Zhang Baichun. Comparative Analysis of Rites and the Russian Orthodox Church Service

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONFUCIUS RITES AND THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH SERVICE*

Zhang Baichun

Zhang Baichun – Doctor of Science (Philosophy), Professor of the Department of Philosophy at the Beijing Normal University (People’s Republic of China, Bei- jing).

E-mail: [email protected]

Confucius and show religious foundations and the divine spark ritual in a rather feeble way. But the attitudes of Confucius and Confucianism towards Rites are different. Thus, Rites are at the center of the teachings of Confucius whereas Confucianism put Rites to the mar- gin. Confucianism is strongly politically-loaded which has led to the breakup with the tradition of ritual. On the contrary, the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church service have not changed and the divine spark is very important for the Church.

Key words: Ritual, Confucianism.

DOI: 10.31079/1992-2868-2018-15-2-203-208

The Fate of the Confucius Ritual* morals, restrict himself in his actions and follow the Confucius pointed out that the most attractive as- rules of the ritual; each person must have innate self- pects of the Zhou Dynasty was its ritual which he con- improvement and self-discipline. At the same time, one sidered the indication of a civilized state. But Confu- must never “look at, listen to, say, or do anything that cius himself lived in a time of the “destruction of the does not fit the system, specified by the ritual” music of ceremony”, when the ritual of the Zhou Dyn- (“Lunyu”, “Yan Yuan”). Confucius prohibitions of asty was interpreted in a wrong way and was seriously conduct which he considers as wrong, are similar to a violated. The thinker pledged himself to restore the religious taboo. We note that both Confucius prohibi- ritual of the Zhou Dynasty. While teaching his disci- tions and religious taboos are aimed at the regulation of ples he always emphasized the importance of the ritual human acts but not their thinking. and wanted it to become the basis for their lives. Con- Confucius attaches great importance to family eth- fucius taught: “If you do not learn ceremonies you ics and morals. The key point in his teaching on family won’t be able to find the foundation for your lives” ethics and moral is the category of “respect for one’s (“Lunyu”, “Ji-shi”); “If a man does not know anything parents”. He dwells upon the correlation of the ritual about the ritual, he won’t be able to cognize the true and the demonstration of respect for parents. When meaning of life” (“Lunyu”, “Yao yue”). In the teaching Meng Yizi asked Confucius what “respect for one’s of Confucius, the significance of ritual plays a major parents” meant, the answer was “non-contrariness” role in the ethics and morals, and in the socio-political (“Lunyu”, “Wei zheng”). In this particular case “non- aspects of life. contrariness” meant agreement with the rules of the When Confucius was asked about the love of fel- ritual. Confucius was said to be quite satisfied with his low-men, he pointed out its close connection with ritu- answer. Later on, he specified the meaning of his al. Confucius said: “In order to achieve the proper de- words in details for his disciple Fan Chi: when parents gree of love of fellow-men a human must restrict his are alive, one must take care of them according to the personal needs and do everything in accordance with ritual; when parents die, they must be buried according the requirements of the Zhou dynasty ritual. If every to the ritual and afterwards their memory must be person behaves in this way in the future, the love of revered in accordance with the rules of the ritual fellow-man will flourish all around the world. The (“Lunyu”, “Wei zheng”). If a person treats his parents question of whether a human is capable of achieving in the way described above one could say he is a wor- the state of loving his fellow-man depends on the per- thy son. We have come to the following conclusion: son himself and does not depend on other people” respect for parents is not a theoretical issue but a prac- (“Lunyu”, “Yan Yuan”). Confucius considered the tical one. Chinese people have many theories on re- achievement of the proper level of love of fellow-men spect for parents, but the problem is how to practice as one of the most difficult tasks. According to Confu- them. cius, in order to achieve this, one must improve his The ritual is also of high socio-political importance. Confucius emphasized that the state must be governed * Translated by T.N. Tagirova. in accordance with the ritual: “If the state is adminis- 203 «The Humanities аnd Social Studies in the Far East». Vol. XV. Issue 2, 2018

