China 34D: Principles of Confucius

D. Leadership to be based on ability, not ancestry

E. The importance of ritual to the Imperial system

F. Ancestor worship and filial responsibility

China 34D: Principles of Confucius

D. Leadership to be based on ability, not ancestry

While the ju reserved knowledge of the rituals to their class, Confucius wanted to open this knowledge to the deserving. He felt that getting the best people in positions of power would strengthen Chinese culture as a whole.

As a member of the ju class Confucius stressed ceremony as a way of regulating society. Through repetition of the ceremonies that had come down from the past, the utopian society of the past would presumably return. While the renewal of ceremony was one part of the Confucian solution, the other essential ingredient was enlightened leaders.

Confucius was a follower of the Duke of Chou with his concept of Mandate of Heaven. The Duke of Chou was neither a ju = Confucian, nor a Taoist; he was an enlightened leader. The Duke of Chou blamed the downfall of the Shang on bad leadership and attributed the rise of the Chou to enlightened leadership. An enlightened ruler put the welfare of the subjects over the satisfaction of personal desires. Similarly Confucius blamed the rulers for the rising social chaos of the Spring and Autumn Period. He viewed the Duke of Chou as the ultimate enlightened leader, a ‘Sage King of Old’.

Confucius believed that the responsibility of the rulers was to rule with the country’s best interests in mind rather than to further their own self-interests. If they were not succeeding at this task, then they could and should be replaced. Confucius did not advocate the overthrow of the aristocracy, but he did advocate that the aristocracy, if unwilling to fulfill the role of leader had a mandate to find ministers who would. This was at variance with the prevalent view of leadership, which was based upon bloodline.

The ju wanted to reserve leadership for the aristocracy, which included the knowledge of ritual. These rituals enabled one to participate in the power structure. Confucius wanted to extend knowledge of the rituals of power to the peasantry. Hence Confucius was willing to open up the door of power to the masses, which the prior ju class was not. They were the aristocracy. Why would they willingly give up power to the peasantry? Can you imagine the aristocracy of any time period willingly giving up power to the peasantry? Confucius himself was notable in teaching that ideally leadership should be based upon talent rather than bloodline. Thus he felt that everyone should be given the chance to learn the six talents of the ju, in order to give them the chance to rule.

“[Confucius] believed that the state should be a wholly co-operative enterprise, The belief was completely at variance with the theory then in vogue. Aristocrats were believed to be descended from divine ancestors and to rule by virtue of the authority and the powerful assistance of their ancestors. Confucius completely ignored this idea; eventually it disappeared in China, and Confucius was certainly in part responsible for its going.”[i]

Remember that literacy was an essential talent of leadership. As a self-taught man Confucius did not want anyone to be denied the possibility of learning to read due to class. Of course the peasantry by and large were too busy working to afford education. Thus rarely were the peasants even able to read the exams much less pass them.

Because literacy was such an important ingredient to participation, Confucius stressed universal education. He believed that only those with virtue and ability had the right to govern. Confucius said, “Virtue is to love men. And wisdom is to understand men.” In order to encourage the development of wisdom Confucius encouraged study of Chinese culture. He felt that those with natural abilities could rise above their station with education. He also felt that since government was a cooperative effort, that everyone needed to be educated at least a little in order to participate more effectively.[ii]

Practically speaking, however, the agricultural peasantry had neither the time nor money necessary for the education to achieve literacy[iii]. Although Confucius wanted everyone to have the opportunity to learn the six talents they were fairly impractical talents for the laboring class. Hence realistically only the ruling class had the time or money to cultivate the 6 accomplishments of the Ju school – the prerequisite for advancement in government service. Those who were excluded by money or time from the imperial service found more answers in the local religions, which as a group were eventually called Taoist.

Let us reiterate that Confucius did not found the Ju school, but was part of it. The ju class, the warrior literati, had been around since the Shang dynasty, at least. However, while part of it, Confucius extended the ideas of this class to include the peasantry. He transcended his class. In this sense he was similar to Buddha in India. They both belonged to the ruling class, but were trying to reach out to the masses in empathy.

E. The importance of ritual to the Imperial system

Confucius had a lot in common with the ju class, of which he was a member. While his ideas transcended his class, the influence of the ju was enormous. In order to understand the subtle differences and similarities between the ju and Confucius, in this section we will examine their attitudes towards the interconnected areas of leadership, ceremony, education, and social form.

While Confucius was a social reformer, he was not revolutionary. He did not advocate a populist revolt on the line of the French Revolution. Like the ju, he felt that the social form was fine. The ju were not social reformers. They were just aristocrats specializing in their aristocratic talents.

Confucius looked back at the early period of the Chou dynasty as the ideal time. The literate ju were specialists in this time period due to their knowledge of the Chinese Classics. This was the beginning of the imperial feudal system. Confucius as a ju did not look at the social form of feudalism or imperialism as the problem. A different social form than feudal China was beyond the ken of the ju and Confucius.[iv]Hence the social form was not questioned.

