Main Idea Of Confucius Philosophy example essay topic

Confucius became famous as a sage, or wise man, of China during the Age of Philosophers. His Five Classics have influenced the civilizations of most of eastern Asia. Confucius was born in the state of Lu when local rulers refused to pay homage to the emperor of a failing Chou dynasty. Confucius hated the disorder that ensued and looked back on a time when things like that were not even thought of.

He studied the teachings of the sage's whose teachings and influences had made China one whole nation at one time. He decided that he was the one who should restore the faith and practices of the old emperors and wise men. Since Confucius was not able to gain an official position in China, he spent most of his life teaching a core group of disciples. The main idea of Confucius' philosophy was to provide rules and traditions for every conceivable situation in every day life. He was concerned with all the misery in the world, and he hoped that making men noble would bring about a noble world. Confucius' ideas of being benevolent to one's fellow man, closely following set rituals, and acting in a manner proper and befitting one's social class became the state followed ideology during the Han dynasty.

1 When studying the religion and philosophy of Confucius, one must have a clear understanding of the books he wrote. The Five Classics were from the period preceding the Warring States Period. They were brought together and edited by the members of Confucius' original school. Once Confucianism was made China's official philosophy, a person had to study these five books in order to gain a prized governmental position.

Saying that there are only five classics is a bit of a misstatement. There are five classics and an extra book written by Confucius that is usually lumped in with the traditional Five Classics. That book is Lun yu, or The Analects. The Analects is a collection of little bits of wisdom that Confucius gave his disciples. However, the book is not a comprehensive 'bible'; of Confucianism. It is a collection of quotations, anecdotes, and wisdom's.

Due to this fact, Confucianism, at least according to Confucius, is open to interpretation. The Analects is still an interesting book, in that it provides a direct view of the thoughts and feelings of Confucius. The first of the Five Classics is the Yi Jing, which is translated as I Ching. It is more commonly called The Book of Changes. During the Zhou dynasty this book was used as an oracle to predict the outcome of a certain situation.

It contains 64 designs, or hexagrams, which represent a stage in the universal cycle. This also brought about the idea of the universe having a cycle. Since there are only 64 hexagrams, the universe must start over at the end of the cycle when it reaches the end. This is also where the book gets its name. These cycles became an integral part of Chinese culture.

The idea was applied to their concepts of time, life, and people. The dynastic rulers moved in a cycle that began with the mythologically good first ruler and ended with the degenerate final ruler. Life followed a cycle from birth to a peak and a final descent into death. This also led to the idea and awareness that all things in the universe are related. Since there are only 64 states of being, all things must share these states and be related to each other. 2 The second book is the Shu Jing, which is translated as The Book of Documents.

The Shu Jing is a collection of documents that allegedly go back to the Shang dynasty, the first historical dynasty of China. This can be disputed, but that is not the most important fact about the book. The reason Shu Jing is important is that it is the first work of history and political science in the history of China. It shows history taking place due to the process of changes. It treats history as a tool with which mankind can reflect on past events and learn from past mistakes or triumphs. This book also introduced the Mandate of Heaven.

The Mandate of Heaven states that Heaven chooses who it wants to rule according to his virtue. Even though it was usually unwise to disturb the natural order of things, it was acceptable for another dynasty to rise up and take over if a ruler was not virtuous enough to rule anymore. A religious system is put forth in the Shu Jing as well. It was fairly standard, with the Earth below Heaven and people acting as the link between the two. The next book is the Shi Jing, The Book of Songs. The Shi Jing is the earliest literary work of China.

It a collected work of songs and poetry from sources as different as imperial poets and peasant farmers. The songs and poems are about many different things. There are some songs about love, some are political protests, and some are merely drinking songs. 3 However, according to Confucian tradition, many of the poems and songs are interpreted to be 'coded'; samples of the peoples thoughts and feelings toward the government. Here is an example of a poem about the government: 'Big rat, big rat / Do not eat my millet! /Three years I have served you, /But you will not care for me...

' ; 4 Here 'big rat'; is a term used by peasant farmers for the government, and 'do not eat my millet!' ; signifies heavy taxation. The fourth book is the one most associated with Confucius. It is the Chun qiu, or The Spring and Autumn Annals. This book contains records of the events of Confucius' home state of Lu from the year 782 BC to 481 BC. The book is somewhat tainted, however, because the people who wrote it imposed their ideas on the events they wrote down. They also made use of 'praise and blame'; history, in which they assigned blame or gave praise for all the things that happened during their lives.

The final book is the Li ji, also called The Book of Rites. This book was a product of Confucius' obsession with rituals. Ritual is a key component to Confucianism and The Book of Rites outlines the etiquette and rituals that one must follow to become a proper gentleman, or she. It contains guidelines for everything from state affairs to the proper way to lie in bed at night. The book also regulates how people relate to each other in what it calls 'civil behavior'; .

Confucius said that ritual was important because it was what separated humans and animals, as well as the Chinese people from foreign 'barbarians'; . The book also points out that proper etiquette was important because it helped to strengthen the idea of a universal order. 5 Another important aspect of Confucianism is the actual philosophy of Confucius. Confucius was a humanist. He believed that a man's life was the ultimate stage and that man was the star character. The main theme of Confucianism is the development of the individual.

Next to that was the welfare of others. This involved their prosperity, safety, and education. Unlike most spiritual teachers of his day, Confucius was not concerned with things like the meaning of life and death. For that matter, he was not interested with the destination of the soul either. The only thing promised by Confucianism for following its tenants is a feeling of peace that comes from knowing that one's life was put to good use. However, the concept of Heaven is not totally missing from the philosophy.

Man is viewed as the instrument of Heaven, as well as the offspring of the union between intelligence and matter. Man is said to be the equal of his two parents as well as the third member of their mystic trinity. In the same way that intelligence gives life to matter, man uses his intelligence to shape and control the world about him. Confucius taught that when patterns on earth match those of Heaven, the spiritual beings of Heaven can be brought to earth and made to help man. All the spirits and specters of Heaven could be drawn out by earthly virtue to enact the beneficiary duties their realm imposed on them. These spirits were believed to do such things as keep rivers flowing, winds blowing and bringing rain that was needed by farmers.

In turn, the farmers, following the established Confucian code of conduct, gave tithes to their overlords. This allowed the overlords to provide arts, education, and entertainment. 6 Some people dispute the success of Confucianism. Technically, Confucianism failed.

But only during the lifetime of its creator. During his life, Confucius only gathered a few followers. After his death, these followers passed on his teachings, wisdom, and love for rituals and the tradition survived. It survived all the way to the Han dynasty when it became the official Chinese philosophy.

From then on, it was firmly established in Chinese culture and its effects and value systems can still be seen today.