Confucius

Confucius has been portrayed throughout history as many different things, including teacher, advisor, editor, philosopher, reformer, and prophet. He is believed to have lived between 551 and 479 BCE. This was the period known as the Spring and Autumn period in the regional state Lu in eastern China, in what is now the Shandong province.

Traditional image of Confucius.

Confucius is not believed to have written any of his ideas, but the book he has been connected to is the Lunyu, which has been translated as The Analects of Confucius, often shortened to The Analects, which were written by Confucius's followers. Most of what is known about Confucius, his life, and his thought comes from the writing of others, especially his followers and later historians.

The earliest biographical treatment of Confucius is from a chapter of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, based on compilations from dialogue and prose accounts of Confucius.

Another representation of Confucius.

Disciples of Confucius collected his sayings and quotations into the Lunyu—or translated in English, The Analects. There are additional sources, including the first dialogues that were found in Records of Ritual, the Elder Dai's Records of Ritual, and Han collections, such as the Family Discussions of Confucius. Other quotations and interpretations of Confucius are found in works such as the Zuo Commentary and the Spring and Autumn Annals.

There are other texts related to the period of Confucius's life and his thinking; however, as nothing he may have written has survived, the record of his life and his thought are murky. Much of what is accepted about his life and Confucian thought is based as much on these historical sources as it is a product of agreement among scholars and historians.

At the time, the Lu province was bound to the imperial court of the Zhou dynasty, which lasted from 1045 to 221 BCE. The name Confucius is a phonetic, Latinized combination of the surname Kong, with the honorific suffix fuzi, or "master." Meaning Confucius is the Latinization of "Master Kong."

Image supposed to be of a young Confucius.

The Kong family is believed to have come from the state of Song, from an aristocratic family who would lose their political standing by the time Confucius was born. The family members of the Lu province were known as common gentlemen who enjoyed none of the potential hereditary benefits the branch of the family from the Song province may have enjoyed. Confucius is believed to have been born to Shu-Liang He (Kong He), who had been a warrior and a district steward in Lu but was an old man once Confucius was born and would die soon after his birth, leaving Confucius and his mother to fend for themselves.

It is believed that Confucius was candid about his station early in life, which he is said to have described as poor and lowly, and this status would not allow him to enter government service as easily as he may have liked, as he could have if he were from a more prominent family. He found employment with the Jisun clan in a series of modest positions, such as keeper of granaries and livestock and as district officer of the Jisun family's feudal domain. This acted as a step-up to him working in the Lu government, with appointments first as minister of works, then as minister of crime.

Records from this period suggest that Confucius, in the role of the minister of crime, was effective at handling tasks in this role and more impressive in diplomatic assignment, ensuring that the ruler and the mission were prepared for the unexpected and for potentially harmful situations. But he would only hold the office for a few years. The struggle between Confucius and the hereditary families seeking power in the Lu province moved Confucius to resign. This was partially a result of Confucius working to return power to the traditional ruler of the Lu province and away from these families. However, his plans to steer these families toward self-ruin backfired, and he had to leave his position and home.

Confucius's self-exile lasted fourteen years, taking him through many states of China, including Wei, Chen, and Cai. Confucius spent much of that time looking for rulers willing to accept his influence to develop a virtuous government. His search would be in vain, with some reporting they found his ambitions suspect. Confucius found himself in a period of time when there seemed to be no strong leaders, and the Zhou dynasty was crumbling, which to him looked like an opportunity to guide leaders of the area to be the great people he thought they could be.

Image representing Confucius during his self-exile.

During this period, as Confucius tried to get himself into political positions, he gathered disciples who accompanied him on his exile. These disciples were considerably younger than Confucius. He did not actively recruit them, nor did he found any academy or school, which were popular during the time. These disciples came from all backgrounds, including sons of aristocrats, children of common gentleman, merchants, farmers, artisans, and criminals or sons of criminals. They sought to learn from him—the skills he offered and a gentleman's refinement and moral acuity—which Confucius thought essential to a political profession.

Confucius was a master to these followers, not necessarily by his desire to be a master, but by the followers who called him master and called themselves his disciples. Among these disciples, three stood out: Zigong, Zilu, and Yan Hui. These three were documented to have followed Confucius longest on his journey, leaving behind their families and career opportunities in Lu that could have been gainful.

