Piety In Confucianism

and li; correct behavior. All adherents of Confucianism should practice ethics that are exemplified by the propagation of virtues or principles. There are many virtues that adherents of Confucianism should follow for instance loyalty, continence, piety, bravery, gentleness, among others. However, there are five fundamental principles in Confucianism that include humaneness (Ren), Righteousness (Yi), Knowledge (Zhi), Etiquette (Li) and Integrity (Xin).

This introduces the topic of family devotion in the text. Confucius meant that the rituals that should never be disobeyed. It is unlikely that Confucius would instruct anyone to obey their parents without concern for what is wrong or right. Even if instructed to do something by a parent, if the task was ethically or morally wrong, Confucius would tell anyone to always remain true to the principles of jen, te, and the

But it was believed that de could be cultivated and established in positive way. For the moral self- cultivation, Confucius worked out for inclusive programme. Confucius moral philosophy and his teaching gave the China a new directions of civilization and stability. According Confucius human being are social in nature, one is bound with family, community and society. And it has different roles and responsibility in social scenario. In Confucianism there are five cardinal relationship between Ruler and subject, Father and son, Husband and wife, Elder brother and younger brother, Friend and friend. Every relation has a duty of care and responsibilities. Confucius harmony based on two virtues namely “Ren” and “Li”, Ren translated as benevolence and goodness while Li is ritual propriety. Ren is about the development of relationship between individual and community. Li is a virtue that must be cultivated to make one fully participant in

for political ethics and civil order. What exactly is Confucianism? It is the system of ethics, education,

Confucianism promotes virtues policy, and believes that to achieve a harmonious social is through self-cultivation, become virtues and doing one’s utmost to others, instead of having a specific law which regulates people with the consequences of rewards and punishments. Because once you choose to become a person of merit, then they will naturally become a role model to others. people would look up to the exemplary person and become good, therefore there is no need for the law and punishment. However, to become an exemplary person is ver hard. It requires the person to the commitment to appropriate conduct, ritual propriety, and humanity.

Confucianism is a moral and religious system of China. Its origins go back to the Analects, the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient writings, including that of Mencius. Confucius was born a mandarin under the name Kongzi. It was developed around 550 B.C. In its earliest form Confucianism was primarily a system of ethical concepts for the control of society. It saw man as a social creature that is bound to his fellow men by jen, or “humanity.” Jen is expressed through the five relationships—sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend. Of these, the filial relation is most important.

Filial piety was an integral part of Chinese culture and therefore was embraced by three of China's main religions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Among the three, Confucianism, with its well documented social hierarchy, supported the ideals of filial piety the most. Buddhism and Daoism also supported filial piety in some of their texts, but had monastic systems that prevented monks and nuns from being filial children.

The ideas found in these classics helped form many of the Confucian ideas. For example, Confucian gentleman were expected to follow several specific virtues. These values included filial piety, loyalty, benevolence, modesty, honesty, humanity, rituals, propriety, and being a person of noble character. Filial piety, or respect for one’s parents and elders,

Traditional Confucianism focuses on social ethics, encouraged and exemplified by the government. Benevolence towards each other and strong will for the well being of others was greatly motivated by the teachings of Confucius. The emphasis on the education by the “ru” was an important aspect in creating the ideal cadres and rulers of

Confucianism is something of a derivative. As a matter of fact, Confucius insisted on close adherence to Tao. However, he was pragmatic and concerned with the existential problems of man, hence he deals less with generalities and more with the practical matters of daily and personal relationships. The essence of his system of relationships is fivefold, and fundamental to his social order: ruler and subject; father and son; husband and wife; older brother and younger brother; older friend and younger friend. The ideal of conduct, ordering all human relationships and resulting in an ideal social structure and harmony is: li. A famous Confucian maxim is: "Never do to others, what you would not like them to do to you." (Golden Rule ?) His disciples later on developed ten attitudes that are to govern the five relationships: love in father and filial piety in the son; gentility in the oldest brother and humility and respect in the younger; righteous behavior in the husband and obedience in the wife; humane consideration in elders and deference in juniors; benevolence in rulers and loyalty in subjects. Confucius did not claim

