Confucius (Chinese Chinese or the Sinitic language (汉语／漢語 Hànyǔ; 华语／華語 Huáyǔ; 中文 Zhōngwén) is a language family consisting of languages which are mostly mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages: 孔 子; pinyin Pinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin (汉语拼音 / 漢語拼音), is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin (标准普通话 / 標準普通話). Hànyǔ (汉语 / 漢語) means the Chinese language, and pīnyīn (拼音) means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or ": Kǒng zǐ; Wade-Giles Wade–Giles was the only system of transcription in the English-speaking world for most of the 20th century, used in several standard reference books and in all books about China published before 1979. It replaced the Nanjing-based romanization systems that had been common until late in the 19th century. It has mostly been replaced by the pinyin: K'ung-tzu, or Chinese: 孔夫子; pinyin: Kǒng Fūzǐ; Wade-Giles: K'ung-fu-tzu), literally "Master Kong,"^[1] (traditionally September 28, 551 BCE Common Era, abbreviated as CE, is one of the designations for the world's most commonly used year-numbering system. The numbering of years using Common Era notation is identical to the numbering used with Anno Domini notation, 2010 being the current year in both notations and neither using a year zero. Common Era is also known as Christian Era and – 479 BCE)^[2][3] was a Chinese China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity thinker and social philosopher Eastern philosophy includes the various philosophies of Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy, Iranian philosophy, Japanese philosophy and Korean philosophy. The term can also sometimes include Babylonian philosophy and Islamic philosophy, though these may also be considered Western philosophies.

His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental A government is the organization, or agency through which a political unit exercises its authority, controls and administers public policy, and directs and controls the actions of its members or subjects morality Morality is a sense of behavioral conduct that differentiates intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good (or right) and bad (or wrong). A moral code is a system of morality (for example, according to a particular philosophy, religion, culture, etc.) and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code. Immorality is, correctness of social relationships In social science, a social relation or social interaction refers to a relationship between two , three (i.e. a triad) or more individuals (e.g. a social group). Social relations, derived from individual agency, form the basis of the social structure. To this extent social relations are always the basic object of analysis for social scientists, justice Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, fairness, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics and sincerity Sincerity has not been consistently regarded as a virtue in Western culture.[citation needed] First discussed by Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics, it resurfaced to become an ideal in Europe and North America in the 17th century; and it gained considerable momentum during the Romantic movement, when sincerity was first celebrated as an artistic. These values gained prominence in China China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity over other doctrines, such as Legalism In Chinese history, Legalism was one of the main philosophic currents during the Warring States Period (and before), although the term itself was invented in the Han dynasty and thus does not refer to an organized 'school' of thought. The trends that were later called Legalism have in common a focus on strengthening the political power of the (法家) or Taoism Taoism refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions that have influenced Eastern Asia for more than two millennia, and have had a notable influence on the western world particularly since the 19th century. The word 道, Tao (or Dao, depending on the romanization scheme), roughly translates as, "path" or "way& (道家) during the Han Dynasty The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–265 CE). It was founded by the peasant rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE) of the former regent Wang Mang. This^[4][5][6] (206 BCE – 220 CE). Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia. It might be considered a state religion of some East (儒家). It was introduced to Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the by the Italian b includes 291,200 permanent residents; not including about 500.000 Italian-speaking Swiss people, Jesuit The Society of Jesus is a religious order of the Catholic Church. It has only male members; they are called Jesuits. Jesuit priests and brothers — also sometimes known colloquially as "God's marines" — are engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations on six continents reflecting the Formula of the Institute ( Matteo Ricci Matteo Ricci was born in 1552 in Macerata, today a city in the Italian region of Marche and then part of the Papal States. Ricci started learning theology and law in a Roman Jesuits' school. He entered the religious order in 1571, and in 1577 he filed an application to be a member of a missionary expedition to India. His journey began in March 1578, who was the first to Latinise Latinisation is the practice of rendering a non-Latin name in a Latin style. This may be done so as to more closely emulate Latin authors, or to present a more impressive image. It is done by transforming the name into Latin sounds , by translating a name with a specific meaning into Latin (e.g. Venator for Cacciatore), or choosing a new name the name as "Confucius."

