CON FUCI AN ISM

[s. 206] : Confucius was one of a constellation of great names which appeared in the world’s history about 500 B. c. (See Taouism.) Of these were his own countryman, Laotze; Gautama of India (See Buddhism), Pythagoras of Greece, and, in the opinion of Sir Monier Williams and some others, Zoroaster of Persia. They were all nearly contemporary with the Hebrew prophet Zechariah. To speak accurately, Confucius, or Kungfutze, was born, according to Chinese records, in the year 551 B. c. Laotze, tho contemporary, was born fifty years earlier. They both appeared in a degenerate age of Chinese history, and both aimed at what seemed almost hopele reform. The ancient religion of China, which is still thought to be represented by the Temple of Heaven in Peking, had greatly declined, and a superstitious nature worship, with endle polytheistic manifest a minds of the people. The various provinces now embraced in the one empire were more or le independent, and were often at war. Princes were corrupt and tyrannical, and their subjects were disheartened, reckle , and debased. Mencius, the commentator of Confucius, says of the times in which his great teacher arose: “The world had fallen into decay, and right principles were disregarded. Ministers murdered their princes and sons their fathers. Confucius was frightened at what he saw, and undertook the work of reform.” These environments and this one great aim will go far to explain the character and teachings of Confucius and the history of his life. It was no part of his purpose to establish a religion, and as such his system cannot be considered. He was a political reformer, and with that end in view he became a teacher of general ethics. The State was the supreme object of his effort, but to secure the highest welfare of the state the family must be considered, and all the minor relations of mankind. It has been common among ancient monarchs and lawgivers to regard the state, or rather its rulers, as of supreme importance, while its subjects were mere slaves, and little regard was had for the family. Confucius was wiser. He looked upon human society as a pyramid, and saw clearly that whatever entered into the lowest tions, occupied the foundations concerned the whole structure. Both he and Laotze, even in that early age, taught that kings existed for the good of the people, and had no right to employ them merely as the means of furthering their own ambitious designs. Con fuci an ism emphasizes the worship of parents and ancestors, tho if strict definitions be observed, it might be difficult to draw any very clear distinction between the reverence to be paid to the dead and that which was due to those who were still living. In both cases reverence to parents, extending however many generations back, was supposed to prove a salutary influence in maintaining the perpetuity of the The worship of state and the welfare of society. trees, mountains, rivers, and countle other objects is a part of Taouism or of the old nature worship Both Con fuci an ism and Taouism honor heroes, tho their images are generally found only in the Taouist and the Buddhist temples. 189 The Life of Confucius: The incidents given of the life of Confucius are simple and have not, as in the case of Gautama, Mohammed, and even Laotze, been overlaid with absurd legends. The;sage was the son of an old man, and was left fatherle at three years of age. At fifteen he evinced remarkable intellectual powers, and at twenty-two he was already instructing a cla of disciples in the principles of government. At twenty-four he lost his mother, for whom he had The conical tumulus which he.a high regard. raised over her grave is said to have been the pattern from which the circular grave-mounds North China originated. The earliest public recognition which Confucius received was his appointment, when he of was about thirty years old, to the tutorship of “two young princes of the Marquisate of Lu. At the dying request of their father they were taught political economy and the art of government. In accompanying his wards to the capital of the country, Confucius met Laotze. He is said to have sought instruction from the old sage, but he very soon found that there could be no agreement between them. Laotze was already suffering that keen disappointment which embittered his last days, and which Confucius himself at last experienced to some degree, and he received the young teacher with critical disdain. He considered him a noisy and pretentious reformer, all of whose roseate theories were yet For himself, Laotze was too proud to be tested. and self-sufficient to be a succe ful leader of men. He was utterly destitute of magnetism, and repelled where he should have striven to win. He was much more of a philosopher than Confucius, but was far le practical. He gloried in reticence, and thought that the zealous rem on rival against the public strances of his vices only advertised them. On the other hand, Confucius confe ed him puzzled by the character of Laotze, and could only compare him to the incomprehensible