1. Confucius (Kung Fu-Tzu)* (551-479 BC)
Revised, 8/30/08
Confucius (Kung Fu-Tzu)* ( BC)
& Confucianism
Reading from the Analects (Text, pp. 1-14)
*Family name = Kung (Kong)
Personal name = Zhong-ni
Kung Fu-Tzu (Kong Fu-zi) = “Master Kung”
“Confucius” = Latinization of “Kung Fu-Tzu”

2. The History of Chinese Philosophy
The Classical Age (6th century BC-2d century AD)
Confucianism (Confucius, BC)
Daoism (Lao Tzu, 6th century BC)
Mohism (Mo Tzu, BC)
The Yin-Yang School (founder unknown)
The School of Names (Logic) (Hui Shih, c BC)
Legalism (Han Fei Tzu, d. 23 BC)
The Medieval Age (2d-10th centuries BC): relations & conflicts between Confucianism, Daoism, & Buddhism
The Modern Age (11th century AD-Present)
Neo-Confucianism (incorporation of Daoist & Buddhist elements in an overall Confucian perspective) (Chu Hsi, AD & many others)
20th century impact of Western philosophies such as Pragmatism & Marxism

3. Topics included in the reading:
The Chun-Tzu (the Confucian hero) (1-3)
Virtue (jen, ren) (3-5)
Propriety (li) (5-7), including filial piety (5-6) & religious propriety (6-7)
The Silver Rule (central ethical principle) (7)
The importance of studying & learning (7-8)
Words & actions (8-9)
“Three Things” (9)
Government (9-11)
The Dao (11-12)
Miscellaneous teachings (12-13)
Descriptions of Confucius (13-14)
(The traditional version of the Analects is not topically organized.)

4. The primary sources of Confucian philosophy
Confucius claimed to derive his teachings from “the Ancients,” whose wisdom is embodied in “The Five Classics” (Wu Jing)
The I Jing (“Book of Changes”)
The Shu Jing (“Book of History”)
The Shih Jing (“Book of Odes” [poetry])
The Li Ji (“Book of Rites”)
The Ch’un-ch’iu (“Spring & Autumn Annals”)

5. The further expression of Confucian philosophy
“The Four Books” (Ssu-chu)
Analects (Lun-Yu)
The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong)
The Great Learning (Ta-hsueh)
The Book of Meng-Tzu
(Mencius, BC)

6. Anthem
The ancient State of Lu
That’s where Confucius was born & spent most of his life.

7. Confucianism originated in China, but its influence spread to Korea & Japan over the centuries.

8. Chronology of Chinese History
c BC: Prehistory (belief in life after death; bone divination) - legendary Hsia Dynasty (c BC)
c BC: Shang Dynasty (polytheism; spiritism; ancestor veneration; bone & shell divination)
BC: Zhou (Chou) Dynasty (feudal era & classical age; rise of Shang-Ti & “Mandate of Heaven;” ancestor veneration & divination practices; continued belief in spiritism; interest in life-prolongation & immortality; 8th-5th centuries BC - period of disorder; emergence of classical Chinese philosophies: Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, etc.) - Era of Warring States ( BC)
BC: Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty (“The Burning of the Books” in 213 BC) - Legalism enthroned; Confucianism attacked

9. Chronology, continued
206 BC-25 AD: Former Han Dynasty (beginnings of official state Confucianism)
AD: Later Han Dynasty (rise of Chinese Empire; imperial state religion; Confucianism established as the official philosophy of the Chinese state; the coming of Buddhism)
AD: The Three Kingdoms - Wei ( ); Shu ( ); Wu ( ) (decline of Confucianism; rise of Daoism & Buddhism)
AD: Jin (Chin) Dynasty
AD: Era of North- South Division - 16 Northern Kingdoms ( ); 5 Southern Kingdoms ( ) (rise of Daoist religion; continued spread of Buddhism)
AD: Sui Dynasty
AD: Tang Dynasty (high point for Buddhism & Daoism; 9th century Confucian reaction against Buddhism)

