17 minute film brief overview of the life of Confucius
Considered one of the most influential people of ancient China, Confucius’ teachings are still relevant today.
So who was Confucius? What were his values and ideals?
Confucius lived during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. It was a bloody and violent time when brutal warlords, hungry for power, plundered and pillaged. The emperors during the Eastern Zhou dynasty were desperately trying to hold on to power, and the vast areas of land they claimed were theirs. However, slowly they were losing control. The dynasty gradually disintegrated, and the emperor became little more than a figurehead as state rulers battled for political and military domination.
It was an incredibly troubled and violent time. Despite, or perhaps because of, this, philosophical and educational debate flourished, which led to cultural and intellectual growth.
The tradition of the peripatetic (“walking/traveling/teaching”) sages
This period, a golden age in Chinese philosophy, has come to be known as the Hundred Schools of Thought (or philosophy).
Good governance and a stable society start close to home: with the self
Most thinkers were scholars who roamed from state to state to advise local rulers on affairs, including war, government, and diplomacy. Confucius, the best-known scholar of this time, looked at the world around him and was deeply concerned. Rulers were becoming increasingly immoral; corruption, injustice, and betrayal were rife.
Confucius spent a great deal of time learning how a good society should work, how rulers should rule, and how citizens should obey in order to return ancient China to greatness.
Few facts are known about the life of Confucius, so it’s hard to separate the man from the myth.
Most historians agree he was born in 551 BCE in the small town of Zou in the then State of Lou on the Shandong peninsula in Northeast China. Today, it’s known as Qufu in Shandong province. He was born into a once-noble family that had lost its wealth and position over generations as the
empire disintegrated into feudal states. Some believe he was descended from the great Shang Dynasty kings.
The youngest of 11 children, he was raised by his mother after his father died when Confucius was three. His family were members of the Shi, or scholarly class. Growing up, Confucius had a hunger for knowledge and wisdom, and taught himself through books and other sources of information. Despite living in poverty, he received a good education and wanted to one day hold a government office.
In his late teens, he held a minor government position, was married, and had a son. Not long after, the marriage ended in divorce because he wanted to devote more time to study and public duties.
At age 22, Confucius began teaching. He believed the only way he could change the world was by influencing the leaders of tomorrow. And rather than try to create a new way to organize society, he turned to the past for inspiration and guidance.
A transmitter, not an innovator…and yet…
In the Analects, a book of selected sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius and compiled by his followers, he says, “I transmit, but do not innovate” (Analects 7:1).
He studied the early years of the Zhou Dynasty for the best social and political system to follow– in particular, the Duke of Zhou, who Confucius considered to be a great and wise man. As a teacher, he wanted his disciples to copy the Dao, or way, of the wise men of antiquity. In doing so, he hoped his disciples would help restore the moral integrity that had declined so much.
Confucius’ reputation and influence was slowly growing, particularly in the home state of Lu, where the three ruling families under the duke of Lu were in constant fear of rebellion. They saw the values of respect, loyalty, and good moral conduct as a way to increase their legitimacy as a government.
Too good for office? The frustrations of Confucius
In 501 BCE, Confucius was appointed governor of a small town in his home state, rising to Minister of Crime. Given the opportunity to put his principles into action, it is understood he introduced a policy to feed that aged and the poor at the state’s experience. Concerned the state of Lu was becoming too powerful, largely because of Confucius’ influence and ideas, neighboring rulers made life difficult for the Duke of Lu and eventually forced Confucius into self-imposed exile.
He was also frustrated at being unable to achieve government reform to the extent he wanted. For 14 years, he wandered, journeying to the small kingdoms of northeast and central China, talking reform and peace.
At age 67, he returned home to Zhou and spent his final years writing and teaching. Unable to achieve the social and political change he longed for, he considered his life a failure. In 479 BCE, aged 73, Confucius died.
Confucius’ classic overview of his life: Decades and touchstones
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[2:4] The Master said: “At fifteen my heart was set on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I had no more doubts; at fifty I knew the mandate of heaven; at sixty my ear was obedient; at seventy I could follow my heart’s desire without transgressing the norm.”
“When I was 15, I was only interested in studying. When I was 30, I began my life. At 40, I was self-assured. At 50, I understood my place in the vast scheme of things. At 60, I learned to give up arguing. And now at 70, I can do whatever I like without disrupting my life.” (Analects
The five relationships
Confucius developed a set of values for people in all levels of society to follow, from emperor down to peasant, values which still resonate in modern Chinese society. He set out a way to
organize the family, the state, and the world, so that it was in harmony with the moral order of heaven (“the Mandate of Heaven”). He thought it important for people to be honest, moral, polite, and loyal, and held that all members of society should be respectful of one another.
