Download It is about the confucianism and it's rules and sacred scripture. and more Summaries Religious studies in PDF only on Docsity! CONFUCIANISM THE MEANING AND HISTORY OF CONFUCIANISM Throughout centuries, humans struggled to identify what moral behavior is and more importantly, the application of it. This is as true today as it was during the time of Confucius who lived nearly 2500 years ago in China. In fact, Confucius was gravely concerned about the path mankind was taking. Thus, from this Sage, or wise man, the ideology of Confucianism was born. Many may wonder what is Confucianism. The Confucianism definition may be stated as a guide to moral and ethical behavior in the form of a philosophy. • CONFUCIANISM • Confucianism is one of the most influential religious philosophies in the history of China, and it has existed for over 2,500 years. It is concerned with inner virtue, morality, and respect for the community and its values. SOCIAL RITUALS According to Confucius, social rituals are specific ways of interacting with others. He explained that in each of our relationships, we have a designated role. In order to keep these relationships healthy, we have to be aware of what that role is and how to live it out. He identified the five main relationships in life to be: 1.Ruler and subject 2.Husband and wife 3.Father and son 4.Elder brother and younger brother 5.Friend and friend As you can see, three of these relationships are familial, and all but the last are hierarchical. According to Confucius, the family makes up the core of society and is the most important of relationships. In terms of the roles of each person, the husband should be kind and listen to his wife, for example. His wife should also obey him because that is part of her assigned role. The principle of doing what we are supposed to do is referred to as ‘Li’ in the Chinese language. THE PHILOSOPHY OF CONFUCIANISM • For Confucius, a true man is a noble man. (Chun-tzu), a superior man and such a man is said to be a man of “jen” (human-heartedness); a man of all round virtue. • There are four virtues in confucianism that a man are expected to have: • Human heartedness (Jen)- it consists of and of loving others. • Righteousness (Yi)- one ought to do. • Ritual or Propriety (Ii)- humbling oneself to pay respect to others. • Last virtue is Wisdom(chi)- understanding of the others three virtues GOLDEN RULE •Do not do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you. • This is the golden rule of Confucianism. SOURCES • Philosophy of Man by Corazon Cruz • https://education.nationalgeographic.org • Tu Weiming • Google