Confucius with his disciples.

Zigong was a merchant before he became Confucius's disciple and was considered by his peers to be an articulate and shrewd person. He was observed to have a resolve to improve his lot and himself. Confucius was said to enjoy Zigong's company because Zigong was someone Confucius felt like he could share his thoughts with.

Zilu was a rustic man described as being rough and unhewn who would do anything to protect Confucius from harm. Confucius took Zilu in, despite feeling that simply being brave and loyal was not the path to being good because people need to know if their judgment is misguided. Zilu was described as this character, but Confucius supposedly felt that Zilu's ability to stand beside all types of people without feeling ashamed of his station elevated him. And overall, Confucius did not deny instruction to anyone who wanted to learn.

Zilu was from a modest upbringing, but this was even above the third disciple, Yan Hui, who came from a poor family and was content to live in a poor neighborhood with meager food. This upbringing made Yan Hui interested in learning, and no deprivation or hardship could distract him from the love of learning. When Yan Hui died, Confucius was reported to be so bereft that other disciples wondered whether the display of emotion was appropriate.

Traditional burial place of Confucius.

After traveling for years, Confucius returned to his homeland at the age of sixty-eight and spent his time there devoted to teaching. He is believed to have died around 479 BCE at the age of 72. Confucius died, arguably, without achieving what he had hoped to achieve in his lifetime—the reformation of political officials—but his followers would create schools and temples in his honor across East Asia and would pass his teachings along.

In the Qin dynasty, many Confucian scholars were persecuted. But in the later Han dynasty, Confucianism would be made the official philosophy of the Chinese government and would be central to its governance for nearly two thousand years. His teachings have been followed in conjunction with those of Lao Tzu and the Buddha, such that Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism have been held as fully compatible spiritual practices.

Confucius's thoughts and utterances are reported to be compiled in The Analects, which depicts Confucius not as someone who innovates but as someone who transmits. He claimed to have transmitted the Dao of the sages of Zhou antiquity. In The Analects, Confucius is portrayed as the guardian of tradition who challenges his followers and disciples to follow the traditional values and morals of the sages of the past. And through this restoration, the moral integrity of the state would be resurrected.

Example page of The Analects.

The Analects does not present Confucius's views in a coherent or consistent system; rather, it reveals several sets of philosophical concerns which complement each other. Often, these concerns are categorized into four groups: theodicy, harmonious order, moral force, and self-cultivation.

Confucius held his silence on the subject of the divine, according to the books written about him and The Analects in particular. This has influenced his presentation, especially since the Enlightenment, as an austere humanist who did not discuss the supernatural. But "theodicy" remains a framework for understanding Confucius's philosophical concern. Confucius, based on the world he was born into, inherited many religious sensibilities. For the early Chinese, the world was controlled by an all-powerful deity, to whom entreaties were made in texts and inscriptions found on animal bones. This entity would later morph into the idea of Tian (for "sky" or "heaven") as their deity, and by the time of Confucius, the concept of Tian had changed, with a ceasing of the tradition of diviners to ascertain the will of Tian while maintaining a network of obligations to divinities, local spirits, and ancestors.

Confucius seems to have been split on the subject of Tian. At times, he seemed convinced that he enjoyed the protection and sanction of Tian, while at other moments, he seemed to be caught in existential despair over whether he had lost his divine backing. Through this, Tian does seem to function similarly to "fate" and "nature" as well as "deity." What is consistent throughout Confucius's discourses on Tian is the assumption that it was aligned with moral goodness, dependent on human agents to actualize its will, and the variable and unpredictable associations with moral actors. Thus, Confucius does not seem interested in justifying Tian or understanding it, let alone questioning these three assumptions, which seem to be rooted in Chinese history.

While Confucius's thoughts and assumptions on Tian do not, perhaps, seem as profound as other of his philosophy that has been passed down, it is important as the Confucian understanding of Tian helps to account for his insistence on moral, political, social, and religious activism. Further, in one passage, Confucius seems to believe that as Tian never speaks but accomplishes its will so he too can remain "silent" (often understood to mean out of political office) yet effective in promoting his principles.

