Confucianism in China

[Loki]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_China#Confucius.27_philosophy

Confucius' philosophy

The mores background of the Chinese people is deeply shaped by the Confucian philosophy (儒家; Rujia). Confucius' thought stresses ethical, moral and social values. This system of values is sometimes considered as the proper culture of the Chinese; consequently, for centuries it has targeted religious tendencies. According to the Confucian thought every culture should carry on its own primordial ethnic religion, which two main aspects are reverence for nature and for the ancient fathers; in the case of the Chinese it is the Chinese folk religion and Taoism compound, which pivotal element is the worship of ancestor gods.it is mostly practiced in China. Confucianism arose during the 5th century BCE from the teachings of Confucius, collected under the name of the Analects. The Han Dynasty eventually made Confucianism the official state culture, along with Taoism which was the official religion.

Confucian social and political system remained established until 1912, when it was rejected by the new Republic of China and subsequently by the People's Republic of China. Since the 2000s Confucianism has been experiencing a great revival in China, as it is supported by the central government. The People's Republic of China is establishing institutes for Confucian education all over the world. The headquarters of all Confucius Institutes around the world is in Beijing. China has established 300 of such institutes as of 2010 With the recent rise of nationalism and cultural conservatism among Chinese intellectuals, a growing number of them are converting to Confucianism and working to make it an institutional religion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_China#Confucianism

Confucianism

Religious Confucianism (儒教 Rujiao, "Religion of the Scholars"; or 孔教 Kongjiao, "Religion of Confucius") is relatively new and still numerically small phenomenon, limited to the Chinese intelligentsia. Nevertheless, being well embedded in the Chinese academia, in recent years it has become very influential.

Whether Confucianism is a religion or not has been debated for more than one hundred years. Religious aspects promoted by Confucianism include the establishment of temples for ancestral worship of Confucius and his disciples, knowledge and worship of Tian, ritual and sacrifice; however, over the centuries Confucianism never developed an official institutional structure as Taoism did, and its religious aspects never completely detached from Chinese folk religion.

Since 2003 the debate seems to have taken a turn. Large numbers of intellectuals and students are converting to Confucianism, making it a strong intellectual force. A more and more influent movement among them is working to turn Confucianism into a religion (and a movement of its own, independent from the Chinese folk religion), to obtain recognition by the Chinese government, and even make Confucianism the official state religion of China. Scholar Fenggang Yang calls this movement Confucian Fundamentalism.

In 2003 the Confucian intellectual Kang Xiaoguang published a cultural nationalist manifesto in which he made four suggestions: Confucian education must enter official education at any level, from elementary to high school; the state must establish Confucianism as the state religion by law; Confucian religion must enter the daily life of ordinary people through standardization and development of doctrines, rituals, organisations, churches and activity sites; the Confucian religion must be spread through NGOs.

All the suggestions appear to be being gradually implemented. Since the Jiashen Manifesto published in 2004, intellectuals are calling for a return to the Chinese traditional culture. The Government has since then supported the revival of the Chinese traditional religions, holidays and celebrations. In 2005 the Center for the Study of Confucian Religion was established, and scholars who criticised Confucianism as a religion lost their influence. Also in 2005 Guoxue education started to be implemented in schools of any level. Being well received by the population, even Confucian "televangelists" started to appear on television since 2006.

The most enthusiast and cultural nationalist and conservatist Confucian Fundamentalists proclaim the uniqueness and superiority of Confucian Chinese culture, and have generated some popular sentiment against Western cultural influences in China. In January 2011 a statue of Confucius was unveiled on Tiananmen Square.

[Loki]

Chinese folk religion

The Chinese folk religion (simplified Chinese: 中国民间宗教 or 中国民间信仰, pinyin: Zhongguo minjian zongjiao or Zhongguo minjian xinyang) or Shenism (Shenjiao, 神教)[79][80][81] is the collection of local religious traditions which have been the majority belief system in China and among Han Chinese ethnic groups for the most part of the civilization's history till today. Chinese folk religion comprises Chinese mythology and includes the worship of the shen (神, shén; "deities", "spirits", "awarenesses", "consciousnesses", "archetypes") which can be nature deities, deities of the kinship, city deities, national deities, cultural heroes and demigods, dragons and ancestors.

The Chinese folk religion is sometimes categorized as "Taoism", since over the centuries institutional Taoism has been attempting to assimilate or administer local religions. Confucianism promotes certain aspects of Chinese traditional religion, especially ancestor veneration. Unlike Taoism, the religious aspects found in Confucianism (worship of Confucius and his disciples, worship of Tian, rituals and sacrifices) never took independent institutional form and have thus remained part of Shenism.