His teachings may be found in the Analects of Confucius Lunyu (simplified Chinese: 论 (論語), a collection of "brief aphoristic fragments", which was compiled many years after his death. For nearly 2,000 years he was thought to be the editor or author of all the Five Classics The Five Classics is a corpus of five ancient Chinese books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. According to tradition, they were compiled or edited by Confucius himself (五經)^[7][8] such as the Classic of Rites The Book of Rites , also known as the Classic of Rites, the Record of Rites, Liki, or Li Ch'i, was one of the Chinese Five Classics of the Confucian canon. It described the social forms, governmental system, and ancient/ceremonial rites of the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–256 BCE). The original text is believed to have been compiled by Confucius (禮記) (editor), and the Spring and Autumn Annals Because it was traditionally regarded as having been compiled by Confucius , it was included as one of the Five Classics of Chinese literature. However, few modern scholars believe that Confucius had much influence on the formation of the text; this is now assigned to various chroniclers from the State of Lu (春秋) (author).

Kong Qiu (孔丘), as Confucius is commonly known, is a combination of his surname (孔) and his given name (丘), and he was also known as Zhong Ni (仲尼), which is his courtesy name A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect. Primarily used for male names, one could be given a zì by the parents, or by their first personal teacher on the first day of family. He was born in 551 BCE in the Lu state Lu was an ancient state in China during the Spring and Autumn Period. Founded in the 10th century BC, its dukes used Ji as their family name. The first duke was Ji Boqin, son of Ji Dan, the then Prime Minister of Zhou. The state's capital was in Qufu and its territory mainly covered the central and southwest regions of what is now Shandong^[9] (This state was in the south of modern-day Shandong Shandong (simplified Chinese: 山 Province) in the later days of the Spring and Autumn Period During the Spring and Autumn period, China was ruled by a feudal system. The Zhou Dynasty kings held nominal power, but only directly ruled over a small Royal Demesne, revolving around their capital . They granted fiefdoms over the rest of China to several hundred hereditary nobles (Zhuhou 諸侯). These were descendants of members of the Zhou. Confucius was from a warrior family. His father Shulianghe (叔梁紇) was a famous warrior who had military exploits in two battles and owned a fiefdom. Confucius lost his father when he was three years old, and then his mother Yan Zhengzai (顏徵在) took him and left the fiefdom because as a concubine (妾), she wanted to avoid mistreatment from Shulianghe's formal wife. Thus, Confucius lived in poverty with his mother since childhood. With the support and encouragement of his mother, Confucius was very diligent in his studies. When Confucius was seventeen years old, his mother died as a result of illness and overwork. Three years later, Confucius married a young woman who was from the Qiguan family (亓官氏) of the Song state (宋) Sòng was a state during the Eastern Zhou Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Its capital was Shangqiu (商丘). In 701 BC, a political marriage between Lady Yong of Song (宋雍氏) and Duke Zhuang of Zheng (as well as the capture of Zhai Zhong (祭仲), a leading warrior) empowered Song to manipulate the management of Zheng. Though he had a mild tempered wife who loved him, he left his family to strive for his ideals. Confucius sought to revive the perfect virtue of Huaxia According to the historical record, Zuo Zhuan, the ancient Xia Dynasty of central China was a state that held propriety and justice in high esteem, thus the word xia , which has the meaning of "great" or "grand", was used by subsequent dynasties to refer to the entire country as a mark of refined culture. The word hua (華) was (Chinese civilization) and the classical properties of the Western Zhou Dynasty The Zhou Dynasty followed the Shang Dynasty and was followed by the Qin Dynasty in China. The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history — though the actual political and military control of China by the dynasty only lasted during the Western Zhou. During the Zhou Dynasty, the use of iron was introduced to China, while to build a great, harmonious and humanistic society.

Teachings

In the Analects Lunyu (simplified Chinese: 论 (論語), Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing".^[7] He puts the greatest emphasis on the importance of study,^[10][11] and it is the Chinese character A Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese (hanzi), Japanese (kanji), less frequently Korean (hanja), and formerly Vietnamese (hán tự), and other languages. Chinese characters are also known as sinographs, and the Chinese writing system as sinography. Chinese characters represent the oldest for study (or learning) that opens the text. In this respect, he is seen by Chinese people as the Greatest Master.^[12] Far from trying to build a systematic theory of life Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes (biology) from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased (death), or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate and society A Society or a human society is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations such as social status, roles and social networks. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals sharing a distinctive culture and institutions. Without an article, the term refers either to the entirety of or establish a formalism of rites, he wanted his disciples to think deeply for themselves and relentlessly study the outside world,^[13] mostly through the old scriptures Religious texts, also known as scripture, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts are divinely or supernaturally inspired and by relating the moral problems of the present to past political events (like the Annals) or past expressions of feelings by common people and reflective members of the elite, preserved in the poems of the Book of Odes The Book of Songs (simplified Chinese: 诗经; traditional Chinese: 詩 (詩經).^[14][15]