trated in accordance with the ritual, the rulers will have be the spokesman who expresses the opinion of the no problems with the management of this state. If the Chinese for the ritual. ritual is not used for the purposes of the state admin- Meng-zi, titled “the second after the true sage”, istration, how should the ritual then be treated?” paid attention to the doctrines of Confucius concerning (“Lunyu”, “ ”). This should be understood in the reason and the natural properties of a man but treated following way: if the state is not governed in accord- the theory of Confucius concerning the ritual in a de- ance with the ritual, the socio-political function of the preciating manner. The role assigned to the ritual in the ritual is not performed. In his political views, Confu- teaching of Meng-zi is considerably lower than its po- cius stuck to the need to govern the state in a moral sition in the teaching of Confucius. Xun-zi united the way. The theory of the government of the state accord- ritual with the law but attached more importance to the ing to ritual and the theory of moral government of the state governance based on the laws. Dong Zhongshu, state occupy an equally significant place in the teach- who lived during the period of the , close- ing of Confucius. As compared with state governance ly related Confucianism with politics and openly urged based on laws, these theories even have priority: “If Confucianism adherents to serve politics. As a result human acts are regulated by laws and people are pun- the Confucian ritual turned into a tool for the mainte- ished according to the criminal law, people will pay nance of law-and-order. The Confucian philosophical attention to avoidance of punishment only and then school of the period of the Song and Ming dynasties they will have neither shame nor consciousness. But if tried to penetrate deeper to the very essence of Confu- the human words and acts are assessed against moral cianism. But the followers were first and foremost in- standards and the requirements of the ritual, people terested in the theoretical foundations; they did not care will have not only the feeling of shame but the desire about the spread of Confucianism. In addition, the stu- to act according to the law” (“Lunyu”, “Wei zheng”). dents of this school did not study the ritual at all as Such is the attitude of Confucius to the three types of they considered it to be an insignificant aspect of the state governance. teaching. Adherents of the so called “new modern Con- Based on the above said, we can make the follow- fucianism” were also more interested in the theoretical ing conclusion: the ritual is of great significance in the propositions. Representatives of this school are Tang teaching of Confucius. The views of the thinker are Junyi from Xianggang (Hong Kong) and Mou Zongsan represented in the book “Lunyu”, the collection of his from Taiwan. They tried to explain and restore Confu- statements. But this book is not the production of Con- cianism on the basis of Western-European rationalism. fucius himself, it is the work of his disciples, who These philosophers also did not pay due attention to wrote down and ordered the words of their teacher ac- the ritual. Ignoring the issues of the studies of ritual cording to their understanding. Although much of the can be considered a common flaw of all schools of “Lunyu” is the original words of Confucius it is very Confucianism including schools of the New and the likely that in the process of recording and classifica- Newest epochs of China, and the present day schools tion, his disciples deviated from the exact communica- of Confucianism. tion of the thoughts of Confucius. Therefore we think Proceeding from this we conclude as follows: a sig- that it is impossible to judge the true attitude of Confu- nificant difference exists between the proper teaching cius towards the ritual by the book “Lunyu” to the full of Confucius and the Confucianism that formed after extent; nevertheless we point out the significance of the he passed away. Followers of Confucius did not pay ritual in the philosopher’s views. We think that his dis- serious attention to the ritual, i. e. they deviated from ciples did not fully comprehend his attitude towards the teaching of their Sage Teacher. Confucius himself the ritual in full measure. An example of this is an in- dreamed of the revival of the ritual tradition – the tradi- cident with one of the philosopher’s disciples Zi-gong, tion that had flourished for thousands years in different who wanted to reform and simplify the ritual, but Con- dynasties before him. He said, “The Shang Dynasty fucius was decidedly against such a modification of the inherited the ritual system from the Xia Dynasty and ritual. Confucius: “Zi-gong wants nobody to slaughter we know exactly what was added to that system and sheep during the sacrificial rites to ancestors on the what was put out of it. The Zhou dynasty inherited the first of the month anymore. I would like to tell him the ritual system from the Shang Dynasty and we also following: Zi-gong, you value that sheep, and I value know exactly what was added to that system and what that ritual (“Lunyu”, “Ba ”). This example testifies to was cut down. In future more and more new dynasties the fact that there existed a considerable essential dif- will appear and we know now what will happen a hun- ference in the attitudes towards the ritual between Con- dred dynasties after“(“Lunyu”, “Wei zheng”). fucius and his disciples. Undoubtedly, there were those In the course of Chinese history, the ritual system among his disciples who underestimated the ritual and has never been revived; Chinese society remains a so- this worried Confucius to a great extent. Unfortunately ciety without the ritual system that Confucius had de- it is Zi-gong, but not Confucius who is considered to sired to regenerate. China is still searching for its ritual