[Loki]

A survey in 2010 has found larger numbers: 754,000,000 people (56.2%) practice Chinese ancestral worship, and 173,000,000 (12.9%) practice Taoism on a level indistinguishable from the folk religion.

[Loki]

I believe Confucianism to be morally superior to other religoins

[Furnace]

Life seems to be worth very little some places though, so I am a bit sceptic.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8qs7AmSsOg

Toddler getting run over and killed, car just continues, people just walk past.

This is so fucked up beyond measures, I don't even have words.

[ButlerKing]

Life seems to be worth very little some places though, so I am a bit sceptic.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8qs7AmSsOg

Toddler getting run over and killed, car just continues, people just walk past.

This is so fucked up beyond measures, I don't even have words.



Communism results people in being cruel and backward.

Although I do believe Communism could help poverty countries.

North Korea is dictator communism, so that's different.

[arcticwolf]

Confucianism is an ethical philosophy, way of life, outlook on life. Taoism is very Buddhism like in its essence, as a matter of fact Chan/Zen Buddhism fused Taoism with Buddhism, which is not hard to do at all.

Pure Land Buddhism, and Chan Buddhism, and to lesser degree Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism would comprise the religious landscape of China. Pure Land dominates I think. Confucianism is more of ethical code.

I would be interested to hear an opinion of one of our Chinese members.

Zhaoyun's parents are Buddhists I think I remember him saying, but zhaoyun himself as you know is a hippie I reckon. :laugh:

[arcticwolf]

I believe Confucianism to be morally superior to other religoins

Nothing is morally superior to Buddhism boss, nothing. Do some reading on Buddhist morality and you'll quickly see why.

[zhaoyun]

Confucianism isa ethicl philosophy, way of life, outlook on life. Taoism is very Buddhism like in its essence, as a matter of fact Chan/Zen Buddhism fused Taoism with Buddhism, which is not hard to do at all.

Pure Land Buddhism, and Chan Buddhism, and to lesser degree Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism would comprise the religious landscape of China. Pure Land dominates I think. Confucianism is more of ethical code.

I would be interested to hear an opinion of one of our Chinese members.

Zhaoyun's parents are Buddhists I think I remember him saying, but zhaoyun himself as you know is a hippie I reckon. :laugh:

Hey buddy, first with calling me a hipster, now a hippie? You just don't stop with the insults do you!?

I don't believe in any religion, because I cannot logically conclude they exist beyond a manmade understanding of the world. It's really that simple.

Otherwise about Confucianism, it has its pros and cons. I'm not a major adherent of that either.

[arcticwolf]

Hey buddy, first with calling me a hipster, now a hippie? You just don't stop with the insults do you!?

I don't believe in any religion, because I cannot logically conclude they exist beyond a manmade understanding of the world. It's really that simple.

Otherwise about Confucianism, it has its pros and cons. I'm not a major adherent of that either.

You are so touchy, you know I was kidding! I love you bro! :thumb001: And since when hippie is an insult? :P

On topic, Buddhism is not about believing in anything, have you ever tried to get beyond the basics of Buddhism, I mean have you gotten to read the sutras, or practice meditation?

[zhaoyun]

You are so touchy, you know I was kidding! I love you bro! :thumb001: And since when hippie is an insult? :P

On topic, Buddhism is not about believing in anything, have you ever tried to get beyond the basics of Buddhism, I mean have you gotten to read the sutras, or practice meditation?

I like a lot of the Buddhist philosophy, I don't really believe in any of the extra-terrestial portions. However, honestly, Buddhism is too passive for me. I'm rather aggressive when it comes to pursuing things I need, and things I need to defend, so a lot of the passive nature of Buddhism doesn't appeal to me. For example, I can never be a follower of non-violence.

I've tried meditating and I agree it is great for your health, but I'm too impatient and focused on too many issues all the time for me to successfully practice it.

[Loki]

So ... Confucianism .. what's it all about???

Unlike American fundamentalism, it's actually a benevolent philosophy. Do unto others .. like you would have done to yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism

Confucianism is an ethical and philosophical system, on occasion described as a religion,[note 1] developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (孔夫子 Kǒng Fūzǐ, or K'ung-fu-tzu, lit. "Master Kong", 551–479 BCE). Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han Dynasty.[3] Following the official abandonment of Legalism in China after the Qin Dynasty, Confucianism became the official state ideology of the Han. Nonetheless, from the Han period onwards, most Chinese emperors have used a mix of Legalism and Confucianism as their ruling doctrine. The disintegration of the Han in the second century CE opened the way for the soteriological doctrines of Buddhism and Taoism to dominate intellectual life at that time.