In times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the Mandate of Heaven The Mandate of Heaven was a well-accepted and popular idea among the people of China, as it argues for the removal of incompetent or despotic rulers, and provided an incentive for rulers to rule well and justly. The concept was often invoked by philosophers and scholars in ancient China as a way to curtail the abuse of power by the ruler, in a (天命) that could unify the "world" (天下, all under Heaven) and bestow peace and prosperity on the people.^[16] Because his vision of personal and social perfections was framed as a revival of the ordered society of earlier times, Confucius is often considered a great proponent of conservatism Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and opposes rapid change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were." The first established use, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and perhaps twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: a revival of a unified royal state, whose rulers would succeed to power on the basis of their moral merits instead of lineage;^[17][18] these would be rulers devoted to their people, striving for personal and social perfection The term "perfection" is actually used to designate a range of diverse, if often kindred, concepts. These concepts have historically been addressed in a number of discrete disciplines, notably mathematics, physics, chemistry, ethics, aesthetics, ontology, and theology.^[19] Such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.^[20]

One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior Behavior, or behaviour , refers to the actions of an organism or system, usually in relation to its environment, which includes the other organisms or systems around as well as the physical environment. It is the response of the organism or system to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules, Confucius's ethics Ethics is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good vs. bad, noble vs. ignoble, right vs. wrong, and matters of justice, love, peace, and virtue may be considered a type of virtue ethics Virtue ethics is an approach to ethics that emphasizes the character of the moral agent, rather than rules or consequences, as the key element of ethical thinking. This contrasts with consequentialism, which holds that the consequences of a particular act form the basis for any valid moral judgment about that action, and deontology, which derives. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument, and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed more indirectly, through allusions An allusion is a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art, either directly or by implication. M.H. Abrams defined allusion as "a brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place or event, or to another literary work or passage". It is left to the reader or hearer to make the, innuendo An innuendo is, according to the Advanced Oxford Learner's Dictionary, "an indirect remark about somebody's body, usually suggesting something bad, mean or rude; the use of remarks like this: innuendoes about her private life or The song is full of sexual innuendo." The word is often used to express disapproval, and even tautology In rhetoric, a tautology is an unnecessary or unessential repetition of meaning, using different and dissimilar words that effectively say the same thing twice (often originally from different languages). It is often regarded as a fault of style and was defined by Fowler as "saying the same thing twice." It is not apparently necessary or. This is why his teachings need to be examined and put into proper context in order to be understood.^[21][22] A good example is found in this famous anecdote:

廄焚。子退朝，曰：“傷人乎？” 不問馬。

When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court, Confucius said, 'Was anyone hurt?' He did not ask about the horses.

Analects X.11, tr. Arthur Waley Arthur David Waley CH, CBE was a noted English Orientalist and Sinologist

The passage conveys the lesson that by not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrated that a sage values human beings over property; readers of this lesson are led to reflect on whether their response would follow Confucius's, and to pursue ethical self-improvement if it would not. Confucius, an exemplar of human excellence, serves as the ultimate model, rather than a deity or a universally true set of abstract principles. For these reasons, according to many Eastern and Western commentators, Confucius's teaching may be considered a Chinese example of humanism Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. The term has a complex history and is used to mean several things, most notably, an educational movement, associated especially with the Italian Renaissance, that emphasized the study of Greek and Roman literature, rhetoric, and moral philosophy –.^[23]

Perhaps his most famous teaching was the Golden Rule stated in the negative form, often called the Silver Rule:

子貢問曰：“有一言而可以終身行之者乎”？子曰：“其恕乎！己所不欲、勿施於人。”

Zi gong (a disciple of Confucius) asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?" The Master replied: "How about 'shu' [reciprocity]: never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself?"

Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton

Confucius's teachings were later turned into an elaborate set of rules and practices by his numerous disciples and followers who organized his teachings into the Analects. In the centuries after his death, Mencius (孟子)^[24] and Xun Zi (荀子)^[25] both composed important teachings elaborating in different ways on the fundamental ideas associated with Confucius. In time, their writings, together with the Analects and other core texts came to constitute the philosophical corpus known in the West as Confucianism. After more than a thousand years, the scholar Zhu Xi (朱熹) created a very different interpretation of Confucianism which is now called Neo-Confucianism, to distinguish it from the ideas expressed in the Analects. Neo-Confucianism held sway in China, Korea, and Vietnam^[26] until the 1800s.

Names

• Michele Ruggieri, and other Jesuits after him, while translating Chinese books into Western languages, translated 孔夫子 as Confucius. This Latinised form has since been commonly used in Western countries.
• In systematic Romanisations:
  • Kǒng Fūzǐ (or Kǒng fū zǐ) in pinyin.
  • K'ung fu-tzu in Wade-Giles (or, less accurately, Kung fu-tze).
    • Fūzǐ means teacher. Since it was disrespectful to call the teacher by name according to Chinese culture, he is known as just "Master Kong", or Confucius, even in modern days.
    • The character 'fu' is optional; in modern Chinese he is more often called Kǒng Zi (孔子).

• His actual name was 孔丘, Kǒng Qiū. Kǒng is a common family name in China.

(In Wade-Giles translation by D. C. Lau, this name appears as Kung Ch'iu.)

• His courtesy name was 仲尼, Zhòng Ní.
• In 1 C.E. (first year of the Yuanshi Era of the Han Dynasty), he was given his first posthumous name: 褒成宣尼公, Lord Bāochéngxūanni, which means "Laudably Declarable Lord Ni."
• His most popular posthumous names are
  • 至聖先師,Zhìshèngxiānshī, lit. "The Most Sage Venerated Late Teacher" (comes from 1530, the ninth year of the Jianing period of the Ming Dynasty);
  • 至聖, Zhìshèng, "the Greatest Sage";
  • 先師, Xiānshī, literally meaning "first teacher". It has been suggested that '先師' can be used, however, to express something like, "the Teacher who assists the wise to their attainment".^[27]
• He is also commonly known as 萬世師表，Wànshìshībiǎo, "Role Model for Teachers through the Ages".

Philosophy

Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, arguments continue over whether it is a religion. Confucianism does not lack an afterlife, the texts express simple views concerning Heaven, and is relatively unconcerned with some spiritual matters often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of the soul.

Confucius' principles gained wide acceptance primarily because of their basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong familial loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children (and, according to later interpreters, of husbands by their wives), and the family as a basis for an ideal government. He expressed the well-known principle, "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself" (One of the earliest versions of the Golden Rule). He also looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly those with political power, to model themselves on earlier examples.

Because no texts survive that are demonstrably authored by Confucius, and the ideas most closely associated with him were elaborated in writings that accumulated over the period between his death and the foundation of the first Chinese empire in 221 BCE, many scholars are very cautious about attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself.

Ethics

The Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in Lǐ (禮) is based on three important conceptual aspects of life: ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities of various types, social and political institutions, and the etiquette of daily behavior. It was believed by some that lǐ originated from the heavens. Confucius's view was more nuanced. His approach stressed the development of lǐ through the actions of sage leaders in human history, with less emphasis on its connection with heaven. His discussions of lǐ seem to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society, rather than those simply conforming with canonical standards of ceremony. In the early Confucian tradition, lǐ, though still linked to traditional forms of action, came to point towards the balance between maintaining these norms so as to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. These concepts are about doing the proper thing at the proper time, and are connected to the belief that training in the lǐ that past sages have devised cultivates in people virtues that include ethical judgment about when lǐ must be adapted in light of situational contexts.

In early Confucianism, yì (義) and lǐ are closely linked terms. Yì can be translated as righteousness, though it may simply mean what is ethically best to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out of self-interest. While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad, one would be a better, more righteous person if one based one's life upon following a path designed to enhance the greater good, an outcome of yì. This is doing the right thing for the right reason. Yì is based upon reciprocity.

Just as action according to Lǐ should be adapted to conform to the aspiration of adhering to yì, so yì is linked to the core value of rén (仁). Rén is the virtue of perfectly fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as "benevolence" or "humaneness"; translator Arthur Waley calls it "Goodness" (with a capital G), and other translations that have been put forth include "authoritativeness" and "selflessness." Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous responses of rén so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living by the rules of yì. To cultivate one's attentiveness to rén one used another Confucian version of the Golden Rule: one must always treat others just as one would want others to treat oneself. Virtue, in this Confucian view, is based upon harmony with other people, produced through this type of ethical practice by a growing identification of the interests of self and other.

