The Ideas Of Confucianism Explained
The Ideas Of Confucianism Explained
Confucius (Kongzi, 551-479 B.C.), the founder of Confucianism, stresses “Ren” (benevolence, love), and “Li” (rites), referring to respect for the system of social hierarchy. He attached importance to education and was a pioneering advocate for private schools. His teachings were recorded by his students and placed in a book called “The Analects”. “By the 12th century, Confucianism had evolved into a rigid philosophy that calls for preserving heavenly laws and repressing human desires” (MSN Encarta.com).
Confucianism is often characterized as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion. “Instead, Confucianism is built on an ancient religious foundation to establish the social values, institutions and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society” (Berling, 1982). It stressed that subjects owed obedience to their rulers, sons to their fathers, and wives to their husbands. “Confucianism changed the attitude of the ruling class with the idea of ‘Virtuous rule’, this consisted of applying strict control over the populace, but tempering it with teachings of benevolence and morality” (MSN Encarta.com, 2002).
Confucianism ideals and culture held strong for many centuries until foreign imperialism and the introduction of Western learning stimulated the rise of the modern Chinese nationalism. In the presence of foreigners, increasingly Chinese people became conscious of their common racial background and national identity. Feelings against the ruling dynasty, the Manchu’s, spread quickly. In fact, modern Chinese nationalism expressed itself in the form of an anti-Manchu attitude. The ideas and beliefs of a Confucianism society grew weaker with the downfall of the Manchu dynasty in the winter of 1912.
Viewed as a period, the years between 1900 and 1918 brought both chaos and hope. Unrestrained by authority, all sorts of new theories were aimed and experiments tried. When Confucianism beliefs started to collapse, because of the overthrow of the dynasty, ideology inevitably loosened. “Henceforth, modern educated men and women would increasingly demand social changes that included the right of individual choice in careers and money. Upper-class women revolted against foot binding and modern educated women demanded equality with men” (Goff, 2002).
These new alterations in society changed Confucianism ideology and shaped China’s long-lasting culture.
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