Confucius and Confucianism Confucius & Confucianism The Essentials Lee Dian Rainey A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication This edition fi rst published 2010 © 2010 Lee Dian Rainey Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientifi c, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell. Registered Offi ce John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom Editorial Offi ces 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offi ces, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. 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Chinese proverb Contents List of Illustrations xi Preface: Why Confucius? xii Book Notes xiv Chronology xv 1 Confucius’ World and His Life 1 Confucius’ World: Looking Back to a Long, Unifi ed Civilization 2 The Zhou Dynasty 2 Ancestors and Spirits 4 Heaven and the “Choice of Heaven” 4 The Decline of the Zhou Dynasty and the Rise of the Warring States 5 The Life of Confucius 9 Sources 10 Versions of the Texts 10 Hagiography, the Pious Stories of Confucius’ Life 11 Scholarly Versions of Confucius’ Life 16 2 Confucius’ Teachings I: The Foundation of a Good Person 23 Filial Piety 23 Dutifulness or Loyalty 29 Honesty and Sincerity 30 Rightness and Knowledge 31 Courage 31 Understanding, Sympathy, Compassion 32 Humanity 34 viii Contents Ritual 35 The Gentleman 42 3 Confucius’ Teachings II: The Foundation of a Good Society and Other Topics 45 Setting Words Right 46 For the Benefi t of the People 48 Laws 49 Models 50 Education without Distinction 54 Women 55 The Gods, the Spirits of the Dead, and the Afterlife 57 The Choice of Heaven and Heaven 59 Fate 60 The Way 61 4 Terms, and Mozi 63 Problems with “Schools” and “-isms” 63 Problems with the Term “Confucianism” 65 Mozi and Mohism 69 5 Opponents 75 Daoism 75 The Strategists 80 The Logicians 82 Legalism 83 Others 85 6 Mencius 87 Human Nature is Good 89 Human Nature and Heaven 95 Government 96 Mencius on Confucian Themes 99 Summary 103 7 Xunzi 105 Human Nature is Evil 106 Morality is Artifi cial 109 Ritual 110 Government 111 Language 113 Heaven 114 Xunzi on Confucian Themes 116 Summary 118 Contents ix 8 Confucians, “Confucian” Texts, and the Qin Dynasty 119 Other Confucian Groups 119 Confucius and “Confucian” Texts 121 The First Emperor and the Reunifi cation of China 128 9 The Han Dynasty, 206 BCE–220 CE 132 History and Development 132 The Classics in the Han 134 The New Text School 134 The Yin-Yang Theory 135 Qi 137 The Five Phases 139 The Status of Confucius 140 The Old Text School 140 Other Confucian Texts in the Han Dynasty 143 Summary 144 10 From the Han to the Tang Dynasties, 220–907 CE 146 Buddhism and Its Development 146 Confucianism from the Han to the Tang Dynasties 148 Civil Service Examinations and the Imperial Civil Service 148 The Civil Service 151 The Status of Confucius in Imperial China 151 Confucian Temples 152 Confucius as a God 154 Confucianism outside of China: Korea, Japan, and Vietnam 155 Summary 158 11 Neo-Confucianism 159 The Northern and Southern Song Dynasties 159 Neo-Confucianism 160 Issues in Neo-Confucianism 161 Early Neo-Confucian Thinkers 161 Zhu Xi (1130–1200) and Li Xue, the School of Principle 165 The School of Mind/Heart 171 Wang Yangming 172 Summary 174 12 Confucianism and Modernity 176 The Qing Dynasty, 1644–1911 176 Kang Youwei (1858–1927) and the Reform of Confucianism 177 The May 4th Movement 178 The Guomindang and the New Life Movement 180 x Contents The Communist Party and the Communist Government 180 New Confucians 181 Confucianism as the Foundation of Chinese Culture 183 Substance/Application 183 The Confucian Core 184 Confucianism as Religion 184 Asian Values 186 Governments: Taiwan, Singapore, and China 186 Critics of New Confucianism 189 New Confucianism’s Impact and Importance 190 Summary 191 13 Issues 192 What is Confucianism? 192 Democracy 193 The Emphasis on the Economy 195 Ritual 196 Filial Piety 196 Education 197 Self-cultivation 198 Does Confucianism Include Women? Can Confucianism Include Women? 198 Critics 201 Is Confucianism a Religion? A Philosophy? Something Else? 202 Summary 204 Notes 207 Glossary of Names and Terms 241 Suggestions for Further Reading 249 Bibliography 253 Index 258 List of Illustrations 1.1 Traditional rendering of Confucius 12 1.2 Map of Warring States, China (with modern cities) 14 1.3 Confucius ’ tomb 21 2.1 The Apricot Pavilion where Confucius is said to have taught 41 6.1 Statue of Mencius 88 8.1 Trigrams and hexagrams in the Book of Changes 124 8.2 Wall where, it is said, the classics were hidden from the First Emperor 130 9.1 Yin - yang symbol 135 10.1 Main building in the Temple of Confucius in Qufu 153 11.1 Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate 163 12.1 Students studying at the Confucian Temple in Taichong, Taiwan 185 Preface: Why Confucius? Confucius was born over 2,500 years ago. Why would we want to know what he said? How could someone from that long ago be of any impor- tance to us now? Confucius faced many of the same problems we do: governments telling lies; an enthusiasm for military adventures; great social, economic, and tech- nological changes; a society that seemed to be losing any respect for educa- tion and for moral behavior; growing sleaziness and ignorance. Confucius offers solutions to these problems. You will fi nd that what he has to say applies to our dilemmas and to us today. Confucius said that we can become responsible, adult people who behave properly. If we can do that, we can change the world we live in. Unlike many people today, when Confucius talks about morals and virtues, he does not do it to accuse others or to force his thinking on anyone. Confucius tells us that we should become educated, not to get a job, but to become better people. He, and his followers, talk about cultivating the self, just as one grows a garden. Do that properly and you change your family, neigh- borhood, and country. Readers who are just beginning in this area should be aware that every section of this text is debated and that the issues are far more complex than a text of this sort can convey. They should bear in mind that this is an introductory text. References to arguments about issues and terms are in the endnotes, along with suggestions for further reading, and I would encourage readers to follow up with them. This book is based on the work of hundreds of scholars. The study of Chinese philosophy in the West has, in the last 20 years, become increasingly sophisticated and exciting. Scholars in the area must also bear in mind that this book is an introduction and that many complex ideas have often had to be confl ated or relegated to endnotes. Preface: Why Confucius? xiii I can still remember my excitement when I fi rst stumbled, quite by accident, on classical Chinese thought. I hope to be able to convey some of that in this small volume and to give the reader a glimpse into a world that has so much to say to us. I would like to thank the anonymous readers of both the proposal and the draft, who have been generous in their suggestions and corrections; I am deeply grateful for their careful reading.