Confucius: The Sage of Chinese Thought
Confucius lived between 551 and 479 BC during the late years of the Spring and Autumn Period of China. He was a great thinker, educa- tor and statesman as well as one of the most learned people at that time. Later generations honored him as “the sage of sages” and “the teacher of all ages”.
Confucius was the founder of Confucianism, a school of moral doc- trine that encourages “justice” and “peace”. Confucianism had a key influence on later generations and became the core of Chinese feudal culture, representing the Chinese cultural spirit.
The social philosophical ideals of the Zhou Dynasty are the funda- mental base of Confucian values. Confucius sorted out the books and records of the Xia and Shang dynasties, and reflected on the Zhou cul- ture, which initiated the broad themes and structure of the Confucian philosophy. His discussions with his disciples were recorded into books like the Analects of Confucius.
Confucius was the first person in Chinese history to begin private education, bringing the access to knowledge learning, a privilege pre- viously enjoyed by aristocrats, to the general public. The principle of “providing education for all people without discrimination” first pro- posed by him advocated that anyone, rich or poor, was entitled to education from him. Confucius adopted the teaching method of “educating someone according to his natural ability”and “heuristic education”. Meanwhile, he was tireless in teaching others and fostered good learn- ing habits in his students. It is said that Confucius educated a total of 3,000 disciples, 72 of whom were outstanding ones. Therefore, the rich traditional Chinese culture have been promoted and inherited.
In order to realize his political propositions, Confucius kept on fighting for the restoring of the ideal social order in spite of all setbacks. At the age of 55, leading his disciples, he went on a lobbying tour in various states to promote his political beliefs. Although his thoughts were not accepted, he did not give up. For over thousands of years, his qualities of integrity, optimism and persistence have been causing a far- reaching impact on the Chinese people, especially the intellectuals.
The World Heritage Committee hailed Confucius as “a great phi- losopher, statesman and educator of the Spring and Autumn Period of China during the 6th and 5th century BC”. Nowadays, more and more people around the world are beginning to understand Confucius and the culture of Confucianism, with the establishment of one Confucius Institute after another. Confucius is ranked the 5th of “the 100 most influential people in history”, indicating the great influence he had on China and the world as a whole.
Confucius was buried near the Sishui River in the north of Qufu City of Shandong Province, where the Cemetery of Confucius is today.
Laozi, Zhuangzi and the Taoist Philosophy
Laozi, also known Lao Tzu, is considered the founder of Taoism. Dao De Jing (Classic of Virtue of the Tao), or Tao Te Ching, written by Laozi, has only 5, 000 Chinese characters, but covers a wide range of subjects from the metaphysics of Dao (Tao, or the Way), the wisdom of life, cosmology, to ontology. People are supposed to learn the wisdom of life in general, Laozi theorizes and brings forward philosophical ideas on politics, sociology, and interpersonal relationships. Yet the focus is not on the creation of civilization, but rather on selfcultivation. Laozi’s thoughts are basically social philosophy and theories based on Dao, but he is not interested in creating a new and ideal society, because that is not the way of the Dao.
Zhuangzi is the most important theoretical innovator of Taoism since Laozi. Basically speaking, Taoism has two basic genres based on Laozi’s and Zhuangzi’s theories. What is most distinctively different about Zhuangzi’s philosophy from that of Laozi’s is that he elaborates on the relationships between man and nature and the creativity of hu- man beings in terms of intelligence, cognitive ability, and human en- ergy. Based on his understanding of Dao, Zhuangzi also presents his ideas on self-cultivation and how to live successfully in the world.
Mencius: The Promoter of Confucian Benevolence
Mencius, also known by his birth name Meng Ke, was from the State of Lu of the Warring States Period. He was a follower of Confu- cius’ thoughts and respected as “the second sage” by later generations.
Mencius was a pupil of Zisi and he traveled across various states like Qi, Lu, Wei, Teng, and Song, etc. on learning tours. At one time, he served as an official under King Xuan of Qi. Due to different opinions with King Xuan of Qi, Mencius returned to Zou County and concen- trated on studies.
Based on “the policy of benevolence” and “ruling country with virtue” in Confucianism, Mencius advocated that in the constitution of a state, “the people rank the highest, the land and grain comes next, and the ruler counts the least”. He held that all people were innately good and education should be adequately used to promote the civilization of society and he called for the improvement of relations between the em- peror and his people within a certain limit.
Mencius’ main book is The Mencius, which he composed with his disciples Wan Zhang and Gongsun Chou etc. in his later years.
The Four Books and the Five Classics: Pillars of Chinese Classical Learning
Chinese classic texts refer to the pre-Qin Chinese texts, especially the Confucian Four Books and Five Classics. All of these pre-Qin text were written in classical Chinese. They can be referred to as jing.
More broadly speaking, Chinese classic texts may refer to texts, be they written in vernacular Chinese or in classical Chinese that ex- isted before 1912, when the Qing Dynasty fell. These can include shi, zi, philosophical works belonging to schools of thought other than the Confucian, but also works of agriculture, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, divination, art criticism, and all sorts of miscellaneous writings and ji, literary works as well as jing.
In the Ming and the Qing dynasties, the Four Books and the Five Classics, Chinese classic texts chosen by Song Dynasty Neo- Confucianist Zhu Xi, were the subject of mandatory study by those Confucian scholars who wished to become government officials. Any political discussion was full of references to this background, and one could not be one of the literati, or even a military officer, without knowing them. Generally, children first studied the Chinese characters with rote memorization of the Three-character Scripture and One Hundred Family Names, then went on to memorize the other classics, in order to ascend in the social hierarchy.
The Four Books
- Great Learning
- Doctrine of the Mean
- Analects of Confucius
- Mencius
The Five Classics
- Classic of Changes
- Classic of Poetry
- Classic of Rites
- Classic of History
- Spring and Autumn Annals
