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Confucianism

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Philosophy

   Confucianist temple Thian Hock Keng in Singapore
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   Confucianist temple Thian Hock Keng in Singapore

   Confucianism ( Traditional Chinese: 儒學; Simplified Chinese: 儒学, pinyin:
   Rúxué [ Listen  ], literally "The School of the Scholars"; or 孔教 Kŏng
   jiào, "The Teachings of Confucius") is a Chinese ethical and
   philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the
   early Chinese sage Confucius. It is a complex system of moral, social,
   political, and religious thought which has had tremendous influence on
   the history of Chinese civilization up to the 21st century. Some people
   in the West have considered it to have been the " state religion" of
   imperial China because of the Chinese government's promotion of
   Confucist values.

   Debated during the Warring States Period and forbidden during the
   short-lived Qin Dynasty, Confucianism was chosen by Emperor Wu of Han
   for use as a political system to govern the Chinese state. Despite its
   loss of influence during the Tang Dynasty, Confucianist doctrine
   remained a mainstream Chinese orthodoxy for two millennia until the
   20th century, when it was attacked by radical Chinese thinkers as a
   vanguard of a feudal system and an obstacle to China's modernization,
   eventually culminating in its repression and vilification during the
   Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China. After the end of
   the Cultural Revolution, Confucianism has been revived in mainland
   China, and both interest in and debate about Confucianism have surged.

   The cultures most strongly influenced by Confucianism include those of
   China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as various territories
   (including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau) settled
   predominantly by Chinese people.

   Confucianism as passed down to the 19th and 20th centuries derives
   primarily from the school of the Neo-Confucians, led by Zhu Xi, who
   gave Confucianism renewed vigor in the Song and later dynasties.
   Neo-Confucianism combined Taoist and Buddhist ideas with existing
   Confucian ideas to create a more complete metaphysics than had ever
   existed before. At the same time, many forms of Confucianism have
   historically declared themselves opposed to the Buddhist and Taoist
   belief systems.

Development of early Confucianism

   K'ung Fu Tzu (Confucius) ( 551– 479 BCE) was a famous sage and social
   philosopher of China whose teachings deeply influenced East Asia for
   twenty centuries. The relationship between Confucianism and Confucius
   himself, however, is tenuous. Confucius' ideas were not accepted during
   his lifetime and he frequently bemoaned the fact that he remained
   unemployed by any of the feudal lords.

   As with many other prominent figures such as Siddhartha Gautama, Jesus,
   or Socrates, humanity does not have direct access to Confucius' ideas.
   Instead, humans have recollections by his disciples and their students.
   This factor is further complicated by the " Burning of the Books and
   Burying of the Scholars", a massive suppression of dissenting thought
   during the Qin Dynasty, more than two centuries after Confucius' death.
   What we now know of Confucius' writings and thoughts is therefore
   somewhat unreliable.

   However, we can sketch out Confucius' ideas from the fragments that
   remain. Confucius was a man of letters who worried about the troubled
   times in which he lived. He went from place to place trying to spread
   his political ideas and influence to the many kings contending for
   supremacy in China.

   In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (771-221 BCE), the reigning king of the
   Zhou gradually became a mere figurehead. In this power vacuum, the
   rulers of small states began to vie with one another for military and
   political dominance. Deeply persuaded of the need for his mission — "If
   right principles prevailed through the empire, there would be no need
   for me to change its state" Analects XVIII, 6 — Confucius tirelessly
   promoted the virtues of ancient illustrious sages such as the Duke of
   Zhou. Confucius tried to amass sufficient political power to found a
   new dynasty, as when he planned to accept an invitation from a rebel to
   "make a Zhou dynasty in the East" (Analects XV, 5). As the common
   saying that Confucius was a "king without a crown" indicates, however,
   he never gained the opportunity to apply his ideas. He was expelled
   from states many times and eventually returned to his homeland to spend
   the last part of his life teaching.

   The Analects of Confucius, the closest we have to a primary source for
   his thoughts, relates his sayings and discussions with rulers and
   disciples in short passages. There is considerable debate over how to
   interpret the Analects.

