They argue that voters tend to act in irrational, tribal, short-termist ways; they are vulnerable to populism and struggle to account for the interests of future generations. Strictly speaking, there is no term in Chinese which directly corresponds to "Confucianism". The literature opposes those who prefer evaluation by peers to evaluation by superiors, with some thinkers including quasi-democratic selection mechanisms along the way. Tseng, Roy (2020). Loyalty (, zhng) is particularly relevant for the social class to which most of Confucius's students belonged, because the most important way for an ambitious young scholar to become a prominent official was to enter a ruler's civil service. All these duties take the practical form of prescribed rituals, for instance wedding and death rituals.[44]. First published Tue May 20, 2008; substantive revision Mon Oct 3, 2022. While juniors are considered in Confucianism to owe their seniors reverence, seniors also have duties of benevolence and concern toward juniors. This represents 0.09% of the world's population, or slightly less than 1%. The Master replied, "What is necessary to rectify names." [14] Y (; ) is the upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition to do good. 11th century bce), who was said to have helped consolidate, expand, and refine the feudal ritual system. About 7% of the world's population are true Confucianism followers. "You are wide off the mark! As the potential leader of a nation, a son of the ruler is raised to have a superior ethical and moral position while gaining inner peace through his virtue. In the late twentieth century, the Confucian work ethic has been credited with the rise of the East Asian economy. A global perspective is needed to universalize its concerns. In later dynasties, a number of women took advantage of the Confucian acknowledgment of education to become independent in thought. "[112] Bell and Wang argue that this combination conserves the main advantages of democracyinvolving the people in public affairs at the local level, strengthening the legitimacy of the system, forcing some degree of direct accountability, etc.while preserving the broader meritocratic character of the regime. Confucianism - Transformation since the 19th century [114] Jiang's aim is to construct a legitimacy that will go beyond what he sees as the atomistic, individualist, and utilitarian ethos of modern democracies and ground authority in something sacred and traditional. Where Is Confucianism Today Theblogy.com (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963), 159. It focuses on innate human goodness and the importance of interpersonal human relationships. The name Confucius, a Latinized combination of the surname Kong with an honorific suffix "Master" ( fuzi ), has also come to be . The conflict created a need for new political models to solve the crisis. [30] Individuals may realise their humanity and become one with Heaven through the contemplation of such order. said the share of the world's population living in autocracies had risen from . He was educated in Shang-Zhou theology, which he contributed to transmit and reformulate giving centrality to self-cultivation and agency of humans,[3] and the educational power of the self-established individual in assisting others to establish themselves (the principle of irn, "loving others"). [132] He praised Confucian ethics and politics, portraying the sociopolitical hierarchy of China as a model for Europe.[132]. Its implementation enabled the Western Zhou dynasty to survive in relative peace and prosperity for more than five centuries. He found order and understanding in his . Confucian thinkers in the West, inspired by religious pluralism and liberal democratic ideas, have explored the possibility of a third epoch of Confucian humanism. This view was reinforced by Pope Benedict XIV, who ordered a ban on Chinese rituals,[158] though this ban was re-assessed and repealed in 1939 by Pope Pius XII, provided that such traditions harmonize with the true and authentic spirit of the liturgy.[159]. US Religion Census Maps Changing Churches, Declining Denominations In 3.12, he explains that religious rituals produce meaningful experiences,[47] and one has to offer sacrifices in person, acting in presence, otherwise "it is the same as not having sacrificed at all". Just as Rawls claims that economic inequality is justified so long as it benefits those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, so Bai argues that political inequality is justified so long as it benefits those materially worse off. Updates? [6] They may be practiced by all the members of a society. Going beyond the Master, they theorised the oneness of production and reabsorption into the cosmic source, and the possibility to understand and therefore reattain it through meditation. [121] In fact, both Daniel Bell and Tongdong Bai hold that Confucian political meritocracy can tackle challenges that liberalism wants to tackle, but cannot by itself. Since the surviving