Confucius

(551-479 BC) Confucius is arguably the most influential philosopher in human history - ‘is' because, taking Chinese philosophy on its own terms, he is still very much alive. Recognized as China's first teacher both chronologically and in importance, his ideas have been the rich soil in which the Chinese cultural tradition has grown and flourished. In fact, whatever we might mean by ‘Chineseness' today, some two and a half millennia after his death, is inseparable from the example of personal character that Confucius provided for posterity. Nor was his influence restricted to China; all of the Sinitic cultures - especially Korea, Japan and Vietnam - have evolved around ways of living and thinking derived from the wisdom of the Sage. A couple of centuries before Plato founded his Academy to train statesmen for the political life of Athens, Confucius had established a school with the explicit purpose of educating the next generation for political leadership. As his curriculum, Confucius is credited with having over his lifetime edited what were to become the Chinese Classics, a collection of poetry, music, historical documents and annals that chronicled the events at the Lu court, along with an extensive commentary on the Yijing (Book of Changes). These classics provided a shared cultural vocabulary for his students, and became the standard curriculum for the Chinese literati in subsequent centuries. Confucius began the practice of independent philosophers travelling from state to state in an effort to persuade political leaders that their particular teachings were a practicable formula for social and political success. In the decades that followed the death of Confucius, intellectuals of every stripe - Confucians, Legalists, Mohists, Yin-yang theorists, Militarists - would take to the road, attracted by court academies which sprung up to host them. Within these seats of learning, the viability of their various strategies for political and social unity would be hotly debated. 1 Life, works and influence Although Confucius enjoyed great popularity as a teacher and many of his students found their way into political office, his enduring frustration was that personally he achieved only marginal influence in the practical politics of the day. He was a philosophe rather than a theoretical philosopher; he wanted desperately to hold sway over intellectual and social trends, and to improve the quality of life that was dependent upon them. Although there were occasions on which important political figures sought his advice and services, over his years in the state of Lu, he held only minor offices at court. Early on, however, and certainly by the time of his death, Confucius had risen in reputation to become a model of erudition, attracting attention from all segments of society. As time passed and the stock in Confucius rose, the historical records began to ‘recall' details about his official career that had been supposedly lost. Over time, his later disciples altered the wording of his biographical record in his favour, effectively promoting him from minor official to several of the highest positions in the land. Nor does the story end there. By the time of the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), Confucius was celebrated as the ‘uncrowned king' of the state of Lu, and by the fourth century AD, any prefecture wanting to define itself as a political entity was required by imperial decree to erect a temple to Confucius. Gods in China are local cultural heroes who are remembered by history as having contributed meaning and value to the tradition, and of these revered ancestors, that god called Confucius has been remembered best. Confucius was certainly a flesh and blood historical figure, as real as Jesus or George Washington. But the received Confucius was and still is a ‘living corporate person', in the sense that generation after generation of descendants have written commentaries on the legacy of Confucius in an effort to make his teachings appropriate for their own times and places. ‘Confucianism' is a lineage of scholars who have continued to elaborate upon the canonical texts passed on after the life of Confucius came to an end, extending the way of living that Confucius had begun. Although the ascent of Confucius to exalted status began early in the tradition with the continuation of his work by his many disciples, it was not until Confucianism was established as the state ideology during the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) that his school of thought became an unchallenged orthodoxy. By developing his insights around the most basic and enduring aspects of the human experience - family, friendship, education, community and so on - Confucius had guaranteed their continuing relevance. One characteristic of Confucianism that began with Confucius himself, and made it so resilient in the Chinese tradition, is its porousness and adaptability. Confucius said of himself that he only transmitted