CONFUCIUS: HIS LIFE AND TEACHING Our knowledge of Confucius - Long been recognized as one of the worlds greatest

men - But important incidents in his life have been neglected, teachings misunderstood - Reasons: o Pronounced to be a sage, so supposedly inerrant o Confucian and Daoist philosophers attributed their own beliefs to Confucius in order to be accepted Occupations were hereditary - Confucius family hereditarily held government office - Keeper of public granary, later public fields - Took private pupils, reputation for being most learned person in China State of Lu - Considered itself most civilized of Chinese states - Ruled by a duke but army controlled by 3 viscounts - Duke Jao attacked Viscount Ping, but Ping was rescued by 2 other viscounts - Jao fled and died in exile; Confucius followed him o Confucius as a legitimist upholder of duly constituted royal authority - Confucius returned to Lu but refused to resume office under Ping o First professional teacher of higher subjects in China o Bec. he was a great scholar, scholarship has been esteemed in China more than anywhere else - Ministerial clans, led by Yang Hu, plotted to kill and replace 3 viscounts o Plot discovered last minute, but led to years of fighting o Convinced rulers that Confucius teaching of uprightness and loyalty was needed o Confucius summoned back to office under new duke and Viscount Huan o City administrator, then Director of Crime Plan for restoring peace to the state - 3 viscounts should restore actual government of state to the duke - Hand over military power, dismantle fortifications of city castles which their power depended on - Concentration of power in legitimate ruler only way that constant civil turmoil could be avoided - High risk of failure o Never in history has a noble willingly given up his power and fortifications o Could ruin Confucius career - Plan was agreed to by viscounts due to support from Confucius pupils and minor nobility o Huan tried to evade agreement by secretly kidnapping Confucius, but attack failed

o But third viscount refused to honor agreement and Confucius had to flee for 13 years until the viscounts death o Confucius returned when new Viscount Kang invited him back, died in Lu 5 years later Demonstrates Confucius character / beliefs: o High degree of diplomatic ability o High courage o Willingless to sacrifice future and life for welfare of the country o Cultured mans highest duty is to his state = great Confucian ideal and duty o Should exalt moral idealism in government and personal conduct

Confucius teachings - Did not profess to be original, read his own ideals into ancient Chinese teachings - Li rules of proper conduct o A man of li lives according to highest code of conduct expected of a true gentleman in a very broad sense o More than conforming to a code heartfelt and sincere o Represents Confucius loyalty to established order, as well as criticism of existing order in favor of an ethically ideal order - Ren love for others; human-heartedness, benevolent love o Do not do to others what you do not like yourself o Love is the fulfillment of the law, i.e. love for others includes the whole of virtue perfect virtue o Graded love, qualified by social relationships defect in Confucian ethics - Other virtues o Loyalty, trustworthiness, wisdom, rightness, sense of shame, courtesy and humility o Ideal moral life summed up in notion of the true gentleman / ideal lord - Religion o Religious rites as a part of li o Believed that gods / spirits were merely agents of the highest god, Heaven o Was a monotheist in a polytheistic age o Possessed extraordinarily deep insight into fundamentals of religion