K'ung Fu Tzu (commonly pronounced Confucius in English)
was born in 551 BCE in the state of Lu (modern day
Shantung Province). He lived during the Chou dynasty, an
era known for its moral laxity. Later in life, he wandered
through many states of China, giving advice to their
rulers. He accumulated a small band of students during
this time. The last years of his life were spent back in
Lu, where he devoted himself to teaching.
His writings deal primarily with individual morality
and ethics, and the proper exercise of political power by
the rulers.
In China, and some other areas in Asia, the social
ethics and moral teachings of Confucius are blended with
the Taoist
communion with nature and Buddhist
concepts of the afterlife, to form a set of complementary,
peacefully co-existent and ecumenical religions.
There are approximately 6 million Confucians in the
world. About 26,000 live in North America; almost all of
the remainder are found throughout China and the rest of
Asia.
Beliefs:
Confucian ethical teachings include the following
values:
Li: includes ritual, propriety, etiquette,
etc.
Hsiao: love within the family: love of
parents for their children and of children for their
parents
Yi: righteousness
Xin: honesty and trustworthiness
Jen: benevolence, humaneness towards others;
the highest Confucian virtue
Chung: loyalty to the state, etc.
Practices:
Confucianism does not contain all of the elements of
some other religions, like Christianity and Islam. It is
primarily an ethical system to which rituals at important
times during one's lifetime have been added.
Since the time of the Han dynasty (206 CE) four life
passages have been recognized and regulated by Confucian
tradition:
birth: The T'ai-shen (spirit of the
fetus) protects the expectant woman and deals harshly
with anyone who harasses the mother to be. A special
procedure is followed when the placenta is disposed
of. The mother is given a special diet and is allowed
rest for a month after delivery. The mother's family
of origin supplies all the items required by the baby
on the first, fourth and twelfth monthly anniversary
of the birth.
reaching maturity: This life passage is no
longer being celebrated, except in traditional
families. It takes the form of a group meal in which
the young adult is served chicken.
marriage: This is performed in six stages:
Proposal: the couple exchange the eight
characters: the year, month, day and hour of
each of their births. If any unpropitious event
occurs within the bride-to-be's family during the
next three days, then the woman is believed to
have rejected the proposal.
Engagement: after the wedding day is chosen, the
bride announces the wedding with invitations and a
gift of cookies made in the shape of the moon.
Dowry: This is carried to the groom's home in a
solemn procession. The bride-price is then sent to
the bride by the groom's parents. Gifts by the
groom to the bride, equal in value to the dowry,
are sent to her.
Procession: The groom visits the bride's home
and brings her back to his place, with much
fanfare.
Marriage and Reception: The couple recite their
vows, toast each other with wine, and then take
center stage at a banquet.
Morning after: The bride serves breakfast to the
groom's parents, who then reciprocate.
death: At death, the relatives cry out aloud
to inform the neighbors. The family starts mourning
and puts on clothes made of a coarse material. The
corpse is washed and placed in a coffin. Mourners
bring incense and money to offset the cost of the
funeral. Food and significant objects of the deceased
are placed into the coffin. A Buddhist or Taoist
priest (or even a Christian minister) performs the
burial ritual. Friends and family follow the coffin to
the cemetery, along with a willow branch which
symbolizes the soul of the person who has died. The
latter is carried back to the family altar where it is
used to "install" the spirit of the
deceased. Liturgies are performed on the 7th, 9th,
49th day after the burial and on the first and third
anniversaries of the death.
Schools of Confucianism
There are six schools: Han Confucianism,
Neo-Confucianism, Contemporary Neo-Confucianism, Korean
Confucianism, Japanese Confucianism and Singapore
Confucianism.
Sacred Texts
These were assembled by Chu Hsi (1130-1200 CE)
during the Sung dynasty. They include:
The Si Shu or Four Books:
The Lun Yu the Analects of Confucius
The Chung Yung or the Doctrine of the
Mean
The Ta Hsueh or the Great Learning
The Meng Tzu the writings of Meng Tzu
(371-289 BCE) a philosopher who, like Confucius,
traveled from state to state conversing with the
government rulers
The Wu Jing or Five Classics:
Shu Ching or Classic of History: writings
and speeches from ancient Chinese rulers
The Shih Ching or Classic of Odes: 300
poems and songs
The I Ching or Classic of Changes: the
description of a divinitory system involving 64
hexagrams. The hexagrams are symbols composed of
broken and continuous lines; one is selected to
foretell the future based on the casting of 49
sticks.
The Ch'un Ch'iu or Spring and Autumn
Annals: a history of the state of Lu from 722 to
484 BCE.
The Li Ching or Classic of Rites: a group
of three books on the LI the rites of
propriety
References:
H.G. Creel, "Confucius and the Chinese
Way", Harper, New York
P.J. Ivanhoe, "Confucian Moral Self
Cultivation", Peter Lang, New York (1993).
J.R. Hinnells, "The Penguin Dictionary of
Religions", Penguin Books, New York (1984),
P. 94-96
J.R. Hinnells, "A Handbook of Living
Religions", Penguin Books, New York (1985),
P. 344-364
