INTRODUCTION

Some say Confucianism is not a religion, since there are no Confucian deities and
no teachings about the afterlife. Confucius himself was a staunch supporter of
ritual, however, and for many centuries there were state rituals associated with
Confucianism. Most importantly, the Confucian tradition was instrumental in
shaping Chinese social relationships and moral thought. Thus even without deities
and a vision of salvation, Confucianism plays much the same role as religion does
in other cultural contexts. The founder of Confucianism was Kong Qiu (K'ung
Ch'iu), who was born around 552 B.C.E. in the small state of Lu and died in
479 B.C.E. The Latinized name Confucius, based on the honorific title Kong Fuzi
(K'ung Fu-tzu), was created by 16th-century Jesuit missionaries in China.
Confucius was a teacher to sons of the nobility at a time when formal education
was just beginning in China. He traveled from region to region with a small group
of disciples, a number of whom would become important government officials.
Confucius was not particularly famous during his lifetime, and even considered
himself to be a failure. He longed to be the advisor to a powerful ruler, and he
believed that such a ruler, with the right advice, could bring about an ideal
world. Confucius said heaven and the afterlife were beyond human capacity to
understand, and one should therefore concentrate instead on doing the right
thing in this life. The earliest records from his students indicate that he did not
provide many moral precepts; rather he taught an attitude toward one's fellow
humans of respect, particularly respect for one's parents, teachers, and elders.
He also encouraged his students to learn from everyone they encountered and to
honor others' cultural norms. Later, his teachings would be translated by
authoritarian political philosophers into strict guidelines, and for much of Chinese
history Confucianism would be associated with an immutable hierarchy of
authority and unquestioning obedience.
HISTORY
Confucianism is an ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings
of the Chinese philosopher Confucius ( Kng Fz, or K'ung-fu-tzu, lit.
"Master Kong", 551479 BC). Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical
teaching" during theSpring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical
and cosmological elements in the Han Dynasty.
[1]
Following the abandonment
of Legalism in China after the Qin Dynasty, Confucianism became the official
state ideology of the Han. The disintegration of the Han in the second century
C.E. opened the way for the spiritual and otherworldly doctrines
of Buddhism and Daoism to dominate intellectual life and to become the ruling
doctrines during the Tang dynasty. In the late Tang, Confucianism absorbed many
of these challenging aspects and was reformulated Neo-Confucianism. This
reinvigorated form was adopted as the basis of the imperial exams and the core
philosophy of the scholar official class in the Song dynasty. Neo-Confucianism
turned into sometimes rigid orthodoxy over the following centuries. In popular
practice, however, the three doctrines of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism
were often melded together. The abolition of the examination system in 1905
marked the end of official Confucianism. The New Culture intellectuals of the
early twentieth century blamed Confucianism for China's weaknesses. They
searched for imported doctrines to replace it, such as the "Three Principles of
the People" with the establishment of the Republic of China, and
then Communism under the People's Republic of China. In the late twentieth
century, Confucianism was credited with the rise of the East Asian economy and
revived both in the People's Republic and abroad.
The core of Confucianism is humanism, or what the philosopher Herbert
Fingarette calls "the secular as sacred." The focus of spiritual concern is this
world and the family, not the gods and not the afterlife.
[2]
Confucianism
broadly speaking does not exalt faithfulness to divine will or higher law.
[3]
This
stance rests on the belief that human beings are teachable, improvable and
perfectible through personal and communal endeavor especially self-cultivation and
self-creation. Confucian thought focuses on the cultivation of virtue and
maintenance of ethics, the most basic of which are ren, yi, and li.
[4]
Ren is an
obligation ofaltruism and humaneness for other individuals within a
community, yi is the upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition to do
good, and li is a system of norms andpropriety that determines how a person
should properly act within a community.
[4]
Confucianism holds that one should
give up one's life, if necessary, either passively or actively, for the sake of
upholding the cardinal moral values of ren and yi.
[5]

Cultures and countries strongly influenced by Confucianism include
mainland China,Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, as well as various territories
settled predominantly by Chinese people, such as Singapore. Although Confucian
ideas prevail in these areas, few people identify themselves as Confucian,
[6]
and
instead see Confucian ethics as a complementary guideline for other ideologies and
beliefs,
including democracy,
[7]
Marxism,
[8]
capitalism,
[9]
Christianity,
[10]
Islam
[11]
and Buddhis
m.










BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS
Traditionally, Confucius was thought to be the author or editor of the Five
Classics which were the basic texts of Confucianism. The scholar Yao
Xinzhong allows that there are good reasons to believe that Confucian classics
took shape in the hands of Confucius, but that nothing can be taken for
granted in the matter of the early versions of the classics. Yao reports that
perhaps most scholars today hold the pragmatic view that Confucius and his
followers, although they did not intend to create a system of classics,
contributed to their formation. In any case, it is undisputed that for most of
the last 2,000 years, Confucius was believed to have either written or edited
these texts.
[15]

The scholar Tu Wei-ming explains these classics as embodying five visions" which
underlie the development of Confucianism:
I Ching or Classic of Change or Book of Changes, generally held to be the
earliest of the classics, shows a metaphysical vision which combines divinatory
art with numerological technique and ethical insight; philosophy of change sees
cosmos as interaction between the two energies yin and yang, universe always
shows organismic unity and dynamism.
Classic of Poetry or Book of Songs is the earliest anthology of Chinese
poems and songs. It shows the poetic vision in the belief that poetry and
music convey common human feelings and mutual responsiveness.
Book of Documents or Book of History Compilation of speeches of major
figures and records of events in ancient times embodies the political vision
and addresses the kingly way in terms of the ethical foundation for humane
government. The documents show the sagacity, filial piety, and work ethic of
Yao, Shun, and Yu. They established a political culture which was based on
responsibility and trust. Their virtue formed a covenant of social harmony
which did not depend on punishment or coercion.
Book of Rites describes the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites
of the Zhou Dynasty. This social vision defined society not as an adversarial
system based on contractual relations but as a community of trust based on
social responsibility. Thefour functional occupations are cooperative (farmer,
scholar, artisan, merchant).
Spring and Autumn Annals chronicles the period to which it gives its
name, Spring and Autumn Period (771-476 BCE) and these events emphasize
the significance of collective memory for communal self-identification, for
reanimating the old is the best way to attain the new.
[16]

Ren
Main article: Ren (Confucianism)
Ren is one of the basic virtues promoted by Confucius, and is an obligation
of altruism and humaneness for other individuals within a
community.
[4]
Confucius' concept of humaneness (Chinese: ; pinyin: rn) is
probably best expressed in the Confucian version of theethic of reciprocity, or
the Golden Rule: "Do not do unto others what you would not have them do
unto you."
Confucius never stated whether man was born good or evil,
[19]
noting that 'By
nature men are similar; by practice men are wide apart'
[20]
implying that
whether good or bad, Confucius must have perceived all men to be born with
intrinsic similarities, but that man is conditioned and inuenced by study and
practise. Xunzi's opinion is that men originally just want what they instinctively
want despite positive or negative results it may bring, so cultivation is needed.
In Mencius' view, all men are born to share goodness such as compassion and
good heart, although they may become wicked. The Three Character
Classic begins with "People at birth are naturally good (kind-hearted)", which
stems from Mencius' idea. All the views eventually lead to recognize the
importance of human education and cultivation.
Rn also has a political dimension. If the ruler lacks rn, Confucianism holds, it
will be difficult if not impossible for his subjects to behave humanely. Rn 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. A ruler lacking
such a mandate 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
considered.
Etiquette
Main article: Li (Confucianism)
In Confucianism, the term "li" (Chinese: ; pinyin: l), sometimes translated
into English as rituals, customs, rites, etiquette, or morals, refers to any of the
secular social functions of daily life, akin to the Western term for culture.
Confucius considered education and music as various elements of li. Li were
codified and treated as a comprehensive system of norms, guiding
the propriety or politeness which colors everyday life. Confucius himself tried to
revive the etiquette of earlier dynasties.
It is important to note that, although li is sometimes translated as "ritual" or
"rites", it has developed a specialized meaning in Confucianism, as opposed to its
usual religious meanings. In Confucianism, the acts of everyday life are considered
rituals. Rituals are not necessarily regimented or arbitrary practices, but the
routines that people often engage in, knowingly or unknowingly, during the
normal course of their lives. Shaping the rituals in a way that leads to a
content and healthy society, and to content and healthy people, is one purpose
of Confucian philosophy.
Loyalty
Loyalty (Chinese: ; pinyin: zhng) is the equivalent of filial piety on a
different plane. It is 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 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.
Loyalty was also an extension of one's duties to friends, family, and spouse.
Loyalty to one's family came first, then to one's spouse, then to one's ruler,
and lastly to one's friends. Loyalty was considered one of the greater human
virtues.
Confucius also realized that loyalty and filial piety can potentially conflict.
Filial piety
Main article: Filial piety
"Filial piety" (Chinese: ; pinyin: xio) is considered among the greatest of
virtues and must be shown towards both the living and the dead (including even
remote ancestors). The term "filial" (meaning "of a child") characterizes the
respect that a child, originally a son, should show to his parents. This
relationship was extended by analogy to a series of five
relationships (Chinese: ; pinyin:wln):
[21]