He also talks about three interlocking kinds of order—aesthetic, moral, and social—which can be affected and emulated in li (ritual property). Confucius underscores the importance of attention to li as a self-replicating blueprint for good manners and taste, morality, and social order. Further, from his views quoted elsewhere, Confucius's ideas that the proper execution of guest-host etiquette, or the performance of court ritual, all serve a goal of regulating and maintaining order.

A painting attempting to represent the Confucian value of harmonious order.

This is based on the above-mentioned threefold nature, while good manners, especially, are important for demonstrating both concern for others and a sense of one's place. While properly performed social rituals duplicate ideal hierarchies of power, whether this is done between ruler and subject, parent and child, or husband and wife. Confucius's paramount example of harmonious social order being xiao, translated as "filial piety," in which jing, translated as "reverence," is the key quality. For example, from The Analects, Confucius said:

In serving your father and mother, you ought to dissuade them from doing wrong in the gentlest way. If you see your advice being ignored, you should not become disobedient but should remain reverant . You should not complain even if you are distressed.

The character of this suggestion is deeper than conventions, and labeling it "aesthetic" might appear to demean or trivialize it, but this has also been suggested to reflect more on the way Western thinkers devalue the aesthetic. It has been argued that for Confucian thinking, the "aesthetic" order is understood as intrinsically moral and harmonious. Based on this, to be aesthetic, persons and places are in their proper places, which is a measure of propriety, and through this, relations are smooth, operations are effortless, and the good is sought voluntarily. This has been commonly expressed in the phrase:

Let the ruler be a ruler, the subject a subject, a father a father, and a son a son.

Another subject brought up in The Analects that is also associated with the Lao-tzu, an earlier Chinese text, is di, which is often translated as "moral force." Like Tian, de comes with a lot of cultural and religious connotation, extending further into Chinese history. During the Zhou period, it seems to have been considered something analogous to a kind of amoral power attributed to various persons, such as seductive women or charismatic leaders. Similar to his feelings of Tian, and its direction being directly associated with morality, so does Confucius see de as stringently moral, and a quality and virtue of the successful ruler as seen in the following quote:

One who rules by moral force may be compared to the North Star - it occupies its place and all the stars pay homage to it.

In this way, it has been suggested that de is a quality of a ruler, which the ruler possesses because they reign at the pleasure of Tian, all of which is allied with morality. He would ascribe his own inner de to these attributes. In Confucius's vision, order unites aesthetic concerns for harmony and symmetry with moral force in pursuit of social goals, such as a well-ordered family, a well-ordered state, and a well-ordered world. But based on Confucian thought, this order begins not at the state or community or family level but with the cultivation of the individual, from which the individual can act as a guide for their family, community, and state.

In The Analects, Confucius pits two types of persons against each other in terms of developed potential. These are the junzi, often considered as a "gentleman" or "lord's son," and the xiaoren, or "small person." In his thinking, the junzi is a person who manifests the quality of ren, or "benevolence" or "humaneness," and is thought to represent, in its Chinese character, two people, leading further translations of the word to suggest it means "how two people should treat another." However, while the junzi manifests the quality of ren, their actions display the qualities of yi, or "what is fitting" or "righteousness," and often an attribute of actions.

This means, based on this understanding, the junzi exerts de, or moral force, according to what is ye, or fitting (which can be understood to be what is aesthetically, morally, and socially proper), which manifests ren, or the virtue of co-humanity in a hierarchical universe over which Tian presides. In this way, Confucius suggested that the moral force of a junzi would be like the wind, in which the moral force of the xiaoren would be like the grass and bend in the wind. Therefore, Confucius, according to The Analects, spent a lot of time indicating the path towards self-cultivation that he taught would-be junzi and going on to say

From the age of fifteen on, I have been intent upon learning; from thirty on, I have established myself; from forty on, I have not been confused; from fifty on, I have known the mandate of Heaven; from sixty on, my ear has been attuned; from seventy on, I have followed my heart's desire without transgressing what is right.

In this passage, Confucius notes what he saw as the gradual and long-term scale of self-cultivation, which extends across a person's entire life. Other terms in Confucius's proceeding toward self-cultivation include zhong, or "other regard," and shu or "self-reflection." The conventional meaning of "other regard" in classical Chinese is loyalty, especially loyalty to a ruler, while in The Analects Confucius extends the meaning to include all relationships, including relationships with one's betters and those considered socially inferior.