A Confucian revival began during the Tang dynasty. In the late Tang, Confucianism developed aspects on the model of Buddhism and Taoism and was reformulated as Neo-Confucianism. This reinvigorated form was adopted as the basis of the imperial exams and the core philosophy of the scholar official class in the Song dynasty. The abolition of the examination system in 1905 marked the end of official Confucianism. The New Culture intellectuals of the early twentieth century blamed Confucianism for China's weaknesses. They searched for new doctrines to replace Confucian teachings, some of these new ideologies include the "Three Principles of the People" with the establishment of the Republic of China, and then Maoism under the People's Republic of China. In the late twentieth century, some people credited Confucianism with the rise of the East Asian economy and it enjoyed a rise in popularity both in China and abroad.

The core of Confucianism is humanistic,[4] or what the philosopher Herbert Fingarette calls "the secular as sacred". Confucianism focuses on the practical order inscribed in a this-worldly awareness of the Tian and a proper respect of the gods (shen),[5] with particular emphasis on the importance of the family, rather than on a transcendent divine or a soteriology.[6] This stance rests on the belief that human beings are teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor especially self-cultivation and self-creation. Confucian thought focuses on the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of ethics. Some of the basic Confucian ethical concepts and practices include rén, yì, and lǐ, and zhì. Ren is an obligation of altruism and humaneness for other individuals. Yi is the upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition to do good. Li is a system of ritual norms and propriety that determines how a person should properly act in everyday life. Zhi is the ability to see what is right and fair, or the converse, in the behaviors exhibited by others. Confucianism holds one in contempt, either passively or actively, for the failure of upholding the cardinal moral values of en and yi.

Historically, cultures and countries strongly influenced by Confucianism include mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, as well as various territories settled predominantly by Chinese people, such as Singapore. In the 20th century, Confucianism’s influence has been greatly reduced. More recently, there have been talks of a "Confucian Revival" in the academia and the scholarly community.

[Loki]

Nothing is morally superior to Buddhism boss, nothing. Do some reading on Buddhist morality and you'll quickly see why.

Keep an open mind my friend :)

Also - the ecomomic rise of China far outweighs that of Thailand, sorry :p

[arcticwolf]

Keep an open mind my friend :)

Also - the ecomomic rise of China far outweighs that of Thailand, sorry :p

My middle name is Open Mind, that's also my Comanche name. :laugh:

[Loki]

Any potential converts? ;)

[armenianbodyhair]

I like a lot of things but there are some things that I don't think are beneficial about it.

[Dombra]

Any potential converts? ;)

Teach me how to use Confucianism in every day life, guru

[Scholarios]

In Confucianism, truth is equated with convenience, and all the blades of grass are sacrificed for "harmony"


Remember a teacher friend of mine here in Korea, an Australian fellow yell at some old "Ajeossi" (middle aged man) for running a red-light in front of his middle school. The dude gets out of his car screaming and swearing at how this young foreigner was going to tell him not to run red lights in front of school crossings. He goes in the school screaming at the principal and all the teachers and demands an apology where all the staff and this foreigner English teacher bow to him and reports the incident to the local paper where a minor shitstorm ensues.

This is Confucian truth- and it's absolutely normal in Confucian countries- here in Korea it gets worse as the person gets older. If that was an actual old man, I am terrified at the chaos that would have ensued.

Thank god the Communists tried to dismantle this "religion"... even though Chinese business still seems to operate on the bullshit principal. Korea too. I remember reading an interview with the lawyers (some Swedish guy) for Samsung during the Samsung-Apple copyright cases. He was also the lawyer for Euro company Ericcson. He said it was impossible to get Ericcson to lie--- even when he wanted them to do so. It was also impossible to get Samsung to tell the trut, even when it would have benefitted them. Not sure what Kong-Ja himself would have thought of unabashed lying, but it seems to be a cornerstone of certain aspects of Confucian societies. I know, it's harsh.

[Scholarios]

I like a lot of the Buddhist philosophy, I don't really believe in any of the extra-terrestial portions. However, honestly, Buddhism is too passive for me. I'm rather aggressive when it comes to pursuing things I need, and things I need to defend, so a lot of the passive nature of Buddhism doesn't appeal to me. For example, I can never be a follower of non-violence.

