Confucianism

1. Confucianism Prof. Frederick Hok-ming CHEUNG

2. “Ju” (Confucian) (an educated man) Confucius 72 disciples Mencius (Meng Tzu)( c.372-289B.C.) Hsun Tzu Native of a small state: Tsou adjacent to Confucius’ native state of Lu. Mencius is usually considered as the second great figure in the development of Confucian thought.

3. Mencius(c.372-289B.C.)

4. During the century between the death of Confucius and the birth of mencius, a few Confucian schools developed. One stressed “filial piety” (Hsiao) and spiritual and ethical concerns of the Confucian teachings; Another school became deeply involved in the study of ritual (li); A third school stressed the practice of politics; and A fourth school became noted for its purely philosophical and even metaphysical specialization.

5. “Only 2 Chinese philosophers have the distinction of being know consistently to the west by a Latinized name (by Voltaire). The first is Confucius. The second is Mencius. ……for he (Mencius) is without doubt second only to Confucius in importance in the Confucian tradition, a fact officially recognized in China for over a thousand years.” (D.C. Lau, Mencius, ix)

6. “The Theory of human Nature” Mencius argued that all people are born by nature. Mencius believed that all people are good at birth, but they may be corrupted into developing bad practices & habits of minds by the environment, unless they strive to preserve their innate goodness.

7. (Cf. Hsun Tzu in the next generation insisted on the opposite answer, that is, human nature is “wicked” or “evil”! Thus, Hsun Tzu is described as a “tough-minded” philosopher in contrast to Mencius as a “tender- minded”)

8. Mencius’“Heart of Compassion”: According to Mencius, “suppose a man were, all of a sudden, to see a young child on the verge of falling into a well. He would certainly moved to compassion, not because he wanted to get in the good graces of the parents, nor because he wished to win the praise of his fellow villagers of friends, nor yet because he disliked the cry of the child.” (II.A.6; tr. D.C. Lau) (Cf. Mencius’ theory of the oodness of human nature with the theory of Hsun Tzu that human nature is bad.)

9. To Mencius, everyone is born with the “buds” of benevolence or goodness (jen), righteousness (yi), respect (li), & the knowing capacity, especially the capacity to distinguish good and bad (chih). To Mencius, the difference between a chun-tzu (gentleman) and a small man is that the former pursues morality with single-minded dedication while the latter pursues profit (VII.A.25; tr. D.C. Lau). To Mencius, when self-interest comes into conflict with morality, self-interest should give way. “Life is what I want; dutifulness (yi) also what I want. If I cannot have both, I would rather take dutifulness than life.” (VI.A.10; tr. D.C. Lau)

10. Mencius’ political theory: The state exits because it ought to exist, as it is the logical culmination of natural human relationships. (Mencius lived in times even more troubled than those of Confucius, the date of whose death conventionally considered to be the beginning of an era know as the Period of the Warring States.)

11. Hsun Tzu (c.298-238 B.C.)

12. Hsun Tzu (c.298-238 B.C.) Unlike Confucius & Mencius, Hsun Tzu spent most of his life as a regional administrator in the local government. Hsun Tzu was probably one of the first great Confucian philosophers who devotes much of his life to the practical affairs of government.

13. Hsun Tzu taught 2 bright young disciples who later left the Confucian school and became the founders of the Legalist school • Han Fei • Li Ssc (who helped the First Emperor of Ch’in united China through military conquest later.)

14. Therefore, Hsun Tzu is sometimes looked upon as a traitor to Confucianism or a kind of proto-Legalist. Hsun Tzu believed in the necessity for a strong and highly centralized government in which the position of the ruler would be elevated to heights unknown to that time.

15. On Human nature Hsun Tzu: Our basic nature is lustful and animal, and that instead of freely expressing that nature, we must curb & refine it (by education) (that is, just opposite to Mencius’)

16. Hsun Tzu’s philosophy was a philosophy of culture: the pursuit & refinement of culture is a person’s basic vocation; and the core of that culture is li (ritual, respect …), the ritual ordinances governing behavior.

17. In the thought of Hsun Tzu, li became a comprehensive idea, involving ceremonies, rituals, the rules of social conduct, the norms of political behavior, & the private standards by which one governs one’s own emotions & actions. In society, li sets reasonable limits to the satisfaction of desires. (“We start with love/emotion, we stop at li [ritual, retraint]”)

18. In upholding the teachings of the Confucian tradition, Mencius was vigorous in combating what he considered heretical views. In particular, he was untiring in his attacks on the schools of Yang Chu and Mo Tzu. In the case of Yang Chu it is the doctrine of egoism (Even if one could benefit the empire by pulling out one hair, he would not do it”’ i.e. extreme selfishness), while in the case of Mo Tzu, it is that of love without discrimination. (“There should be no gradation in love”, i.e., the other extreme).