ways of the dragon. After two or three rather unsucce ful attempts as councilor of different provincial rulers, Confucius gave up political life, and devoted himself for fifteen years to teaching. He had been disgusted with the profligacy of those who had employed him, and despaired of the princes of his time. They all came short of a practical appreciation of his high standards of either private or self political virtue. As a teacher he met better succe . He is have had not le than three you sand disciples a fact which reflects great credit not only upon him, but upon the intellectual activity of his generation. Five hundred of these pupils became mandarins, and over seventy are said to said to — have been distinguished scholars. The last effort of Confucius as privy councilor was with the Marquis of Lu supposably his former pupil. He was now fifty-two years old. For a time this prince by steady devotion to his — public duties greatly prospered. He was becoming powerful, and to the neighboring princes formidable. The ruler of a rival province or chief city seeing this, sought to break the power of Confucius over him, and lead him into vice. A band of beautiful young dancing-girls were sent to him as a present, and with the desired effect. He soon became indifferent to the counsels of Confucius, and, giving himself up to pleasure, he crippled his power. The disappointed Conferences Confacianism sa^e sought other similar engagements, but in vam. Many would gladly have employed him, but would not follow his high standards. In the one great ambition of his life he met with constant disappointment, and his political career he considered a failure. But, altho not practically a statesman, he was one of the most succe ful political theorists that the world has known. Probably no other man ever stamped his ideas or his influence so deeply upon the institutions of his country as Confucius. No other has ever influenced so many millions of mankind, and contributed such marvelous stability and perpetuity to the government of a nation. Confucius cannot be ranked among philosophers, strictly speaking. There was nothing speculative in his nature. He was a compiler of the ancient wisdom of his country, and he succeeded in putting it into such practical shape, and in urging it with so much sincerity and earnestne of purpose, as to enlist many disciples at the time, and to win at last universal honor and devotion. He was po e ed of a sturdy honesty, and this he claimed from all men. His social system was a superstructure, on which he placed the state at the apex or head. His reasoning was as follows: The ancient princes, in order to govern their states, first regulated their families. To regulate their families they practised virtue in their own persons. In order to such virtue they cultivated right feelings. To have right feelings they cultivated right purposes. To this end they sought intelligence by studying the nature of things.” This reminds one of the “eightfold path” of the Buddha, only that it is more logical, and is better adapted to all the wants of life. The “Five Relations” are those “between friend and friend, between brother and brother, husband and wife, Such is the father and son, ruler and subject.” Confucius, who pyramid of Chinese sociology. in his lifetime could not hold permanently the position of privy-councilor to a petty prince of a province, has since his death ruled the empire for twenty-four centuries. The five relations had been recognized long before his time, but not in the same clear form and in the same practical application. Confucius so exaggerated the The efficacy of his theories as to exclude God. Emperor stands virtually in the place of Deity, and Chinese ancestors are the great cloud of witne es from whom all celestial impulse is thought And there are other to descend upon men. exaggerations affecting social and domestic life. The father may be an unresisted tyrant over his child, and the older brother may exact a humilNo social system iating fealty from the younger. can be entirely sound which subordinates woman to a position so inferior as that which Con fuci an ism consigns her. Confucius himself, tho most reverent toward his mother, has been charged with indifference toward his wife. Compared with many other systems of the East, the ethics show a degree of respect to woman, but they fail of that symmetry and just proportion which the New Testament demands in all the relations of the household. The Teachings of Confucius: From the age of sixty-six Confucius devoted his remaining years He admitted that he to the editing of books. was not an originator, but only a compiler and editor. Only one of his works, the Chun tsew, or “Spring and Autumn Annals,” can be considered an original production. Con fuci an ism His other works, the Shoo King or “Book of History,” the She King or “Book of Odes,” were only compilations or revisions. These, with the Yih, King or “Book of Changes,” had existed before his time, and in his revisions or abridgments they suffered at his hands. The Shoo