Confucius

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Confucius
孔子
A portrait of Confucius by the Tang Dynasty artist Wu Daozi (680–740).
Full name	Confucius 孔子
Born	28 September 551 BC Qufu, Lu
Died	479 BC (aged 71 or 72) Qufu, Lu
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Chinese philosophy
School	Founder of Confucianism
Main interests	Moral philosophy, Social philosophy, Ethics
Notable ideas	Confucianism
I Ching, Book of Rites
Many Chinese philosophers, particularly Mencius, Xun Zi, the Neotaoists and the Neoconfucians; François Quesnay; the Physiocrats; Christian Wolff; Robert Cummings Neville; Ezra Pound

Confucius (Chinese: 孔子, pin. Kǒngzǐ, Wade K'ung-tzu, lit. "Master Kong"; 551 – 479 BC)^{[o 1]} was a Chinese politician, teacher, editor, and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history.
The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. His followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred Schools of Thought era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during the Qin Dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius's thoughts received official sanction and were further developed into a system known as Confucianism.
Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited many of the Chinese classic texts including all of the Five Classics,^[1] but modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects, but only many years after his death.
Confucius's principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong family loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children (and in traditional interpretations of husbands by their wives), and family as a basis for ideal government. He expressed the well-known principle "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself", an earlier version of the Golden Rule.

Personal life and family

Confucius was said to have been born in 551 BC at the beginning of the Hundred Schools of Thought. Confucius was born in or near the city of Qufu in the Zhou state of Lu in modern Shandong. Early accounts say he was born into a poor but noble warrior family that had fallen on hard times.^{[citation needed]} His father Kong He (孔纥, Kǒng Hé; also known as 叔梁紇, Shūliáng Hé) had served in two battles and owned a minor fiefdom.^{[citation needed]} Sima Qian's 1st-century-BC Records of the Grand Historian stated that Confucius was the result of an "illicit union" (野合, yehe) between Kong He and Yan Zheng. Later legends said that Zheng first abandoned her ugly baby in a cave on Mount Ni, but was convinced to recover him after he was cared for by a lion and an eagle.
Kong He died when Confucius was only three years old and the boy was brought up in poverty by his mother. As a child, Confucius was said to have enjoyed putting ritual vases on the sacrifice table.^{[clarification needed]} He married a young girl named Qi Guan (亓官) at 19 and she gave birth to their first child, Kong Li (孔鯉), the next year.
Confucius's social ascendancy linked him to the growing class of shì (士), a class intermediate between the new nobility and the common people and comprised of men seeking employment on the basis of their talents and skills. Confucius is reported to have worked as a shepherd, cowherd, clerk, and a book-keeper. His mother died when Confucius was 23, and he then observed the ritual three years of mourning.
At the age of 53, Confucius rose to the position of Justice Minister (大司寇^{[verification needed]}) in Lu. In Sima Qian's account, the neighboring state of Qi was worried that Lu was becoming too powerful. Qi decided to sabotage Lu's reforms by sending 100 good horses and 80 beautiful dancing girls to the Duke of Lu.^[who?] The Duke indulged himself in pleasure and did not attend to official duties for three days. Confucius was deeply disappointed and resolved to leave Lu and seek better opportunities, yet to leave at once would expose the misbehavior of the Duke and therefore bring public humiliation to the ruler Confucius was serving. Confucius therefore waited for the Duke to make a lesser mistake. Soon after, the Duke neglected to send to Confucius a portion of the sacrificial meat that was his due according to custom, and Confucius seized upon this pretext to leave both his post and the state of Lu.^[2]
After Confucius's resignation, he began a long journey or set of journeys around the small kingdoms of northeast and central China, traditionally including the states of Wei, Song, Chen, and Cai. At the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them implemented.
According to the Zuo Zhuan, Confucius returned home when he was 68. The Analects depict him spending his last years teaching 72 or 77 disciples and transmitting the old wisdom via a set of texts called the Five Classics.^[3]

Names

Confucius's real name was Kong Qiu (孔丘, Kǒng Qiū) but, owing to the Chinese naming taboo, he was known to his peers by his courtesy name Zhongni (仲尼, Zhòngní) instead. Within the Analects, he is principally referred to simply as "The Master" (子, Zǐ).
Of course, the Chinese at the time was very different. One reconstruction of his personal name is Kʰˤoŋʔ Kʷʰə; his courtesy name may have sounded like Truŋsnˤərs.^[4]
In AD 1 (which was also the first year of the Yuanshi Era of the Han Dynasty), Confucius was given his first posthumous name: the "Laudably Declarable Lord Ni" (褒成宣尼公, Bāochéngxuān Ní Gōng). In 1530 (the ninth year of the Jiajing Era of the Ming Dynasty), he was declared the "Extremely Sage Departed Teacher" (至圣先师, Zhìshèngxiānshī) and he is also known separately as the "Great Sage" (至圣) and "First Teacher" (先师), as well as the "Model Teacher for Ten Thousand Ages" (万世师表, Wànshì Shībiǎo)
In modern Chinese, he is most often called "Master Kong" (孔子, Kǒngzǐ) and a variant of this – Kǒng Fūzǐ (孔夫子) – was Latinized by the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci as "Confucius". In the Wade–Giles system of romanization, the same name is rendered as K'ung Fu-tzu or Kung Fu-tze.