"Self-reflection" is then explained by Confucius as a negatively-phrased version of the Golden Rule: "What you do not desire for yourself, do not do to others." Which has been interpreted as self-relflection can lead to a realization over the necessity of concern for others. This version of self as proposed by Confucius throughout The Analects is a relational self that responds to inner reflection without virtue. As well, the self which Confucius is seen as wanting to cultivate is self-reflecting and comparing itself with the aesthetic, moral, and social canons of tradition. It is aware of its source in Tian, seeks to increase ren through apprenticeship to li to exercise de in a manner befitting a junzi.

Confucius never worried or did not consider the Cartesian "mind-body problem," and there is no dichotomy through Confucian thinking between the inner and outer, self and whole. Therefore, the cumulative effect of Confucian self-cultivation moves beyond the personal to the collective or social and could be considered to stretch to the cosmic.

Portrait of Confucius from the Song Dynasty, during the movement known as Neo-Confucianism.

The Analects tend to be the main source for the reconstruction of Confucius's thought, but it is not the only text used to reconstruct his thought or identity. During the Han dynasty of 206 BCE to 220 CE, there were numerous accounts and deeds written that have been considered hagiographical in nature. Some of these texts place Confucius as a near-superhuman figure destined to rule or as the "uncrowned king" of pre-imperial China. Some claim his body had special markings that spoke for his exemplary status. He was alleged to have revealed himself in a glorified state to his disciples, and some went as far as to suggest they received further teachings from the apotheosized master. Perhaps inevitably, he was later recognized as a deity, and a cult was organized around his worship. It has been suggested that, had this tradition continued, Confucius would likely have become a figure comparable to Jesus Christ in Chinese history, and there would be no arguments around whether Confucianism was a religion or philosophy.

Example of Confucius in Europe.

The Latinization of Confucius's name came from the Jesuit missionaries, who brought Confucius's thought, and would interpret some of that thought—as well as wider Chinese culture and thought—for Western audiences, supporters, and critics. These Jesuits, who about the time of the transmission were steeped in Renaissance humanist thinking, would interpret Confucius as just such as Renaissance humanist; while German thinkers Leibniz or Wolff would suggest he was an Enlightenment sage; and Hegel would condemn Confucius for exemplifying a person he saw as without history. Mao would castigate Confucius for imprisoning China in feudal archaism and oppression. Showing that, as Confucius has passed through history, he has been interpreted and mythologized based, in large part, on the overriding assumption and thought of the individual encountering Confucius.

As seen above, in China, through the Han dynasty Confucius was turned into a pseudo-religious figure, which would flower into a series of Confucian temples and official temple rituals. The hagiography and actual history cemented his reputation as a cultural hero. It would be during the Song dynasty, from 969 to 1279 CE, that scholar Zhu Xi institutionalized the study of The Analects as one of the four books required for imperial civil service. Any aspiring officials were required to memorize the text and commentaries on these texts in a tradition that was maintained until the fall of imperial China in the twentieth century.

Destruction of a Confucian temple during the Cultural Revolution.

With the fall of imperial China in 1911, Confucius also fell from the state-imposed grandeur, although monarchists continued to plot to restore a Confucian ruler to the throne, while the Nationalist regime in mainland China would promote Confucius and Confucianism as a way to distinguish themselves from the Communists who followed Mao to victory and control over China as of 1949. The Communist regime would vilify Confucius during the anti-traditional "Cultural Revolution" campaigns of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Example of newer attempts to reconcile modern China with Confucius.

In the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century, the Communist government of China has spent a great deal of money to reconstruct and restore old imperial temples to Confucius and has gone as far as erecting new statues of Confucius in tourist areas. Although the regime tore the philosopher down during the cultural revolution, they worked to rehabilitate Confucius; around the same time, the thinker has seen rehabilitation in culturally Chinese areas across Asia, including Singapore to Beijing, in what has been called the East Asian challenge for human rights, which has sought to ground human rights with Chinese characteristics through an authentic and traditional source, or Confucius.

This saw the Chinese government, in 2004, name an initiative to promote language and culture overseas after Confucius, while the country's leadership has worked to enthusiastically embrace the lessons found in Confucius's thoughts to consolidate their legitimacy and ruling in the twenty-first century.