traditional culture, he did not create it; his contribution was simply to take ownership of the tradition, and adapt the wisdom of the past to his own present historical moment. Just as Confucius reinvented the culture of the Zhou and earlier dynasties for his own era, Han dynasty Confucianism drew into itself many of the ideas owned by competing schools in the earlier centuries, and in so doing, fortified itself against their challenge. This pattern - absorbing competing ideas and adapting them to the specific conditions of the time - sustained Confucianism across the centuries as the official doctrine of the Chinese empire until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. In fact, an argument can be made that just as the composite of Buddhism and Confucianism produced neo-Confucianism, the combination of Marxism and Confucianism in this century has created a kind of neo-neo-Confucianism. As recently as the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's wife, and her cohorts mounted an Anti-Confucius campaign that swept the country. The great irony of this Anti-Confucius campaign was that during this period one could not acquire a copy of the Analects, not because they had been banned or suppressed but because they were sold out; the entire country was put to work reading the teachings of Confucius in order to criticize them. 2 Teachings There are many sources for the teachings of Confucius that have been passed down to us today. The most authoritative among them are the Lunyu Analects. (Lunyu literally means ‘discourses'; a better translation is ‘analects', coming from the Greek analekta, which has the root meaning of ‘leftovers after a feast'.) It is probably the case that the first fifteen books of these literary ‘leftovers' were assembled and edited by a congress of Confucius' disciples shortly after his death. It would seem the disciples concluded that a very special person had walked among them, and that his way - what he said and did - should be preserved for future generations. Much of this portion of the text is devoted to remembering Confucius, a personal narrative of what he had to say, to whom he said it and how he said it. The middle three chapters are like snapshots of his life-habits - Confucius never sat down without first straightening his mat; he never slept in the posture of a corpse; he never sang on a day that he attended a funeral; he drank freely, but never to the point of being confused of mind. The last five books of the Analects appear to have been compiled some time later, after the most prominent disciples of Confucius had launched their own teaching careers and had taken it upon themselves to elaborate on the philosophy of their late Master. Confucius is less prominent in these chapters, yet he is referenced with more honorific terms, while the now mature disciples are themselves often quoted. In addition to the Analects, the other two most important resources for the life and teachings of Confucius are the Zuozhuan (the Zuo commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals), and the Mencius. The Zuo commentary is a narrative history which purports to interpret the chronicle of the court history of the state of Lu up until the death of Confucius. The Mencius is a text named after a disciple who elaborated the doctrines of Confucius some century and a half after his death (see Mencius), and became one of the Four Books in the Song dynasty, which were from then onwards the core of the Confucian classics (see Chinese Classics). One thing is clear about the Analects and these supplementary texts: they do not purport to lay out a formula by which everyone should live. Rather, they provide an account of one man: how he cultivated his humanity, and how he lived a satisfying life, much to the admiration of those around him. The way (dao) of Confucius is nothing more or less than the way in which he as a particular person chose to live his life. The power and lasting value of his ideas lie in the fact that they are intuitively persuasive, and readily adaptable. Confucius begins from the insight that the life of every human being is played out within the context of their particular family, for better or for worse. For Confucius and generations of Chinese to come, it is one's family and the complex of relationships that constitute it, rather than the solitary individual, that is the basic unit of humanity. In fact, for Confucius, there is no individual - no ‘self' or ‘soul' - that remains once the layers of social relations are peeled away. One is one's roles and relationships. The goal of living, then, is to achieve harmony and enjoyment for oneself and others through acting appropriately in those roles and relationships that constitute one. Given that we all live within the web of family relationships, it is entirely natural that we should project this institution out onto the community, the polity and the cosmos as an organizing metaphor. The Confucian community is an extension of