However questions remained. Why did feudalism work then? Why isn’t it working now? Confucius believed that the problem and solution of rising social chaos lay within the two connected factors of leadership and ritual. He looked back at the idealized reigns of the early rulers of the Chou Dynasty, when the imperial house was strong and there was social order. The leaders ruled wisely and enforced the performance of ceremony and ritual as a kind of social glue. This state needed to be returned to.

“Confucius (551-479 BC) sought to save society by a return to the way of the ancients. This he believed to involve an emphasis upon ethics-especially upon moral education- and upon ceremonies. By the leadership and example of the educated, and by careful regulation of society by the ceremonies which had come down from the past, he would bring in a golden age.”[v]

Confucius looked to return to the idealized time of the reign of the Sage Kings in the Western Chou. He had the real example of the Duke of Chou in his mind. Confucius idealized the reign of the Duke of Chou, when the imperial Chou dynasty was strong. He felt that the rulers only needed to emulate the Duke of Chou’s good example and that the people would follow. He felt that the citizenry were inspired by the behavior of their rulers.

While Confucius focused on good leadership he also blamed the rising disorder on the decline in ancient ceremonies. The ju, as specialists in these ceremonies, followed right along with Confucius. The ceremonies hold society together, he reasoned. If only the people would perform the ceremonies properly, it will surely bring society together again.

In our section on the ritualization of the Shang, we pointed out that in expanding times that the rituals instill confidence and participate in a self-fulfilling prophecy, while in declining times that the rituals fall in importance because of their impotence in dealing with real problems. The rituals provide psychological support but do not really provide any solutions. Thus during the rising chaos of the Spring and Autumn Period the importance of rituals was challenged.

Confucius, as a member of the ju, stressed the importance of these ceremonies as a type of social glue. Confucius believed that the maintaining the traditions and ceremonies of the society would allow the Chinese culture to return to its idyllic state. The ju specialized in the knowledge of these ceremonies. Master K’ung, an enlightened ju, hoped to spread the knowledge of these rituals to the masses through education.

While Confucius stressed a moral education, which would include knowledge of ceremony, the ju emphasized the knowledge of ceremony, their specialty. The later ju, tapping into the prestige of Confucius, claimed that the education that he was advocating had primarily to do with knowing the ways of the past including the knowledge of ceremonies and cultural classics.

“Ah we’ve got it. Confucius was right. Everyone should be educated all right. They should all be educated to know the proper ceremonies. With these ceremonies we will be able to return to the golden age of the early Chou.”

Unfortunately these ‘ancient’ ceremonies were based in the militaristic patriarchy of the Shang rather than egalitarian ceremonies of earlier cultures. Hence these ‘ancient’ forms only reinforced the hierarchy rather leading to new social forms. This backward looking tendency of Confucius and the ju was certainly attacked by the Taoists as too rigid to align with the Will of Heaven, the Tao.

A traditional Chinese and human tendency is to substitute form for content. The content of good leadership is not dependent on the forms of ceremony. But the ju tended to focus upon ceremony instead of good leadership because that was the form that had been successful when the empire was strong. The ceremonies that the ju emphasized, although ancient, originated in the militaristic Bronze Age. Hence the repetition of these hierarchical forms would only reinforce the patriarchy.

The later ju using a limited version of the ideas of Confucius advocated the return to the patriarchal ceremonies. This endeared them to the Han dynasty and gave them increased political power as specialists in these ceremonies. While Confucius was a social reformer and an advocate of equal opportunity, the ju were instrumental in maintaining the status quo of the imperial dynasty. By befriending the imperial dynasty the ju secured political power. This was natural. The ju had always been from the aristocratic class. But they also distorted the universalism of Confucius. They successfully turned the ideas of Confucius’ social reform into a backward looking philosophy.

In summary, Confucius advocated a moral and cultural education for all in order to strengthen the Chinese society and get the best leaders. Confucius as a ju specialized in the six aristocratic talents and so also emphasized these talents. The later ju capitalizing upon the prestige of Confucius, stressed education as did Confucius, but primarily emphasized their specialties, which included knowledge of ritual, ceremony, and China’s past. Thus the later ju turned the teachings of Confucius into a rigid backward looking philosophy.

F. Ancestor worship and filial responsibility

Another aspect that Confucius shared with the ju school was that of ancestor reverence.

Confucius took the ancestor worship associated with clans and the aristocracy and turned it into family responsibility, specifically the duties of children towards their parents and ultimately ancestors. He extended this filial responsibility to every class. Everyone should love and respect their parents. Confucius in his egalitarianism brings this ancestor worship to the peasantry in the form of filial responsibility. Further he elevates it to one of the highest virtues. He stresses the child’s responsibility to the parent no matter how poor. Confucius in his universalism extends this filial responsibility to all of mankind. We are each responsible to and for each other.