I've tried meditating and I agree it is great for your health, but I'm too impatient and focused on too many issues all the time for me to successfully practice it.

It is not the soldier who kills the enemy, but only his sword.- D.T. Suzuki

On the other hand, this kind of Buddhist thought has been known the influence or excuse a lot of horrible things. (in particular Imperial Japanese wartime policy)

[Loki]

Thank god the Communists tried to dismantle this "religion"... even though Chinese business still seems to operate on the bullshit principal.

Well, they failed. It is becoming very popular in China now, even among the Communist Party intelligentsia.

[silver_surfer]

Confucianism is an ethical philosophy, way of life, outlook on life. Taoism is very Buddhism like in its essence, as a matter of fact Chan/Zen Buddhism fused Taoism with Buddhism, which is not hard to do at all.

Pure Land Buddhism, and Chan Buddhism, and to lesser degree Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism would comprise the religious landscape of China. Pure Land dominates I think. Confucianism is more of ethical code.

I would be interested to hear an opinion of one of our Chinese members.

Zhaoyun's parents are Buddhists I think I remember him saying, but zhaoyun himself as you know is a hippie I reckon. :laugh:

Each of the three is deep, interesting and hugely important in world history. Truth is found in many different forms across all of human experience. The reason people see similarities in different religions or philosophies is because at their core many are delivering the same message.

[Scholarios]

Well, they failed. It is becoming very popular in China now, even among the Communist Party intelligentsia.

There are lots of ways in which you can see how it is absent in China (PROC) though. Like, in Korea, every single person is called by their epithet "big brother" or "big sister" if they are even one year older. But in China, at least PROC this was relaxed in modernization reforms. As are gender roles. For instance, it is a common issue these days in South Korea where farmers in Korea are ordering Chinese peasant wives (Korean women are all going to the city and don't want farmer husbands). But basically, Chinese wives since the Cultural Revolution expect to share housework with their husbands- but Korean men refuse it- another instance where China has moved far ahead of traditional Confucianism. Not sure if this can be undone.

I've always thought that the Chinese namedrop Confucius for points with Westerners- since he appears to have some analogue in Western thought and ethics (Augustine and Aristotle). On the other hand, it appears on the outside at least, that the Chinese are much closer to following Legalism rather than Confucianism. (in some ways, Koreans also filled in patches in Confucianism with Legalist thought). And in the future, as China gets stronger, Legalism will be prescribed even further- when it no longer becomes necessary to exercise restraint in military policy.

[Loki]

There are lots of ways in which you can see how it is absent in China (PROC) though.

That's about to change. If you read my posts in this thread you will see. They are pushing to make it into a 'religion', and want it to be taught at all levels of school - even be made the official religion. It ties in strongly with Taoism and Chinese folk religions.

[Scholarios]

That's about to change. If you read my posts in this thread you will see. They are pushing to make it into a 'religion', and want it to be taught at all levels of school - even be made the official religion. It ties in strongly with Taoism and Chinese folk religions.

I believe this is more or less a horse-shit driven ruse. In Confucian hierarchy, the merchants have one of the lowest ranks in society (the shang are the lowest in the "Four Occupations). In Modern China, they run the show and decide everything-and pay off any bureaucrat to basically do anything. I admit, its admirable to make the attempt to instill values as a state religion- but its just a show-trend. Though as said before, Confucianism does seem to thrive on paradoxes that appear to be out and out lies to outsiders, so I suppose anything is possible. (and as I said before South Korea has gotten over this by copy and pasting legalist and authoritarian theory over the parts of Confucianism that dont work well with their views of what a modern society should be- i.e. rich etc)

[Loki]

I believe this is more or less a horse-shit driven ruse. In Confucian hierarchy, the merchants have one of the lowest ranks in society (the shang are the lowest in the "Four Occupations). In Modern China, they run the show and decide everything-and pay off any bureaucrat to basically do anything. I admit, its admirable to make the attempt to instill values as a state religion- but its just a show-trend. Though as said before, Confucianism does seem to thrive on paradoxes that appear to be out and out lies to outsiders, so I suppose anything is possible. (and as I said before South Korea has gotten over this by copy and pasting legalist and authoritarian theory over the parts of Confucianism that dont work well with their views of what a modern society should be- i.e. rich etc)

Interesting view on it, I guess we will have to wait to see how it plays out in modern China.