aunts and uncles, sisters and cousins; the teacher is ‘teacher-father' and one's senior classmates are ‘elder-brother students'; ‘the ruler is father and mother to the people, and is the son of "Heaven"'. ‘Heaven' itself is a faceless amalgam of ancestors rather than some transcendent Creator deity (see Tian). As Confucius says, ‘The exemplary person works hard at the root, for where the root has taken firm hold, the way will grow.' What then is the root? He continues: ‘Treating your family members properly - this is the root of becoming a person.' For Confucius, the way to live is not dictated for us by some power beyond; it is something we all must participate in constructing. On one occasion, Confucius said ‘It is not the way that broadens people, but people who broaden the way.' The way is our passage through life, the road we take. Our forbearers mapped out their way and built their roads, and in so doing, have provided a bearing for succeeding generations. They have given us the culture and institutions that structure our lives and give them value and meaning. But each new generation must be roadbuilders too, and continue the efforts that have gone before. Confucius saw living as an art rather than a science. There are no blueprints, no formulae, no replications. He once said, ‘The exemplary person seeks harmony, not sameness.' In a family, each member has his or her unique and particular role. Harmony is simply getting the most out of these differences. Similarly, Confucius saw harmony in community emerging out of the uninhibited contributions of its diverse people. Communal enjoyment is like Chinese cooking - getting the most out of your ingredients. Confucius was extraordinarily fond of good music, because making music is conducent to harmony, bringing different voices into productive relationships. Music is tolerant in allowing each voice and instrument to have its own place, its own integrity, while at the same time, requiring that each ingredient find a complementary role in which it can add the most to the ensemble. Music is always unique in that each performance has a life of its own. What Confucius calls ren - literally, ‘becoming a person' - is the recognition that personal character is the consequence of cultivating one's relationships with others (see Confucian philosophy, Chinese §5). There is nothing more defining of humanity for Confucius than the practical consideration of one human being for another. Importantly, ren does not precede practical employment; it is not a principle or standard that has some existence beyond the day to day lives of the people who realize it in their relationships. Rather, ren is fostered in the deepening of relationships that occur as one takes on the responsibility and obligations of communal living, and comes fully to life. Ren is shared human flourishing. It is the achievement of the quality of relationships which, like the lines in calligraphy or landscape painting, collaborate to maximum aesthetic effect. Wisdom for Confucius is relevant knowledge: not knowing ‘what' in some abstract and theoretical sense, but knowing ‘how' to map one's way through life and get the most happiness out of it. Happiness for oneself and for others is isomorphic; it is mutually entailing. In discussing knowledge, Confucius says that being fond of something is better than just knowing it, and finding enjoyment in it is better than just being fond of it. Confucius associates ren with mountains; it is spiritual and enduring, a constant geographical marker from which we can all take our bearings. Wisdom is like water, pure, flowing and nurturing. The exemplary person is both ren and wise, both mountain and water. A good way to think about ‘the way' is the notion of passage. On one occasion, Confucius observed while standing on the bank of a river, ‘Isn't its passing just like this, never ceasing day or night!' Life is at its very best a pleasant journey, where the inherited body of cultural institutions and the pattern of roles and relationships that locate us within community - what Confucius calls ‘propriety' (li) - are a code of formal behaviours for stabilizing and disciplining our ever-changing circumstances. ‘Propriety' covers everything from table manners to the three years of mourning on the loss of one's parent, from the institution of parenthood to the appropriate posture for expressing commiseration. It is a social syntax that brings the particular members of community into meaningful relationships. Propriety is a discourse, which like language, enables people to communicate, and to locate themselves appropriately, one with the other. What distinguishes ‘propriety' from rules and regulations is that these cultural norms must be personalized, and are open to refinement. Only I can be father to my sons; only I can be this son to my mother; only I can sacrifice to my ancestors. And if I act properly, performing my roles and cultivating my relationships so that they are rich and fruitful, other people