King, especially, he cut down from about 3,000 paragraphs or verses, to le than 400. What might be considered the religious element in this work he almost entirely eliminated, reserving only those practical teachings which suited his theories of society and the government of the state. Those remains of the Confucian ethics which are most highly valued by the Chinese are certain collections known as the Lun Yu or “Confucian Analects,” the Ta Hee or “Great Learning,” and the Chung Yung or “Doctrine of the Mean.” The last two of these are supposed to have been They edited by Tsze-sze, a grandson of the sage. all claim to reproduce the teachings of Confucius, especially the “Analects.” The monopoly of Chinese wisdom was given About to Confucius by a singular circumstance. 220 B.C. the Emperor Che Hwang-te ordered all books to be burned, with the exception of the The execution of Zoon Ti King of Laotze. the order was very sweeping, but the works of Confucius were afterwards restored piecemeal, some from fragments, some from oral tradition; while the great body of literature from which he had made his compilations was almost entirely lost. The wisdom of the ages, therefore, was represented almost exclusively by the works of Mencius and others added com Con fuci us. ments, but the foundation was that received from the one great sage. Thus Con fuci an ism became a monopoly, and was made canonical by the decrees of emperors and the common consent of the people. The national literature thus settled once for all was embodied in five cla ics, viz.: the Yi King or “Book of Changes,” the She King or “Book of Poetry,” the Shoo King or “Book of History,” the Le Ke or “Book of Rites,” and the Chun-tsew or “Spring and Autumn Annals.” These were in whole or in part com There are besides what are piled by Confucius. known as “the Four Books,” viz.: the “Great Learning,” the “Doctrine of the Mean,” the “Confucian Analects,” and the “Works of Mencius.” These books have for ages constituted the text-books in Chinese education; they are also the basis of the competitive examination for public office. That so narrow a field of study one so destitute of science or general history, one which is in every respect so far behind the spirit and movement of the age should be supposed to supply aU knowledge requisite for the — intelligent performance of all po ible duties of statesmanship and diplomacy, is a marvel. Such a standard cannot be maintained for many generations longer. When we consider the low and corrupt state in which Confucius found the religion of his country, we are not greatly surprised that he rejected that element from the fabric which he hoped to rear, and depended on social and political ethics merely. He was not an atheist, nor, in the strictest modern sense, was he an agnostic. According to the conclusions of Martin, Legge, Dougla , and Max MuUer, he really believed in a supreme being, known as “Shangte,” or the God of Heaven. He believed also in unseen spirits, 19& and he taught his disciples to “respect the gods.” He had, however, no moral sense of duty toward “the gods,” nor the consciousne of any special dependence on them. “Treat them with respect, he said to his disciples,”but keep them at a dis’ tance,” or rather, as Dr. Martin renders it, “keep’ out of their way.” The same author speaks of Con fuci an ism as “the leading religion of the empire.” Its objects of worship he divides into three cla es the powers of nature, ancestors, and heroes; and he adds: “Originally recognizing the existence of a supreme personal deity, it has degenerated into a pantheistic medley, and renders worship to an impersonal anima mundi, under the leading forms of visible nature. Besides the concrete universe, separate honors are paid to the sun, moon, and stars, mountains, rivers, and lakes.” Tho Con fuci an ism recognizes these objects,, the system so far overlaps the pantheon of modern — Taouism. The teachings of Confucius must be acknowledged to have embodied many noble precepts. His political ethics were above the average of those practised by the most enlightened nations. The great end recommended to rulers was not their own gratification or glory, but the good of the people; and no teacher ever insisted more strenuously upon the duty of example. Princes were constantly reminded that public virtue could not be enforced in the face of royal vice and wickedne . Reciprocity was one of Confucius’ favorite expre ions for social and political virtue. This, in the broad sense in which he employed the term, was nothing le than a practical application of the Golden Rule. Thus a father in exacting reverence from his son should be reverent toward the authority of the state, and he should render himself worthy of reverence by a proper regard to all his own relations and duties. The Prince in claiming loyalty from his ministers should fulfil all the conditions which might promote their fidelity. Loyalty was another broad expre ion used by the sage. father or It included all duty, not only to a prince, but to every interest of a “Let the