In this regard, Confucius articulated an early version of the Golden Rule:

• "What one does not wish for oneself, one ought not to do to anyone else; what one recognises as desirable for oneself, one ought to be willing to grant to others." (Confucius and Confucianism, Richard Wilhelm)

Politics

Confucius' political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argues that the best government is one that rules through "rites" (lǐ) and people's natural morality, rather than by using bribery and coercion. He explained that this is one of the most important analects: 1. "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good." (Translated by James Legge) in the Great Learning (大學). This "sense of shame" is an internalisation of duty, where the punishment precedes the evil action, instead of following it in the form of laws as in Legalism.

While he supported the idea of government by an all-powerful sage, ruling as an Emperor, probably because of the chaotic state of China at his time, his ideas contained a number of elements to limit the power of rulers. He argued for according language with truth; thus honesty was of paramount importance. Even in facial expression, truth must always be represented. In discussing the relationship between a king and his subject (or a father and his son), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors. This demanded that the inferior must give advice to his superior if the superior was considered to be taking the wrong course of action. This was built upon a century after Confucius's death by his latter day disciple Mencius, who argued that if the king was not acting like a king, he would lose the Mandate of Heaven and be overthrown. Therefore, tyrannicide is justified because a tyrant is more a thief than a king. Other Confucian texts, though celebrating absolute rule by ethical sages, recognise the failings of real rulers in maxims such as, "An oppressive government is more feared than a tiger."

Some well known Confucian quotes:

• "To know your faults and be able to change is the greatest virtue." 知錯能改，善莫大焉

• "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others." 己所不欲，勿施於人。

• "With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my crooked arm for a pillow - is not joy to be found therein? Riches and honors acquired through unrighteousness are to me as the floating clouds." 疏食飲水，曲肱而枕，樂在其中矣。不義而富貴，於我如浮雲。

• "Knowledge is recognizing what you know and what you don't." 知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也.

• "Reviewing the day's lessons. Isn't it joyful? Friends come from far. Isn't it delightful? One has never been angry at other's misunderstanding. Isn't he a respectable man?" 學而時習之，不亦說乎？有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎?人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎？

The last quote was chanted by the numerous drummers in the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

Disciples and legacy

Confucius' disciples and his only grandson, Zisi, continued his philosophical school after his death. These efforts spread Confucian ideals to students who then became officials in many of the royal courts in China, thereby giving Confucianism the first wide-scale test of its dogma. While relying heavily on Confucius' ethico-political system, two of his most famous later followers emphasized radically different aspects of his teachings. Mencius (4th century BCE) articulated the innate goodness in human beings as a source of the ethical intuitions that guide people towards rén, yì, and lǐ, while Xun Zi (3rd century BCE) underscored the realistic and materialistic aspects of Confucian thought, stressing that morality was inculcated in society through tradition and in individuals through training.

This realignment in Confucian thought was parallel to the development of Legalism, which saw filial piety as self-interest and not a useful tool for a ruler to create an effective state. A disagreement between these two political philosophies came to a head in 223 BCE when the Qin state conquered all of China. Li Ssu, Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty convinced Qin Shi Huang to abandon the Confucians' recommendation of awarding fiefs akin to the Zhou Dynasty before them which he saw as counter to the Legalist idea of centralizing the state around the ruler. When the Confucian advisers pressed their point, Li Ssu had many Confucian scholars killed and their books burned - considered a huge blow to the philosophy and Chinese scholarship.

Under the succeeding Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, Confucian ideas gained even more widespread prominence. Under Wudi, the works of Confucius were made the official imperial philosophy and required reading for civil service examinations in 140 BCE which was continued nearly unbroken until the end of the 19th Century. As Moism lost support by the time of the Han, the main philosophical contenders were Legalism, which Confucian thought somewhat absorbed, the teachings of Lao-tzu, whose focus on more mystic ideas kept it from direct conflict with Confucianism, and the new Buddhist religion, which gained acceptance during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era.

