Confucian Way

Chen, Li Fu Chen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781317761020
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

First published in 1987. The teachings of Confucius have sustained the East for over 2, 500 years. As set forth in the Four Books, Confucianism stresses morality, love of peace, justice, honesty, virtue, moderation in all things and sincerity as the means of self-fulfilment. Chen arranges into one compact volume the essential principles for human conduct propounded in Confucius's Four Books, and to make them easily accessible to Western readers for the first time.

Chapter I

Introduction

Confucius was exalted as the Ancient Sage and Ancient Teacher in the Han dynasty (206 B. C. – 219 A. D.), when great strides were made in the development of schools. During later dynasties — the T’ang (618 – 905), Sung (960 – 1276), Ming (1277 – 1643), and Ch’ing (1644 – 1911) — he was acclaimed first as Most Accomplished, then Highest Sage and Ancient Teacher. So he has been revered through more than twenty centuries.

The culmination of the academic thought of the ages, Confucius’ philosophy has become the very heart of Chinese culture. Although countless dynasties have changed hands, the reverence paid to him has never waned. We might point to this as a proof that truth is everlasting.

In the Sung and Ch’ing dynasties four other great scholars — Yen Hui, Tsêng Shên, Tzŭ-ssŭ and Mencius — were highly regarded; in fact, they were assigned special niches in the Temple of Confucius right next to his shrine.

Of all the disciples of Confucius, Yen Hui was the wisest and most studious. He also had the deepest knowledge of the Confucian Way.

Tsêng Shên, also a disciple of the great Master, was the author of the Great Learning, a unique record of Confucius’ teachings.

Tzŭ-ssŭ, a grandson of Confucius and disciple of Tsêng Shên, wrote the Doctrine of the Mean. This work was described by Ch’eng Yi, a great neo-Confucianist in the Sung dynasty, as the “law of the heart” handed down by the Confucian school.

Mencius was taught by Tzŭ-ssŭ and left his Works in seven books. His basic thinking derived from Confucius, and he was a successor to the Confucian tradition, which he developed with great distinction. He said:

The influence of a sovereign sage terminates in the fifth generation. The influence of a mere sage does the same. Although I could not be a disciple of Confucius himself, I have been given the benefits of his teachings by others who are.¹

These four men not only knew and practiced the Confucian Way, they also could and did transmit it to later generations. And for this, their great achievement, they have been revered by the Chinese people to the present day.

Confucius edited the Book of Songs and the Book of History, compiled the Book of Rites and the Book of Music, annotated the Book of Changes, and wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals. These were called the “Six Classics,” and as early as the Han dynasty they were singled out by scholars as the “Six Arts.”

It is true that the “Six Arts” referred to in Chou Li (Rituals of Chou) consisted of rites, music, archery, charioteering, writing and numbers. However, in general the arts dealt (1) with practice and the classics and (2) with theory set down in writing; their function was the clarification of connected principles. Confucius was merely being humble when he said he was “a transmitter and not a maker, believing in and loving ancient studies.”

The Master said, “Tz’ŭ, do you think that I am one who learns many things and keeps them in memory?”

Tzŭ-kung said, “Yes. Is it not so?”

“No,” was the answer, “I am guided by a connected principle.”²

The Master said. “Shên, my Way is all based on a connected principle.”³

In its chapter on “Interpretation of the Classics,” the Record of Rites states: “When one enters a country, its teachings can be ascertained. When the people are gentle and honest, they show the teachings of the Book of Songs. When they are thorough and farsighted, they show the teachings of the Book of History. When they are profound and good, they show the teachings of the Book of Music. When they are pure, quiet and subtle, they show the teachings of the Book of Changes. When they are polite, frugal, grave and respectful, they show the teachings of the Book of Rites. When they put their words together and compare events and deeds, they show the teachings of the Spring and Autumn Annals.” Thus it can be seen that the teachings of the six classics constitute the knowledge required for the advancement of virtue and the perfection of wisdom by scholars.

The Book of Filial Piety delves into the revelation of the heaven-aspiring heart. As it is said in the “Chronicle of Literature and Art,” contained in the History of the Han Dynasty: “Filial Piety is the rule of Heaven, the (sense of) righteousness of Earth and the (basis of the) people’s conduct. Pointing up the essence, it is therefore entitled the Book of Filial Piety.” A later scholar also made this observation: “Confucius set his mind on the Spring and Autumn Annals and acted in accordance with the Book of Filial Piety.” In short, both works elucidate the origin of human nature and are concerned with the existence and continuity of mankind. Perhaps it was this that moved Confucius to write them despite the fact that he did not regard himself as a “maker.”

Prior to the Sung dynasty, the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean had formed part of the Record of Rites. Even though they had been circulated separately as a mark of respect and distinction, at this time they had not yet been combined with the Conucian Analects and the Works of Mencius to form the Four Books.