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tradition. We do not know when this problem will be The process of politicization directly affected Confu- resolved. Only one dynasty – the Tang dynasty – val- cianism and the ritual, in its turn, was also affected by ued the ritual. During the Qin dynasty, the Confucian politicization. As a result, common people were pro- ritual ceased to be observed even in the sphere of state hibited from showing respect to the heavens and the governance. What is going on nowadays? At present earth: this became the privilege of the ruling class only. we cannot speak of any form of Confucian ritual. In the The ritual of the common people was restricted to the course of its development, Chinese culture has given conduct of sacrificial ceremonies to commemorate an- up its ritual tradition. Nowadays we only have a theory cestors and to honor the ruler. of ritual but have no opportunity to put the Confucian 2. In the course of the development of Confucian- ritual into practice. ism, the teaching of theory and practice gradually drift- We have pointed out above that the viewpoints on ed apart more and more. Beginning with Meng-zi, ritual in the teaching of Confucius proper and the later Confucianism has existed as a theory and the number Confucianism are essentially different. Therefore we of practices grew less. The ritual as the most important consider it necessary to make a distinction between the element of the culture gradually became estranged to teaching of Confucius and Confucianism when dealing both theory and human life. People did not pay atten- with ritual related issues. tion to the meaning of the ritual any more, and finally, To inherit Confucianism and our cultural tradition what was left of the ritual was a form deprived of sanc- we need to implement the postulates of Confucianism tity which may be considered as an inevitable fate of in practice, especially those that are related to the ritu- the Confucian ritual. al. Without practicing the ritual, cultural traditions will The Russian Orthodox Church Service not be passed on from generation to generation. Dis- The Russian Orthodox Church is one of the three continuance in the use of the ritual rules leads to weak- major branches of Christianity. Theoretically, the Rus- ening of cultural traditions. sian Orthodox Church does not differ much from the Why did the Confucian ritual rules cease to be fol- other Christian constituencies – Catholicism and Prot- lowed? Two important factors had an influence upon it. estantism, but these constituencies themselves consider 1. The Confucians never considered the ritual as an their differences essential as they consider some non- important aspect of this teaching, i.e. the ritual lost its theoretical differences among them as theoretical. This, position of sanctity. Although Confucius had never for instance, concerns the issue of the origin of the spoken of “wonderful events, superhuman physical God, the Holy Spirit. Catholicism and Orthodoxy ex- strength, riots or evil and good spirits” (“Lunyu”, “Shu plain the origin of God in different way: from the er”), he had never denied their existence and had al- Catholic point of view, God, the Holy Spirit descends ways treated such questions seriously. His attitude to- from God, the Father and God, the Son, but from the wards such things is generally known: one should “pay Orthodox point of view God the Holy Spirit descends respect to the spirits but keep as far from them as pos- from the Holy Father only. Adherents of Orthodoxy sible” (“Lunyu”, “Young ye”). Let us note that Confu- consider the Catholic explanation to be mistaken as the cius did not assert that his teaching was sacred, but it Bible teaches that the Holy God, the Spirit descends undoubtedly possessed (a certain degree of) sanctity. from God the Father only. According to the Confucians, there exist three sources Such differences have lead these three constituen- of ritual, i. e. “the three roots”: “The ritual has three cies of Christianity to mutual rejection. Basically, these sources: 1. heaven and earth are the source of the exist- constituencies have different worship services. It is ence in the world; 2. ancestors are the sources of the worth noting that adherents to Orthodoxy value tradi- family; 3. The ruler is the source of politics. How can tions and the constancy of church rituals more than we exist in this world without the heavens and the Catholics and Protestants. earth? Where does our family come from if not from Adherents of Orthodoxy always emphasize the pro- the ancestors? How can common welfare be achieved priety and the truthfulness of their belief and this is, without a ruler? If even one of these sources disap- first of all, reflected in the stability and inviolability of pears, our people will not be able to live peacefully. the church service. For them, their divine service is a That is why the ritual serves the heaven and the earth; manifestation of their belief. In other words, church it pays respect to the ancestors and honors the ruler. service ceremonies are their religious creed. Adherents These are the three foundations for the ritual” (“Da Dai of Orthodoxy develop spiritually in the course of the Liji”). Among these three sources it was only heaven religious service but not in the process of reading and and earth that possessed the status of sanctity. But reflection. Confucians disregarded the sanctity of the heaven and In the course of the development of Christianity and the earth. The only exception was the Dong Zhongshu the formation of the Christian Church, relationships theory. “The Music of the Ritual” was the major in- between Christian belief and everyday life of simple strument for maintaining law-and-order among people. people become closer and closer. One of the concrete