   Unlike most Western philosophers, Confucius did not rely on deductive
   reasoning to convince his listeners. Instead, he used figures of
   rhetoric such as analogy and aphorism to explain his ideas. Most of the
   time these techniques were highly contextualised. For these reasons,
   Western readers might find his philosophy muddled or unclear. However,
   Confucius claimed that he sought "a unity all pervading" (Analects XV,
   3) and that there was "one single thread binding my way together." (op.
   cit. IV, 15).

   The first occurrences of a real Confucian system may have been created
   by his disciples or by their disciples. During the philosophically
   fertile period of the Hundred Schools of Thought, great early figures
   of Confucianism such as Mencius and Xun Zi (not to be confused with Sun
   Zi) developed Confucianism into an ethical and political doctrine. Both
   had to fight contemporary ideas and gain the ruler's confidence through
   argumentation and reasoning. Mencius gave Confucianism a fuller
   explanation of human nature, of what is needed for good government, of
   what morality is, and founded his idealist doctrine on the claim that
   human nature is good (性善). Xun Zi opposed many of Mencius' ideas, and
   built a structured system upon the idea that human nature is bad (性悪)
   and had to be educated and exposed to the rites (li), before being able
   to express their goodness for the people. Some of Xunzi's disciples,
   such as Han Feizi and Li Si, became Legalists (a kind of law-based
   early totalitarianism, quite distant from virtue-based Confucianism)
   and conceived the state system that allowed Qin Shi Huang to unify
   China under the strong state control of every human activity. The
   culmination of Confucius' dream of unification and peace in China can
   therefore be argued to have come from Legalism, a school of thought
   almost diametrically opposed to his reliance on rites and virtue.

The spread of Confucianism

   Confucianism survived its suppression during the Qin Dynasty partly
   thanks to the discovery of a trove of Confucian classics hidden in the
   walls of a scholar's house. After the Qin, the new Han Dynasty approved
   of Confucian doctrine and sponsored Confucian scholars, eventually
   making Confucianism the official state philosophy (see Emperor Wu of
   Han). Study of the Confucian classics became the basis of the
   government examination system and the core of the educational
   curriculum. No serious attempt to replace Confucianism arose until the
   May 4th Movement in the 20th century.

   After its reformulation as Neo-Confucianism by Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming
   and the other Neo-Confucians, Confucianism also became accepted as
   state philosophies in Korea and Japan. Korea of the Chosun Dynasty has
   been termed a "Confucian state."

   Many sources, including the Baltimore Sun (U.S.), have called Singapore
   the modern world's "only Confucian state." However, this is dubious
   since Singapore is a multicultural society in which only a portion of
   the society is committed specifically to Confucian ideals. The actual
   influence of Confucianism on South Korea, however, is still very great.
   The Asian values debate of the 1990s stems in large part from the
   question of the role of Confucian social approaches in modern
   societies, especially economic development.

Rites

     "Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in
     their 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." (Analects II, 3)

   The above explains an essential difference between legalism and
   ritualism and points to a key difference between Western and Eastern
   societies. Confucius argues that under law, external authorities
   administer punishments after illegal actions, so people generally
   behave well without understanding reasons why they should; whereas with
   ritual, patterns of behaviour are internalised and exert their
   influence before actions are taken, so people behave properly because
   they fear shame and want to avoid losing face.

   "Rite" ( Lǐ) stands here for a complex set of ideas that is difficult
   to render in Western languages. The Chinese character for "rites"
   previously had the religious meaning of "sacrifice" (the character 禮 is
   composed of the character 示, which means "altar", to the left of the
   character 曲 placed over 豆, representing a vase full of flowers and
   offered as a sacrifice to the gods; cf. Wenlin). Its Confucian meaning
   ranges from politeness and propriety to the understanding of each
   person's correct place in society. Externally, ritual is used to
   distinguish between people; their usage allows people to know at all
   times who is the younger and who the elder, who is the guest and who
   the host and so forth. Internally, they indicate to people their duty
   amongst others and what to expect from them.

   Internalisation is the main process in ritual. Formalised behaviour
   becomes progressively internalised, desires are channelled and personal
   cultivation becomes the mark of social correctness. Though this idea
   conflicts with the common saying that "the cowl does not make the
   monk", in Confucianism sincerity is what enables behaviour to be
   absorbed by individuals. Obeying ritual with sincerity makes ritual the
   most powerful way to cultivate oneself. Thus "Respectfulness, without
   the Rites, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the Rites,
   becomes timidity; boldness, without the Rites, becomes insubordination;
   straightforwardness, without the Rites, becomes rudeness" (Analects
   VIII, 2). Ritual can be seen as a means to find the balance between
   opposing qualities that might otherwise lead to conflict.

