East Asia: Center of the World - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 279

CONFUCIUS
K'ung-fu-tsu (Kong Fuzi)—or Confucius —was born
around 551 BC in the ancient state of Lu in Shandong
Province. After holding several political posts, he became
a teacher of ethics, ritual, and philosophy . His ideas were
written down by his students as the Analects . In addition
to transmitting Confucius' teachings over time, the
Analects state his belief in hierarchical structures of re-
sponsibility and duty: of ruler to Heaven (the source of all
power and authority); of subject to ruler; of son to father;
of younger brother to older brother; and of wife to hus-
band. Each person within society should fulfill the respon-
sibilities implied in their name be it ruler, son, or subject.
Rulers should behave like rulers and take care of the peo-
ple, sons should behave like sons and respect their father,
and subjects should act like subjects and obey the ruler.
Another important aspect of Confucian philosophy is
filial piety or filial devotion. This is one of the “right rela-
tionships” that govern family life and, ultimately , the en-
tire social order. By filial piety , Confucius meant the
respect and care children owe their parents during their
lives and the reverance they pay to their memories after
death. Being an obedient and loving brother to one' s older
brother is also a kind of filial piety . All behaviors within
the family and society must be accompanied by a loving
consideration or kindness (called humaneness by Confu-
cius) for the other person. If all individuals behaved ac-
cording to their name, practiced filial piety , and treated
others as they themselves would wish to be treated, the
society would enjoy peace, harmony , and prosperity .
Self-cultivation and education as the way to achieve a
virtuous character were also key elements in Confucian
philosopy . The cultivated person enjoyed life in the form of
music, painting, good food, the company of his family , and
the attainment of a wise, old age. The greatest sadness was
to have no descendants (i.e., male offspring) to perform fu-
neral rites and rituals of remembrance. It was not necessary
to be rich or noble to practice self-cultivation, according to
Confucius. Each person could learn to be good. Also,
through dedication to learning, one could become a sage.
No priests were necessary to guide one on this path. Self-
development was the key to total fulfillment.
Confucius also affirmed the right of the people to
rebel against an unjust ruler. China' s rulers held power
through the Mandate of Heaven . If they failed to fulfill
their role as ruler and lapsed from virtue, or if a disaster
occurred, they forfeited the Mandate of Heaven. Loss of
Heaven' s favor could lead to the downfall of one ruling
family and its replacement by another.

Confucius was also a fervent believer in the impor-
tance of culture and learning, as well as hard work. A good
and just ruler would surround himself with ministers who
achieved their goodness through moral education. Re-
garding government, Confucius said: “If you set an exam-
ple by being correct, who would dare to remain
incorrect?” Confucius also recognized the need to exert
control over distant peoples: “Ensure that those who are
near are pleased and those who are far away are attracted.”
In all these matters, appropriate rituals were critical to fa-
cilitating and maintaining reciprocal relationships.
Confucius created the role of the scholar-minister, a
calling of the highest value in ancient China. He believed
that poverty was not a barrier to advancement and that
any young man could obtain an education and achieve an
administrative or even a court position. Confucius died in
479 BC , but has always been known in China as the “First
T Teacher.” His example underpins the extraordinary re-
spect for education and teachers in China today . Under the
Han Dynasty , Confucianism was adopted as the state phi-
losophy and a system of rigorous examinations was estab-
lished for admittance to the Imperial Civil Service.
In the twelfth century , a Confucian philosopher
Zhuxi (Chu Hsi) (1130-1200) speculated about the exis-
tence of a Supreme Ultimate, a cosmic force. However,
Confucius never discussed priests or religious rituals,
leaving any religious aspect in question. Nevertheless,
faithful Confucianists built temples for the purpose of
worshipping the sage. It was this neo-Confucianism that
diffused to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan, where it became
the prevailing philosophy , especially for the educated.
In the twentieth century Confucian ideas were dis-
paraged as contributing to China' s backwardness relative
to the industrialized world. Under communism, the sage
was ridiculed and vilified as a symbol of all that was
wrong with China' s imperial past. In recent years the rig-
ors of communism have relaxed a bit and Confucius has
been extolled for his teachings of loyalty and obedience
to government. “Confucian principles” are frequently re-
ferred to in context of the economic successes of Singa-
pore, Taiwan, South Korea, and other Asian countries.

DAOISM
A contemporary of Confucius called Laozi (Lao-tze),
meaning “The Old One,” supposedly debated with
Confucius on the right way of being. Daoist philosophy
as recorded in the Dao de Jing (Tao-te-ching or Classic of
the Way), is concerned with the Dao, or the way the uni-
verse works. The sayings contained in the Dao de Jing are