Confucianism
The teaching Confucius. Portrait by Wu Daozi, 685-758 CE, Tang Dynasty. Public domain.
Introduction
For someone who left no writings behind, Confucius sure is quoted a lot. There are hundreds of aphorisms (wise sayings or proverbs) and philosophical ideas are attributed to Confucius. Historians do not know which ideas are really his. After Confucius’ death, his followers put his teachings into work called The Analects, which means “Selected Sayings.” It lays out Confucius’ ethical system.
According to The Analects, Confucius did not believe he was creating new ideas. He claimed he was only a “transmitter” who was repeating ancient Chinese wisdom. History is a big part of Confucian beliefs. For Confucius, the key to an ideal society was in the past.
Confucius (551-479 BCE) was an educated man born to a wealthy family. He lived during a time of frequent wars and was very troubled by the unrest he saw. He developed his moral framework in order to help ease these problems. His teachings would make a huge impact on Chinese culture and government.
The Confucian solution
Confucius encouraged virtues such as loyalty, trustworthiness, and respecting your elders. He believed people were capable of attaining these virtues through education. They could then apply their knowledge to their private lives and to public political issues.
These virtues were instilled through rules and rituals. By living respectful and ethical lives, his followers believed they could become “superior” people. Confucius taught that people had to constantly reflect upon their behavior.
Initially, Confucian ideas appealed mostly to everyday folks. Over time, his philosophy became popular among politicians and became the official belief system of the Chinese state. Officials had to master Confucian principles to pass the exam needed for government employment. Because of this, Confucian ideas influenced Chinese government for centuries.
Confucianism did not call for harsh laws or punishments. It was less about punishing wrongdoers and more about making people want to be good.1
A Confucian ritual ceremony in Autumn in Jeju, South Korea. After the ritual ceremony, they burn ancestral tablets made of paper. By joonghijung, CC BY 2.0.
Confucianism and social order
The Confucian social order was centered on relationships. There were “five key relationships.” Importantly, these relationships were generally unequal. Fathers were above sons, husbands above wives, older siblings above younger ones, and rulers above their subjects. The last relationship, friend to friend, was equal. These relationships were complementary, which means that they worked in harmony.2 The side with more power had to behave morally, with concern for the other side. This would then help the inferior person in the relationship obey and respect the superior.
Fourteenth of The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars, a sculpture depicting a figure from a classic text of Confucian filial piety written by Guo Jujing during the Yuan dynasty (1260–1368 CE). By Dingar, public domain.
The family was the place where social order was created and maintained. The family was an example for the government. Filial piety, meaning respect and honor for elder family members, was incredibly important. It tied into existing practices, like the veneration (great respect) of ancestors.
These principles were clearly expressed in The Analects:
“1.9 Master Zeng said: Devote care to life’s end and pursue respect for the distant dead; in this way, the virtue of the people will return to fullness…”
In the Confucian family structure, men came first ahead of women. Women’s roles were primarily to care for the family and manage the household. They typically did not have formal roles outside of the home, though some lower-class women did have to work. Women were seen as passive, soft, and inferior compared to men.
Confucian ideas created social hierarchies, meaning that certain groups had more power than other groups. These ideas also emphasized compassion, however. The most superior person in society, the emperor, was obligated to ensure justice and provide for his subjects. The Analects said that a leader must “be attentive to affairs and trustworthy” and “treat persons as valuable.”
Despite this hierarchical structure, there was still social mobility under Confucianism. Common people could improve themselves and gain important positions through education and proper behavior.
Confucianism was therefore a belief system that was distinctly political. It was focused on maintaining order in relationships at many levels. It was less concerned with divine or spiritual issues. Confucius is said to have claimed that because humans have yet to understand this life, they can’t really know anything about what is beyond it. Little thought was given to concepts like heaven, hell, and reincarnation. Instead, Confucius and his followers focused on practical, worldly affairs, like maintaining harmony in family, government, and the community.
1 Legalism is a Chinese philosophy that also sought to maintain order in society. Legalists taught that in order to achieve stability people must obey a set of strict laws that were enforced by rulers and government officials they also had to obey. The last article in this jigsaw discusses this philosophy in more depth.
2 Confucianism stressed the importance of complementary relationships. Complementary meaning harmonious or each side contributes to the overall balance of the whole. This idea of balance can also be seen in the concept of the yin and yang, where two, sometimes opposing, forces can come together in harmony.
Sources
Bulliet, Richard W. The Earth and Its Peoples : A Global History. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.
Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources; Volume 2: Since the Fifteenth Century. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2019.
Tignor, Robert L. Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: [A History of the World]. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2011.
Eman M. Elshaikh
The author of this article is Eman M. Elshaikh. She is a writer, researcher, and teacher who has taught K-12 and undergraduates in the United States and in the Middle East. She teaches writing at the University of Chicago, where she also completed her master’s in social sciences and is currently pursuing her PhD. She was previously a World History Fellow at Khan Academy, where she worked closely with the College Board to develop curriculum for AP World History.
Image credits
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following:
Cover: Silk painting (probably Sung Dynasty) showing Chinese philosopher & teacher Confucius lecturing students in the Classics of Filial Piety around 500 BC. © Photo by Howard Sochurek/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images.
The teaching Confucius. Portrait by Wu Daozi, 685-758 CE, Tang Dynasty. Public domain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius#/media/File:Confucius_Tang_Dynasty.jpg
A Confucian ritual ceremony in Autumn in Jeju, South Korea. After the ritual ceremony, they burn ancestral tablets made of paper. By joonghijung, CC BY 2.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism#/media/File:Korean_Confucianism-Chugyedaeje-02.jpg
Fourteenth of The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars, a sculpture depicting a figure from a classic text of Confucian filial piety written by Guo Jujing during the Yuan dynasty (1260–1368 CE). By Dingar, public domain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism#/media/File:%E5%B0%9D%E7%B2%AA%E5%BF%83%E5%BF%A7.JPG
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