   Ritual divides people into categories and builds hierarchical
   relationships through protocols and ceremonies, assigning everyone a
   place in society and a form of behaviour. Music, which seems to have
   played a significant role in Confucius' life, is given as an exception
   as it transcends such boundaries, 'unifying the hearts'.

   Although the Analects promotes ritual heavily, Confucius himself often
   behaved otherwise; for example, when he cried at his preferred
   disciple's death, or when he met a fiendish princess (VI, 28). Later
   more rigid ritualists who forgot that ritual is "more than presents of
   jade and silk" (XVII, 12) strayed from their master's position.

Governing

     "To govern by virtue, let us compare it to the North Star: it stays
     in its place, while the myriad stars wait upon it." (Analects II, 1)

   Another key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one
   must first govern oneself. When developed sufficiently, the king's
   personal virtue spreads beneficent influence throughout the kingdom.
   This idea is developed further in the Great Learning and is tightly
   linked with the Taoist concept of wu wei: the less the king does, the
   more that is done. By being the "calm centre" around which the kingdom
   turns, the king allows everything to function smoothly and avoids
   having to tamper with the individual parts of the whole.

   This idea may be traced back to early shamanistic beliefs, such as that
   the king (wang, 王) being the axle between the sky, human beings and the
   Earth. (The character itself shows the three levels of the universe,
   united by a single line.) Another complementary view is that this idea
   may have been used by ministers and counsellors to deter aristocratic
   whims that would otherwise be to the detriment of the population.

Meritocracy

     "In teaching, there should be no distinction of classes."
     (Analects XV, 39)

   Although Confucius claimed that he never invented anything but was only
   transmitting ancient knowledge (see Analects VII, 1), he did produce a
   number of new ideas. Many western admirers such as Voltaire and H. G.
   Creel point to the (then) revolutionary idea of replacing the nobility
   of blood with one of virtue. Jūnzǐ (君子; see below), which had meant
   "noble man" before Confucius' work, slowly assumed a new connotation in
   the course of his writings, rather as " gentleman" did in English. A
   virtuous plebeian who cultivates his qualities can be a "gentleman",
   while a shameless son of the king is only a "small man". That he
   allowed students of different classes to be his disciples is a clear
   demonstration that he fought against the feudal structures in Chinese
   society.

   Another new intense idea, that of meritocracy, led to the introduction
   of the Imperial examination system in China. This system allowed anyone
   who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position
   which would bring wealth and honour to the whole family. Though the
   European enthusiasm toward China died away after 1789, China gave
   Europe one very important practical legacy: the modern civil service.
   The Chinese examination system seems to have been started in 165 BCE,
   when certain candidates for public office were called to the Chinese
   capital for examination of their moral excellence by the emperor. Over
   the following centuries the system grew until finally almost anyone who
   wished to become an official had to prove his worth by passing written
   government examinations.

   Confucius praised those kings who left their kingdoms to those
   apparently most qualified rather than to their elder sons. His
   achievement was the setting up of a school that produced statesmen with
   a strong sense of state and duty, known as Rujia 儒家, the 'School of the
   Literati'. During the Warring States Period and the early Han dynasty
   China grew greatly and the need for a solid and centralized corporation
   of government officers able to read and write administrative papers
   arose. As a result Confucianism was promoted and the corporation of men
   it produced became an effective counter to the remaining landowner
   aristocrats otherwise threatening the unity of the state.

   Since then Confucianism has been used as a kind of "state religion",
   with authoritarianism, legitimism, paternalism and submission to
   authority used as political tools to rule China. In fact most emperors
   used a mix of legalism and Confucianism as their ruling doctrine, often
   with the latter embellishing the former. They also often used different
   varieties of Taoism or Buddhism as their personal philosophy or
   religion.

