Confucius Argument Essay

Confucianism has been a part of Chinese culture for over a thousand years. Many who have studied Confucianism would say that it is not a religion. It is better described as a philosophy or moral code. The philosophy of Confucianism comes mainly from the speeches and writings of Confucius, a great Chinese thinker and educator. He believed that Humanity, Rite, Neutrality, Virtue, Education, and Cultivation were the basis of human behavior. In addition, Confucius felt that this philosophy was the best way for people to behave and interact with others in society.

Worthy Emperor, I have respectfully considered the system of rewards and punishments in Confucian society and I present my thoughts concerning this subject. According to Confucian principles, punishments and rewards should only be used when the situation warrants it. It is important that all people understand the moral consequences of their actions. The Master said, “Guide them by edicts, keep them in line with punishments, and the common people will stay out of trouble but will have no sense of shame. Guide them by virtue, keep them in line with the rites, and they will, besides having a sense of shame, reform themselves” (Analects, 2.3). Those who rule solely with punishments do not reflect the teachings of Confucius.

They want to emphasize individual virtuous behavior, both by the ruler and the ruled as well as highly recommending obedience and respect, “people should know their place, even under bad rulers.” Even the Han emperors decided to implement Confucius ideas after looking at their doctrine called The Analects. The book shows Confucian political value and social order which states that the aristocrats and the educated are of the highest degree, and then comes farmers, and finally, the merchants. Although both Confucianism and Legalism call for governmental hierarchy, Confucianism possessed an optimistic view of human potential while Legalists believe that a powerful government is necessary along with a carefully devised law rewarding for good deeds and punishing for bad

The Qing empire ruled China with Confucianism as the main imperial system used until the very end. However, the beginning of Qing downfall result of the exam system became corrupted and filled with bribery. Instead of the fair examination on the knowledge of Confucianism, the wealthy use their power to get their ways, result in not the most qualified politicians. Additionally, it shows the lack of Confucius value in the Qing system. On the other hand, bureaucracy meant to improve the lives of the wealthy not the poor. Also, the money was given to the people with power and wealth, not to infrastructure.

Three areas of philosophy emerged amidst the chaos and constant warring of the Zhou era. The three were called Confucianism, Daoism, and legalism. They were Chinese philosophies that were thought to be the best ways to rule and achieve order in the society. Confucianism believed that a ruler 's job was to set a good example, and not order. Since people were thought of as naturally good, they would following the right path based on their own conscience. Legalism was a more harsh way of ruling, led by Hanfeizi. They thought people were evil, and needed strict laws and punishment to keep them in line. Daoism was very different from either of the other two. It was led by Laozi, who taught that the best kind of government was one who governed

Han China and Imperial Rome used ideologies to shape their society. In Han China, Confucianism was used as a basis to control its bureaucrats and citizens. This ideology, created by Confucius, encouraged moral and cultural unity. It encouraged respect towards authority, and set guidelines for how an individual should act towards people above their social class and people below their social class. Han rulers created one of the first civil service tests, requiring applicants to have an understanding of Confucianism and other early writings to become a bureaucrat. This resulted in a

Confucius’ high emphasis on morality instead of profit was one of his major political ideals that he tried to persuade the the rulers of the kingdoms to pursue. However, his failure to convince any of those rulers reflected the prevalent pragmatic political culture at that period. After all, the kingdoms were at war with each other so that Confucius’ idea was inevitably less popular than those battle-winning strategies in favor of “profit.”

     Confucius’s counsel and guidance recorded in The Analects instilled wisdom when they were first recorded and continue to provide a thought provoking analysis of life and the checkpoints that guide it. The Master’s commentary on restraint, diligence, decency, and citizenship are well intended and relevant. Politics and the role of government also come under scrutiny as Confucius offers his insights in bettering the organization of power. His proverb-like admonitions use clear examples of everyday life allowing them to be understood and easily digested. Confucius’s own eagerness and willingness to share goodness he experienced makes it easier to apply and practice in one’s own life.

However, Confucianism did support the established government’s role of enhancing filial piety. “Duke Ching of Ch`I asked Confucius about government. Confucius answered, ‘Let the ruler be a ruler, the subject a subject, the father a father, the son a son.’” The lessons are scattered with words of honoring and obeying your parents, “Meng yi Tzu asked about being filial. The master answered, ‘Never fail to comply.’” 1 This application, in its transition to Japan included an individual’s superiors, that is to say the daimyo, the Shogun, and the Emperor.

"The public be damned!," William Henry Vanderbilt was reported to have said. "I'm working for my stockholders."

Naturally, a ruling class that was over-dependent on the educated elites would disturb the social order once those elites act narrowly in their own interests. Song Dynasty is known as “weak and yet burgeoning”, according, rulers would like to listen to officials’ opinions to pick the right way to run the nation, which essentially widely enhanced the position of educated elites in the court. Meanwhile, the promulgation of the civil service exam in the Song Dynasty raises increasingly fierce party disputes within the imperial court. Because the shared ideas and values through the education contributed to the cohesion of the bureaucratism and factionalism, which let many educated elites formed cliques for their private gain and many policies were not able to be implemented. The above reasons ultimately led to the failure of the Xifeng Political Reform in Northern Song Dynasty. Wang Anshi represented the Emperor Shenzong who wanted to reform the government, but he was strongly antagonized in the court because many reform policies harmed the benefits of old bureaucratic. Afterward, Emperor Shenzong had to compromise to those powerful scholar-officials who successfully made an alliance against the

The prestige of officialdom was first initiated by the state, in which all civil service graduates were guaranteed employment and remuneration. It caused a ripple effect on the public. Entry into officialdom became the Chinese man’s foremost aspiration, and hence heightened the status for those who did pass the exam. Men with Confucian values who possessed command of the literary skills were admired by the public. Success in the civil examination became one of the defining characteristics of the Chinese gentry class, and Shi (scholar-officials) became the highest ranked social class in China’s hierarchical structure. It successfully perpetuated and reinforced the state’s dominance through an “educational gyroscope” centered on the civil examination, surrounded by the imperial state, gentry society, and Neo-Confucian culture (Elman 8). The cultural pressure of the exams consequentially reinforced state government’s legitimacy and authority in the territory. In fact, the exams became so popular that it transcended state powers. Although the examination system was first established for the emperor to limit the development of regional military powers and political aristocratic elites, it grew to a point when even the emperors had to learn Confucian values, from teachers selected by the exams, for their own imperial legitimacy (Elman

Confucianism has easily been influential in the development of the Chinese state through history. In fact, the core ideals of Confucianism have evolved. Despite the harsh repression of Confucianism by Marxist revolutionaries during the second half of the twentieth century, Confucian values continues to be influential in Chinese society and recently, Confucian political philosophy has resurfaced again. In addition, the political ideas and social ethics of Confucianism can provide the basis for a new, functional form of government in China. Confucianism can be a viable political philosophy for China in the twenty first century because many intellectuals have turned to Confucianism to make sense of such social

In the late Imperial China, the examination system and associated methods of recruitment to the central bureaucracy were major mechanisms by which the central government captured and held the loyalty of local-level elites. Their loyalty, in turn, ensured the integration of the Chinese state, and countered tendencies toward regional autonomy and the breakup of the centralized system. The examination system distributed its prizes according to provincial and prefectural quotas, which meant that imperial officials were recruited from the whole country, in numbers roughly proportional to each province's population. Elite individuals all over China, even in the disadvantaged peripheral regions, had a chance at succeeding in the examinations and achieving the rewards of holding office.

One of the most famous people in ancient China was a wise philosopher named Confucius (circa