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manifestations of these relationships are the church and the taking of monastic vows (for men) or taking service ceremonies that have gradually penetrated into the veil (for women) and tonsure. There also exist such almost all aspects of human life. The original ceremo- everyday rituals as consecration of bread, food, build- nies of the church service were very simple but as early ings, cars and other things. Christian Orthodox believ- as the period of the Byzantine Empire a complicated ers are permanently accompanied by religious rituals; and many-sided system of religious rituals had been any of their everyday activities is accompanied by an formed which testifies to the significant influence the appropriate corresponding rite. Byzantine Empire rendered on the development of Christian Orthodox religious rituals possess a num- Christianity. As Orthodox Christianity spread, other ber of characteristic specific features. Among them the countries of the world started to adopt the extended unity of religious postulates with the rituals is especial- system of the church service rituals. It is believed that ly worth mentioning. one of the major reasons for Russia’s acceptance of Let us consider the essence of the holiness of the Orthodox Christianity is the fact that Russian people Christian Orthodox rites. Christian Orthodox believers took a fancy to the beauty of the Orthodox religious love the collective church services conducted in cathe- ceremonies. In the course of the spread of Orthodoxy drals. Orthodox cathedrals and churches with their in Russia it has undergone no significant changes ei- decorations create an atmosphere of sacredness and ther in theory (dogmata) or in practice (church service mystery. Under the dome of Orthodox cathedrals be- ceremonies). lievers are supposed to experience the sacramental Orthodox religious ceremonies cover all the most feeling of the presence of the heavens: the iconostasis important aspects and events in the life of church mem- displays various icons portraying Jesus Christ, God’s bers. Orthodox Church service rituals include seven holy Mother, apostles and saints. Walls and columns are ceremonies (for specific occasions): baptism, consecra- decorated with numerous icons depicting different tion, penance, administration of the Lord's Supper (mak- scenes from the Holy Scripture. Believers worship God ing one's communion), worshiping in the sanctuaries, through icons; the icons link them with the other world marriage and confirmation. The most important among and cause a feeling of detachment toward this vain them are baptism and the administration of the Lord's world and allow believers to touch upon the divine Supper (making one's communion). Administration of world. The purpose of Orthodox religious ceremonies is the Lord's Supper (making one's communion) plays a the creation of a special religious feeling in believers – very important role in life of Orthodox believers. In ad- the feeling of oneness with God. Religion does not re- dition to these seven religious rites, Orthodox church quire believers to study thoroughly the theory of Or- service ceremonies cover various religious celebrations, thodoxy. In the heart of the religious life of Orthodox the most important among which is Christ’s Resurrec- Christian believers is God; and believers express their tion (Easter), called the “festival of festivals”. In addi- love and respect for God and communicate with God tion to the Easter there also exist twelve more religious by means of rituals. But Eastern Orthodoxy also has holidays: the birthday of God’s Mother (the Virgin), the ceremonies addressed to God’s Mother whose adora- Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (as it is known tion plays an important role in Orthodoxy. Thus, Or- in the West) or the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos thodox believers worship God, Jesus Christ, and God’s into the Temple (its name in the East), Christmas, Mother. They also worship apostles, holy relics and Epiphany, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, the icons which strengthen their belief in God. Orthodox Annunciation or Lady Day, Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, ceremonial pays less attention to preaching; the most Ascension (Day), Whitsunday, Theophany, and the As- important part of the church service is singing prayers sumption. All these celebrations are connected with praising God and the Mother of God. Reading the Bi- Christ and God’s Mother and are aimed at glorifying ble is not a top priority. All Orthodox rituals are full of them. There also exist other celebrations, like the Cir- sanctity and mystery. cumcision of Christ, the Nativity of John the Baptist, The theology and church service ceremonies are and many others. Orthodox believers have a lot of holi- closely connected. If compared with Catholicism and days that commemorate Christ and God’s Mother, apos- Protestantism, Orthodox theology cannot be considered tles and saints. Almost every day for Christian Orthodox well-developed; on the other hand, the Eastern Ortho- Believers is a festive occasion and sometimes one day is dox Church has never pursued the establishment of a a day of several commemorations to honor several apos- well-developed theological system. The point is that tles and saints. the major dogmata of Christianity had been formed Orthodox Christian churches conduct religious ser- during the initial period of the spread of this religion vices every day, i.e. morning service (Morning Prayer), unlike the philosophical teachings that were formed in evening church service (evensong) and others. At the later historical periods. Religious dogmata cannot be request of believers are conducted such rituals as chris- changed and cannot develop and this is the point as- tening, the wedding ceremony, the funeral ceremony serted by the adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy. They

