Student: Tushar Jain Professor: D. Y.

Chang Course Title: East Asian Cultures Meeting Time: 4:55pm Tuesdays and Thursdays Due Date: 3/5/12

The Analects of Confucius are a compilation of the teachings of Confucius, as written both by Confucius himself and his disciples. The Analects are truly a collection of various chapters and teachings rather than a singular work; they often deviate from topics and explore the teachings of Confucius in a winding unpredictable path. These works have influenced the very fabric of Chinese and East Asian culture, government, religion and society very heavily; Confucius was one of the most influential teachers of all time. The teachings of Confucius are for everyone to study, one of the most revolutionary of Confuciuss teachings was that not only men of noble birth should be provided with education. Confucius was the first teacher in East Asia to open up his school to those of the commoner classes; his disciples came from all walks of life. Some parts of Confuciuss teachings are of course targeted towards those with power to change how Chinese society was run; the peasants were not able to affect the laws and policies of their governments. Other parts of Confuciuss teachings, such as the virtues of the superior man and how all should have a love of learning are targeted for all people

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from all classes and of all occupations. Confucius taught a way of life and wished all to follow his lead and the lead of his disciples. The teachings of Confucius were, as is to be expected, influenced by his situation in life and the environment he was surrounded by as all people are. His teachings of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, improvement of the quality of life of the common people along with his blunt manner of presenting these teachings made him a political outsider for much of his life. While he was able to gather quite a large group of disciples, political power evaded him for the first few decades of his life because he wished to challenge the status quo and was considered a threat by large parts of the ruling class. Confucius was finally able to rise to a position of power in the State of Lu after he was more than 50 years old. His policies were very successful and the State of Lu was growing more prosperous and therefore more powerful. This posed a challenge to opposing powers that saw their power being eclipsed by the State of Lu. Legend has it that competing powers who did not like the influence that Confuciuss teachings were having on the State of Lu and its subsequent increase in power and prosperity conspired successfully to force Confucius to leave his post. They accomplished this by distracting the Duke of Lu from his official duties which disgusted Confucius and drove him to resign, making him once again a political outsider. Confucius then roamed China trying to convince other lords and noblemen to adopt his philosophies in their governance

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styles but was unsuccessful. Confuciuss point of view was one of an innovator and therefore he was shunned by the political elite of China who wanted to preserve the status quo in which they had power. Confucius was also unskilled at the game of politics, choosing to be blunt in his speech and unflattering to those that were born into their positions but undeserving of them. Because of these factors, Confuciuss teachings are from the point of view of a political outsider, a cultural outsider, a reformer and a man that had wisdom way ahead of his times because that describes the man that Confucius was. One of the reasons Confucius had so much trouble getting his policies implemented across China was the inherent bias of the ruling class to maintain the status quo. The ruling class was comfortable in their role; in a system dominated by warlords and hereditary power not many political leaders were willing to risk their position in order to try new policies meant to improve the wellbeing of all of society with no guarantee of success or of an increase in the power of the ruling class. In fact, Confuciuss focus on merit rather than birthright downright challenged the very foundation of power of the ruling class! There was extreme fragmentation of modern China during the period of Confucius; this created a situation where political leaders had to look out first and foremost for their own power and survival while putting the advancement of their societies on the back burner. This was an era of frequent conflicts between sovereign

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powers, fighting between warlords that were nominally in the same state and vast civil strife mostly suffered by the commoners. The era that Confucius lived in had an enormous influence on his teachings, he saw the situation around him and wanted to develop and deploy a system that would lead to peace and prosperity for all. If there had been one central power in China during the time of Confucius, he might have had an easier time having his reforms implemented over a greater area and been able to affect the conditions of many more lives during his time. It says something about Confuciuss great discipline and determination that he was able to continue his learning and teaching despite facing so many headwinds and receiving so much negative feedback from the ruling class. It is because of Confuciuss determination and wisdom that his teachings became so successful as to become one of the bedrocks of Eastern Asian culture. This success led to the interpretation of his teachings by Europeans and the West to be a religion. When westerners learned of Confuciuss influence over East Asia, they immediately drew parallels to the other great historical figures with such influence, most notably the prophets Jesus and Mohammed. However, Confucius did not consider himself a prophet, he did not consider his philosophies to be the means toward reaching salvation nor serving a greater being. Confuciuss teachings are about how to live a good life, a virtuous life, a life devoted to self-improvement. He does not try to explain the theory of life and urges his disciples to think for themselves, a quality devoid in most other

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religions. An entire chapter, Chapter 10, of the Analects is devoted to describing various aspects of Confuciuss daily life. Chapter 10 of the Analects does not portray Confucius as anything other than a wise man, a teacher and a leader. While Confucius did partake in many rituals beginning from his childhood, these were in pursuit of being a better person rather than in pursuit of approval from some divine entity. A fundamental belief of Confucius was that human beings have control of their situations and affairs. This is why he urged all people to continually improve themselves rather than urging them to pray to a divine being for the hope of receiving aid to better their situation. He repeatedly says in his teachings that a good government is one of the most important factors to improving the lives of the people, he does not ever say that divine action is needed to better society. According to Confucius, people are responsible for themselves and for working to improve themselves, their situation in life and their society. Confucius believed that we should all feel a sense of duty to live good and virtuous lives, this was the basis of his definition of morality. Ethics is the expression of morality, one makes ethical decisions because of ones morals. Confucius taught that morality is the way to a better government and therefore a better life for all people; in one of his most important analects he states: If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought

