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Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: A; Simplified Chinese: A; Hanyu Pinyin: R?xu? [ Listen (help?info) ], literally "The School of the Scholars"; or A K?ngji?o, "") is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. Confucius was the founder of the teachings of Confucianism. Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and religious thought which has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia up to the 21st century. Some people in Europe have considered it to have been the "state religion" in East Asian countries because of governmental promotion of Confucianist values and needs.
Debated during the Warring States Period and forbidden during the short-lived Qin Dynasty, Confucianism was chosen by Emperor Wu of Han for use as a political system to govern the Chinese state. Despite its loss of influence during the Tang Dynasty, Confucianist doctrine remained a mainstream Chinese orthodoxy for two millennial until the 20Th century, when it was attacked by radical Chinese thinkers as a vanguard of a pre-modern system and an obstacle to China's modernization, eventually culminating in its repression during the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Confucianism has been revived in mainland China, and both interest in and debate about Confucianism have surged.
The cultures most strongly influenced by Confucianism include those of China (including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau), Japan, Korea, and Vietnam as well as various territories (including Singapore) settled predominantly by Chinese people.
Confucianism as passed down to the 19th and 20th centuries derives primarily from the school of the Neo-Confucians, led by Zhu Xi, who gave Confucianism renewed vigor in the Song and later dynasties. Neo-Confucianism combined Taoist and Buddhist ideas with existing Confucian ideas to create a more complete metaphysics than had ever existed before. At the same time, many forms of Confucianism have historically declared themselves opposed to the Buddhist and Taoist belief systems.
Kongfu Zi (Confucius) (551?479 BC) was a famous sage and social philosopher of China whose teachings have deeply influenced East Asia for twenty centuries. The relationship between Confucianism and Confucius himself, however, is tenuous. Confucius' ideas were not accepted during his lifetime and he frequently bemoaned the fact that he remained unemployed by any of the feudal lords.
As with many other prominent figures such as Jesus, Socrates, and Buddha, humanity does not have direct access to Confucius' ideas. Instead, humans have recollections by his disciples and their students. This factor is further complicated by the "Burning of the Books and Burying of the Scholars", a massive suppression of dissenting thought during the Qin Dynasty, more than two centuries after Confucius' death.
However, we can sketch out Confucius' ideas from the fragments that remain. Confucius was a man of letters who worried about the troubled times in which he lived. He went from place to place trying to spread his political ideas and influence to the many kings contending for supremacy in China.
In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (772-221 BC), the reigning king of the Zhou gradually became a mere figurehead. In this power vacuum, the rulers of small states began to vie with one another for military and political dominance. Deeply persuaded of the need for his mission ? "If right principles prevailed through the empire, there would be no need for me to change its state" Analects XVIII, 6 ? Confucius tirelessly promoted the virtues of ancient illustrious sages such as the Duke of Zhou. Confucius tried to amass sufficient political power to found a new dynasty, as when he planned to accept an invitation from a rebel to "make a Zhou dynasty in the East" (Analects XV, 5). As the common saying that Confucius was a "king without a crown" indicates, however, he never gained the opportunity to apply his ideas. He was expelled from states many times and eventually returned to his homeland to spend the last part of his life teaching. The Analects of Confucius, the closest primary source we have for his thoughts, relates his sayings and discussions with rulers and disciples in short passages. There is considerable debate over how to interpret the Analects.
Unlike most European and American philosophers, Confucius did not rely on deductive reasoning to convince his listeners. Instead, he used figures of rhetoric such as analogy and aphorism to explain his ideas. Most of the time these techniques were highly contextualised. For these reasons, European and American readers might find his philosophy muddled or unclear. However, Confucius claimed that he sought "a unity all pervading" (Analects XV, 3) and that there was "one single thread binding my way together." ([op. cit. IV, 15]). The first occurrences of a real Confucian system may have been created by his disciples or by their disciples. During the philosophically fertile period of the Hundred Schools of Thought, great early figures of Confucianism such as Mencius and Xun Zi (not to be confused with Sun Zi) developed Confucianism into an ethical and political doctrine. Both had to fight contemporary ideas and gain the ruler's confidence through argumentation and reasoning. Mencius gave Confucianism a fuller explanation of human nature, of what is needed for good government, of what morality is, and founded his idealist doctrine on the claim that human nature is good. Xun Zi opposed many of Mencius' ideas, and built a structured system upon the idea that human nature is bad and had to be educated and exposed to the rites (li), before being able to express their goodness for the people. Some of Xunzi's disciples, such as Han Feizi and Li Si, became Legalists (a kind of law-based early totalitarianism, quite distant from virtue-based Confucianism) and conceived the state system that allowed Qin Shi Huang to unify China under the strong state control of every human activity. The culmination of Confucius' dream of unification and peace in China can therefore be argued to have come from Legalism, a school of thought almost diametrically opposed to his reliance on rites and virtue.