During the Song Dynasty, the scholar Zhu Xi (1130-1200 CE) added ideas from Daoism and Buddhism into Confucianism. In his life, Zhu Xi was largely ignored, but not long after his death his ideas became the new orthodox view of what Confucian texts actually meant. Modern historians view Zhu Xi as having created something rather different, and call his way of thinking Neo-Confucianism. Both Confucian ideas and Confucian-trained officials were relied upon in the Ming Dynasty and even the Yuan Dynasty, although Kublai Khan distrusted handing over provincial control. In the modern era Confucian movements, such as New Confucianism, still exist but during the Cultural Revolution, Confucianism was frequently attacked by leading figures in the Communist Party of China. This was partially a continuation of the condemnations of Confucianism by intellectuals and activists in the early 20th Century as a cause of the ethnocentric close-mindedness and refusal of the Qing Dynasty to modernize that led to the tragedies that befell China in the 19th Century.

In modern times, Asteroid 7853, "Confucius," was named after the Chinese thinker.

Quote: "Respect yourself and others will respect you." Quote: "Today I have seen Lao-tzu and can only compare him to the dragon."^[28]

Memorial ceremony of Confucius

The Chinese have a tradition of holding spectacular memorial ceremonies of Confucius (祭孔) every year, using ceremonies that supposedly derived from Zhou Li (周禮) as recorded by Confucius, on the date of Confucius' birth. This tradition was interrupted for several decades in mainland China, where the official stance of the Communist Party and the State was that Confucius and Confucianism represented reactionary feudalist beliefs which held that the subservience of the people to the aristocracy is a part of the natural order. All such ceremonies and rites were therefore banned. Only after the 1990s, did the ceremony resume. As it is now considered a veneration of Chinese history and tradition, even Communist Party members may be found in attendance.

In Taiwan, where the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) strongly promoted Confucian beliefs in ethics and behavior, the tradition of the memorial ceremony of Confucius (祭孔) is supported by the government and has continued without interruption. While not a national holiday, it does appear on all printed calendars, much as Father's Day does in the West.

Influence in Asia and Europe

Confucius's works are studied by many scholars in many other Asian countries, particularly those in the Sinosphere, such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Many of those countries still hold the traditional memorial ceremony every year.

The works of Confucius were translated into European languages through the agency of Jesuit scholars stationed in China.^[29] Matteo Ricci started to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and father Prospero Intorcetta published the life and works of Confucius into Latin in 1687.^[30] It is thought that such works had considerable importance on European thinkers of the period, particularly among the Deists and other philosophical groups of the Enlightenment who were interested by the integration of the system of morality of Confucius into Western civilization.^[31][32]

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes Confucius was a Divine Prophet of God, as was Lao-Tzu and other eminent Chinese personages.^[33]

Visual portraits

No contemporary painting or sculpture of Confucius survives, and it was apparently only during the Han Dynasty that he was portrayed visually. Carvings often depict his legendary meeting with Laozi. In 2007 a Han dynasty fresco depicting this meeting was found in Dongping County. Since that time there have been many portraits of Confucius as the ideal philosopher. In former times it was customary to have a portrait in Confucius Temples; however, during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Ming dynasty it was decided that the only proper portrait of Confucius should be in the temple in his hometown, Qufu. In other temples Confucius is represented by a memorial tablet. In 2006, the China Confucius Foundation commissioned a standard portrait of Confucius based on the Tang dynasty portrait by Wu Daozi.

Home town

Soon after Confucius' death, Qufu, his hometown in the state of Lu and now in present-day Shandong Province, became a place of devotion and remembrance. It is still a major destination for cultural tourism, and many people visit his grave and the surrounding temples. In pan-China cultures, there are many temples where representations of the Buddha, Laozi and Confucius are found together. There are also many temples dedicated to him, which have been used for Confucianist ceremonies.

In November 1966, during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the Qufu Confucian monuments suffered much damage and 6000 artifacts were destroyed.^[34] The area was later restored.

Descendants

Confucius' descendants were repeatedly identified and honored by successive imperial governments with titles of nobility and official posts. They were honored with the rank of a marquis thirty-five times since Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, and they were promoted to the rank of duke forty-two times from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang first bestowed the title of "Duke Wenxuan" on Kong Suizhi of the 35th generation. In 1055, Emperor Renzong of Song first bestowed the title of "Duke Yansheng" on Kong Zongyuan of the 46th generation.