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to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good. To Confucius, morality was the sense of duty that one must have to be good and to be virtuous. The values that were at the core of morality according to Confucius included generosity from the soul, sincerity, earnestness, seriousness, kindness, righteousness and benevolence. A virtuous man (a gentleman) would possess these values and always strive to be improving himself in these avenues. Confucius believed that the path to selfimprovement was through learning; a superior man (a gentleman) should have a deep love of learning and pursue learning, knowledge and wisdom through his entire life. This love of learning was woven deep into Confuciuss teachings, as he says in Chapter 17, There is the love of being benevolent without the love of learning; -- the beclouding here leads to a foolish simplicity. There is the love of knowing without the love of learning; -- the beclouding here leads to dissipation of mind. There is the love of being sincere without the love of learning; -- the beclouding here leads to an injurious disregard of consequences. There is the love of straightforwardness without the love of learning; -- the beclouding here leads to rudeness. There is the love of boldness without the love of learning; -- the beclouding here leads to insubordination. There is the love of firmness without the love of learning; -- the beclouding here leads to extravagant conduct. In Chapter 8, Confucius further urges all who wish to be superior men to

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devote themselves to learning every day until they die: With sincere faith he unites the love of learning; holding firm to death. Confucius says that virtue is cultivated through learning about what it is to be a moral person and then following through by acting on that knowledge. He believed that anyone could be virtuous; virtue was not reserved for those of noble birth but was also open to the common man. This fits in with Confuciuss belief that merit should be the determinant of ones place in society rather than birthright or wealth. Confuciuss teaching of common men along with the heirs to great houses and great fortunes demonstrates this belief; he taught all of his disciples together with no discrimination based on factors such as social class, occupation or affluence. Confucius preached that each person had to have a sense of duty to self, family, community and society as a series of concentric circles that defined who a person was. Each person was to learn how to live a virtuous life and help himself, his family, his community and his society to the best of his ability. However, one could not be a virtuous person by just going through the motions and fulfilling the duties he believed he must. In order to be virtuous, one must have a sense of duty from within and a love of learning from within; these must be true emotions, real desires that are necessary for one to be a virtuous person. This is what Confucius means by his quote in Chapter 15 It is Man who is capable of broadening the Way. It is not the Way that is capable of broadening Man. One cannot simply become a virtuous man by following the way;

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there is more to it than that. If one is a virtuous man, a man who has a love of learning and teaching, then one can help others live a righteous life. This is what Confucius means by the first part of his quote, this how a man may broaden the way. Confucius did not say that his teachings were perfection, as religion is ought to do, but rather he accepted that there were improvements to his teachings that could be made by his immediate disciples and by other learned men to follow. Confucius believed that people had to relate to each other on a more human level than any teacher before him had preached. He saw potential in all people and did not agree with the classist structure of Chinese society in the era in which he lived. Of course a society cannot function without rule of law and in order for rule of law to prevail the people must accept that they must obey their superiors and the government. Confucius was particularly stringent in his belief that a son must obey his parents while they are alive. This is an effective policy because parents most often want the best for their children and can impart their wisdom to them, Confucius saw too many men make decisions against their parents wishes that later ruined them. Because of the times in which he lived, Confucius was also of the belief that men were the leaders of their households and women should be subjugated to them. He even decreed that men and women should walk on opposite sides of the street while he was in a position of power in the State of Lu! This is the very definition of paternalism of which Confucius was an

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advocate and which his legacy unfortunately propagated through East Asia until modern times when women were finally given more equal rights. Confuciuss teachings added up to a way of life he wished all to follow. He also had a particular focus on how government should be run; he disagreed with the contemporary system of hereditary power and warlords ruling through fear and bloodshed. Confucius believed that rules should be virtuous to set a good example for their officials and people. This was mirrored in the way Confucius led his own life, he lived a very disciplined life according to his own teachings and code, setting an example for his disciples to emulate. Confucius told rulers that if they were virtuous, their people would be virtuous and their state would then exist in peace and prosperity. Unfortunately, not many rulers were willing to entertain this notion as it challenged the status quo and therefore their power. The governmental style advocated by Confucius was one of the people, he wished that people be installed in government posts because of their merit and wanted the government to rule through their subjects sense of duty over brute force. He wanted rulers to lead by example and place trust in their subjects to live virtuous lives. As he states in one of his most important analects: If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and

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moreover will become good. This demonstrates both his idea of morality and his idea that government should be based on the people rather than laws which typically function by threatening punishment. American government on the other hand is a government of laws because we as a society place less trust on individuals to do the right thing. This is a symptom of American culture where we are all expected to look out first and foremost for our own best interests and place other peoples interests secondary to our own. American culture demonstrates the values of to each his own and is the epitome of individualism whereas Confucius preached that society should be based on doing well for others rather than yourself. This is a fundamental difference in values and opinions which is an entire debate topic in and onto itself, a debate that has been raging since the advent of human civilization upon this Earth. The leader of a state, according to Confucius, must be moral and this would lead him to be competent because he would be leading by example. This was the most important feature of a leader in Confuciuss teachings because a state filled with moral people and with a moral leader who wasnt entirely competent was better off than a state with a competent leader whose subjects feared him and acted without virtue towards each other. A good king according to Confucius would follow the principles of generosity from the soul, sincerity, earnestness, seriousness, kindness, righteousness and benevolence along with a love of learning. In other words a good ruler was expected

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to live a virtuous life as were all people, the only difference was that the ruler was to set an example for his subjects and therefore his virtue had more positive externalities than the virtue of a common man. Confucius, while against the hereditary hierarchy of China in his era, still believed that there should be a strict hierarchy in society. A son was to obey his parents without question and a subject was to obey his ruler without question. The difference between Confucian teaching and the government at the time was that he thought government officials should be appointed on merit rather than birth. This was the genesis of the standardized testing system in Chinese government which was the method of selection for government officials for many centuries. Confucius died before his reforms were widely adopted, like many other great men he passed away without knowing the impact that he had on the lives of billions of people over the course of millennia.

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