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, based on principles and ethics embodied in the Bible (Tanakh) and the Talmud. According to Jewish tradition, the history of Judaism begins with the Covenant between God and Abraham (ca. 2000 BCE), the patriarch and progenitor of the Jewish people. Judaism is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and among the oldest religious traditions still in practice today. Jewish history and doctrines have influenced other Abrahamic religions such as Christianity, Islam, Samaritanism and the Bah?'? Faith.
While Judaism has seldom, if ever, been monolithic in practice, it has always been monotheistic in theology. It differs from many religions in that central authority is not vested in a person or group, but in sacred texts and traditions. Throughout the ages, Judaism has clung to a number of religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent, transcendent God, who created the universe and continues to be involved in its governance. According to traditional Jewish belief, the God who created the world established a covenant with the Jewish people, and revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of the Torah. The traditional practice of Judaism revolves around study and the observance of God's laws and commandments as written in the Torah and expounded in the Talmud.
With an estimated 14 million adherents in 2006,[1] Judaism is the world's eleventh-largest organized religion.
Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament.[2] Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of God and the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. With an estimated 2.1 billion adherents in 2001, Christianity is the world's largest religion.[3] It is the predominant religion in Europe, the Americas, Southern Africa, the Philippine Islands and Oceania.[4] It is also growing rapidly in Asia, particularly in China and South Korea.[5]
Christianity shares its origins and many religious texts with Judaism, specifically the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament.[6] Like Judaism and Islam, Christianity is classified as an Abrahamic religion (see also, Judeo-Christian).[7][8]
The name "Christian" (Greek ?????????? Strong's G5546), meaning "belonging to Christ" or "partisan of Christ",[9] was first applied to the disciples in Antioch, as recorded in Acts 11:26.[10] The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity" (Greek ?????????????) is by Ignatius of Antioch.
Islam (Arabic: ???????; al-'isl?m (help?info)) (Persian: ?????) is a monotheistic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. It is the second-largest religion in the world, with an estimated 1.4 billion adherents called "Muslims".[1] The word Islam means "submission", or the total surrender of one's self to God (Arabic: ????, All?h), and the word Muslim means "one who submits (to God)".[2]
Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad, God's final prophet, and regard the Qur'an and the Sunnah (the words and deeds of Muhammad) as the fundamental sources of Islam.[3] They do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. Islamic tradition holds that Judaism and Christianity distorted the messages of these prophets over time either in interpretation, in text, or both.[4]
Islam includes a wide variety of religious practices. All adherents are required to observe the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five simple duties that serve to unite Muslims into a community.[5] In addition to the Five Pillars, over many centuries Islamic law (Sharia) has developed a tradition of rulings that touch on virtually all aspects of life and society. This tradition encompasses everything from practical matters like dietary laws to practices like jihad.[6]
Almost all Muslims belong to one of two major denominations, the Sunni and Shi'a. The schism between the two originated in the late 7th century as a result of disagreements over the leadership of the Muslim community. Roughly 85% of Muslims are Sunni and 15% are Shi'a. Islam is the predominant religion in parts of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Large communities can also be found in China, Western Europe, the Balkan Peninsula, and Russia. Only about 20 percent of Muslims originate from Arab countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism
http://www.religioustolerance.org/confuciu.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism
http://www.religioustolerance.org/judaism.htm
http://www.jewfaq.org/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity
http://www.religioustolerance.org/christ.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam
http://www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm
http://www.islam101.com/
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How do Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam view human nature and salvation?
