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Confucius
In 551 BC in the state of Lu, Confucius was born to a noble but impecunious house. As a young man he took up government office, in which he rose to a position of relative prominence before being forced out by intrigue. At the age of 50 he became China's first private teacher, and developed a large following of disciples who wrote up his sayings after his death.
His Principal Ideas
Confucianism contains 3 central ideas: (1) the rectification of names, (2) the relationship between human-heartiness and righteousness and (3) knowing Ming or fate.
1) The rectification of names:
As explained in the Occult Universe, traditional Chinese philosophy presumed that every thing conformed to a universal principle. Confucius strongly believed that society should likewise conform to this law. He called this idea the rectification of names, "Let the ruler be ruler, the minister minister, the father father and the son son" (Analects, XII, 11) If every citizen took on the responsibility of acting in accordance with the natural principle that defines her social position, then there would always be harmony.
Popular culture has often misinterpreted this concept as the strict observance of social etiquette and ritual. But as we shall now see, this impression has trivialized Confucian thought.
2) Human-heartiness and righteousness:
Although every social position carries within it, a defined set of responsibilities or righteousness , Confucius insisted that the fulfillment of these duties should be inspired by human-heartiness , which he defined as "loving others". (Analects, XII, 22) His values thus complement both the Christian ideal of love and the Buddhist ideal of compassion. Since Confucius believed that humans were social animals, the proper conduct of relationships was vital to him. For it was only in relation to others that one could establish ones virtuous character. "The man of human-heartiness is one who desiring to sustain himself, sustains others, and desiring to develop himself, develops others; that may be called the way to practise human-heartiness." (VI, 28)
3) Knowing Ming:
"Ming" in Chinese means fate. "Knowing Ming", however, does not mean knowing fate. Indeed, it's almost its opposite. It is the term that Confucius gave to acting without regard to the results of ones actions. Mindful of fate's capriciousness, he preached that virtue carried within it its own reward, namely "the wise are free from doubts; the virtuous from anxiety; the brave from fear" (IX, 28). The Confucian should act without regard for the effect of their actions. Acting for profit or self-interest was anathema to Confucius (and explains China's negative attitude to commerce until recent times). To know Ming, therefore, is to entrust the results of ones actions to fate, and not to let its possibly negative after-effects deter one from acting virtuously.
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what were the basic ideas of confucianism?
