J. Confucius' Golden Rule
Before leaving Confucius behind, let us examine how he connects to the seemingly universal Golden Rule.
Disciple: ÒÔIs there one word that will keep us on the path to the ends of our days?Õ
Confucius: ÔYes. Reciprocity! What you do not wish yourself, do not unto others.Ó[i]
At first glance this is like our Golden Rule of ÔDo unto others as you would have them do unto you.Õ Many writers have likened the two as well as Golden Rules from other cultures as well.
However there is one slight, but significant, difference. Note that Confucius phrases his in the negative rather than positive, which seems similar but is the hairbreadths difference that turns into a million miles, when extended. While both encourage sensitivity and caring behavior, the Golden Rule encourages people to proselytize, (ÔI liked being saved, so I will save you.Õ) while Confucius encourages independence, (ÔI donÕt like people restrict my behavior so I wonÕt restrict yours.Õ). Or (ÔI donÕt like that done to me so I wonÕt do it to them.Õ) Our Golden Rule leads to proactive behavior, while that of Confucius encourages restraint.
The one word that will keep us on the path to the ends of our daysÕ Ware translates as ÔreciprocityÕ. It is the Chinese word shŸ, which is also translated as Ôforgive, pardon or excuseÕ.[ii] Hence the type of reciprocity suggested is forgiveness. ÕForgive me for my human weakness and I will forgive you yours.Õ Indeed one of the keys to long-term marriages is forgiveness. A couple was celebrating their 55th anniversary. When asked what was the key to the success of their relation, the wife replied, ÒForgiveness. You canÕt always forget, but you can always forgive.Ó
Forgiveness prevents feuds. Forgiveness prevents wars. We canÕt forget the murder of family members, (we donÕt want to), but we can forgive the murder. Only forgiveness can break the cycle of blood feuds, which memory can keep alive for centuries. Forgiveness acts like a type of closure, which, if truly given, transcends the memory based revenge.
Jesus in his last words on the cross, said ÒForgive them Father, for they know not what they do.Ó Indeed supposedly Jesus died so that God would forgive us our human frailty, our failings, our sins. In a twisted way, God could not forgive us himself, but had to be reminded of it by his half human son. Certainly the Bible is laced with stories of the Jehovah God meting out a terrible justice to those who crossed his path or who forgot about him. Jehovah of the Old Testament would only be considered forgiving in the sense that he didnÕt immediately wipe out the humans for their wickedness. In summary shŸ, the one word that Confucius says Ôwill keep us on the path to the ends of our daysÕ is the notion of compassionate forgiveness, which dovetails with the philosophy and life of Jesus of Nazareth.
The ideogram for the word shŸ is made up of three radicals.
The radical for woman is on the upper left, while the symbol for heart is below and the symbol for mouth is in the upper right. The heart radical tends to suggest emotion. Hence the heart radical combined with woman symbol suggest compassion. The radical for mouth suggests that this compassion is expressed outwardly, perhaps verbally. ÒIÕm compassionate that you are an idiot, so I forgive you.Ó
The idea behind the ideogram is deep. ÔSpeaking compassionately from the heart.Õ The empathy is felt and then spoken about. In other words the individual is to speak out about injustice, where they see it. Open your heart to the pain of the world and then speak. This symbolic idea behind the composition of the Chinese ideogram is what led the Buddha, Jesus, and Confucius to speak out. Tripitaka in the Journey could not avoid injustice but had to rectify it by speaking out. They felt the pain and then said something. Ironically a 20th century Chinese figure also felt this pain and spoke out. He felt the pain of the Chinese peasantry and then began speaking about it. He was not supported financially or militarily by any major power, but he kept speaking out over and over. Finally after centuries of domination the Chinese peasantry were able to seize control of government. The man we are speaking about is Mao Tse Tung, of course. Regardless of his failures as a leader, he had the courage to speak from his heart about the pain of the peasantry. Many feel the pain, but only a few really speak out.
ShŸ. This then is the word that Confucius says will keep us on the path the rest of our days. Reciprocity, forgiveness, speaking from the heart. An easy word to say or understand, while a hard word to do.
K. Confucius, the sexist pig?
Feminist: ÒYou make Confucius sound so noble. I view him as a sexist pig. What about his saying: ÔA woman should never be heard outside her own home.Õ?Ó
Confucius was the philosopher of a patriarchal society. WeÕve attempted to point out that he probably did not come from the peasant class but from the disenfranchised nobility. While his ideas were more egalitarian than the rest of his class, (he advocated leadership based upon merit rather than family and universal education), they probably didnÕt extend to women. For Confucius women were included in the category of property that was to be respected[iii].
As an aside, just as the guillotine was a humanitarian device designed to make executions more humane, ConfuciusÕ statement was a type of guillotine. Let us remember the history of womenÕs rights. Briefly, as has been explored, During the Neolithic, Paleolithic and before, fertility was worshipped, specifically female. The woman was honored as the center of the tribe. The tribeÕs survival was based upon fertility of the woman, motherhood. Gravesides contained single skeletons of men, women and children.
Agriculture allowed and demanded the development of larger sedentary cultures, which in turn allowed for the development of Dominator cultures, based upon the domination and subjugation of these larger agricultural communities. Further the clearing of the fields for agriculture allowed the development of the Bronze Age military technology based upon the chariot, which allowed the few to dominate the many. One large man buried with women, horses, and chariots characterizes the gravesites of these dominator cultures. We see this practice reflected even unto the ChÕin Dynasty of 200 BCE. Suttee, banned, yet still practiced in India, is a modern reflection.
In these dominator military cultures, only the warrior was honored. Campaigning warriors raped women; they didnÕt honor them. Thus when Confucius was suggesting that women, not speak or go outside the home, it was for their own protection. Women unaccompanied by men were inviting abuse. Unfortunately even into the 20th century, unaccompanied women encourage verbal abuse from these Bronze Age relics. As is usual many of ConfuciusÕ statements are taken out of their social context. While he did suggest that women should not speak and stay inside, in the barbarous times that he was living, he did not envision a culture where women could safely speak out. He was living in a time of incessant warfare and increasing social breakdown, dangerous times to be a woman. Unfortunately later Confucian writers interpreted Confucius literally. Thus Confucianism, as a philosophy independent of Confucius, has certainly amplified the sexist side of Confucius. Indeed the manifested philosophy of Confucianism is one of the most blatantly sexist philosophies of the world.
While belonging to the ju class, Confucius transcended it. While the ju were inherently aristocratic, he extended its concepts to include the masses. While the ju validated ancestor worship, Confucius extended this concept to include the idea of filial responsibility. While the ju class attempted to institutionalize the hierarchy, Confucius redirected responsibility to the leaders. Nearly simultaneous with ConfuciusÕ death was the end of the Spring and Autumn Era. The fragmentation and social chaos that he and other philosophers were trying to prevent accelerated in the next era, appropriately called the Era of Warring States.