in community will see me as a model of appropriate conduct, and will defer. It is precisely this power of example that Confucius called ‘excellence' (de). Excellence is the propensity of people to behave a certain way when provided with an inspiring model. The other side to what Confucius calls ‘propriety' is the cultivation of a sense of shame. Shame is community-based. It is an awareness of and a concern for how others perceive one's conduct. Persons with a sense of shame genuinely care about what other people think of them. Self-sufficient individuals, on the other hand, need not be concerned about the judgments of others. Such individuals can thus be capable of acting shamelessly, using any means at all to take what they want when they want it. 3 Disciples Confucius was tolerant of difference. In fact, on six separate occasions in the Analects, he is asked what he means by ren, an idea that is at the heart of his teachings, and six times he gives different answers. For Confucius, instructing disciples in ren requires that the message be tailored to the conditions of the person asking the question. We have said that, for Confucius, persons are no more than the sum of their specific familial and communal roles and relationships, and that ren emerges out of the quality that they are able to achieve in cultivating them. It stands to reason, then, that to know Confucius, we do best to familiarize ourselves with his community of disciples. The Teacher can best be known by his students. Some of these disciples come to life in a careful reading of the Analects. For example, although Confucius was reluctant to use the term ren to describe anyone, he did use it of his favourite disciple, Yan Hui, also called Yan Yuan. Living on a bowl of rice and a ladle of water, Yan Hui's eagerness to learn and his sincerity endeared him to the Master; but he was also possessed of an incomparable character, and was so intelligent that Confucius said of him, ‘When he is told one thing he understands ten'. Although Yan Hui was some thirty years younger than Confucius, it was only him among his many disciples that Confucius saw as his equal. It is no surprise, then, that Confucius was totally devastated by the death of Yan Hui at the young age of thirty-one. Zilu was another of Confucius' best-known and favourite disciples. He was a person of courage and action who was sometimes upbraided by Confucius for being too bold and impetuous. When he asked Confucius if courage was indeed the highest virtue, Confucius tried to rein him in by replying that a person who has courage without a sense of appropriateness will be a trouble-maker, and a lesser person will be a thief. Confucius' feelings for Zilu were mixed. On the one hand, he was constantly critical of Zilu's rashness and immodesty; and impatient with his seeming indifference to book learning. On the other hand, Confucius appreciated Zilu's unswerving loyalty and directness; he never delayed on fulfilling his commitments. Being nearer Confucius in age, Zilu with his military temper was not one to take criticism without giving it back; on several occasions, especially in the apocryphal literature, Zilu challenges Confucius' judgment in associating with political figures of questionable character and immodest reputation. However, Confucius' enormous affection for the irrepressible Zilu comes through the text. Confucius was also critical of his disciples. Zai Yu, also called Ziwo, was devoted to Confucius, yet on numerous occasions Confucius criticised him roundly for a lack of character. It was as a metaphorical reference to attempting to educate Ziwo that Confucius said, 'You cannot carve rotten wood, nor can you whitewash a wall made from dry manure'. Zigong excelled as a statesman and as a merchant, and was perhaps second only to Yan Hui in Confucius' affections. Confucius was respectful of Zigong's abilities, and in particular his intellect, but less impressed with Zigong's use of this intellect to amass personal wealth. Coming from a wealthy, educated home, Zigong was well-spoken, and as such, Confucius' most persistent criticism of him is that his deeds could not keep pace with his words. Even so, much of the flattering profile of Confucius collected in the Analects is cast in the words of the eloquent Zigong. Zengzi is best remembered as a proponent of filial piety - devotion and service to one's parents. A natural extension of this affection for one's family is friendship. Zengzi rose to prominence after the death of Confucius as one of his leading advocates. These and many other disciples came from around the central states of China, gravitating to the state of Lu to study with Confucius. In spite of the sometimes severe opinions which Confucius expressed freely about them - and he admonishes almost every one of them - they were devoted to the Master, and responded to him with reverence. There is no greater proof of this enduring respect for Confucius than the fact that they had a hand in recording Confucius' criticisms of themselves, and then went on to found branch schools based on these same criticisms to perpetuate his teachings. 