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Portrait of Confucius

Philosophy

Confucius

c. 551–479 BC (traditional dates) · Chinese (state of Lu)

Confucianism

Confucius (Kong Qiu, honoured as Kongzi or Kong Fuzi, "Master Kong") was a teacher and would-be statesman of the Spring and Autumn period whose sayings, collected by his disciples in the Analects, became the foundation of Confucianism. His ethics of humaneness, ritual propriety, filial piety and the cultivated "gentleman" shaped Chinese government, education and family life for over two thousand years.

How to spot them

  • ▸Ren (humaneness), li (ritual propriety), junzi (the exemplary person or 'gentleman'), xiao (filial piety)
  • ▸The Analects (Lunyu), the state of Lu and his hometown of Qufu
  • ▸Rectification of names (zhengming); a negative 'Golden Rule' in the Analects
  • ▸A Latinised name popularised by Jesuit missionaries; later followers Mencius and Xunzi

Key works

Analects (Lunyu) (Compiled by disciples after his death (c. 5th–3rd century BC))

Collection of his sayings and exchanges with disciples; not written by Confucius himself

Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu) (Covers 722–481 BC)

Chronicle of the state of Lu traditionally said to have been edited by Confucius; gives its name to the Spring and Autumn period

Classic of Poetry (Shijing) (Poems c. 11th–7th century BC)

Anthology of 305 poems that tradition says Confucius selected; one of the Five Classics

Great Learning (Daxue) (Chapter of the Book of Rites)

Short Confucian text on self-cultivation and ordering the state; made one of the Four Books by Zhu Xi

Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) (Chapter of the Book of Rites)

Traditionally attributed to his grandson Zisi; another of Zhu Xi's Four Books

Key ideas

  • Ren (humaneness or benevolence) is the supreme virtue: genuine goodness and care towards others
  • Li (ritual propriety), the correct observance of rites and social forms, both expresses and cultivates virtue
  • The junzi (exemplary person, 'gentleman') is defined by moral character rather than noble birth, in contrast to the xiaoren (petty person)
  • Xiao (filial piety): respect and duty towards parents and ancestors as the root of social harmony
  • Rectification of names (zhengming): good order requires that names match realities, so that the ruler is truly a ruler, the father truly a father, the son truly a son
  • A negative Golden Rule: do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself (Analects 15.24, explaining shu, reciprocity)

Quick-fire facts

  • •'Confucius' is a Latinisation of Kong Fuzi ('Master Kong'), popularised by Jesuit missionaries in the 16th–17th centuries
  • •He lived in the Spring and Autumn period and came from the state of Lu, in modern Shandong; the Temple, Cemetery and Kong Family Mansion at Qufu are a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • •Mencius (Mengzi) and Xunzi were the leading early Confucians, disagreeing over whether human nature is good (Mencius) or bad (Xunzi)
  • •The Four Books (Analects, Mencius, Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean) were grouped by Zhu Xi and became the basis of the imperial examinations
  • •The Han dynasty adopted Confucianism as state orthodoxy after the Qin dynasty's suppression of scholars
  • •His traditional birthday, 28 September, is celebrated as Teachers' Day in Taiwan
  • •China's international language and culture centres are named Confucius Institutes

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Sources