Confucianism

Definition
Confucianism is the relig i on of the anc i ent Ch i nese, named after
the great philosopher Confucius who appeared in the sixth century B.C
calling for the revival of the religious values and traditions that
the Chinese had inherited from their forefathers. To these values, he
added his own philosophy and moral valuesleading to sound behaviour .
Although Confucianism became the official ideology of the Chinese
state, it has never existedas an established religion with a church
and priesthood.
Prominent Figures
Confucius is regarded as t he real founder of this Chinese philosophy.
He was born in 551 B.C. in Tsou, one of the cities of the Lu
principality (n ow called Shantung province). Originally, hewas called
' Kung Futze '; 'Kung' isthe name of the tribe to which he belong ed
and 'Futze ' means the president or the philosopher .
Thus, his name meant the 'President of Kung ' or the philosopher of
that tribe. Confucius belonged to a very aristocratic family which had
deep roots and a respected history in that area. His grandfather was
ruler of the province a nd his father was an excellent military
officer. Nevertheless, he himself was the offspring of an illegal
marriage and his father died before he wasthree, leaving his up
bringing to his mother.
Thus, he l i ved as an orphan, worked as a shepherd and married at an
e arly ag e before twenty. He had two children, a boy and a girl, but
his wife was not able to con tinue living with him for more than two
years due to his met iculous manners with regard to food, drinks and
clothing, so they divorced.
Confucius studied philosophy with a man by the name of Professor
Laotse who believed in contentment and absolute tolerance.
Nevertheless, Confucius disagreed with his professor later on when the
latter called for 'an eye for an eye'to maintain justice.
At the age of twenty-two, he established a school for studying the
essence of philosophy. His students increased in number till they
reached three thousand.
Confucius, confident in his ability to reorder society, held a
numberof important jobs: he worked as a consultant to princes and
governors, was appointed judge and governor, minister of labour,
minister of justice and finally prime minister in 496 B.C. In his
capacity as prime minister, he sentenced some ex-ministers,
politicians and riot-makers to death, thus making his province ideal
with regard to applying his philosophical values and ideas.
Later, Confucius devoted his time to making trips to the various
cities and towns of China, offering wisdom and consultation to the
rulers and inviting people to adopt his values and traditions.
Finally, he resorted to his province Lu wherehe devoted most of his
time to teaching his friends, summarising the books of the ancients
and introducing them tothe people. He died in 479 B.C. at the age of
seventy-three.
The Basic Beliefs of Confucianism with Regard to God, Angels and the
Spirits of their Ancestors
God: Confucianists believe in many gods, though it is said that they
believe in the great God, the Lord of Heaven whom they worship and to
whom they offer sacrifices. However, these sacrifices are to be
submitted through the mediation of the king or the princes of the
different governorates. The earth also has a god that is worshippedby
all the Chinese, as do the sun, the moon, the stars, the clouds and
the mountains, and to each sacrifices are to be offered.
Angels occupy a very high position in the Chinese religion; they are
consecrated and sacrifices are offered to them as well.
The spirits of the ancestors are also consecrated by the Chinese: They
believe in the immortality ofthese spirits and that they never die
with the death of the bodies. The sacrifices offered to these spirits
are given at celebrations where large banquets are extended,
accompanied by music to help the spirits rejoice and feelhappy. In
every house, there is a small temple for the spirits of thedead and
the gods of the householders.
Confucianism does not believe in the Hereafter, Paradise or Hell, nor
does it accept any belief in Resurrection. Confucianists are mainly
concerned with improvingtheir life affairs with no regard for the
destiny of the soul after leaving the body. One of the disciples once
asked Confucius about death, Confucius answeredsuccinctly: "We haven't
yet finished studying life to delve into the question of death."
Confucianism is mainly concernedwith moral values, which form the
cornerstone of its philosophy and the basis of its religion. It tends
to teach the individual to absorb these values until they become part
and parcel of his very being.
These values can be materialised in absolute obedience to
parents,elder brothers and rulers. These moral values also include
sincerity to friends, refusal to cause any harm to others even in
words, identical harmony between words and deeds, rejection of
hypocrisy, care for common interests, encouraging beneficial arts,
sympathising withforeigners and working for the common welfare of the
princes and the common people of the empire.
There was, however, another sideto Confucianism. Confucius not only
stressed social rituals (Li), but also humaneness (Ren).
'Ren',sometimes translated as love or kindness, is believed to be the
source of all virtues. The Chinese character represents the potential
to live together humanely rather than scrapping like birds or beasts.
Areas Where Confucianism Spread
Confucianism started in China butin 1949 when China adopted a
Communist regime, Confucianismwas prohibited by the force of law like
all other religions. Therefore, it spread to other places like Korea
and Japan where it is studied in universities.Confucianism was
welcomed by western philosophers like Lipnze (1646-1716) and Peter
Noyel who later published a book about this system of Chinese
Philosophy.