The Confucius Story: Philosophy, Politics & Religion

Confucius (c. 551 - c. 479 BCE) was a Spring and Autumn period Chinese philosopher and politician who is regarded as the paragon of Chinese sages. Confucius' teachings and philosophy continue to influence Chinese and East Asian culture and society to this day.

Philosophy

Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing" in the Analects. He emphasizes the importance of study the most, and the text begins with the Chinese character for study. Rather than attempting to construct a systematic or formalist theory, he desired that his disciples master and internalize older classics, so that their deep thought and thorough study would allow them to relate current moral problems to past political events (as recorded in the Annals) or past expressions of commoners' feelings and noblemen's reflections (as in the poems of the Book of Odes).

Ethics
One of Confucius' most profound teachings may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, imitating moral exemplars, and developing skilled judgment over rule knowledge. As a result, Confucian ethics can be classified as a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument, and ethical ideals and methods are communicated in a roundabout way, via allusion, innuendo, and even tautology. His teachings must be examined and contextualized in order to be understood.

Politics

Confucius's political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argued that the best government is one that rules through "rites" (lǐ) and people's natural morality, and not by using bribery and coercion. He explained that this is one of the most important analects: "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they are led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good." (Analects 2.3, tr. Legge). This "sense of shame" is an internalization of duty, where the punishment precedes the evil action, instead of following it in the form of laws as in Legalism.

While Confucius supported the idea of government ruling by a virtuous king, his ideas contained a number of elements to limit the power of rulers. He argued for representing truth in language, and honesty was of paramount importance. Even in facial expression, truth must always be represented. Confucius believed that if a ruler is to lead correctly, by action, that orders would be unnecessary in that others will follow the proper actions of their ruler. In discussing the relationship between a king and his subject (or a father and his son), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors. This demanded that the subordinates must advise their superiors if the superiors are considered to be taking a course of action that is wrong. Confucius believed in ruling by example, if you lead correctly, orders by force or punishment are not necessary.

Timestamps 📽
0:28 - Confucius
2:41 - The Han Dynasty
5:37 - Confucius’s Father
10:06 - The Common Gentleman
11:43 - The Analects
23:58 - Three Confucian Sites
37:29 - Political Meritocracy
38:06 - The Family
48:25 - Confucius Academy
49:52 - Imperial Examination
55:11 - Han Dynasty Tombs
1:21:24 - The Grave Sweeping Festival of Ching Ming

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