superior man,” he said, ” never fail reverently to order his conduct, and let him be respectful to others and observant of propriety then aU within the four seas will be his brethren.” Faithfulne was enjoined, as having, if po ible, even a more sacred character than loyalty. “Hold faithfulne and sincerity as first principles,” said the sage; “I do not see how a man is to get on without faithfulne .” He maintained that while the subordinate must in all cases be faithful to his ruler, the latter must be equally faithful to his word and to his a umed character as the father of his people. In the cultivation of social and political sincerity, Confucius taught that the very first step in the reform of a corrupt state was “The Rectification of Names.” No vice or dishonesty should be allowed to take shelter under specious titles. All littlene or dishonor or incapacity should be exposed. Everything should be society.; brought to par, and should be stamped accordingly. Men should be rated at their true value. One great principle, which has doubtle had great influence in China, is known as the “Doctrine of the Mean.” Con fuci an ism a umes that many 191 Con fuci an ism flow from extreme opinions. There is always another side, and the balanced truth genE very virtue should be held erally lies between. For a very early exemin poise by some other. minister of the great Emperor Shun, when plar, a asked what are the nine virtues, replied: “Affability combined with dignity; mildne combined with firmne ; bluntne combined with respectfulne ; aptne for government combined with reverence; docility combined with boldne ; straightforwardne combined with gentlene ; easine combined with discrimination; vigor combined with sincerity, and valor combined with righteousne .” It is but just to say that while reverence for sovereignty is so strongly enjoined, yet that reverence is coupled with discrimination. No history of any country deals more severely with the memory of unjust rulers than that of China, and in many instances tyrants have been overthrown. It is perhaps due to the “Doctrine of the Mean” and to the conscious dignity of moderation, that the Chinese Government has often sliown so much self-poise amid the exasperations of foreign diplomacy. But the character and teachings of Confucius It has already are far enough from perfect. been shown that his ideal virtues were distorted Reverence to promote his theories of society. to parents was pushed to such extremes as to destroy that reciprocity which he made a test of The authority of the parent highest character. is not duly balanced by parental consideration, and the worst of tyrannies is often seen in the Chinese home. Practically, there is no such symmetry of the domestic virtues as that found Confucius was no model in Paul’s Epistles. He gave in respect to the rights of woman. seven grounds of divorce, on some one of which His code of morals, he divorced his own wife. tho above the morality current in his age, was not high. He spoke slightingly of what he called the “small fidelity” which binds a husband to one wife, and he imposed a stricter virPolygamy tue on the one sex than on the other. was allowed in cases of barrenne , and was never a crime. The marital license allowed to the sovereign is of itself sufficient not only to ruin the royal line, but by the influence of high example to promote general immorality among presentation of courtier-like advice on occasions when Duke Ling desired to have his opinion in support of his own; and in defiance of his oft-repeated denunciation of rebels, he was now ready to go over to the court of a rebel chief in the hope po ibly of being able through his means “to establish,” as he said on another occasion, “an eastern Chow.” His friend Tsze-loo expostulated with him upon his inconsistency, but he justified himself with a lame excuse. Confucius evinced great weal-cne at the last, by being apparently more solicitous for his own good name than for the welfare of his country. When seized by a presentiment of death he said: “The course of my doctrine is run, and I am unlcnown.” “Never does a superior man pa away without leaving a name behind him. But the people. to the throne. One of his first acts after coming to full power was to sacrifice to Shangte, the supreme god.”Thereafter,” we are told, “he sacrificed specially, but with the ordinary forms, to Shangte; sacrificed with purity and reverence to the Six Honored Ones, offered appropriate sacrifices to the hills and rivers, and extended his worship to the hosts of spirits.” “This,” says R. K. Dougla ,. Profe or of Chinese in King’s College, London, “is the first mention we have in Chinese history worship, tho the expre ions of religious used (‘but with the ordinary forms’) plainly imply that the worship of Shangte at least had It is to this supreme being previously existed. evils Tho Confucius enjoined humility, he did”At not hesitate late in life to claim perfection. fifteen,” he said, “my mind was bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm; at forty, I had no doubts; at