Essay about Confucianism

Confucianism was founded by Confucius in 551-479 Bce. Confucius believed that everyone should live by the Five Constant Relationships: parent and child, husband and wife, ruler and subject, older sibling and younger sibling, older friend and younger friend. Each person

In order to see how the principles and teachings of Confucius influenced the Han Dynasty, we must first look at the history of Confucius. "Kong Fuzi, known in Latin as Confucius, a philosopher and political adviser from the small state of Lu in modern Shandong, sought to reform China by redefining Chinese political and ethical thought" (Spodek 208-209). Confucius dedicated his life to education and philosophy, as he mastered the six Chinese arts: archery, ritual, calligraphy, music, chariot driving, and arithmetic. He went on to be a teacher, government advisor, and author several historical works. Confucius focused on the importance of self-discipline and earning rather than power based on birthright. His teachings eventually grew to impact the region, although most of this transformation took place after his death.

during the Zhou Dynasty, China was experiencing a great deal of political turmoil. A major part of this era was called the Period of the Warring States. It was a time when there were numerous wars that occurred due to the conflict that existed between seven states. (Watkins, 2013) These warring states were the Han, Wu, Zhao, Chu, Qi, Yan and Jin. According to Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler of the book Traditions and Encounters, “This period forced some people to reflect on the nature of society, and the roles of humans beings within society.” The authors continued saying that it forced others to “identify principles that would restore political and social order.” (Bentley & Ziegler, 2011) The principles of Confucianism were established and followed in order to help the citizens of China to live and govern their communities more efficiently. Through Confucianism, Confucius helped legitimize China’s rule and bring about order in the mist of turmoil. The effects of Confucius’ principles are still seen and felt today in many aspects of modern day Chinese society. Veritably, there were points throughout Chinese history where Confucianism affected almost every aspect of life in China. Confucius has impacted the development of Chinese thought and culture in various ways from education to politics, to familial relationships.

At first, Confucianism was unsuccessful and Confucius, during his lifetime only managed to collect a few followers. After his death, however, his followers passed on the Confucian tradition. It survived, with a few changes, to the Han dynasty (221 BC) and became established as China 's official philosophy. From then it was firmly well established in Chinese culture, and its values can still be seen today. The Five Classics of Confucianism were works from the Zhou Dynasty, which preceded the Warring States Period. They were collected and edited by members of the original Confucian school. After Confucianism became the official state philosophy, one had to know the philosophy well in order to gain the coveted position of government official.

Confucianism had a positive impact on China because it increased social stability. Confucianism is a philosophy which focused on everyday problems and the relationships between people. It’s main goal was to restore peace, harmony and social order. Confucius is the creator of Confucianism believed that societies like China had lost touch traditions and morals so he made the concept “filial piety” which stressed “respect for ones parents, elders, and ancestors… bring a good name to ones parents and ancestors… he believed that if everyone respected, their family, was obedient, and worked hard to bring honor to their families name”. (Document 1).

Confucianism in China had been a way of life, a state ideology as well as a combined philosophical, religious, and social system. Fundamentally, Confucianism focused on

The religion of Confucianism begins, of course, with Confucius whose Chinese name was Kong Qui and who lived from 551 B.C. to 479 B.C. Surprisingly Confucius was merely a low level government worker. He did not exactly view himself as the founder of a school of thought. Regardless, Confucianism is the most influential belief system in Chinese culture. It provides the rules which govern the social behavior of the individual. The basic teachings of Confucius are grounded in the Five Constant Virtues: humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. Confucius went on to define five basic human relations and

Introduction Confucius and Confucianism made drastic impacts on Ancient China in many different ways. Confucius was born in the state of Lu in 551B.C. he was a bureaucrat and a teacher who taught his philosophy Confucianism. Confucianism was a social and ethical philosophy believing in social order, respect to your ancestors and reformist idealistic and spiritual values. The following statements will explore Confucius and his life as a teacher and a bureaucrat and how Confucianism affected Ancient China. Confucianism and Its Impact on Ancient China Confucianism had major impacts on Ancient China.

Before Confucianism during the Shang dynasty the method of reasoning was much different than it is today. The practice of “oracle bone divination” was used to guide the shang and even though this specific ritual is not practiced much today the Shang did provide the idea of a mutual relationship between the living and the dead. I believe that most religions leave some sort of lasting contribution to society and Confucianism’s will be both the culture of literate elite as well as the interdependence required for social harmony. The central confucian texts are “The five classics” that were rumored to be written by Confucius himself. Confucianism was sometimes seen as a philosophy and not a religion, but confucius

Confucianism is regarded as one of the primary religions that have profoundly influenced Chinese beliefs and ideologies. While Kongzi, or Confucius, is the founder of Confucianism, he is not the only philosopher who has contributed to such a significant impact on China. Similarly, the Analects of Confucius is not the single text that represents Confucianism. In fact, during different time periods throughout the history, there are a number of eminent representatives of Confucian thoughts, such as Mengzi and Xunzi. Because Confucianism aims at eliminating chaos and maintaining order in a harmonious society , they all agree that the guidance and education of virtuous Confucian pioneers are of extreme importance to achieve this

Confucianism, or as Steven Prothero titled it in his book, The Way of Propriety, was founded by Confucius. Confucius regards himself as a transmitter of ancient truths rather than an inventor of new ones. Confucius studied hard and used his expertise to gain him a job as a private teacher in China. With his diverse background in ritual, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, mathematics, poetry, history, and music, Confucius passed his knowledge to students who tried and become an example person (junzi), by learning to tend to human heartedness (ren), and rituals/propriety (li). Confucius is considered to be one of the five most influential people ever recorded in history. His words and deeds among the most influential books as well. Giving us his Golden rule, “Do not impose on others what you do not desire.” (Prothero 102), he showed us that real knowledge is

Confucianism is a time enduring philosophy that has stood up to invading clans, war, resentment, enforcement and infringement of new philosophies, and eventually, revival. For almost 80 years, up until the late 1970’s, Confucianism and its ideas and values have been all but wiped away from China. Though effort was made to remove Confucianism for good from China by the Communist leader Mao Zedong in 1949, the ideas and values were so deeply embedded into peoples mind and the culture that even suppression could not keep it out of the culture and practices. The main factor that has brought Confucianism back into the limelight in China and other East Asian countries is the recent

Confucianism is the way of life taught by Confucius Kong Fuzi in China in the 6-5th B.C. Confucianism has deeply influenced the spiritual and

Confucianism is unique in the fact that unlike other religions, it doesn’t have a divine ruler that is worshiped by its followers. Instead, followers of Confucianism adhere to the ideas and values spread in the teachings of Confucius, a philosopher. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Confucius was a thinker, political figure, educator, and founder of the Ru School of Chinese Thought (Reigel, para. 1). Other than that, however, not much is known for certain about the life of Confucius, as most of his works were not widespread until after his death. It is thought that he was born, possibly out of wedlock, to a poor family in the state of Lu in 551 BCE. It was there that he endured a poverty-stricken youth, and was forced

family in destitution, but Confucius did have a decent education. He was married at the age of 19 and had