4 The Analects: texts and commentaries The work known as the Analects is mainly a collection of sayings and conversations of Confucius. In the time of Emperor Wu (140-87 BC) of the Han there were three versions of the work, the Lulun, the Qilun and the Gulun. In the first century BC, Zhang Yu taught a version known as Lunyu according to Marquis Zhang, which incorporated readings from both the Lulun and the Qilun. Zheng Xuan (AD 127-200) further adopted readings from the Gulun. The text that has come down to us is that of He Yan (AD 190-249) in his Lunyu jijie (Collected Commentaries on the Lunyu). The extant Analects is in twenty books. Of the three early versions, only the Lulun had twenty books; the Qilun and the Gulun both had twenty-two books, though the extra books were not identical. According to the Xinlun of Huan Tan (24 BC-AD 56) the order of the chapters in the Gulun was different and there were more than four hundred variant readings. Lu Deming (AD 556-637) of the Tang dynasty also remarked that in the Qilun, besides the two extra books, ‘the chapters and verses were considerably more numerous than in the Lulun'. Some of the variant readings were recorded by scholars before the three versions were lost and these have been collected by textual critics over the centuries, but these consist mainly of variant forms of graphs. Only a handful affect the interpretation of the text. For instance, the text of VII.17 in the traditional text reads, ‘Grant me a few more years so that I may continue to study the Yijing at the age of fifty, and I shall be free from major errors.' According to Lu Deming, the Lulun reads yi (grammatical particle) in place of yi (meaning the Yijing (Book of Changes). This can only be rendered ‘Grant me a few more years so that I may continue to learn at the age of fifty, and I shall, perhaps, be free from major errors.' Thus the variant reading has a bearing on the substantive point whether Confucius was a keen student of the Yijing. Of the two eclectic versions, the Lunyu according to Marquis Zhang was based on the Lulun while incorporating readings from the Qilun. As for Zheng Xuan's version, it has been the common view that this was likewise based on the Lulun but incorporating readings from the Gulun. However, this may not be the case, as there is some evidence that Zheng also adopted some readings of the Qilun. On their versions of the Lunyu, both Zhang and Zheng wrote commentaries. Zhang's commentary was in an independent work known as Lu Anchang hou shuo (Marquis Anchang's Exegesis of the Lu [lun]). Unfortunately this was lost at a very early age and we do not possess even a single quotation from it. Zheng's commentary was attached to his text of the Analects, and although the work is lost, numerous quotations, particularly through He Yan's Collected Commentaries, have come down to us. In the present century a number of fragments came to light in Dunhuang and Turfan, the most notable of which is a partial manuscript copy done by a twelve-year-old schoolboy in 710 and discovered in 1969. In all, we now possess over half of Zheng's total commentary, and this has spurred on the study of this commentary. In Bajiaolang in Ding Xian, Hebei province, a copy of the Analects on bamboo slips was unearthed in 1971 in a tomb of the late Western Han, consisting of over half of the whole text. The exciting part of the discovery is that the text antedates the version of Marquis Zhang, and may represent the school of the Qilun. Unfortunately, the publication of this text so far has not revealed any major differences. Of the numerous commentaries on the Analects, only a few landmarks can be mentioned. The Lunyu zhushu (Subcommentary on the Lunyu) by Xing Bing (932-1010) and Lunyu jizhu (Collected Commentaries on the Lunyu) by the great neo-Confucian thinker Zhu Xi (1130-1200) were authoritative works for the educated reader. In the Qing dynasty, as a reaction against the neo-Confucian approach, there were new commentaries on the classics with greater philological emphasis. On the Analects in particular, we have Liu Baonan's Lunyu zhengyi (The True Interpretation of the Lunyu). There is finally the question of the composition of the Analects. First (as noted in §2), the work as we have it was not put into the present form once and for all. The later books were likely to have been added on at a later editing. Second, within a single book, some material must have been taken from existing collections of sayings of Confucius en bloc and some chapters added subsequently. Finally, sayings of disciples must have been incorporated by their own disciples to enhance their standing in the Confucian tradition. This is particularly true of Book I, in which are found sayings by younger disciples such as Youzi and Zengzi who played an important role in the formation of the Confucian tradition.