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strictly adhere to the major dogmata of Christianity ing in this earthly world bears no spiritual reality in itself. determined by priests during the initial period of Chris- Nevertheless, adherents of Russian Orthodoxy try to lead tianity and secured by the seven Ecumenical councils. a spiritual life with the help of rituals: as religious life is The Ecumenical councils have not modified the major not natural, but supernatural living, its major attribute is dogmata in any (even minor ways) for hundreds of disavowal of this world. This disavowal is far from being years. Otherwise, how can these major dogmata be passive, i.e. it is not considered as the purpose but as a transferred from generation to generation? They have means that helps Orthodox believers live a spiritual life in turned out to be an integral part of religious ceremonies the earthly world. whose meaning reflects the major Christian dogmata. Unlike Eastern Orthodox Christians, for adherents of In other words, in the Eastern Christian Orthodoxy Confucianism the whole of life is restricted to the earth- dogmata do not exist independently, but have become a ly world. Theoretically, Confucianism is also of a sacred constituent part of religious ceremonies. In addition, character. Heaven, earth and other similar concepts are every Orthodox Cathedral possesses some sacred cult- closely connected with the other world, but in reality objects and each of those objects is endowed with a adherents of Confucianism deal with the earthly life on- special religious meaning. One can think that, on the ly, as they have no system of rituals and Confucian eth- one hand, Orthodox theology does not exist inde- ics and moral have been politicized for a long time. pendently and is closely connected with the rituals; on There even exists such a point of view that the Confu- the other hand Orthodox rituals do not exist on their cianists who participate in the political life and conduct own and are closely connected with the Orthodox the- their political activities in accordance with the require- ology. ments of the Confucian moral are considered noble. Po- Thus, Orthodox believers have established an influ- liticization of religion took place in the history of East- ential and vigorous system of religious rituals thorough- ern Christian Orthodoxy also: one of the most important ly protected by both the Orthodox Church itself and by attributes of Orthodoxy is its close relationships with the every believer. When Orthodox believers speak of the state. Nevertheless, Orthodoxy managed to preserve its invariability and consistency of their religion, they speak independence from politics through official and compar- about the invariability of their religious rituals. The Or- atively independent rituals. thodox Christian Church service traditions descend from The past twenty years have been a period of revival Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles and consider many of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church in Russia and of its present day rituals (i.e. christening and commun- its major result is the wide spread of religious rituals. ion) to be introduced by Jesus Christ himself. Orthodox Present day religious rituals do not differ from those believers have been so zealous to assert the invariability belonging to the centuries-old traditions. The Church of their rituals that both Orthodox religion itself and the Slavonic language is still used when conducting cere- rituals of Orthodoxy have undergone practically no es- monies as before. Although some people suggested us- sential changes in the course of the past centuries. They ing modern Russian language instead of Church Slavon- are still almost the same as they were two thousand ic while conducting church services but this idea was not years ago. accepted, as the tradition of conducting Orthodox The major reasons for the 1054 break-up of Christi- Church services cannot be altered. anity into Catholicism and Orthodoxy were the estab- The politicization of Confucianism has led to tragic lishment and strengthening of the authority of the Pope consequences: on the one hand, this teaching ensured and the disagreement between these two branches on support for public order and political stability for more the point of view of the origin of God, the Holy Spirit. than two thousand years; on the other hand, after the The Holy Scripture asserts that He originates from Xinhai revolution of 1911, Confucianism ceased to God, the Father and God, the Son; but this point of exist due to the absence of its own independent system view was not shared by those who started practicing of rituals and the absence of the tradition of permanent Orthodox Christianity later. For religious people, these regular conduct of these rituals. In addition, it is im- problems are of a theoretical and practical nature. In possible to fully restore Confucian ceremonies in the the opinion of Orthodox believers, the above men- present day Chinese society as nobody makes any at- tioned reasons for the controversy are the infringe- tempt to do this: simple people have forgotten these ments of both Christian dogmata and changed Chris- ceremonies. One may say that due to the absence of rituals. sanctity, Confucian ceremonies are out of the historic Rituals and spiritual life of the Russian Ortho- arena and have lost their importance as a reference dox believers point forever. The religious life of Russian Orthodox believers is a Hegel came to the following conclusion: “Every- spiritual life aimed at familiarization with God. But God thing that belongs to the spirit, is theoretically and does not live on the earth, therefore one may say that spir- practically absolutely independent – ethics, moral, itual life does not exist in this world and the whole of liv- frame of mind, immanent religion, science, true arts –

