people and bring order to chaos – and following the will of one’s parents was the simplest and most concrete way for the common person to do this.
Interestingly, one of the most important practices of Confucianism (apart from reciting the Odes and learning rituals) is actually … the playing and listening to music! One of the goals of Confucianism is harmony – and music was seen as a means of attaining harmony. From the Analects:
It is by the Rules of Propriety that the character is established.
It is from Music that the finish is received.
The idea behind this is when the sovereign’s court (or even a family) sits down together to listen to
music, their individual desires and feelings are regulated and shaped
into one, by the one piece of music – they participate in harmony. And so to be a Confucian scholar you had to become proficient in music.
All this created a society where the past is prized, elderly people (especially parents) venerated, social harmony made sacrosanct, and rules of society were deeply ingrained inside people.
In China, Confucianism ceased being taught officialy from the time of the cultural revolution – the Confucian worldview clashed with that of communism, which desired that the state (and not the family) to be the only object of devotion. However, the influence of Confucianism still continued on for many in China, and many who fled from the cultural revolution…
[ PS: filial piety is an important feature - more on it later! ]