Philosophy

Main article: Confucianism

The Dacheng Hall, the main hall of the Temple of Confucius in Qufu.

Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, arguments continue over whether it is a religion. Confucianism discusses elements of the afterlife and views concerning Heaven, but it is relatively unconcerned with some spiritual matters often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of the soul(s).

The Analects of Confucius.

In the Analects, Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing".^[1] He puts the greatest emphasis on the importance of study,^[5] and it is the Chinese character for study (学) that opens the text. Far from trying to build a systematic or formalist theory, he wanted his disciples to master and internalize the old classics, so that their deep thought and thorough study^[6] would allow them to relate the moral problems of the present to past political events (as recorded in the Annals) or the past expressions of commoners' feelings and noblemen's reflections (as in the poems of the Book of Odes.^[7]^[8]

Ethics

One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules. Confucian ethics may be considered a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed more indirectly, through allusion, innuendo, and even tautology. His teachings require examination and context in order to be understood. 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. Waley), 10-13 (tr. Legge), or X-17 (tr. Lau)

By not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrates that the sage values human beings over property; readers are led to reflect on whether their response would follow Confucius's and to pursue self-improvement if it would not have. Confucius, as 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 commentators, Confucius's teachings may be considered a Chinese example of humanism.
One of his most famous teachings^{[dubious – discuss]}^{[citation needed]} was a variant of the Golden Rule sometimes called the "Silver Rule"^{[citation needed]} owing to its negative form:

己所不欲，勿施於人。

"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."

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] asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?"
The Master replied: "How about 'reciprocity'! Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself."

Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton

Although the above rules are in some way universal, Confucius would be called an ethical particularist because of how he interprets these rules. Confucius believes that there is a duty to family and friends before there is a duty to community. Therefore, in different situations Confucius would counsel a person to do different things.^[9]
Often overlooked in Confucian ethics are the virtues to the self: sincerity and the cultivation of knowledge. Virtuous action towards others begins with virtuous and sincere thought, which begins with knowledge. A virtuous disposition without knowledge is susceptible to corruption and virtuous action without sincerity is not true righteousness. Cultivating knowledge and sincerity is also important for one's own sake; the superior person loves learning for the sake of learning and righteousness for the sake of righteousness.

Li, yi, and ren

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, but Confucius stressed the development of lǐ through the actions of sage leaders in human history. 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 was doing the proper thing at the proper time, balancing between maintaining existing norms to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. Training in the lǐ of past sages cultivates in people virtues that include ethical judgment about when lǐ must be adapted in light of situational contexts.
In early Confucianism, the concept of li is closely related to yì (義), which is based upon the idea of reciprocity. 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's life was based upon following a path designed to enhance the greater good. Thus an outcome of yì is doing the right thing for the right reason.
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 consists of 5 basic virtues: seriousness, generosity, sincerity, diligence and kindness.^[10] 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. Confucius asserts that virtue is a means between extremes. For example, the properly generous person gives the right amount—not too much and not too little.^[10]

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: "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.
Confucius looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly those with political power, to model themselves on earlier examples. In times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the Mandate of Heaven (天命) that could unify the "world" (天下, "all under Heaven") and bestow peace and prosperity on the people.^[11] 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, 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.^[12] These would be rulers devoted to their people, striving for personal and social perfection,^[13] and such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.^[14]
While he supported the idea of government by an all-powerful sage, ruling as an Emperor, his ideas contained a number of elements to limit the power of rulers. He argued for according language with truth, and honesty was of paramount importance. Even in facial expression, truth must always be represented. Confucius believed that if a ruler were to lead correctly, by action, that orders would be deemed unnecessary in that others will follow the proper actions of their ruler. 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 course of action that was wrong. Confucius believed in ruling by example, if you lead correctly, orders are unnecessary and useless.

Disciples and legacy

Visual portraits

No contemporary painting or sculpture of Confucius survives, and it was only during the Han Dynasty that he was portrayed visually. Carvings often depict his legendary meeting with Laozi. 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 Hongwu 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.

Death and legacy

Tomb of Confucius in Kong Lin cemetery, Qufu, Shandong Province

Burdened by the loss of both his son and his favorite disciples,^[17] he died at the age of 71 or 72. Confucius was buried in Kong Lin cemetery which lies in the historical part of Qufu. The original tomb erected there in memory of Confucius on the bank of the Sishui River had the shape of an axe. In addition, it has a raised brick platform at the front of the memorial for offerings such as sandalwood incense and fruit.