line of the Zhou kings continued to be recognized in name, they still managed to exercise some measure of symbolic control. Bell and Wang favour a system in which officials at the local level are democratically elected and higher-level officials are promoted by peers. The population had lost faith in the official tradition, which was no longer perceived as an effective way to communicate with Heaven. If the ruler is evil, then the people have the right to overthrow him. Confucianismincluding the most pro-authoritarian scholars such as Xunzihas always recognised the Right of revolution against tyranny. At the political level, the non-democratic side of political meritocracy isfor Bell and Baimore efficient at addressing long-term questions such as climate change, in part because the meritocrats do not have to worry about the whims of public opinion. There are approximately 6.1 million followers of Confucianism worldwide. Corrections? Against defenders of political meritocracy, Tseng claims that the fusion of Confucian and democratic institutions can conserve the best of both worlds, producing a more communal democracy which draws on a rich ethical tradition, addresses abuses of power, and combines popular accountability with a clear attention to the cultivation of virtue in elites. [29][30] The principle of Heaven (L or Do ), is the order of the creation and the source of divine authority, monistic in its structure. Some of the basic Confucian ethical concepts and practices include rn, y, and l, and zh. In later ages, however, emphasis was often placed more on the obligations of the ruled to the ruler, and less on the ruler's obligations to the ruled. Although only 2% are adherents of Christianity, it is becoming a popular alternative. Spotlight on Other Religions The "other religions" category is diverse and comprises all groups not classified elsewhere. Such duties are also extended to the dead, where the living stand as sons to their deceased family. Hicks, George. Tongdong Bai, for instance, argues that while Confucian political thought departs from the "one person, one vote" model, it can conserve many of the essential characteristics of liberalism, such as freedom of speech and individual rights. Roger T. Ames and Henry Rosemont, Jr.. During the Han dynasty (206BCE 220CE), Confucian approaches edged out the "proto-Taoist" HuangLao as the official ideology, while the emperors mixed both with the realist techniques of Legalism.[4]. The junzi (, jnz, "lord's son") is a Chinese philosophical term often translated as "gentleman" or "superior person"[69] and employed by Confucius in the Analects to describe the ideal man. An estimated 5 to 6 million people follow Confucianism worldwide. The scholarly tradition envisioned by Confucius can be traced to the sage-kings of antiquity. The scholar Yao Xinzhong allows that there are good reasons to believe that Confucian classics took shape in the hands of Confucius, but that "nothing can be taken for granted in the matter of the early versions of the classics". The same is true with the husband and wife relationship where the husband needs to show benevolence towards his wife and the wife needs to respect the husband in return. Analects. Partly because of the vitality of the feudal ritual system and partly because of the strength of the royal household itself, the Zhou kings were able to control their kingdom for several centuries. [162][163] But using a broader definition, such as Frederick Streng's characterisation of religion as "a means of ultimate transformation",[164] Confucianism could be described as a "sociopolitical doctrine having religious qualities. [44] The Confucian classic Xiaojing ("Book of Piety"), thought to be written around the Qin-Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of xio. In more general terms, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors; to perform the duties of one's job well so as to obtain the material means to support parents as well as carry out sacrifices to the ancestors; not be rebellious; show love, respect and support; the wife in filial piety must obey her husband absolutely and take care of the whole family wholeheartedly. This practice is defined as "centring" ( yng or zhng). Many of these Confucians suffered and sometimes died because of their conviction and action. By Confuciuss time, however, the feudal ritual system had been so fundamentally undermined that the political crises also precipitated a profound sense of moral decline: the centre of symbolic control could no longer hold the kingdom, which had devolved from centuries of civil war into 14 feudal states. [74] While the Shang identified Shangdi as their ancestor-god to assert their claim to power by divine right, the Zhou transformed this claim into a legitimacy based on moral power, the Mandate of Heaven. In accordance with the Master, they identified mental tranquility as the state of Tian, or the One ( Y), which in each individual is the Heaven-bestowed divine power to rule one's own life and the