CONFUCIANISM
Caution: Although the information on this page was derived from
reliable sources, it has not yet been reviewed by a group familiar with the
faith.
History
K'ung Fu Tzu (commonly pronounced Confucius in English) was born in 551 BCE
in the state of Lu (modern day Shantung Province). He lived during the Chou
dynasty, and era known for its moral laxity. Later in life, he wandered
through many states of China, giving advice to their rulers. He accumulated
a small band of students during this time. The last years of his life were
spent back in Lu, where he devoted himself to teaching.
His writings deal primarily with individual morality and ethics, and the
proper exercise of political power by the rulers.
In China, and some other areas in Asia, the social ethics and moral
teachings of Confucius are blended with the Taoist
communion with nature and Buddhist concepts of
the afterlife, to form a set of complementary, peacefully co-existent and
ecumenical religions.
There are approximately 6 million Confucians in the world. About 26,000 live
in North America; almost all of the remainder are found throughout China and
the rest of Asia.
Beliefs:
Confucian ethical teachings include the following values:
- Li: respect and religious ritual
- Hsiao: love within the family: love of parents for their children
and of children for their parents
- Yi: reciprocity among friends and honesty in business
transactions
- Jen: kindness and benevolence towards strangers
- Chung: loyalty to the state, coupled with elementary democracy
within the village
Practices:
Confucianism does not contain all of the elements of some other religions,
like Christianity and Islam. It is primarily an ethical system to which
rituals at important times during one's lifetime have been added.
Since the time of the Han dynasty (206 CE) four life passages have been
recognized and regulated by Confucian tradition:
- birth: The T'ai-shen (spirit of the fetus) protects the
expectant woman and deals harshly with anyone who harasses the mother to be.
A special procedure is followed when the placenta is disposed of. The mother
is given a special diet and is allowed rest for a month after delivery.
The mother's family of origin supplies all the items required by the baby on
the first, fourth and twelfth monthly anniversary of the birth.
- reaching maturity: This life passage is no longer being
celebrated, except in traditional families. It takes the form of a group
meal in which the young adult is served chicken.
- marriage: This is performed in six stages:
- Proposal: the couple exchange the eight characters: the year,
month, day and hour of each of their births. If any unpropitious event
occurs within the bride-to-be's family during the next three days, then
the woman is believed to have rejected the proposal.
- Engagement: after the wedding day is chosen, the bride announces the
wedding with invitations and a gift of cookies made in the shape of the moon.
- Dowry: This is carried to the groom's home in a solemn procession. The
bride-price is then sent to the bride by the groom's parents. Gifts by the
groom to the bride, equal in value to the dowry, are sent to her.
- Procession: The groom visits the bride's home and brings her back to
his place, with much fanfare.
- Marriage and Reception: The couple recite their vows, toast each other
with wine, and then take center stage at a banquet.
- Morning after: The bride serves breakfast to the groom's parents, who
then reciprocate.
- death: At death, the relatives cry out aloud to inform the
neighbors. The family starts mourning and puts on clothes made of a course
material. The corpse is washed and placed in a coffin. Mourners bring
incense and money to offset the cost of the funeral. Food and significant
objects of the deceased are placed into the coffin. A Buddhist or Taoist
priest (or even a Christian minister) performs the burial ritual. Friends
and family follow the coffin to the cemetery, along with a willow branch
which symbolizes the soul of the person who has died. The latter is carried
back to the family altar where it is used to "install" the spirit of the
deceased. Liturgies are performed on the 7th, 9th, 49th day after the
burial and on the first and third anniversaries of the death.
Schools of Confucianism
There are six schools: Han Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, Contemporary
Neo-Confucianism, Korean Confucianism, Japanese Confucianism and
Singapore Confucianism.
Sacred Texts
These were assembled by Chu Hsi (1130-1200 BCE) during the Sung
dynasty. They include:
- The Si Shu or Four Books:
- The Lun Yu the Analects of Confucius
- The Chung Yung or the Doctrine of the Mean
- The Ta Hsueh or the Great Learning
- The Meng Tzu the writings of Meng Tzu (371-289 BCE) a philosopher
who, like Confucius, traveled from state to state conversing with the
government rulers
- The Wu Jing or Five Classics:
- Shu Ching or Classic of History: writings and speeches
from ancient Chinese rulers
- The Shih Ching or Classic of Odes: 300 poems and songs
- The I Ching or Classic of Changes: the description of a divinitory
system involving 64 hexagrams. The hexagrams are symbols composed of broken
and continuous lines; one is selected to foretell the future based on the
casting of 49 sticks.
- The Ch'un Ch'iu or Spring and Autumn Annals: a history of the
state of Lu from 722 to 484 BCE.
- The Li Ching or Classic of Rites: a group of three books
on the LI the rites of propriety
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References
- H.G. Creel, "Confucius and the Chinese Way", Harper, New York
- P.J. Ivanhoe, "Confucian Moral Self Cultivation", Peter Lang,
New York (1993).
- J.R. Hinnells, "The Penguin Dictionary of Religions", Penguin
Books, New York (1984), P. 94-96
- J.R. Hinnells, "A Handbook of Living Religions", Penguin
Books, New York (1985), P. 344-364
- A WWW site which contains a bibliography of books on Confucianism is at:
gopher://cougar.cc.oxy.edu:70/00/Bibliographies/Chinese%20Philosophy/Bibliography%20of%20Some%20Major%20Works%20on%20Confucian%20Philosophy.
- A site dealing with Chinese philosophy, which contains many links to
other Confucian sites is at:
http:www.monash.edu.au/cc/staff/sas/sab/WWW/index.html
This page also contains:
- Some of the Si Shu or The Four Books
- Some of the Wu Jing or Five Classics
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