The Way of Confucius

Confucius is one of the most famous of the ancient Chinese philosophers. Confucius lived from 551 to 479 BC. He believed that Chinese culture had peaked during the height of the Zhou dynasty. During their reign, the Zhou rulers adhered to a set of practices referred to as the "li", also called rites or rituals. These rites governed all aspects of Chinese culture. The rites told everything, from the way huge political ceremonies should be conducted, to what is the proper way to respond to the receiving of a gift.

During Confucius' life, the role of the Zhou kings was reduced to mere figureheads and many of the rites had been lost, forgotten, or reduced to a lesser role. Confucius decided that he was to revive the practice of the rites and show others back to the way of the "dao", or the "way of heaven". In an effort to accomplish this, Confucius would not only strive to strictly follow the rites himself, he would dedicate his life to teaching and spreading them to others as well.

The teachings of Confucius cover a wide variety of topics, as they were meant to govern all aspects of one's life. Some of the most important aspects of the rites taught by Confucius regard family relations, desirable traits of character, proper ways of governing, and aspects of "ren" or "true humaneness" or "humanity". While some of his teachings are ideas specific to his time and culture, such as the proper colors to be worn by nobility, other teachings such as family relations and virtue of character are just as valuable to today's society as it was for his own.

One of the most important aspects of life for Confucius was family life and relationships. Many of his teachings are therefore related to such topics. The main points of Confucius' teaching regarding family life have to do with filial obligations and respect among the family. He had become disheartened by the current state of family affairs as can be seen in Book 2.4 where he states "nowadays, filial is used to refer to anyone who is merely able to provide their parents with nourishment. But even dogs and horses are provided with nourishment. If you do not treat your parents with reverence, wherein lies the difference" (Ivanhoe, 5). Confucius believed that respect and reverence were the foundation of the family bonds and what separated people from the animals.

Confucius believed the only correct way for a child to be brought up is through this respect and fulfillment of filial obligations. He says that "it is unlikely that one who has grown up a filial son and respectful younger brother will then be inclined to defy his superiors" (Ivanhoe, 3) and that "filiality and brotherly respect represent the root of ren" (Ivanhoe, 3). As Confucius believed that one should devote themselves to the pursuit of ren, or true humaneness, he gave a sort of creed to guide young men in this process. "A student should be filial towards his parents when at home and respectful towards his elders when abroad. Careful in action and truthful in speech, he should display an expansive care for the multitudeÐ'... If in the course of his duties he finds himself with energy to spare, he should devote it to study of the wen, cultural arts" (Ivanhoe, 3).

While Confucius' teachings regarding family are based on principles of respect, he does note that disagreements can arise and gives advice on how to handle such occurrences. He says that while being dutiful to one's parents, it is permissible to voice an opinion in opposition to them, but that "once it becomes apparent that they have not taken your criticism to heart you should be respectful and not oppose them, and follow their lead diligently without resentment" (Ivanhoe, 12). Confucius even went as far as to say that the bonds between father and son are more important than adherence to some laws. In Book 13.18 he states that if a father stole a sheep, the son should cover up for his father rather than report him to the authorities, and that if it was the son that stole a sheep the father should do the same and cover up for his child.

Another main point of concentration among Confucius' work has to do with the virtue of one's character. Confucius was well aware that this was a substance lacking in many of his contemporaries. He clearly states this when he says "I have yet to meet a man who is as fond of virtue as he is of sex" (Ivanhoe, 26). Perhaps one of Confucius' most famous sayings, often referred to as the "Golden Rule", and quite similar to Kant's categorical imperative is "what I do not