10. Chronology, continued
AD: Five Northern Dynasties; Ten Southern Kingdoms
AD: Northern Sung (Song) Dynasty
AD: Southern Sung (Song) Dynasty
AD: Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty (established by Kublai Khan)
(development of popular religious sects)
AD: Ming Dynasty (Mongols out, Chinese emperors in; Confucianism reestablished; Roman Catholicism arrives)
10th-13th centuries AD: Rise of Neo- Confucianism; spread of Chan (Zen) Buddhism
Anti-Confucian policy

11. Chronology, continued
AD: Qing (Ch’ing) (Manchu) Dynasty - peak of Confucian (bureaucratic) authority; increasing influence of the West
AD: Chinese Revolution
Republic of China ( [mainland]; 1945-present [Taiwan])
People’s Republic of China (Communism) (1949-present)
Confucianism in decline

12. Major figures in Confucian philosophy
Neo-Confucianism
Tang Dynasty - Han Yu ( AD)
Sung Dynasty - Cheng Hao ( ); Cheng Yi ( ); Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi) ( )
Ming Dynasty - Wang Yang-ming ( )
Ch’ing Dynasty - Tai Chen ( )
20th century: Hsiung Shih- li ( ); Fung Yu- lan ( ); & others
Classical Confucianism
Confucius ( BC)
Mencius ( BC)
Xun-zi (Hsun Tzu) (active, BC)
Han Dynasty
Dong Zhong-shu ( BC)
Yang Hsiung (53 BC-18 AD)
Wang Chong ( AD)

13. Central concepts in Confucian thought
Metaphysics
Ontology & Cosmology
Dao (“Way”) - the Ultimate; the One; the Absolute; the underlying Power; the Source (see Text, pp )
Yin/Yang - the dual expression of Dao; neither is superior to the other (see next slide)
The Plural World - the universe; Heaven & Earth; an ever-changing expression & blend of Yin & Yang
(Heaven is Yang in relation to Earth; and Earth is Yin in relation to Heaven; but each is, in itself, a blend of both Yin & Yang.)

14. Yin & Yang Yin Yang female dark cool Heaven & sun moist passive
negative
evil
Heaven & sun
Yin
male
bright
hot
dry
active
positive
good
Yang
Earth & moon

15. "A basic difference between the
Chinese conception of yin and yang and other classical philosophical dualisms…is that whereas most dualisms are forever in conflict, yin and yang always act in harmony, and both are considered to be necessary to maintain the order of the universe." (Bilhartz 262)

16. Theology Confucian metaphysics, continued
Shang-Ti (God), the original ancestor (after the 11th century BC)
Heaven (Tian, T’ien) - the divine realm (Human beings who have died live on with Shang-Ti as ancestors (ti) in Heaven.)
Continuity & interchange between Heaven (the divine realm) and Earth (the human realm), i.e., between the ancestors & those living on Earth.
(The ancestors are to be worshipped, and sacrifices are to be offered to them; they, in turn, will guide and protect us, especially with regard to our futures (divination practices). When we die, we will join the ancestors in Heaven and become ancestors ourselves.)
Spiritism (spirits every- where, good [shen] & evil [gui]).
[No hell(s)? See next slide.]

17. Before the arrival of Buddhism in China,
it seems that Chinese religions did not contain a well- developed idea of an afterlife.
The souls of those who had lived in accord with the “Mandate of Heaven” (will of Shang-Ti) would become ancestors in Heaven; whereas
the souls of those who had not followed Heaven’s decree would, after death, continue to live on for a time in a dark underworld area (called “the Yellow Springs”) & then fade away into nothingness.
The idea of multiple levels of hell entered Chinese religion through Buddhism, which arrived in China in the 1st century AD.
The religious Daoists accepted this idea (but modified it in various ways).
Apparently, the Confucianists continued to show little interest in this subject.

18. Is Hell temporary or permanent?
In Buddhism, it is temporary.
Confucianism has no clear answer to this question (because the Confucianists refuse to speculate on these matters).
What is the Daoist view?
(To be continued?)