The Five Bonds
Ruler to Ruled
Father to Son
Husband to Wife
Elder Brother to Younger Brother
Friend to Friend
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. The
only relationship where respect for elders wasn't stressed was the Friend to
Friend relationship. In all other relationships, high reverence was held for elders.
The idea of Filial piety influenced the Chinese legal system: a criminal would be
punished more harshly if the culprit had committed the crime against a parent,
while fathers often exercised enormous power over their children. A similar
differentiation was applied to other relationships. Now
[PROC? clarification needed]
filial
piety is also built into law. People have the responsibility to provide for their
elderly parents according to the law.
The main source of our knowledge of the importance of filial piety is the Classic
of Filial Piety, a work attributed to Confucius and his son but almost certainly
written in the 3rd century BCE. The Analects, the main source of the
Confucianism of Confucius, actually has little to say on the matter of filial piety
and some sources believe the concept was focused on by later thinkers as a
response toMohism.
Filial piety has continued to play a central role in Confucian thinking to the
present day.
Relationships
Relationships are central to Confucianism. Particular duties arise from one's
particular situation in relation to others. The individual stands simultaneously in
several different relationships with different people: as a junior in relation to
parents and elders, and as a senior in relation to younger siblings, students, and
others. While juniors are considered in Confucianism to owe their seniors
reverence, seniors also have duties of benevolence and concern toward juniors.
This theme of mutuality is prevalent in East Asian cultures even to this day.
Social harmonythe great goal of Confucianismtherefore results in part from
every individual knowing his or her place in the social order, and playing his or
her part well. When Duke Jing of Qi asked about government, by which he
meant proper administration so as to bring social harmony, 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, trans. Legge)
Mencius says: "When being a child, yearn for and love your parents; when
growing mature, yearn for and love your lassie; when having wife and child(ren),
yearn for and love your wife and child(ren); when being an official (or a
staffer), yearn for and love your sovereign (and/or boss)."
[22][this quote needs a citation]

The gentleman
Main article: Junzi
The term jnz (Chinese: ; literally "lord's child") is crucial to classical
Confucianism. Confucianism exhorts all people to strive for the ideal of a
"gentleman" or "perfect man". A succinct description of the "perfect man" is
one who "combines the qualities of saint, scholar, and gentleman." In modern
times the masculine translation in English is also traditional and is still
frequently used. Elitismwas 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;
show filial piety and loyalty where these are due;
cultivate humanity, or benevolence.
The great exemplar of the perfect gentleman is Confucius himself. Perhaps the
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 Jnz was the Xiorn (Chinese: ; pinyin: xi orn;
literally "small person"). The character in this context means petty in mind
and heart, narrowly self-interested, greedy, superficial, or materialistic.
Rectification of names
Main article: Rectification of Names
Confucius believed that social disorder often stemmed from failure to perceive,
understand, and deal with reality. Fundamentally, then, social disorder can stem
from the failure to call things by their proper names, and his solution to this
was Zhngmng (Chinese: [];pinyin: zhngmng; literally "rectification of
terms"). He gave an explanation of zhengming to one of his disciples.
Zi-lu said, "The vassal 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 to rectify names."
"So! indeed!" said Zi-lu. "You are wide off the mark! Why must there be such
rectification?"
The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu! The superior man cannot care
about the everything, just as he cannot go to check all himself!
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 if the superior have got everything the a propriate name,he would
find it convient to give orders.If he give orders ,it will be always appropriately
carried out.Then,he cannot blame you,because you can always appropicately.."
(Analects XIII, 3, tr. Legge)
Xun Zi chapter (22) "On the Rectification of Names" claims the ancient sage-
kings chose names (Chinese: []; pinyin: mng) that directly corresponded with
actualities (Chinese: []; pinyin: sh), but later generations confused
terminology, coined new nomenclature, and thus could no longer distinguish right
from wrong.


Submitted to:
Mr. Alvin Charles Lopez
Submitted by:
Erika Arboleras
Rashea Ghazi
Farrah Jade Lumenda
Norhata Calimbol
Bai Sandra Sinagandal