Despite repeated dynastic change in China, the title of Duke Yansheng was bestowed upon successive generations of descendants until it was abolished by the Nationalist Government in 1935. The last holder of the title, Kung Te-cheng of the 77th generation, was appointed Sacrificial Official to Confucius. Te-cheng died in October 2008, and his son, Kung Wei-yi, the 78th lineal descendant, had died in 1989. Kung Te-cheng's grandson, Kung Tsui-chang, the 79th lineal descendant, was born in 1975; his great-grandson, Kung Yu-jen, the 80th lineal descendant, was born in Taipei on January 1, 2006. Te-cheng's sister, Kong Demao, lives in mainland China and has written a book about her experiences growing up at the family estate in Qufu. Another sister, Kong Deqi, died as a young woman.^[35]

Confucius's family, the Kongs, has the longest recorded still extant pedigree in the world today. The father-to-son family tree, now in its 83rd generation,^[36] has been recorded since the death of Confucius. According to the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee, he has 2 million known and registered descendants, and there are an estimated 3 million in all.^[37] Of these, several tens of thousands live outside of China.^[37] In the 1300s, a Kong descendant went to Korea, where an estimated 34,000 descendants of Confucius live today.^[37] One of the main lineages fled from the Kong ancestral home in Qufu during the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s, and eventually settled in Taiwan.^[35]

Because of the huge interest in the Confucius family tree, there was a project in China to test the DNA of known family members.^[38] Among other things, this would allow scientists to identify a common Y chromosome in male descendants of Confucius. If the descent were truly unbroken, father-to-son, since Confucius's lifetime, the males in the family would all have the same Y chromosome as their direct male ancestor, with slight mutations due to the passage of time.^[39] However, in 2009, the family authorities decided not to agree to DNA testing.^[40] Bryan Sykes, professor of genetics at Oxford University, understands this decision: "The Confucius family tree has an enormous cultural significance,” he said. “It’s not just a scientific question."^[40] The DNA testing was originally proposed to add new members, many of whose family record books were lost during 20th-century upheavals, to the Confucian family tree.^[41]

The fifth and most recent edition of the Confucius genealogy was printed by the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee (CGCC). It was unveiled in a ceremony at Qufu on September 24, 2009.^[42][43] Women are now included for the first time.^[44]

It is important to note that this only deals with those whose lines of descent are documented historically. Using mathematical models, it is easy to demonstrate that every human being alive today is likely to be a direct descendant of Confucius, even using mathematical models that assume an extremely small amount of cross cultural mating, since any human alive today would have had 1.5 sextillion ancestors alive at the time of Confucius, over a quadrillion times more than the population of the earth at the time, making descent from Confucius a mathematical certainty, even accounting for consanguinity and geographical and cultural barriers, as noted by Yale professor Joseph T. Chang^[45].

See also

• Analects
• Confucianism
• Neo-Confucianism
• New Confucianism
• Temple of Confucius
• Confucius Institute