Themes in Confucian thought

   A simple way to appreciate Confucian thought is to consider it as being
   based on varying levels of honesty. In practice, the elements of
   Confucianism accumulated over time and matured into the following
   forms:

Ritual

   Ritual (lǐ, 禮) originally signified "to sacrifice" in a religious
   ceremony. In Confucianism the term was soon extended to include secular
   ceremonial behaviour before being used to refer to the propriety or
   politeness which colours everyday life. Rituals were codified and
   treated as an all-embracing system of norms. Confucius himself tried to
   revive the etiquette of earlier dynasties, but following his death he
   himself became regarded as the great authority on ritual behaviour.
   (Cf. contemporary term lǐmào 禮貌, "polite"; mào 貌 = "appearance")

Relationships

   One theme central to Confucianism is that of relationships, and the
   differing duties arising from the different status one held in relation
   to others. Individuals are held to simultaneously stand in different
   degrees of relationship with different people, namely, as a junior in
   relation to their parents and elders, and as a senior in relation to
   their children, younger siblings, students, and others. While juniors
   are considered in Confucianism to owe strong duties of reverence and
   service to their seniors, seniors also have duties of benevolence and
   concern toward juniors. This theme consistently manifests itself in
   many aspects of East Asian culture even to this day, with extensive
   filial duties on the part of children toward parents and elders, and
   great concern of parents toward their children.

Filial piety

   Filial piety, filiality, or filial devotion (xiào 孝) is considered
   among the greatest of virtues and must be shown towards both the living
   and the dead. The term "filial", meaning "of a child", denotes the
   respect and obedience that a child, originally a son, should show to
   his parents, especially to his father. This relationship was extended
   by analogy to a series of five relationships or five cardinal
   relationships (五倫 Wǔlún):
    1. ruler and subject (君臣),
    2. father and son (父子),
    3. husband and wife (夫婦),
    4. elder and younger brother (兄弟),
    5. between friends (朋友)

   Specific duties were prescribed to each of the participants in these
   sets of relationships. Such duties were also extended to the dead,
   where the living stood as sons to their deceased family. This led to
   the veneration of ancestors.

   In time, filial piety was also built into the Chinese legal system: a
   criminal would be punished more harshly if the culprit had committed
   the crime against a parent, while fathers exercised enormous power over
   their children. Much the same was true of other unequal relationships.

   The main source of our knowledge of the importance of filial piety is
   The Book of Filial Piety, a work attributed to Confucius but almost
   certainly written in the third century BCE. Filial piety has continued
   to play a central role in Confucian thinking to the present day.

Loyalty

   Loyalty (zhōng, 忠) is the equivalent of filial piety on a different
   plane, between ruler and minister. It was particularly relevant for the
   social class to which most of Confucius' students belonged, because the
   only way for an ambitious young scholar to make his way in the
   Confucian Chinese world was to enter a ruler's civil service. Like
   filial piety, however, loyalty was often subverted by the autocratic
   regimes of China. Confucius had advocated a sensitivity to the
   realpolitik of the class relations that existed in his time; he did not
   propose that "might makes right", but that a superior who had received
   the " Mandate of Heaven" (see below) should be obeyed because of his
   moral rectitude.

   In later ages, however, emphasis was placed more on the obligations of
   the ruled to the ruler, and less on the ruler's obligations to the
   ruled.

Humaneness

   Confucius was concerned with people's individual development, which he
   maintained took place within the context of human relationships. Ritual
   and filial piety are the ways in which one should act towards others
   from an underlying attitude of humaneness. Confucius' concept of
   humaneness (rén, 仁) is probably best expressed in the Confucian version
   of the Golden Rule phrased in the negative: "Do not do to others what
   you would not like them to do to you".

   Rén also has a political dimension. If the ruler lacks rén,
   Confucianism holds, it will be difficult if not impossible for his
   subjects to behave humanely. Rén is the basis of Confucian political
   theory: it presupposes an autocratic ruler, exhorted to refrain from
   acting inhumanely towards his subjects. An inhumane ruler runs the risk
   of losing the "Mandate of Heaven", the right to rule. Such a
   mandateless ruler need not be obeyed. But a ruler who reigns humanely
   and takes care of the people is to be obeyed strictly, for the
   benevolence of his dominion shows that he has been mandated by heaven.
   Confucius himself had little to say on the will of the people, but his
   leading follower Mencius did state on one occasion that the people's
   opinion on certain weighty matters should be polled.