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is very far from Confucianists” [Hegel, 2001, p. 137]. rituals. Common people, even if they have ever held Hegel’s opinion is quite correct if a spiritual life im- these books in their hands and read them, cannot glean plies a negative attitude towards life in the earthly anything from them for their spiritual needs. Research- world. Taoism that emerged in China does not teach its ers, on the other hands, consider Confucianism as a adherents to live a spiritual life either. In fact, adher- branch of knowledge and being shut within their pri- ents of Taoism aim to live in this world as long as pos- vate offices study with enthusiasm Confucian theories sible. In other words, Taoist dogmata are based on the that are detached from the life of common people as recognition of the earthly world and living in this well as from everyday life of these very researchers. In world. It is possible to say that Taoism opposes spirit such a way, Confucianism has turned into purely theo- and even religions, as religions and spirit are oriented retical knowledge separated from real life itself. to the other world. Buddhism, as a religion, undoubted- A human being is a spiritual creature and a human’s ly teach people to lead a spiritual way of living as with- major difference from animals is possessing spiritual in the Buddhist understanding this world is full of vain life. Forms of human spiritual life are most various. In activities and it certainly should be rejected. Neverthe- Western cultures, i.e. Russian culture, a human’s spir- less after Buddhism appeared in China it was perma- itual life includes his soul life and his religious life. But nently influenced by both Confucianism and Taoism religious life is only a part of human spiritual life. Cer- which resulted in its becoming more and more laicized, emonies that once played a very important role in the i.e. Buddhism found a compromise with the life of this lives of adherents of Confucianism served as a basis vain world. It was this compromise that has brought for Confucianists to lead their special spiritual lives. It many Chinese to Buddhism as their religion. is possible to say that Confucianism without the sup- But what is left of Confucianism in today’s China? port of its rituals cannot be called Confucianism in the Only classical literary works. Classical Confucian lit- true sense of this word. erary works have survived well till the present day and everyone, if he wants to, can read these books. But REFERENCES these classical works play no role in the spiritual life of 1. Hegel G.-W. F. History of Philosophy / Translated by people because they are not supported by a system of Wang Zaoshi. – Shanghai: Shanghai bookstore, 2001, p. 137.

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