world. The individual stands simultaneously in several different relationships with different people: as a junior in relation to parents and elders, and as a senior in relation to younger siblings, students, and others. Both the theory and practice of Confucianism have indelibly marked the patterns of government, society, education, and family of East Asia. The fact that traditional ways had lost vitality did not, for him, diminish their potential for regeneration in the future. ", Volume I: The Ancient Eurasian World and the Celestial Pivot, Volume II: Representations and Identities of High Powers in Neolithic and Bronze China, Volume III: Terrestrial and Celestial Transformations in Zhou and Early-Imperial China, "The Religiousness of "Confucianism" and the Revival of Confucian Religion in China Today", "Kang Youwei: The Martin Luther of Confucianism and His Vision of Confucian Modernity and Nation", "To Inherit the Ancient Teachings of Confucius and Mencius and Establish Modern Confucianism", "The Civil Theology of Confucius' "Tian" Symbol", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry: Confucius, Oriental Philosophy, "Topic:Confucianism", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Confucianism&oldid=1152735062, This page was last edited on 2 May 2023, at 00:15. Confucius envisioned proper government being guided by the principles of li. [78] Cultures in other parts of the world have also conceived these stars or constellations as symbols of the origin of things, the supreme godhead, divinity and royal power. "[141] Matthew Sommers has also indicated that the Qing dynasty government began to realise the utopian nature of enforcing the "cult of chastity" and began to allow practices such as widow remarrying to stand. Confucianism, a Western term that has no counterpart in Chinese, is a worldview, a social ethic, a political ideology, a scholarly tradition, and a way of life. [149][150][151] Many traditional commentators and modern scholars have debated over the precise meaning of the passage, and whether Confucius referred to all women or just certain groups of women. In 9.5 Confucius says that a person may know the movements of the tin, and this provides with the sense of having a special place in the universe. [87], In 2005, the Center for the Study of Confucian Religion was established,[86] and guoxue started to be implemented in public schools on all levels. In the late Tang, Confucianism developed in response to Buddhism and Taoism and was reformulated as Neo-Confucianism. The traditions of the ("Nine Fields") and of the Yijing flourished. China's latest attempt to rally the world against Western values Although transformed over time, it is still the substance of learning, the source of values, and the social code of the Chinese. The State of Religion in China If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. [43] Rather it is similar to what Taoists meant by Dao: "the way things are" or "the regularities of the world",[40] which Stephan Feuchtwang equates with the ancient Greek concept of physis, "nature" as the generation and regenerations of things and of the moral order. "[32], Confucianism conciliates both the inner and outer polarities of spiritual cultivation, that is to say self-cultivation and world redemption, synthesised in the ideal of "sageliness within and kingliness without". [141], Joseph A. Adler points out that "Neo-Confucian writings do not necessarily reflect either the prevailing social practices or the scholars' own attitudes and practices in regard to actual women. This may be true especially in times of social chaos, such as during the period of the Ming-Qing transition. [126] Baogang He and Mark Warren add that "meritocracy" should be understood as a concept describing a regime's character rather than its type, which is determined by distribution of political poweron their view, democratic institutions can be built which are meritocratic insofar as they favour competence.[127]. What does Tian say?") Although often grouped with the major historical religions, Confucianism differs from them by not being an organized religion. They hold the power to define the hierarchy of divinities, by bestowing titles upon mountains, rivers and dead people, acknowledging them as powerful and therefore establishing their cults. [50] Feuchtwang explains that the difference between Confucianism and Taoism primarily lies in the fact that the former focuses on the realisation of the starry order of Heaven in human society, while the latter on the contemplation of the Dao which spontaneously arises in nature. Between 742 and 1200, the population of north China grew by 58 percent, while it doubled or tripled in the south. Confucianism regards texts such as the Five Classics as examples that should be followed to increase the harmony of the family, social order as a whole, and the world. Confucius includes in his discussions of li such diverse topics as learning, tea drinking, titles, mourning, and governance. Confucius believed that social