References

1. ^ More commonly abbreviated to Chinese: 孔子; pinyin: Kǒngzǐ; see Names section
2. ^ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/confucius/
3. ^ http://www.google.com/search?q=confucius&hl=en&safe=active&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&sa=X&tbo=p&tbs=tl:1,tll:551BC,tlh:551BC&ei=utUTS5GsHYuPtgev8dGsCQ&oi=toolbelt_timeline_result&resnum=2&ct=timeline-date&ved=0CCYQzQEwAQ
4. ^ Ban 111, vol.56
5. ^ Gao 2003
6. ^ Chen 2003
7. ^ ^{a b} The Analects 479 BCE - 221 BCE, VII.1
8. ^ Kang 1958
9. ^ http://www.dignubia.org/maps/ct_popup.php?ct_date=551bce&ct_civ=china
10. ^ Chien 1978, pp. 117–120
11. ^ The Analects 479 BCE - 221 BCE, I.1
12. ^ Gu 1658, vol. 51, sec. 9
13. ^ The Analects 479 BCE - 221 BCE, III.3; VI.13 and XVII.11
14. ^ The Analects 479 BCE - 221 BCE, XIII.5; XVII.9
15. ^ The Analects 479 BCE - 221 BCE, VI.25
16. ^ The Analects 479 BCE - 221 BCE, XVI.2
17. ^ The Analects 479 BCE - 221 BCE, XIV.9
18. ^ Zhang 2002, p. 208
19. ^ The Analects 479 BCE - 221 BCE, VI.24 and 30; XIV.16 and 17
20. ^ The Analects 479 BCE - 221 BCE, II.20; XII.19
21. ^ Derrida 1983, p. 63
22. ^ Du 2005
23. ^ Lee 1995, pp. 1–3
24. ^ Legge 1895
25. ^ Xun 325 BCE - 238 BCE
26. ^ Li 2005
27. ^ Zhang 1988, p. 76
28. ^ This quote has been attributed by some scholars to a later student of Confucius as an attempt to create a meeting between Confucius and Lao-tzu which may never have occurred.
29. ^ The first was Michele Ruggieri who had returned from China to Italy in 1588, and carried on translating in Latin Chinese classics, while residing in Salerno
30. ^ "Windows into China", John Parker, p.25
31. ^ "Windows into China", John Parker, p.25, ISBN 0890730504
32. ^ "The Eastern origins of Western civilization", John Hobson, p194-195, ISBN 0521547245
33. ^ Revelation Rationality Knowledge and Truth
34. ^ Wang Liang, "The Confucius Temple Tragedy of the Cultural Revolution," in Thomas A. Wilson, ed., On Sacred Grounds, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2002).
35. ^ ^{a b} Kong Demao, The House of Confucius (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1988).
36. ^ Confucius family tree revision ends with 2 mln descendants
37. ^ ^{a b c} Updated Confucius family tree has two million members
38. ^ DNA test to clear up Confucius confusion
39. ^ DNA Testing Adopted to Identify Confucius Descendants
40. ^ ^{a b} Inheriting Confucius
41. ^ Confucius descendents say DNA testing plan lacks wisdom
42. ^ "Confucius' Family Tree Recorded biggest". Chinadaily.com.cn. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-09/24/content_8733256.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
43. ^ "New Confucius Genealogy out next year". China Internet Information Center. 2008. http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-01. "With a history of over 2,500 years covering more than 80 generations, and the longest family tree in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, the fifth edition of the Confucius Genealogy will be printed in several volumes in 2009, according to an organizer of the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee (CGCC)."
44. ^ Confucius family tree to record female kin
45. ^ www.stat.yale.edu Common Ancestors Article

• "Windows into China", John Parker, ISBN 0890730504
• "The Eastern origins of Western civilization", John Hobson, ISBN 0521547245

Further reading

• Chin, Annping (2007). The Authentic Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-74-324618-7.
• Clements, Jonathan (2004). Confucius: A Biography. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-4775-6.
• Confucius. (1997). Lun yu, (In English The Analects of Confucius). Translation and notes by Simon Leys. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04019-4.
• Confucius. (2003). Confucius: Analects—With Selections from Traditional Commentaries. Translated by E. Slingerland. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. (Original work published c. 551–479 BCE) ISBN 0-87220-635-1.
• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2005). "Confucianism: An Overview". In Encyclopedia of Religion (Vol. C, pp 1890–1905). Detroit: MacMillan Reference USA.
• Dollinger, Marc J., "Confucian Ethics and Japanese Management Practices," in Sterling Harwood, ed., Business as Ethical and Business as Usual (Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1996), pages 148-157.
• Herrlee Glessner Creel (1949). Confucius and the Chinese Way. (Reprinted numerous times by various publishers.)
• Mengzi (2006). Mengzi. Translation by B.W. Van Norden. In Philip J. Ivanhoe & B.W. Van Norden, Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. ISBN 0-87220-780-3.
• Van Norden, B.W., ed. (2001). Confucius and the Analects: New Essays. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513396-X.
• Confucius appears as one of the main characters in Gore Vidal's Creation (novel). The book gives a very sympathetic and human portrait of him and his times.

External links

• Multilingual web site on Confucius and the Analects
• "Confucius" article by Jeffrey Riegel in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Works by Confucius at Project Gutenberg
• Confucian Analects (Project Gutenberg release of James Legge's Translation)
• 孔子世系 (Confucius' Genealogy) (in Traditional Chinese): a table shows the immediate ancestors and direct descendants of Confucius
• French translation by Edouard Chavannes of Sima Qian's biography of Confucius (see pp.283-435) in the Records of the Grand Historian
• Familiar Discourses (Jia yu,家語), containing traditions about Confucius' early life
• New modern and detailed TV series about Confucius made by CCTV
• Core philosophical passages in the Analects of Confucius.

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