The perfect gentleman

   The term "Jūnzǐ" (君子) is a term crucial to classical Confucianism.
   Literally meaning "son of a ruler", "prince" or "noble", the ideal of a
   "gentleman", "proper man", "exemplary person" or "perfect man" is that
   for which Confucianism exhorts all people to strive. A succinct
   description of the "perfect man" is one who "combine[s] the qualities
   of saint, scholar, and gentleman" ( CE). (In modern times, the
   masculine bias in Confucianism may have weakened, but the same term is
   still used; the masculine translation in English is also traditional
   and still frequently used.) A hereditary elitism was bound up with the
   concept, and gentlemen were expected to act as moral guides to the rest
   of society. They were to:
     * cultivate themselves morally;
     * participate in the correct performance of ritual;
     * show filial piety and loyalty where these are due; and
     * cultivate humaneness.

   The great exemplar of the perfect gentleman is Confucius himself.
   Perhaps the greatest tragedy of his life was that he was never awarded
   the high official position which he desired, from which he wished to
   demonstrate the general well-being that would ensue if humane persons
   ruled and administered the state.

   The opposite of the Jūnzǐ was the Xiǎorén (小人), literally "small
   person" or "petty person." Like English "small", the word in this
   context in Chinese can mean petty in mind and heart, narrowly
   self-interested, greedy, superficial, and materialistic.

Rectification of Names

   Confucius believed that social disorder resulted from failing to call
   things by their proper names, and his solution was "Rectification of
   Names/Terms" (zhèngmíng, 正名). When Duke Jing of Qi asked about
   government, Confucius replied, "There is government, when the prince is
   prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and
   the son is son." (Analects XII, 11, tr. Legge). He gave a more detailed
   explanation of zhengming to one of his disciples.

     Tsze-lu said, "The ruler of Wei has been waiting for you, in order
     with you to administer the government. What will you consider the
     first thing to be done?" The Master replied, "What is necessary is
     to rectify names." "So! indeed!" said Tsze-lu. "You are wide of the
     mark! Why must there be such rectification?" The Master said, "How
     uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior man, in regard to what he does
     not know, shows a cautious reserve. If names be not correct,
     language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language
     be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be
     carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success,
     proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do
     not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When
     punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to
     move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary
     that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that
     what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior
     man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing
     incorrect." (Analects XIII, 3, tr. Legge)

   Xun Zi chapter (22) "On the Rectification of Names" claims the ancient
   sage kings chose names (ming 名 "name; appellation; term") that directly
   corresponded with actualities (shi 實 "fact; real; true; actual"), but
   later generations confused terminology, coined new nomenclature, and
   could no longer distinguish right from wrong.

Debates

Promotion of corruption

   Different from many other political philosophies, Confucianism is
   reluctant to employ laws. In a society where relationships are
   considered more important than the laws themselves, if no other power
   forces government officers to take the common interest into
   consideration, corruption and nepotism will arise. As government
   officers' salary was often far lower than the minimum required to raise
   a family, Chinese society has frequently been affected by those
   problems, and still is. Even if some means to control and reduce
   corruption and nepotism have been successfully used in China,
   Confucianism is criticized for not providing such a means itself.

   One major argument against this criticism is that the so-called
   Confucian East Asian societies such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan,
   Singapore, South Korea and China have exhibited the high economic
   growth. Singapore has also consistently been noted as one of the most
   corruption-free states on earth. Critics point to continuing problems
   with nepotism and corruption in those countries and slowing economic
   growth in the past decade, not only in Japan, but also, to a lesser
   extent, in the others. Furthermore, Singapore may be classed as an
   example of a Western, Kantian system of rule by law, or perhaps a
   Legalist system, rather than Confucian.

Was there a Confucianism?

   One of the many problems in discussing the history of Confucianism is
   the question of what Confucianism is. In this article, Confucianism can
   be understood roughly as largely "the stream of individuals, claiming
   Master Kong to be the Greatest Master" while it also means "the social
   group following moral, political, and philosophical doctrine of what
   was considered, at a given time, as the orthodox understanding of
   Confucius". In this meaning, this "group" can be identified, during
   periods of discussions with others doctrines, like Han and Tang
   dynasty, with a kind of political party. During periods of Confucian
   hegemony, such as during the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, it can be
   identified roughly with the social class of government officials.

