From Confucius to Confucianism

Sections
Today, we're starting off with section divisions. I'm thinking that I am in the Sharp House Section #107.

The Setting

 * The Zhou ("show") Dynasty
 * 1025 - 5th Century B.C.E.
 * Bronze casting techniques/art
 * Decentralized state
 * Although there was one king
 * It was supported by an aristocratic network
 * It was a feudal kingdom, a fiefdom


 * Fief
 * Local lord
 * Semi-Autonomous
 * Could tax local residents


 * Each feudal Lord
 * Was meant to be loyal to King
 * Part of Military Muster (when needed)
 * In return they received rights to their lands

Change Under Zhou
Key Term: Mandate of Heaven


 * The Zhou felt they needed a ideological support for their rule
 * In this need, they invented a "mandate of heaven"
 * The Shang ("Shawng") Kings became so wicked that they were overthrown, with gods appointing the Zhou kings to take over


 * This Myth of the Mandate was a repetition
 * The Hsia too (who preceeded the Shang) were said to be corrupt and wicked
 * Justifying their conquest by the Shang.

Heaven

 * New concept in China
 * Suggested a total space overlooking human reality
 * Space of perfection


 * Not necessarily connected to the god Di

New Ideas for Rulers

 * Meant to create a link between Earth and Heaven
 * Dependent on Heaven's intercession and ideals
 * Somewhat replacing primacy of the ancestors
 * Suggests new space of power, outside of the King's reality, that must be answered to.
 * Suggests new space of power, outside of the King's reality, that must be answered to.

Zhou History Survey
1. Western Zhou (1025 - 771 BCE)
 * "Mandate of Heaven" seems crucial
 * Zhou state is stable and prosperous
 * Slowly, the King's power and desire of Justice wanes
 * Last King of Zhou was said to have had a concubine who enjoyed practical jokes, particularly the false mustering of military support from his nobles.
 * After several false musterings, the army doesn't materialize for the king when he really needed support
 * So he was killed by enemies

2. Eastern Zhou (771 - 479 BCE)
 * Disconnect and disintegration of connection between king and vassals
 * Smaller kingdom
 * This is when Confuscius emerges

Confucius

 * Confucius's dates are generally unknown
 * The name "Confucius" is a romanization of "Kong Qiu"
 * He lives in the midst of the disorder and disintegration of Zhou's kingdom

Political Aspirations

 * Confucius had hoped for a political career where he could re-establish the moral order upon which he believed political stability would be predicated
 * Was not successful in this task -> becomes a teacher
 * We only have later images of Confucius -> Nothing from his life
 * He is always presented as a wise, old sage

Confucian Temples

 * Confucius never becomes a god
 * But he is revered
 * Spaces are appointed for learning and critical thinking

The Analects

 * Confucius never wrote anything
 * The analects were written by his students' students (so two levels removed)


 * Overwhelming focus on Good Government
 * Focus seems to be on finding a "GOOD MAN" -> Junzi (direct translation is "son of the ruler")
 * Translated as "Gentleman" (in our edition) or "Superior Man"
 * Essentially this individual is morally superior, guided by moral force


 * Confucius maintained that he would teach anyone, of any background


 * Most favored student was Zhou Hui ("Show Hway") who was of a lower class origin


 * Wayley translates Shi (Sh-eh) as "knight" -> a literate, responsible class that is not quite aristocratic, but still powerful and important

Junzi
"To learn and at due times repeat what one has learned, is that not after all a pleasure?" - Analects 1.1


 * So the Junzi must be educated
 * "A Gentleman is not an implement" -> A gentleman should not be a specific technician, a vocationalist, but rather a widely educated man, prepared for many tasks (cosmopolitan)
 * Junzi pronounced "Jun-zah"
 * Some of the work that Confucius expected of his students was the reading of texts -> Such as the book of history
 * Junzi also must cultivate "ren" or "goodness" "benevolence" "humaneness" -> Much is made of the fact that the REN sign is comprised of a symbol for man and a symbol for two, suggesting that it can only be done socially, never alone (between two men).
 * Individuals must also always follow "the ritual"

The Ritual

 * Ritual is the physical demonstration of power and understanding
 * It speaks of class statuses
 * It articulates knowledge of what is right, where reverence is due, and how you could define your place in society.


 * Ritual also has a status as a spiritual activity
 * Some rituals were opaque to Confucius
 * Though they did represent the ability to create order in the universe, beget harmony

The Junzi in Action
"The essence of the gentleman is that of wind;    the essence of the small people is that of grass.    and when a wind passes over the grass it cannot choose but bend." - Analect 12.19
 * Confucius believes that a perfectly educated man was all that was needed for good government
 * Proper behavior was thus the means through which an individual could establish stability and harmony in the world
 * Confucius believed that law & order (discipline & punishments) were unnecessary and ill-advised
 * Instead, the performance of justice by a leader (for this was a hierarchy) would create harmony in the state
 * Like a father, the Junzi does what is right for his people without consulting extensively with them