disorder often stemmed from failure to perceive, understand, and deal with reality. Confucianism Though not formally recognized as a religion by the Chinese government, Confucianism has had an undeniable impact on Chinese history and culture since its conception by the Chinese philosopher Confucius around 479 BC. In 8.19, he says that the lives of the sages are interwoven with Tin. Some critics view Confucianism as definitely pantheistic and nontheistic, in that it is not based on the belief in the supernatural or in a personal god existing separate from the temporal plane. In the later dynasties, more emphasis was placed on the virtue of chastity. [4], With particular emphasis on the importance of the family and social harmony, rather than on an otherworldly source of spiritual values,[5] the core of Confucianism is humanistic. Confucianism - The Analects as the embodiment of Confucian ideas "[57] Confucius also said, "rn is not far off; he who seeks it has already found it." While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, filial piety has been common to almost all of them; historian Hugh D.R. These stories depict how children exercised their filial piety in the past. John C. Didier and David Pankenier relate the shapes of both the ancient Chinese characters for Di and Tian to the patterns of stars in the northern skies, either drawn, in Didier's theory by connecting the constellations bracketing the north celestial pole as a square,[77] or in Pankenier's theory by connecting some of the stars which form the constellations of the Big Dipper and broader Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor (Little Dipper). [89], Other forms of revival are salvationist folk religious movements[90] groups with a specifically Confucian focus, or Confucian churches, for example the Yidan xuetang () of Beijing,[91] the Mengmutang () of Shanghai,[92] Confucian Shenism ( Rzng Shnjio) or the phoenix churches,[93] the Confucian Fellowship ( Rjio Dotn) in northern Fujian which has spread rapidly over the years after its foundation,[93] and ancestral temples of the Kong kin (the lineage of the descendants of Confucius himself) operating as Confucian-teaching churches.[92]. [31], According to the scholar Stephan Feuchtwang, in Chinese cosmology, which is not merely Confucian but shared by all Chinese religions, "the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy" (hundun and qi ), organising through the polarity of yin and yang which characterises any thing and life. As a whole, this group is expected to grow from about 58 million in 2010 to more than 61 million in 2050. [84] Confucius amended and recodified the classical books inherited from the Xia-Shang-Zhou dynasties, and composed the Spring and Autumn Annals. [88] Kang modeled his ideal "Confucian Church" after European national Christian churches, as a hierarchic and centralised institution, closely bound to the state, with local church branches, devoted to the worship and the spread of the teachings of Confucius. [111] For Bell, the ideal according to which China should reform itself (and has reformed itself) follows a simple structure: Aspiring rulers first pass hyper-selective examinations, then have to rule well at the local level to be promoted to positions as the provincial level, then have to excel at the provincial level to access positions at the national level, and so on. Confucianism advocates love with distinctionsone always loves one's family first and then moves outward. In fact, Confuciuss sense of history was so strong that he saw himself as a conservationist responsible for the continuity of the cultural values and the social norms that had worked so well for the idealized civilization of the Western Zhou dynasty. The. A key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one must first govern oneself according to the universal order. At the cultural level, for instance, Confucianism, its institutions, and its rituals offer bulwarks against atomization and individualism. First is raw efficiency, which may require centralized rule in the hands of the competent few. Confucianism | Meaning, History, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica While contemporary defenders of Confucian political meritocracy all accept this broad frame, they disagree with each other on three main questions: institutional design, the means by which meritocrats are promoted, and the compatibility of Confucian political meritocracy with liberalism. The practice of meritocracy still exists across China and East Asia today, and a wide range of contemporary intellectualsfrom Daniel Bell to Tongdong Bai, Joseph Chan, and Jiang Qingdefend political meritocracy as a viable alternative to liberal democracy. He had faith in the cumulative power of culture. His journey into the past was a search for roots, which he perceived as grounded in humanitys deepest needs for belonging and communicating. "Explaining the Success of the Four Little Dragons: A Survey."
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