19. Anthropology (Human Nature & the Human Predicament)
Confucian metaphysics, continued
Anthropology (Human Nature & the Human Predicament)
Human nature:
naturally & inherently good - need for cultivation via education
naturally social & political - development & perfection of human nature within the social & political realm
The human predicament:
suffering as a result of failure to follow the “Way of the Ancestors”
Disharmony & conflict between Heaven & Earth, between the ancestors & us; and between humans here on earth
Solution of problem of suffering: reestablish harmony

20. Confucius’s primary goal:
order, harmony, peace, & happiness in this life here on earth
(He had only a secondary interest in “transcendental” salvation.)

21. Axiology (Theory of Value)
Philosophy of art (aesthetics) - the moral & political purposes of art (especially music)
Moral philosophy (ethics) - the center of Confucian philosophy (see next slide)
Social & political philosophy (theory of government) - the need for morally & intellectually virtuous rulers & civil servants

22. Central themes in Confucian ethical theory:
The Chun-Tzu - the ideal of the Superior (self-actualized, virtuous, perfected) Person (Text, pp. 1-3)
The Chun-Tzu is an exemplification of ideal virtue, of Yi, of Ren, of Li, and of Hsiao – see following slides….

23. * * Yi - righteousness, just and appropriate conduct
According to Confucianists, there is an objective, absolute, and unconditional moral obligation on all of us to work for universal human well-being, the common good, the general welfare (which will include one's own true good):
Objective = not subjective; not relative; the obligation is independent of culturally and individually variable states of opinion, preference, feeling, or response.
Absolute = it extends throughout the whole sphere of moral obligation and cannot be suspended or overruled by any more basic or ultimate moral principle with a wider range of applicability.
Unconditional = this obligation does not depend on the fulfillment or non- fulfillment of any particular set of facts or circumstances which may or may not happen to occur - facts, for example, about our desires, aspirations, or goals in acting one way rather than another. *
Ren (jen) - virtue
Positive formulation: cultivation of feeling (respect, empathy, compassion, love) for all humanity (Text, pp. 3-5)
Negative formulation: the Silver Rule (Text, p. 7, vv. 85 & 86) *
Sometimes translated as “humanity”
See Hackett, Oriental Philosophy, pp

24. Li - Propriety (proper conduct)
Confucian ethics, continued
Li - Propriety (proper conduct)
The Rectification of Names (Zheng-ming) (proper use of language) (Text, vv. 8, 9, 10, 11, , 129, 160)
The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) (Text, vv. 132, 155, 156)
The Five Constant Relationships:
parent-child
husband-wife
elder sibling-younger sibling
elder friend-younger friend
ruler-subject

25. Confucian ethics / Li, continued
Filial Piety (Xiao, Hsiao) (devotion to & reverence for parents & family)
The institution of the family is the foundation of a well-ordered & civilized society (grounded mainly on respect of children for parents)
Respect for age (experience & wisdom)
(Text, pp. 5-6)

26. proper practice of traditional rites
Confucian ethics / Li, continued
Religious Propriety
proper practice of traditional rites
(worship of God, ancestors, Heaven, Earth, spirits; funeral services & sacrifices in honor of parents)
Text, vv. 64, 70, 72, 79-84

27. Wen (learning & the arts)
Confucian ethics (& aesthetics?), continued
Wen (learning & the arts)
The importance of culture in the creation & maintenance of a well-ordered society
Studying & learning (Text, pp. 7-8)
The arts - especially music (Text, vv. 99)
(Confucius composed a “Book of Music” [Yueh Jing], which is sometimes referred to as a “sixth classic.”)

28. Confucius’s Political Philosophy
Confucian axiology, continued
Confucius’s Political Philosophy
Te - the union of power & virtue
The characteristics of a good ruler (or civil servant):
moral goodness (virtue & propriety)
rationality
moderation
benevolence
(Text, pp. 9-11)

29. a theory of knowledge (an epistemology)?
Does Confucius have
a theory of knowledge (an epistemology)?
How would he answer the following questions?
1. What is knowledge?
2. What are the sources of knowledge?
3. What are the extent & limits of knowledge?
4. What are the differences between knowledge & opinion?
5. What makes a belief (or proposition) true as opposed to false?

30. The End (for now)