Confucianism: Faith Or Works?

Confucianism, a system of thought and behaviour originating in ancient China, is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. While it is often characterised as a system of social and ethical philosophy, it is also considered a civil religion, with everyday life as the arena of religion.

The founder of Confucianism, Master Kong (Confucius), did not intend to found a new religion but to interpret and revive the unnamed religion of the Zhou dynasty. Confucianism is humanistic, with a focus on the importance of the family and social harmony, rather than on an otherworldly source of spiritual values. It revolves around the pursuit of the unity of the individual self and tian (heaven).

Confucius considered himself a transmitter of cultural values inherited from the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties. He believed that the power of Tian is pervasive and responds positively to the sincere heart driven by humaneness and rightness, decency, and altruism. He also advocated for rituals, seeing them as the basis of human civilisation and a stable, unified, and enduring social order.

While Confucianism does not have a deity, the worship of ancestors and Confucius himself as a sage master and teacher are practised.

The role of rituals in Confucianism

Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behaviour that originated in ancient China. It is described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. At the heart of Confucianism is the practice of ritual, particularly through sacrifice.

Confucius considered himself a transmitter of cultural values inherited from the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties. He was a ritual and sacrificial master who contributed to the transmission and reformulation of rituals, giving centrality to self-cultivation and the agency of humans. Confucius envisioned proper government being guided by the principles of li, a system of ritual norms and propriety that determines how a person should act in harmony with the law of Heaven.

In Confucianism, there are three levels of sacrificial ritual: the Great Sacrifice offered by the emperor, the Middle Sacrifice offered by court officials, and the Minor Sacrifice offered by local officials. Sacrifices to Confucius were ranked as Middle-level and held twice a year, once in autumn and once in spring. Sacrificial rites were performed to offer the spirits sustenance and to earn their favour.

Confucius interpreted rituals not as sacrifices asking for the blessings of the gods, but as ceremonies performed by human agents embodying the civilised and cultured patterns of behaviour developed through generations of human wisdom. He applied the term ritual to actions beyond formal sacrifices and religious ceremonies, including social rituals such as courtesies and accepted standards of behaviour, or what we refer to as social mores today.

Confucius viewed these traditional and time-honoured rituals as the basis of human civilisation and believed that only a civilised society could achieve a stable, unified, and enduring social order. Thus, rituals played a crucial role in Confucianism, serving as a means to achieve social harmony, ethical maturation, and spiritual fulfillment.

The relationship between Confucianism and Chinese folk religion

Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behaviour that originated in ancient China. It is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. It is named after the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE), who considered himself a transmitter of cultural values inherited from the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties.

Confucianism is often characterised as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion. However, it built on an ancient religious foundation to establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society. It was what sociologist Robert Bellah called a "civil religion", the sense of religious identity and common moral understanding at the foundation of a society's central institutions. It is also what a Chinese sociologist called a "diffused religion"; its institutions were not separate from those of society, family, school, and state; its priests were not separate liturgical specialists, but parents, teachers, and officials. Confucianism was part of the Chinese social fabric and way of life; to Confucians, everyday life was the arena of religion.

Confucianism is concerned with inner virtue, morality, and respect for the community and its values. It promotes ancestor worship and human-centred virtues for living a peaceful life. Some examples of ancestor worship include maintaining a shrine in one’s home for deceased relatives and making offerings of food, drink, flowers, or incense at gravesites. The golden rule of Confucianism is, "do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you".

Confucianism is a term that Westerners coined; there is no equivalent in any Chinese dialect. Over time, Confucian teachings became closely tied to the rituals and beliefs associated with Buddhism and Taoism. Together, the tenets of these three religious philosophies became known as The Three Teachings. All three are deeply embedded in Chinese culture.

Although Confucianism is not officially recognised by the Chinese government as a religion, there is a national association that tracks Confucian temples. Traditionally, these were sacred places reserved for educated elites to worship Confucius. Today, they are open to all visitors.

Confucianism includes strict rules about class in Chinese society, which contributed to the stratification of ancient Chinese society. China was divided into four social classes: the noble or scholar elite class, the landowners and farmers, craftsmen, and merchants (who were lowest on the scale because Confucius argued against luxury). People were taught to stay in their social classes to create social harmony, which discouraged anyone from rising in status. Women were considered a different and lower social class than men. According to Confucian rules, women had to obey their male family members, including their sons.

Confucianism as a civil religion

Confucianism is often characterised as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion. However, it is what sociologist Robert Bellah called a "civil religion", and what a Chinese sociologist called a "diffused religion". Its institutions were not separate from those of society, family, school, and state; its priests were not separate liturgical specialists, but parents, teachers, and officials. Confucianism was part of the Chinese social fabric and way of life; to Confucians, everyday life was the arena of religion.

The founder of Confucianism, Master Kong (Confucius, 551-479 B.C.E.), did not intend to found a new religion, but to interpret and revive the unnamed religion of the Zhou dynasty. Many people thought the ancient system of religious rule was bankrupt; why couldn't the gods prevent the social upheavals? The dominant view of the day, espoused by Realists and Legalists, was that strict law and statecraft were the bases of sound policy. Confucius, however, believed that the basis lay in Zhou religion, in its rituals (li). He interpreted these not as sacrifices asking for the blessings of the gods, but as ceremonies performed by human agents and embodying the civilised and cultured patterns of behaviour developed through generations of human wisdom. They embodied, for him, the ethical core of Chinese society.