In order to better understand the role Confucianism plays in eastern society, it is crucial to examine its history and core values. Originating in China between the years 551 and 479 BC, Confucianism grew under the influence of Kong Qiu, who focused his teachings on filial piety (loyalty to the family) and respect to elders or those of higher station. This meant that children would respect their parents (namely their father), a wife would respect her husband, and adults would support their parents in their old age. There are five relationships that Confucius emphasized as the most central. They included: father-son, emperor-subject, husband-wife, young-old, and friend-friend. It is noticeable that three out of five can be included or is exclusive to the family dynamic. Filial piety not only meant giving respect to elders and family, but it also implied a sacrifice of self. To do what was best for the family and to think as a unit rather than an

One of the prime virtues of the Confucianism philosophy is filial piety, which consists of the respect, obedience and care for one’s parents and this is then extended to other elders. Filial piety, denoted by the Chinese character 孝 (pinyin: xiào) can be divided into two parts: the upper part (老, pinyin: lǎo) and the lower part (子, pinyin: zi), which mean “old” and “son” respectively. The position of the components itself depicts the meaning of filial piety, which is the young oppressed by the older generation (Teon, 2016). In Mainland China, on a five-point scale, the perception on filial expectations and obligations ranged from 3.18-4.86 (Dong, 2016). This indicates that filial piety is still commonly practiced and endorsed in the Chinese communities, shaping parent-child relationships.

Confucius’s philosophical teachings about government and society discussed in the Analects revolve around morality and how a ruler and his people should act in order to stabilize society. Confucius looked to the past to discuss the problems of the present by modeling his teachings from the former Zhou empire. Confucius sought to bring back the Zhou traditions in order to better society. By linking moral behaviors to social roles and hierarchies, he emphasized that the stability of the government and society was directly correlated to the relationship between the ruler and the people. With the title “Son of Heaven,” the ruler was expected to act morally towards his subjects and treat them with love and concern (“Introduction to Confucian Thought”, 2009). This idea is directly related to the concept of ren, which discusses the well-being of others as the moral drive of society. He extended this idea into social harmony, being first and foremost embedded in the family. Confucius believed that the virtue of filial piety was the foundation for not just family life but also had implication for the ruler-subject bond (“Mencius and his development of Confucian teachings”, n.d.). Similarly, Mencius centered his teachings on this idea by stressing that the well-being of the family directly corresponded to the well-being of the state. Most importantly however, Confucius also discussed the importance of the ruler ruling over the people with virtue, which was achieved through ritual

Such as, one should not be selfish, treat people the way you want to be treated, and you’ll be treated back with respect. If they don’t then it is not the fault in you. Confucius also taught that not everyone is perfect, even the king. If the king is to rule or behavior false manner, he can also lose his power. There are also the teachings of filial piety, which implies that you should respect your parents and elders because they’re the ones who raised you. Also, you can learn valuable experiences and wisdom from them. Confucius encourages the growth in both knowledge and spiritual growth. He also believes in meritocracy, which is the concept of; you get what you get because of how good you are, not because of the status you’re born with. Confucianism also encourages kindness, respects, and politeness towards yourself, and other around you. There should also be humanness towards your enemies, this will allow you to past petty grudges and become a better person. This is also the belief in ratification of names where one should treat others based on their titles. Confucianism also taught people to be worthy of themselves. To be worthy of carrying your family name, to be worthy of having the title you’re given, and the responsibility to give your full effort in accomplishing the task that is given to you. Ultimately, for a utopian society Confucianism states that

Compared with Buddhism, filial piety in Confucian thought is more closely related to society. There is a famous assertion in Confucianism which is: self-cultivation, family harmony, state governing and world peace (Si Shu Wu Jing). Etiquette idea in Confucianism is used to maintain the primogeniture system. The huge difference between Confucianism and Buddhism in that, in Buddhism, filial piety is voluntary behavior and the essence of it is a kind of natural human feeling coming from the bottom of one’s heart without any utilitarian purpose. This is consistent with idea of equality in Buddhist thought. However, in Confucianism, filial piety is regarded as a tool to maintain the seniority and hierarchy in society which glosses over emotional