In the Journey to the West, we get a little Confucius thrown in.

[Monkey asks,] “Princess, do you know what is considered a crime for a human being living in this world?’ … [The Princess quotes ‘an ancient book’,] ‘Set against the Five Punishments are some three thousand crimes, but none is greater than an unfilial act.’ …[Monkey responds,] “Filial piety is the foundation of a hundred virtuous acts, the source of all morality.”[vi]

In this little sequence an unfilial act is identified as the greatest crime, while filial piety is identified as ‘the source of all morality’. The Princess quotes from the Classic on Filial Piety, i.e. Hsiao Ching, traditionally attributed to Tsêng Shên, a disciple of Confucius. This book, elaborating on principles enunciated by Confucius, became one of the Chinese Classics, because it was so influential in Chinese thought. The inclusion as a Classic further solidified its position of influence in Chinese culture. To indicate the severity of the crime of an unfilial act, the dragon that becomes the Horse of Will is sentenced to death for an unfilial act but is saved by Kuan Yin to redeem himself by carrying Tripitaka on his Quest.

If filial piety is ‘the source of all morality', where does that leave Tripitaka and his band of pilgrims? Tripitaka’s mother is dead. While his father is back from the dead, he plays no part in Tripitaka’s journey. Neither the parents of Piggy nor those of Sha Monk, if they have any, are ever mentioned in the narrative. Monkey is born from a stone. In one scene a monster captures both Tripitaka and a woodsman. The woodsman is especially distraught because he will not be able to fulfill his filial duties to his aging parents. “Who will take care of them?” he asks. Tripitaka responds that he and the woodsman are alike. While the woodsman serves his parents, Tripitaka serves the Emperor. This was the external extension of filial piety by Confucius.

K’ung-tzu extended ancestor worship to filial responsibility for everyone. Then he extended this responsibility from father to clan to state to Empire, linking government, state, clan, and family. Thus the son was to love and respect his state and emperor like his family and father. While in the ideal sense this sounds great, practically speaking many times the goals of state and family are not self-supporting but mutually exclusive. We will see this conflict become a chasm in the next eras, when clan and empire become opponents.

There is one more extension of the concept of filial piety. While Monkey was born from a stone with no animal parents, he claims that he was born of Heaven and Earth This reveals a harmonization of Confucius and Taoism. In a more universal sense Heaven is father, while Earth is mother. Hence in this general sense our duty and responsibility centers around fulfilling the Will of Heaven, our father, with the love and support of the Earth, our mother. In this context the greatest crime is not aligning ourselves with Heaven’s Will, while the foundation of all morality is the alignment with our Father in Heaven’s Will. Give us this day our daily bread.

As we saw, many of the Bronze Age cultures adopted forms of ancestor worship. The warrior-kings of these war-like cultures placed themselves atop their self-created hierarchy. To maintain their cultural supremacy they glorify the ancestors that have brought them to their royal status. While there is evidence of ancestor worship during the Longshan culture, this type of royal ancestor worship in China reached a flowering with the nobles of the imperial Shang dynasty, with their supreme god and ancestor the same, Shang-ti. This continued into the Chou dynasty. Those belonging to the Establishment found great pride in family history. However the peasantry, as common workers, were unable to participate in this glorification of the past.

While Confucius made these egalitarian steps, ancestor worship at heart is of patriarchal nature. Ancestor worship rings of aristocracy and privileged class. The pride of family can lead to elitism and snobbery. In the ideal egalitarian society, each individual needs to be responsible for themselves. For the peasantry, it needs to be stressed that regardless of ancestry that the individual can transcend his circumstances. Overall, transcendence is not a virtue that the entrenched aristocracy likes to encourage because of the upward mobility that it encourages to their disadvantage.

Regardless the hierarchy reigns supreme in Imperial China. Hence inherent in Chinese values is ancestor worship. The ju plays upon this in their emphasis on the ceremonies of the old utopian society, on the old ways. Confucius didn’t convert China to ancestor worship. However the ju were certainly an eloquent mouthpiece for it.

Along with this veneration of the past comes an exaggeration of age for prestige, which confutes historians. Typically beginnings are pushed back a few centuries, if not thousands of years to add status. Because of Confucius’ prestige many writings are attributed to him that were written by other authors.

“It is improbable that he composed any of the books that have come down to us, and it is not even certain that he edited any of them.”[vii]

Hence the Ju school accumulated writings under the name of Confucius. Additionally he became one of the venerated ancestors that were worshipped. He was never deified but was the most esteemed of any of the historical Chinese. The Ju school contained Confucius and his teachings but was much more. However the two, the ju, Confucianism, and K’ung-tzu, Confucius, are forever mixed because of the Chinese tendency to ancestor worship. How much better it is to claim that this was what Confucius said. We will see this same tendency of literary accumulation under the name of the illustrious ancestor in Taoism. To be discussed later.