Confucius (years of life and death - 551-479 BC) is a legendary thinker who educated entire nations. What do we know about him? Many judgments are in use: in Taoism this is a deity, the Chinese consider him the first professional teacher in their country, and the average layman knows him by quotes, the majority attributed to the thinker erroneously.
Which of this is true, but what is delusion? What role does the personality of Confucius actually play in his teaching? And what place is given to his instructions in modern China? A brief biography of the philosopher Confucius, his teachings and judgments became the subject of our review. So, let's begin.
The mystery of the name
Although the whole Western world knows the ancient philosopher under the name Confucius, in reality it, as in the case with many historical figures, is not a name.
The original name of the Chinese was Qiu - "Hill", he was also called Zhong-Ni, literally - "the second of clay." From ancient sources it is known that both of these options are indications of the origin of Confucius - supposedly his parents conceived him in a cave during his pilgrimage to the sacred clay hill, while Zhong-Ni was the second son in the family.
Why do we know Qiu under the name Confucius?
The European missionaries, who transmitted the Chinese phrase Kun Fu-tzu - āTeacher of the Kun clanā in their notes with the Latin word Confucius - are to blame for this confusion.
The origins
The path of Confucius began in the fall of 551 BC. e. near the city county of Qufu, in the family of an elderly military Shuliang He.
The genealogy of Confucius, studied in detail by ancient Chinese scholars, dates back to Wei Tzu from the noble Kun family - the ruler of the Zhou Dynasty, a loyal follower of the emperor Chen-wan, who received from the latter the reign (later becoming the kingdom) of Song and the title of prince.
The descendants of Wei Tzu, right up to the sixth generation ancestor of Confucius, Kun Fujia, were influential and served the emperors of ancient China, occupying high posts at court. However, as a result of the intrigues of another courtier, the Sung emperor Shang-gun, ascended to the throne by Fujia himself, was opposed to Kun, and he was soon killed. The emperor himself lasted a little longer - and Feng-gun became the king of the Song kingdom, the candidate for the throne behind the court intrigues.
Feng-gun appointed the court intriguer, Huang Da, as his first adviser, and the Kun family was persecuted, which forced them to flee to the neighboring kingdom of Lu.
Although the Kun clan lost its former influence, in a new place, the Fuji family began to manage Zouās small estate in Changping County, and Confucius āfather, Shu Lianghe, held the post of ruler of Zou. Qufu, near which Confucius spent his childhood, is a rather remote province at that time. How did the descendant of the illustrious warrior and ruler end up in this place?
Shu Lianghe, the father of Confucius, was married three times, due to difficulties with the birth of an heir. His last marriage was a scandal by the standards of that time - a bride from the family of Tsuyf nobility was much younger, and she married all older sisters. After the death of Shu Lianghe, Yan Zhenzai, the mother of Confucius, was forced to go to her homeland, in Qufu.
As the biography of Confucius tells (interesting facts from life, read further in our article), the philosopher by birth belonged to the Shi estate - during the reign of the Zhou Dynasty, it occupied a position between the aristocracy and the common people, and its representatives held administrative posts.
From childhood, Confucius, growing up in poverty, but striving to occupy a place worthy of a kind, earnestly engaged in self-education and in his youth he was appointed manager of barns, and then took the post of official responsible for livestock.
By this time, Confucius was already married - at the age of 19 he married Koanshi from the Qi clan.
Political career
Power in the kingdom of Lu was divided between three noble families - Ji, Ming and Shu.
The Ji family, in the service of which Confucius held secondary administrative posts, was the most influential of all three, and its ruler was something like a prime minister in the modern sense.
Confucius's mother died in 528 BC. e. - Following the tradition of commemoration of the departed, Confucius retired for three years and remained in mourning.
He spent this time comprehending ancient teachings and accumulating knowledge, which he later used to write a philosophical treatise on building a harmonious state. Then the views of Confucius changed, and radically.
At the age of 44, he was appointed manager of one of the residences of the kingdom of Lu, later on he also held the position of head of the judicial service, while already trying to spread his teachings.
Meanwhile, the era of the Zhou dynasty was coming to an end - the centralized system of power was falling apart, the emperor was losing authority, and local princes, on the contrary, were beginning to reach for power. The bulk of them did not belong to the aristocracy and was gaining in their service the same low-minded officials.
The departure from power
Those who erupted due to the feudal fragmentation of the war exhausted the state, and a period of prolonged decline began in China.
How did the last years of Confucius's life go? The philosopher, realizing his inability to influence the current state of affairs in the state, resigned and, surrounded by his students, went on a pilgrimage, the aim of which was to try to convey his ideas to the rulers of various kingdoms.
At the age of 60, Confucius returned to his homeland in Qufu, where until the end of his life he worked with his students to systematize the literary heritage - the āBook of Songsā by Shi-ching and the āBook of Changesā by I-ching. These works are still monuments of ancient Chinese literature. This is how the last years of Confuciusās life passed.
It is reliably known that Confucius is the author of only one work - the book "Spring and Autumn", all other information about the philosopher is drawn only from notes of his students and contemporaries. These tomes also formed the basis of the teachings of Confucius, as it has survived to this day.
Judgments and Conversations
This translates the name of one of the books written by the students of Confucius - "Lun Yu."
āLun Yuā - a collection of quotes from Confucius, dialogues with his participation, essays about his actions, which is part of the āFour Booksā - a set of texts that underlie Confucianism.
The Conversations ... reflected the vision of Confucius' vision of the problems surrounding him - the role of the state in the life of man and man in the structure of the state, the search for truth, self-improvement and restoration of the world order.
