CONFUCIANISM

is an ethical and philosophical

system, on occasion described as
a religion, developed from the
teachings of the Chinese
philosopher Confucius

CONFUCIUS
Kng Fz, or K'ung-fu-tzu, lit.
"Master Kong", 551479 BCE
Confucius was a Chinese teacher,
editor, politician, and philosopher
of the Spring and Autumn period
of Chinese history.

Confucianism originated as an
"ethical-sociopolitical teaching"
during the
Spring and Autumn Period, but
later developed metaphysical
and cosmological elements in the
Han Dynasty.

Historically, cultures and countries strongly

influenced by Confucianism include mainland

o China
o Taiwan
o Hong Kong
o Macau
o Korea
o Japan and
o Vietnam

"Confucianism r meaning "scholar"

the word r in ancient China has diverse
meanings. Some examples include,
"weak", "soft", "to tame", "to comfort"
and "to educate".

Three of these use r are the ji, jio and

xu carry different implications as to the
nature of Confucianism itself.

Rji which literally means "house" or "family".

Rjio and Kngjio the noun "teach",
used in such terms as "education", or "educator".

Rxu

which means "study".

The Five Classics and the Confucian vision

I Ching or Classic of Change or Book of

Changes
Classic of Poetry or Book of Songs
Book of Documents or Book of History
Book of Rites
Spring and Autumn Annals

Tian and gods

Tian ( ), commonly translated as "

Heaven" or "Sky",
but philologically meaning the
"Great One", "Great Whole", is a
key concept in Confucianism

Zhou period oracle bone script

Ethics

Confucius and disciples, statues of the

Ashikaga Gakko, a Confucian school and
oldest academy of Japan.

Confucian ethics is characterized by the promotion

of virtues, encompassed by the Five Constants

Rn ( , humaneness);
Y ( , righteousness or
justice);
L ( , proper rite);
Zh ( , knowledge);
Xn ( , integrity).