   But the reality of such a grouping is debated. In his book,
   Manufacturing Confucianism, Lionel Jensen claims that our modern image
   of Confucius and Confucianism, which is that of a wise symbol of
   learning and a state-sponsored quasi-religion, did not exist in China
   from time immemorial, but was manufactured by European Jesuits, as a
   "translation" of the ancient indigenous traditions, known as "Ru Jia",
   in order to portray Chinese society to Europeans. The notion of
   Confucianism was then borrowed back by the Chinese, who used it for
   their own purposes.

   Therefore, we could define Confucianism as "any system of thinking that
   has, at its foundations, the works that are regarded as the ' Confucian
   classics', which was the corpus used in the Imperial examination
   system". Even this definition runs into problems because this corpus
   was subject to changes and additions. Neo-Confucianism, for instance,
   valorized the Great Learning and the Zhong Yong in this corpus, because
   their themes are close to those of Taoism and Buddhism.

Is Confucianism a religion?

   It is debatable whether Confucianism should be called a religion. While
   it prescribes a great deal of ritual, little of it could be construed
   as worship or meditation in a formal sense. Confucius occasionally made
   statements about the existence of other-worldly beings that sound
   distinctly agnostic and humanistic to Western ears. Thus, Confucianism
   is often considered an ethical tradition and not a religion. However
   the United Nations recognizes Confucianism as a religion.

   Its effect on Chinese and other East Asian societies and cultures has
   been immense and parallels the effects of religious movements, seen in
   other cultures. Those who follow the teachings of Confucius say that
   they are comforted by it. It includes a great deal of ritual and (in
   its Neo-Confucian formulation) gives a comprehensive explanation of the
   world, of human nature, etc. Moreover, religions in Chinese culture are
   not mutually exclusive entities — each tradition is free to find its
   specific niche, its field of specialisation. One can be a Taoist,
   Christian, Muslim, Shintoist or Buddhist and still profess Confucianist
   beliefs.

   Although Confucianism may include ancestor worship, sacrifice to
   ancestral spirits and an abstract celestial deity, and the deification
   of ancient kings and even Confucius himself, all these features can be
   traced back to non-Confucian Chinese beliefs established long before
   Confucius and, in this respect, make it difficult to claim that such
   rituals make Confucianism a religion.

   Generally speaking, Confucianism is not considered a religion by
   Chinese or other East Asian people. Part of this attitude may be
   explained by the stigma placed on many "religions" as being
   superstitious, illogical, or unable to deal with modernity. Many
   Buddhists state that Buddhism is not a religion, but a philosophy, and
   this is partially a reaction to negative popular views of religion.
   Similarly, Confucians maintain that Confucianism is not a religion, but
   rather a moral code or philosophic world view.

   The question of whether Confucianism is a religion, or otherwise, is
   ultimately a definitional problem. If the definition used is worship of
   supernatural entities, the answer may be that Confucianism is not a
   religion, but then this definition could also be used to argue that
   many traditions commonly held to be religious (Buddhism, some forms of
   Islam, etc.) are also not, in fact, religions. If, on the other hand, a
   religion is defined as (for example) a belief system that includes
   moral stances, guides for daily life, systematic views of humanity and
   its place in the universe, etc., then Confucianism most definitely
   qualifies. As with many such important concepts, the definition of
   religion is quite contentious. Herbert Fingarette's Confucius: The
   Secular as Sacred is a good treatment of this issue.

Names for Confucianism

   Several names for Confucianism exist in Chinese.
     * "School of the Scholars" ( pinyin: Rújiā)
          + 儒家 ( Traditional and Simplified Chinese)
     * "Religion of the Scholars" ( pinyin: Rújiào)
          + 儒教 ( Traditional and Simplified)
     * "Study of the Scholars" ( pinyin: Rúxué) [ Listen  ]
          + 儒學 ( Traditional) / 儒学 ( Simplified)
     * "Teaching of Confucius" or "Religion of Confucius" ( pinyin:
       Kǒngjiào)
          + 孔教 ( Traditional and Simplified)

   Three of these four (namely Rujia, Rujiao, Ruxue) use the Chinese term
   Ru, meaning a scholar. These names do not use the name "Confucius"
   (Kong Zi) at all, but instead centre on the central figure/ideal of the
   Confucian scholar. However, the suffixes of jia, jiao and xue carry
   different implications as to the nature of Confucianism itself.