First of all, āLun Yuā is a collection of moral dogmas and principles dressed in poetic form.
In his rules, Confucius calls for adhering to traditions - respect for elders, and not only in the family, but also people of a higher position.
According to the wisdom of Confucius, everything in the universe has its place. The order of things on earth reflects the order of things in heaven, you only need to learn to understand and accept your place in this order without murmuring. Such representations were characteristic in general for all of China, and thanks to the teachings of Confucius, which gave such dogmas a new brilliance, similar traditionalism took on the outline of religion.
However, all this is not contained in the book in the form of organized teaching: āLun Yuā is primarily a collection of quotes, ideas, judgments and conversations of Confucius, which served as the basis for philosophical treatises of the founders of Confucianism.
Basics of Confucianism
In fact, the term "Confucianism" came not from the Chinese language, but from the West - in the homeland this teaching is known as the "school of enlightened people" or the "school of scientists"
Sometimes this teaching is regarded as a religion, despite the absence of the institution of the church, since it successfully performed its functions, penetrating the soul and forming the foundations of morality in a personās life.
The basis of philosophy is twenty-two things on which the worldview of each person should be based. Among them, five are distinguished: respect, justice, fidelity to customs, wisdom, trustworthiness.
Respect
Zhen - respect, generosity, kindness, the main of the five graces in the teachings of Confucius. The man who comprehended Zhen is in balance with the outside world - both with people and with inanimate objects.
The symbol is a tree.
Justice
And - justice.
Comprehended And a person does something based not on personal gain, but on the basis of awareness of the correctness of the chosen path. Comprehending And, a person learns to reject his egoism.
The symbol is metal.
Fidelity to customs
Lee is often simply translated as a āritual." Means worship, etiquette, decency.
Comprehending Lee, a person learns to use the rituals of behavior to bring himself and others closer to world unity. Leeās teaching provides insight into the role of man in society.
The symbol is fire.
Wisdom
Zhi - wisdom, intelligence, common sense. This is what distinguishes a rational person from a beast, noble from the base. Jiās teaching fights stupidity and stubbornness.
The symbol is water.
Loyalty
Sin is faith, reliability, sincerity. The man who comprehends Xin, acts at ease, well-intentioned, guided by good sincere thoughts.
The symbol is earth.
The spread of Confucianism
After the death of Confucius, the philosophical teachings of his followers began to form separate schools around themselves, according to various sources, by the 3rd century BC. e. there were from eight to ten, but exact information about many of them was not preserved.
Confucianism became the basis of state ideology during the Han Dynasty, Confucian morality and moral development standards entered the official ideology of the state and remained in that capacity until the beginning of the 20th century.
However, it would be wrong to attribute such a spread of doctrine to Confucius alone: āāa huge contribution to the formation and development of the so-called classical Confucianism was made by his student, Dongzhongshu, nicknamed for it "Han Confucius."
Representatives of the Dong Zhong-shu school used a creative approach to the works of Confucius, combining the work of various philosophical schools into a comprehensive doctrine, which later became the basis of the worldview of the whole state.
Thus, Confucianism became an integral part of the history of China - even after the communist regime came to power, verbally rejecting Confucianism as a teaching that impeded progress, but in fact it remained the main moral guideline.
The cult of Confucius itself developed much later. In the 1st century AD e. the so-called Confucian canon was formed. In addition to incorporating classical texts into the educational system and processing ancient texts, this process also led to the creation of the Confucius cult.
During the reign of the Tang Dynasty - VII-X centuries - Buddhism intervened in Chinese spiritual life, which had a significant impact on the economic and political life in the state. He also penetrated the teachings of the great philosopher ā through the activities of the eminent politician Han Yu, classical Confucianism was transformed into what is now commonly called neo-Confucianism.
The imperial ambitions of the European powers, in the 19th century, tearing China apart by cultural expansion, led to the most severe and protracted crisis in Chinese history. Cruel colonial policy ultimately led to the synthesis of Confucian thought and European culture.
True, a single teaching, as in the case of Buddhism, did not work out - a split was emerging in the development of Chinese philosophy. The main directions were: conservative Confucianism (in addition to the traditional interpretation of the teachings oriented toward Japan), liberal-Westernist (oriented toward the USA and rejecting the traditional view of Confucianism), radical Marxist (Russified, also rejecting traditional values), socio-political idealism (also - Sunyat-senism) and sociocultural idealism (which became the basis of modern neo-Confucianism).
Modern Confucianism
During the early formation of the PRC with Confucianism, as noted above, they tried to deal with it, and although this did not work out, the teachings still did not officially develop until the end of World War II.
After the war, Confucianism in China was partially revived by a group of philosophers and scientists who were actively working on ways to apply the teachings of Confucius to the realities of the mid-20th century.
A feature of the method of these thinkers was an attempt to repeat the experience of colonial times, this time voluntarily, and to combine the cultural trends of Western thought that were relevant for that time with classical Chinese philosophy. The result of their activities was published in 1958, "The manifesto of Chinese culture to the people of the world."
The latest branch in the teachings of Confucius formed in the 70s of the twentieth century in the United States. A group of Chinese scholars studying in the West, together with American Sinologists, created post-Confucianism, a direction that called for the renewal of traditional Confucian morality using the achievements of Western culture.
The teachings of Confucius, changing, but retaining their basic values, after more than two and a half thousand years of existence, went far beyond the framework of Chinese statehood and became one of the world ideologies, and most importantly, continued to serve people who are in search of their place in this world.