-Confucius (has a bunch of alternate names, but this name comes from his title "Kong Fuzi" ("Grand Master Kong"), although in modern China they refer to him as "Kongzi" ("Master Kong"). However, his real name was probably Kong Qiu) is one of the most important influential philosophers in world history, and he lived during the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history.
-Born in 551 BC in the state of Lu (near modern-day Qufu, Shandong Province).
-Family is said to have moved to Lu from the state of Song, and according to legend he was a descendant of the dukes of Song.
-Family was of the shi social class (entry-level nobility, similar to the equites of Ancient Rome).
-Father was a soldier in the Lu army.
-Died when Confucius was a young child.
-So, despite their shi status, Confucius was raised in poverty by his single mother.
-Worked a variety of jobs to support his family, including being a shepherd, clerk, bookkeeper, etc. His dream, however, was to be a government official.
-In his late teens he married a chick named Qi Guan; they had a song named Kong Li.
-Confucius' mother died when he was 23.
-As Confucius grew older, he slowly moved up the ranks of power in society, and by the time he was 50 he had become a well-known teacher and philosopher. It was during this time that he was selected to be the governor of a small town in Lu.
-During this time Lu was controlled by a duke, but actually the real power lay in the hands of three aristocratic families ("The Three Huan" ("San Huan")) who were descendants of a former duke of Lu (Duke Huan): The Ji, Meng, and Shu clans.
-c. 500 BC- the governor of the city of Hou rebelled against his lords (the Shu clan) and declared the city independent of Lu. The city was well-fortified, so the Lu forces couldn't get the city to surrender.
-Of course, eventually the rebellious city fell, but these rebellions were actually a constant problem and it was obvious that the cities were all too well-fortified, which always made the rebellions a huge pain in the ass to put down.
-Intellectuals (like Confucius) and others realized that these fortifications had to go, and Confucius worked hard to convince town administrators to dismantle their fortifications (in addition to convincing some towns to destroy other towns' fortifications as well!). His REAL objective, of course, was to restore power to the duke!
-However, eventually Viscount Ji Huan of Lu caught onto what Confucius was trying to do, and so he (Confucius) was forced to flee the state in 497 BC, having failed to unite the state under the duke.
-During his exile, Confucius traveled to a wide variety of states, including Wei, Song, Zheng, Cao, Chu, Qi, Chen, and Cai. At these various states he would try to teach the rulers about his political philosophies, but at the same time these were met with a lukewarm response.
-Confucius was only able to return to his home state of Lu c. 483 BC (after the death of Viscount Ji Huan). However, at this point Confucius had amassed a following of disciples eager to champion his philosophy and teach others about it.
-Before he died, Confucius compiled his teachings and wisdom into a set of five texts which would become known as "The Five Classics" ("Wu Jing"):
-"The Classic of Poetry" (AKA "Book of Songs" / "Book of Odes") ("Shijing" / "Shih-Ching")
-"The Book of Documents" (AKA "The Classic of History") ("Shujing" / Shangsu")
-"The Book of Rites" (AKA "The Record of Rites") ("Liji")
-"The Book of Changes" (AKA "The Classic of Changes") ("I Ching" / "Yijing")
-"The Spring and Autumn Annals" ("Chunqiu")
-Confucius finally croaked in 472 BC.
-Confucius' legacy? Confucianism! (AKA Ruism ("Rujia")).
-Is Confucianism a religion?
-No, not really. There's nothing spiritual or supernatural about it. It's a sociopolitical system of ethics. Everything mystical or quasi-religious about it was added later (starting c. 2nd century BC).
-Jesuit missionaries who came to China in the 16th and 17th centuries saw it as a system of secular ethics.
-However, the Franciscan and Dominican missionaries saw it as pagan idolatry due to its rules of "ancestor worship", and Chinese Catholics were banned from performing these rites in 1704 (this would last until 1939!).
-It did sometimes incorporate local folk religion stuff (especially as it spread and evolved), but it was inherently secular and non-theistic.
-Confucian ethics were characterized by "The Five Constants" ("Wu Chang"):
1. Benevolence / Humaneness ("Ren")
2. Righteousness / Justice ("Yi")
3. Proper Rites / Etiquette ("Li")
-Involved a bunch of rules regarding ceremonies and rituals and the like, but also addressed customs, interactions, routines, etc.
-The idea was to shape all actions in a way that was ethical and moralistic in order to improve the overall health of society.
4. Knowledge ("Zhi")
5. Integrity ("Xin")
-Both Ren and Yi form the basic pillars/foundations of Confucianism.
-Confucian ethics were also characterized by "The Four Virtues" ("Sizi"), which were noted to be far from exhaustive and also overlap with the Five Constants, especially in regards to Yi:
1. Loyalty ("Zhong")
-Very important in Confucianism because it involved a guide for scholarly students to be successful. For example, a superior should always be obeyed, but this mutual respect MUST be reciprocal. A superior can't be an asshole! Also, a superior can even be reprimanded if he doesn't fulfill his part of this relationship!
2. Filial Piety ("Xiao")
-Involves loyalty and respect to one's own family. Follows a similar model as the Confucian concept of Zhong. A healthy society is mainted via healthy relationships between people, NOT from a strong, tyrannical government! However, this does NOT endorse anarchy. Instead, it's a mandate to show respect to the societal order and hierarchy.
-Also includes the concept of "The Five Bonds":
-Ruler over ruled; father over son; husband over wife; elder brother over younger brother; friend equal to friend (guaranteeing mutual respect and equality, regardless of age).
-This also includes the deceased- hence the necessity of "ancestor worship".
3. Contingency ("Jie")
4. Righteousness ("Yi")
-It could also be argued that Confucius popularized the concept of the Golden Rule ("What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others", among other axioms) in this region.
-Confucianism also advocates for a meritocracy, NOT a patrilineal caste system.
-Those who are in a position of power over others MUST be the paragons of virtue and intelligence!
-The ideal man is described as junzi ("gentleman"), which is basically someone who follows all of the tenants of Confucianism perfectly.
-The opposite of a junzi is a xiaoren ("small/petty person", see Donald Trump).
-One of the key components of Confucianism is that you don't have to be a noble to be a junzi, it's a lifestyle that is open to anyone.
-If the son of a farmer is a junzi and a government minister's son is a xiaoren, then obviously it is the farmer's son who should be promoted to a position of authority.
-"The nobility of blood" should be replaced with "the nobility of virtue".
-From this idea of a meritocracy would come the creation of the imperial examination system beginning in the Han dynasty.
-The imperial examinations allowed for ANYONE to become a government official just as long as they passed.
-Surprisingly, Europe would only follow suit a mere 2,700 years later during the Enlightenment...
-Speaking of Europe, an interesting side note: Confucius' works were actually translated into various European languages by Jesuits, and are believed to have been influential to various philosophical groups and thinkers, including deists, Gottfried Leibniz, and even Voltaire!
-As far as governance goes, Confucius believed that government should keep to itself for the most part. Proper governance, along with proper morality and virtue, would allow for natural morality and order to flow from the top of society to the bottom, ultimately guaranteeing a "healthy" society.
-A ruler should act as the calm center and allow for everyone to do their shit on their own, only interfering if they can't (or won't) do their jobs properly. Therefore, the less a ruler does, the more shit gets done.
-Confucianism would later on come into direct conflict with other philosophies which would become popular during or soon after this time (such as Legalism).
-Confucius wouldn't live long enough to see his philosophy truly blossom and spread (which would happen about 300 years later!). Too bad!