   Rujia contains the term jia, which literally means "house" or "family".
   In this context, the jia is more readily construed as meaning "school
   of thought", since it is also used to construct the names of
   philosophical schools contemporary to Confucianism: for example, the
   Chinese names for Legalism and Mohism end in jia.

   Rujiao and Kongjiao contain the Chinese term jiao, the noun "teaching",
   used in such as terms as "education" or "educator". The term jiao,
   however, is notably used to construct the names of religions in
   Chinese: the terms for Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Shintoism and
   other religions in Chinese all end with jiao.

   Ruxue contains xue, meaning literally "study" or "studies". The term
   xue is parallel to "-ology" in English, being used to construct the
   names of academic fields: the Chinese names of fields such as physics,
   chemistry, biology, political science, economics, and sociology all end
   in xue.

Confucianism and other schools of thought

   Inter-religious or inter-philosophical dialogue has occurred in the
   modern period between scholars of Confucianism and scholars of several
   religions, including Islam and Christianity.

Confucianism and Catholicism

   Representing a relatively traditionalist-humanist viewpoint of Catholic
   thought, the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia declares: "In Confucianism
   there is much to admire." The Encyclopedia praises its "noble
   conception of the supreme Heaven-god" as well as the high standard of
   morality, and the "refining influence of literary education and of
   polite conduct" it holds Confucianism to have brought about. The
   Encyclopedia goes on to say, however, that Confucianism is nonetheless
   "encumbered" with serious defects deriving from what it calls the
   "imperfect civilization of its early development." The work has
   criticized Confucianism's association of the Supreme Being or Heavenly
   Being (Tian or Tien) with nature spirits, its "superstitious" use of
   divination, and sacrifices to spirits and ancestors. It suggests that
   Confucianism cannot "answer fully to the religious needs of the heart
   and soul by decree" since it deemphasizes active participation in
   worship of the deity, has "little use of prayer," recognizes no concept
   of grace, and has "no definite teaching" regarding the afterlife. The
   social system promoted by traditional Confucianism, it claims, "has
   lifted the Chinese to an intermediate grade of culture, but has blocked
   for ages all further progress.

Quotations

   General
     * The Master said, "I have been the whole day without eating, and the
       whole night without sleeping — occupied with thinking. It was of no
       use. The better plan is to learn." (Analects XV. 30. tr. Legge)

   On Spirits
     * Zilu (an impetuous disciple of Confucius) asked how one should
       serve ghosts and spirits. The Master said, "Till you have learnt to
       serve men, how can you serve ghosts?" Zilu then ventured upon a
       question about the dead. The Master said, "Till you know about the
       living, how are you to know about the dead?" (Analects XI. 11. tr.
       Waley)
     * "Show respect to the spirits and deities, then keep away from
       them." (Confucius is said to have refused to discuss the subject of
       magic, devils, hell, and Heaven).
     * The Master said, "For a man to sacrifice to a spirit which does not
       belong to him is flattery." (Analects II. 24.)

   Examples of Ritual - from Book 10 of Analects
     * He [Confucius] hastened forward, with his arms like the wings of a
       bird.
     * When he entered the palace gate, he seemed to bend his body, as if
       it were not sufficient to admit him.
     * He ascended the reception hall, holding up his robe with both his
       hands, and his body bent; holding in his breath also, as if he
       dared not breathe.
     * When he was carrying the scepter of his ruler, he seemed to bend
       his body, as if he were not able to bear its weight. He did not
       hold it higher than the position of the hands in making a bow, nor
       lower than their position in giving anything to another. His
       countenance seemed to change, and look apprehensive, and he dragged
       his feet along as if they were held by something to the ground.
     * The superior man did not use a deep purple, or a puce colour, in
       the ornaments of his dress.
     * He did not eat meat which was not cut properly, nor what was served
       without its proper sauce.
     * He did not partake of wine and dried meat bought in the market.
     * When eating, he did not converse. When in bed, he did not speak.

   Taoist addition within the Analects
     * The Master said, "The Fang bird does not come; the river sends
       forth no map:-it is all over with me! (Analects IX)

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