According to the “Chronicle of Literature and Art” in the History of the Han Dynasty, the Analects recorded question-and-answer exchanges between the Master on the one hand and his contemporaries and disciples on the other; it also presented interviews between these disciples, with comments from the Master. In those days the disciples kept their own records, and it was only after the death of the Master that they began to compile and edit these varying records; hence, the title Analects.

The Works of Mencius was at first included in the writings of the various schools of philosophy. Following in the footsteps of the two Ch’êngs—Ch’êng Hao (1032 – 1085) and Ch’êng Yi (1033 – 1107), two great philosophers in the Sung dynasty—Chu Hsi (1130 – 1200), another great neo-Confucianist, compiled the Four Books, known as the Books of the Four Masters. Included were the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Confucian Analects and the Works of Mencius. From that time on, this collection became known throughout the country as the Four Books.

In the Yüan dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Jên-tsung (1312 – 1320), when the State examination was resumed, the Four Books were the basic texts from which examination questions were drawn. Under the system adopted at the beginning of the Ming dynasty, the Book of Changes, the Book of History, the Book of Songs, the Record of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals were grouped together as the Five Classics. At the same time the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Analects and the Works of Mencius were combined as the Four Books. This explains how the two sets of books became two separate collections of works. Then, as the Four Books were adopted in the Ch’ing dynasty as the basic sources of examination questions, they came to be the most widely studied of the popular readers.

Later, with the introduction of Western culture and the establishment of modern schools, only sections of the Four Books and the Five Classics were used in Chinese literature courses. But another course, “Cultivation of the Person,” was included in the curriculum. The essentials of both courses were drawn from the Four Books. After the May 4th Movement of 1919, Confucianism was severely criticized and the course on the “Cultivation of the Person” was abolished.

In the West, the schools concentrate on the students’ intellectual and physical training during week-days; then on weekends the students receive their spiritual education at church. When our country adopted the Western system, it went only halfway. We had no churches to attend on weekends. This was bad enough. But to make matters worse, we also discarded our own system of moral education as if it were trash. So it is no accident that (1) our national morality has been declining for some time now and (2) our advancement in scientific knowledge has been given a similar, serious setback.

Down through the ages, Confucius has been reverenced as our Highest Sage and Ancient Teacher because his teachings are so profound, subtle and all-embracing. They contain both the principles of mankind’s existence and the means of applying them. And these principles can and should be observed by all men because they are easy to learn and easy to practice in all matters, great or small. For more than 2,000 years these credentials of Confucianism were never disputed. Then came the May 4th Movement, and Confucianism was subjected to harsh criticism

Why? There must be a reason for this change. Could it be that the thinking of Confucius is not suited to the modern age? Is it because language used by him is too ancient to be intelligible? Is it because his philosophy is unsystematic and incompatible with the scientific method? All these questions deserve a thorough investigation and accurate answers.

We could take ideas from the Four Books out of context and dub one or two sentences here and there as outmoded thought, denying their fundamental value and charging them with backwardness. But then we ourselves would fall far short of the scientific method. Indeed, in that case there would be no valid ground for us to criticize the ancients for not being farsighted enough to think of their descendants more than 2,500 years later.

The Four Books have been valued because of their contributions to the teaching and cultivation of men. This is a task which, as the Chinese are accustomed to Saying, takes as long as a century, and for this very reason it is an extermely difficult one. All knowledge is aimed at human existence and evolution, and any branch of knowledge which complies with this principle should have sufficient value to survive. As to whether the language of the books is that of the present age and whether the presentation is systematic and scientific, these are minor quesions of detail which should not be permitted to affect the main principle.

One of the Four Books, the Great Learning, has given in great detail the aims of human existence and the steps and methods that should be adopted for their achievement. Dr. Sun Yatsen has regarded this book as “China’s political philosophy,” and as “the most systematic study, which has never been conceived by political philosophers of any other country, nor ever stated by them, and which is a treasure possessed by China alone.” The philosopher Ch’êng Yi was right when he said that this book was “the gate by which first learners enter into virtue.”

Since the book was flawed by errors and omissions, the philosopher Ch’êng compiled a new version of it as the standard text. Later the philosopher Chu Hsi, on the basis of this text, divided the Great Learning into a chapter of classical text and ten chapters of commentary. At the outset Chu Hsi quote Ch’êhg:

Master Ch’êng said, “The Great Learning is a book by the Confucian School and forms the gate by which first learners enter into virtue. That we can now perceive the order in which the ancients pursued their learning is solely owing to the preservation of t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Translator’s Note
• Chapter I. Introduction
• Chapter II. The Investigation of Things
• Chapter III. The Extension of Knowledge
• Chapter IV. The Sincerity of Thoughts
• Chapter V. The Rectification of Hearts
• Chapter VI. The Cultivation of the Person
• Chapter VII. The Regulation of the Family
• Chapter VIII. The Government of the State
• Chapter IX. The Pacification of the World
• Chapter X. Conclusion
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index