fifty I knew the decrees of heaven; at sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth; at seventy, I could follow what my heart desired without transgre ing character what was right.” Unfortunately his showed to the least advantage in his old age. Profe or Dougla , in speaking of the later political life of the sage, remarks: “It is impo ible to study this portion of Confucius’ career without feeling that a great change had come over his conduct. There was no longer that lofty love of truth and of virtue which had distinguished the commencement of his official life. Adversity instead of stiffening his back had made him pliable. He who had formerly refused money which he had not earned, was now willing to take pay for no other service than the my principles make no progre , and I — how shall I be viewed in future ages?” The Relation of Con fuci an ism to the Ancient Worship of China: The sage had been peculiarly reticent in regard to a supreme deity and to the life. “We do not know life,” he said; “how can we know death?” Yet when his life future work was done he gathered his books, and, ascending a hill where the worship of Shangte was observed, he laid the books upon the altar, and then kneeling before them he gave thanks that he had been permitted to live to see their completion. There is a difference of opinion as to whether he believed in a supreme being, whom he saw fit to pa in sQence for a purpose, or whether he was utterly agnostic. His teachings incline to general skepticism, but whatever may have been his personal views there is scarcely room for a difference on the question of whether a religious faith more or le monotheistic preceded Confucius. The best Chinese scholars agree so far. Real Chinese history can be traced no farther back than the reign of Yaou, 2,356 B.C., and there we find clear and distinct traces of a, worship of the supreme god Shangte. Yaou shared his throne with Shun, who succeeded him. Both have been looked upon in all succeeding Yaou was ages as perfect models of sovereigns. the King Alfred of China, who by his wise administration united all the warring states in one empire. He encouraged astronomical researches and all useful science. We are told that when he died the virtues of his colleague Shun “were heard on high,” and he was therefore appointed that all the highest forms of worship have been By his decrees kings were offeied in all ages. made and rulers executed judgment. … In all probability there was a time when the worship of Shangte was the expre ion of a pure mono By degrees, how theistic faith of the Chinese. corruption crept in, and, tho Shangte always remained the supreme object of veneraever, Con fuci an ism Constantinople tion, they saw no disloyalty to him in rendering to the powers of nature which they homage learned to personify, and to the spirits of their departed ancestors who were supposed to guard and watch over in a subordinate manner the welfaie of their descendants.” Profe or Legge of Oxford, in “The Religions of China,” has illustrated this distinction by quoting the prayers of an emperor of the Ming dynasty, which were offered in the Temple of Heaven in the year 1538 a.d., in which he first invokes the spirits of the mountains and the hills, and asks their interce ion with the supreme God, whose name he proposes slightly to change, He that the change may be acceptable to Him. then proceeds to pray directly to the God of heaven, whom he addre es as the creator and upholder and ruler of all things. These prayers show how, in spite of the teachings of Confucius, the old monotheism which he ignored still survived, and they show also what great truths underlie the worship offered in the Temple of Heaven in Peking. In his prayer to the spirits he says: “Beforehand we inform you, all ye celestial and all ye terrestrial spirits, and will trouble you in our behalf, to exert your spiritual power and display your vigorous efficacy communicating our poor desire to Shangte, and praying him graciously to grant us his acceptance and regard, and to be pleased with the title which we shall reverently present.” “This prayer shows,” says Profe or Legge, “how there had grown up around the primitive monotheism of China the recognition and worship of a multitude of celestial and terrestrial spirits, and yet the monotheism remained.” How differently does the Emperor proceed when, having thus invoked the interceding spirits, he approaches Shangte directly. He begins: “Of old, in the beginning, there was the great The five elechaos, without form and dark. ments had not begun to revolve nor the sun and moon to shine. In the midst thereof there presented itself neither form nor sound. Thou, O spiritual Sovereign! earnest forth in thy presidency, and first didst divide the gro er parts from the purer. Thou madest heaven; thou madest earth; thou madest man; all things got their being with their producing power.” After stating the title which he proposes to give to Shangte, he adds: “Thou didst produce, spirit the sun and moon and five planets; and pure and