Memorials of Confucius

Soon after Confucius' death, Qufu, his hometown 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.
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.

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. Kung 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.^[18]
Confucius's family, the Kongs, has the longest recorded extant pedigree in the world today. The father-to-son family tree, now in its 83rd generation,^{[o 3]} 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.^{[o 4]} Of these, several tens of thousands live outside of China.^{[o 4]} In the 14th century, a Kong descendant went to Korea, where an estimated 34,000 descendants of Confucius live today.^{[o 4]} 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.^[18]
Because of the huge interest in the Confucius family tree, there was a project in China to test the DNA of known family members.^{[o 5]} 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.^{[o 6]} However, in 2009, the family authorities decided not to agree to DNA testing.^{[o 7]} 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."^{[o 7]} 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.^{[o 8]}
The fifth and most recent edition of the Confucius genealogy was printed by the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee (CGCC).^{[o 9]}^{[o 10]} It was unveiled in a ceremony at Qufu on September 24, 2009.^{[o 9]}^{[o 10]} Women are now included for the first time.^{[o 11]}
Note that this only deals with those whose lines of descent are documented historically. Using mathematical models, it is easy to demonstrate that people living today have a much more common ancestry than commonly assumed, so it is likely that many more have Confucius as an ancestor.^[19]

Notes

^ 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

References

^ ^a ^b The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, VII.1
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XVIII.4
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, IX.14
^ Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese ReconstructionPDF (1.93 MB). 2011. Accessed 11 October 2011.
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, I.1
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, III.3; VI.13; XVII.11
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XIII.5; XVII.9
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, VI.25
^ Bonevac & Phillips 2009
^ ^a ^b Bonevac & Phillips 2009, p. 40
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XVI.2^{[dead link]}
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XIV.9^{[dead link]}
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, VI.24 and 30^{[dead link]}; XIV.16 and 17^{[dead link]}
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, II.20^{[dead link]}; XII.19^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b Parker 1977, p. 25
^ Hobson 2004, pp. 194–195
^ The Analects 479 BC - 221 BC, XI.8, 9, 10 and 11^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b Kong, Ke & Roberts 1988^{[page needed]}
^ Rohde, Olson & Chang 2004^{[page needed]}^{[verification needed]}

Online references

^ Riegel, Jeffrey. "Confucius". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2012 Edition). Stanford University. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2012/entries/confucius/. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
^ Mirza Tahir Ahmad. "Confucianism". Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. http://www.alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_2_section_3.html. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
^ "Confucius family tree revision ends with 2 mln descendants". China Economic Net. 4 January 2009. http://en.ce.cn/National/culture/200901/04/t20090104_17866318.shtml.
^ ^a ^b ^c Yan, Liang (16 February 2008). "Updated Confucius family tree has two million members". Xinhua. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/16/content_7616027.htm.
^ "DNA test to clear up Confucius confusion". Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China. 18 June 2006. http://ye2.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/chinanews/200606/20060602462372.html.
^ "DNA Testing Adopted to Identify Confucius Descendants". China Internet Information Center. 19 June 2006. http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/171840.htm.
^ ^a ^b Qiu, Jane (13 August 2008). "Inheriting Confucius". Seed Magazine. http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/inheriting_confucius/.
^ "Confucius descendents say DNA testing plan lacks wisdom". bandao.cn. 21 August 2007. http://eng.bandao.cn/newsdetail.asp?id=4644.
^ ^a ^b "Confucius' Family Tree Recorded biggest". China Daily. 24 September 2009. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-09/24/content_8733256.htm.
^ ^a ^b "New Confucius Genealogy out next year". China Internet Information Center. http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029.htm. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
^ "Confucius family tree to record female kin". China Daily. 2 February 2007. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-02/02/content_800011.htm.

Bibliography

Bonevac, Daniel; Phillips, Stephen (2009). Introduction to world philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-515231-9.
Hobson, John M. (2004). The Eastern origins of Western civilisation (Reprinted ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-54724-5.
Kong, Demao; Ke, Lan; Roberts, Rosemary (1988). The house of Confucius (Translated ed.). London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-41279-4.
Parker, John (1977). Windows into China: The Jesuits and their books, 1580-1730. Boston: Trustees of the Public Library of the City of Boston. ISBN 0-89073-050-4.
Rohde, Douglas L.T.; Olson, Steve; Chang, Joseph T. (30 September 2004). "Modelling the recent common ancestry of all living humans". Nature 431. doi:10.1038/nature02842. http://www.stat.yale.edu/~jtc5/papers/CommonAncestors/NatureCommonAncestors-Article.pdf.

中国古代历史人物志

2012年3月27日星期二

孔子（Confucius）——a Chinese politician, teacher, editor, and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history