Confucius applied the term "ritual" to actions beyond the formal sacrifices and religious ceremonies to include social rituals: courtesies and accepted standards of behaviour – what we today call social mores. He saw these time-honoured and traditional rituals as the basis of human civilisation, and he felt that only a civilised society could have a stable, unified, and enduring social order.

The blueprint of this process was described in "The Great Learning", a section of the Classic of Rituals:

> Only when things are investigated is knowledge extended; only when knowledge is extended are thoughts sincere; only when thoughts are sincere are minds rectified; only when minds are rectified are the characters of persons cultivated; only when character is cultivated are our families regulated; only when families are regulated are states well governed; only when states are well governed is there peace in the world.

Confucius' ethical vision ran against the grain of the legalistic mindset of his day. Only under the Han Emperor Wu (r. 140-87 B.C.E.) did Confucianism become accepted as state ideology and orthodoxy. From that time on, the imperial state promoted Confucian values to maintain law, order, and the status quo. In late traditional China, emperors sought to establish village lectures on Confucian moral precepts and to give civic awards to filial sons and chaste wives. The imperial family and other notables sponsored the publication of morality books that encouraged the practice of Confucian values: respect for parents, loyalty to government, and keeping to one's place in society. This side of Confucianism was conservative, and served to bolster established institutions and long-standing social divisions.

There was, however, another side to Confucianism. Confucius not only stressed social rituals (li), but also humaneness (ren). Ren, sometimes translated as love or kindness, is not any one virtue, but the source of all virtues. The Chinese character literally represents the relationship between "two persons", or co-humanity – the potential to live together humanely rather than scrapping like birds or beasts. Ren keeps ritual forms from becoming hollow; a ritual performed with ren has not only form, but ethical content; it nurtures the inner character of the person, furthers their ethical maturation. Thus, if the "outer" side of Confucianism was conformity and acceptance of social roles, the "inner" side was cultivation of conscience and character.

Cultivation involved broad education and reflection on one's actions. It was a lifetime commitment to character building, carving and polishing the stone of one's character until it was a lustrous gem. Master Kong described his own lifetime:

> At fifteen, I set my heart on learning. At thirty, I was firmly established. At forty, I had no more doubts. At fifty, I knew the will of heaven. At sixty, I was ready to listen to it. At seventy, I could follow my heart's desire without transgressing what was right.

The inner pole of Confucianism was reformist, idealistic, and spiritual. It generated a high ideal for family interaction: members were to treat each other with love, respect, and consideration for the needs of all. It prescribed a lofty ideal for the state: the ruler was to be a father to his people and look after their basic needs. It required officials to criticise their rulers and refuse to serve the corrupt. This inner and idealist wing spawned a Confucian reformation known in the West as Neo-Confucianism. The movement produced reformers, philanthropists, dedicated teachers and officials, and social philosophers from the 11th through to the 19th centuries.

The role of filial piety in Confucianism

Filial piety is a key virtue in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, and is considered the basis of Confucian role ethics. It is the attitude of respect, obedience, devotion, and care towards one's parents, elders, and ancestors. Filial piety is not merely a ritualistic display of respect, but an inward attitude as well. It involves being good to one's parents, taking care of them, engaging in good conduct, showing love, respect, and support, performing sacrifices to the ancestors, and more.

Filial piety is rooted in China's feudal social structure, where land was held by large clans with a hierarchical and patriarchal internal structure. Confucius raised filial piety to a moral precept by citing it as the basis of 'ren' or 'humanity', the Confucian moral ideal. Filial piety is not simple obedience, but deference, and it may even involve remonstration or gentle admonition. Confucius also emphasised the importance of filial piety for both family harmony and sociopolitical stability.

Filial piety is considered the root of virtue and the basis of philosophy. It is central to Confucian role ethics and is the cardinal virtue that defines, limits, or overrides all other virtues. It is one of the five cardinal relationships described by Confucius, and is fundamental to the Confucian morality that seeks to create an orderly society.

The role of Confucianism in modern China

Confucianism, a system of thought and behaviour, has existed for over 2,500 years and is one of the most influential philosophies in China's history. It is concerned with inner virtue, morality, and respect for the community and its values. It is a way of life that revolves around the pursuit of harmony in the individual self, family, and society.

In modern China, Confucianism continues to play a significant role, with the government selectively applying its traditional moral framework to further secure its right to rule and enhance a more assertive foreign policy. The Chinese government recognises that Confucian ideals, such as the hierarchy of society and the concept of social responsibility, align with its socialist goals.

Confucianism's influence is also evident in the growing identification of the Chinese intellectual class with this philosophy. There have been calls for Confucian education to be included in the official curriculum and for it to be established as the state religion. Additionally, Confucian revival movements have led to the proliferation of Confucian schools, the resurgence of Confucian rites, and the birth of new forms of Confucian activity at the grassroots level.

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