beautiful was their light. The vault of heaven was spread out like a curtain, and the square earth supported all on it, and all creatures were happy. I thy servant presume reverently to thank thee.” Farther on he says: “All living things are indebted to thy goodne , I 192”Within the gates of the southP. Martin, D.D. ern division of the capital, and surrounded by a sacred grove so extensive that the silence of its deep shades is never broken by the noises of the busy world, stands the Temple of Heaven. It consists of a single tower, whose tiling of resplendent azure is intended to represent the form and color of the aerial vault. It contains no altar, and the solemn rites are not performed within the tower. But on a marble altar which stands before it a bullock is offered once a year as a burnt-sacrifice, while the master of the empire prostrates himself in adoration of the spirit of the universe. This is the high place of Chinese devotion, and the thoughtful visitor feels that he ought to tread the place with uns and a led For no vulgar idolatry has entered here; feet. this mountain top still stands above the waves of corruption, and on this solitary altar still rests a faint ray of the primaeval faith. The tablet which represents the invisible deity is inscribed with the name of Shangte, the supreme Ruler; and as we contemplate the majesty of the empire prostrate before it while the smoke ascends: from his burning sacrifice, our thoughts are irresistibly carried back to the time when the King of Salem officiated as ‘Priest of the Most High God.’” Profe or Dougla charges Confucius with having promoted the spread of polytheism by attempting to suppre the knowledge of the supreme God. He substituted for Shangte (god), Tien (heaven); and that change has survived. But the people, feeling a need of some thing le vague, have fallen into the worship of countle other objects, and particularly the worship of ancestors. “But,” says the profe or, “in spite of the silence of Confucius on the subject of Shangte, his worship has been maintained, not perhaps in its original purity, but with works of reverence which place its object on the highest pinnacle of the Chinese Pantheon. At the present day the imperial worship of Shangte on the round hillock to the south of the city of Peking is surrounded with all the solemnity of which such an occasion is capable.” “There is no need,” says Dr. Martin, “for extended argument to establish the fact that the early Chinese were by no means destitute of the knowledge of God. They did not, indeed, know him as the Creator (evidently the prayer of the Ming emperor recognized Him as such), but they recognized Him as supreme in providence, and without beginning or end. Whence came this conception? Was it the mature result of ages of speculation, or was it brought down from remote antiquity on the stream him? It is Thou alone, O Lord, who art the parent of all things.” The temple-worship of Shangte (for real personality is still recognized, tho the name be changed for Tien, heaven) has always been a ociated with the Confucian system. There is no evidence that it was ever suspended, even temporarily, after Confucius came; and here, in the prayers of the Ming emperor, two you sand years after his time, we find the old name Shangte of patriarchal tradition? The latter, we think, is the only probable hypothesis.” There has been a long and earnest discu ion among mi ionaries as to how far the identity of Shangte with the true God once made known to men may be traced. Certainly it there be a real succe ion many attributes have been lost and the conception in any Chinese mind is very dim. Yet is there not at least an important reminiscence, and may not the earnest mi ionary have the same grounds that Paul had for saying, “Whom ye ignorantly worship, declare rea erted. I but who knows whence his ble ings come to No more impre ive account has been given unto you”? The mi ionary has to meet in the Confucian of this surviving monotheistic worship in Peking A. than the following from the pen of Dr. that self-centered temper and that inclination to evil which is familiar enough in Christian lands. Wm. Confaclanlsni Constantinople 193 Men of the non-Christian races do not escape such irreligion by being without knowledge of What the mi ionary also has to Jesus Christ. meet among the followers of Confucius is an imperfect code of morals that he must make his ally wherever po ible rather than his enemy. Con fuci an ism does not perfectly repel influences from outside. The le on of the Boxer outbreak of 1900 is that the people of China need a new moral energy, and that Christian mi ionaries are the ones to give them this energy, making full use, for the purpose, of their knowledge of the maxims and the aims of Confucius. Dougla (R. K.), Con fuci an ism and Taouism, London, 1893; Faber (E.), The Mind of Mencius, London, 1882; Jennings (W.), Confucian ATialects, London, 1895; Legge (J.), Texts of Con fuci an ism (Sacred Books of the East Religions of China, series), Oxford and New York; London, 1881. 211