The five relationships at the center of Confucian philosophy are– the ruled must obey their ruler. Son must obey father. Wife must obey husband. Younger brother must obey older brother. And friend respect friend. The elderly are to be respected, woman obey men, and children obey parents. Confucius taught that those in dominant or more powerful positions need to show generosity, kindness, and concern for those of a lower status. He taught that if leaders governed in a fair and honorable way, their citizens’ behavior will reflect that of their leaders. If leaders were cruel and unfair, the behavior of citizens would also reflect that of their leaders.
Within the family unit, filial piety, the virtue of showing respect to one’s parents and ancestors, was for Confucius fundamental to a good and moral society. One should respect their parents in daily life, take care of them in sickness, show great sorrow upon their death, and make sacrifices to them.
Confucius believed morality was contagious. Moral parents would raise moral children, and moral rulers would lead moral citizens.
The Analects
His disciples wrote his teachings down, and eventually they were made into books, including the Analects, which contains most of his teachings and sayings. More than 200 years after his death, his teachings gained official approval during the Han dynasty, and later the Tang and Song Dynasties. In 195 BCE, Gaozu of Han, founding emperor of the Han dynasty, sacrificed a bull to the spirit of Confucius to show his respect. Emperor Wu of Han made Confucianism the official philosophy during his reign.
Confucianism was vitally important to the social and political order of ancient China. His ideas and philosophies were used as the foundation for Chinese law, and have helped shape East Asian intellectual thought in countries such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. And it’s still just as relevant today.
Confucianism: An outdated feudal hierarchy?
Ancient Chinese custom demanded respect towards one’s elders. Yet women’s rights were completely ignored. During the Han Dynasty, the law stated that if a wife beat her grandfather, she would be chopped up in the marketplace. Yet if a husband beat his wife, it wasn’t even a crime.
Confucianism, rising to prominence during the Han Dynasty, influenced much of daily life. It explained how people should relate to one another, particularly men and women. The father was head of the family and made all the decisions, which the rest of the family had to obey. Son had to obey father, and younger brothers obey older brother. An important role for men was to worship their ancestors and stay loyal to their family tradition.
Where do women fit into this schema?
When women marry into a family, their loyalty would then lie with the husband’s family.
Women were confined to the family home, having no rights or legal standing outside of it. They weren’t educated or allowed to own property. A woman had to obey her father when young, her husband when married, and her son when widowed. A woman’s central role was looking after the men of the family. This involved cooking, cleaning, weaving, sewing, and caring for the children.
Peasant women might also have to work in the fields alongside their husbands and children. They worked very hard, yet received little reward or respect. This is despite Confucius’ teaching that the roles of mother and mother-in-law deserve great respect.
Marriages
Marriages were arranged. Partners were chosen by family members, not individuals. In deciding who their children should marry, they sought wisdom from astrologers about a couple’s suitability and the likelihood of bearing sons. Men were allowed to have more than one wife. Essentially, a rich man could have as many wives as he could afford. After the first wife, the other wives were called concubines.
Best be a mother of sons?
A woman held a certain amount of social status if she was her husband’s first wife, or more importantly, gave him his first son. The first wife usually had authority over the other women of the household. This was one of the only times when women in ancient China held any power.
Boys were valued more than girls in ancient China, particularly the firstborn son. When grown up, he will become head of the household. His younger brothers will bring their families to live and work under him.
Sons continued the family name when they married, while girls took their husband’s name. Noble and wealthy families paid a lot of money to give their sons a good education and a chance of securing a well-paid or highly respected position in society. At age 6, a boy would start school or begin working in the fields. Similarly, in the family home, mothers began instructing daughters in domestic duties.
Peasants tended to have large families, so that when their children grew up, they could help in the fields.
What about daughters?
When a daughter was married off, her family had to provide a dowry, including money, farm animals, and household goods for her husband. It was a heavy financial burden, particularly for poorer families, and this is another reason why boys were preferred.
Most girls didn’t go to school, and they weren’t allowed to sit the examination for an official government position. Girls always had to obey the men of the family, first their father, then their husband, and eventually their eldest son.
Boys and girls had to obey their parents at all times and promise to care for them in sickness and old age. Poverty-stricken families were forced to sell their daughters into slavery or to rich families to become their servants.
Tough on the feet?
An example of poor treatment of girls in ancient China is the practice of foot-binding. Small feet were considered to be particularly attractive, more so than a beautiful face or body, and increased a girl’s marriage prospects. At about four years of age, all toes except the big toe were broken, often with a hammer. The broken toes were then curled under the sole of the foot and tightly bandaged. Each day, the bandages were tightened further. The arch of the foot gradually bowed, making the foot shorter. After years of constant pain, the arch broke, and the big toe was then tied to the heel. During the torturous process, girls risked serious infection, gangrene, toes dropping off, and even death. When it was finished, they were left with deformed feet, which were painfully difficult to walk on. It was particularly tough on peasant girls, who, barely able to walk, were forced to kneel as they toiled in the fields. Believed to have started in the Imperial Court around 900 AD, the practice then became popular among the nobility and peasantry. The practice wasn’t outlawed until 1911!
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