The Confucian Project
An Introduction
Confucius
K‟ung Ch‟iu
Kung Fu--tzu
551-479 BCE
Humble origins
Never got (a substantial)
government post
Claimed he was NOT an
innovator
The Problem
Collapse of the Chou (Zhou) Dynasty (ca.
1027-256 BCE)
The Problem
Collapse of the Chou (Zhou) Dynasty
(1122-221 BCE)
How do we make life/society more livable
(humane)?
The Problem
Collapse of the Chou (Zhou) Dynasty
(1122-221 BCE)
How do we make life/society more livable
(humane)?
– Force?
The Problem
Collapse of the Chou (Zhou) Dynasty
(1122-221 BCE)
How do we make life/society more livable
(humane)?
– Force? (Realism)
– Love? (Mohism)
Confucian Project
“The Confucian Project
is learning to be
human; it is not
accepting fate. It is the
recognition of
primordial ties and the
recognition that these
ties can be
transforming.” -Tu
Wei-Ming
The Confucian Project
“A Confucian who is bent on self-cultivation
positions himself or herself squarely in the center
of ever-shifting, never-ending cross-currents of
human relationship and would not wish things
otherwise . . .The point is not merely that human
relationship are fulfilling . . . It is rather that apart
from human relationships there is not a self. The
self is a center of relationships. It is constructed
through its interactions with others and is defined
by the sum of its social roles.” --Huston Smith
Key Concepts
Ren (jen): “human being” + “two”--
goodness, benevolence, love. A sense of the
dignity of human life.
Key Concepts
Ren
Junzi/Chun-tzu: „the superior person,‟
mature person, the person who
accommodates the other, the perfect
host/hostess, so self-assured that he/she can
defer to others
Key Concepts
Ren
Junzi
Li
– The way things should be done.
Key Concepts
Ren
Junzi
Li
– The way things should be done.
• “The Doctrine of the Mean,” -- the middle way
between extremes
Key Concepts
Jen/ren
Chun-tzu
Li
– The way things should be done.
• Ritual
• Propriety
• “The Doctrine of the Mean,”
• “The Five Constant Relationships”
Five Constant Relationships
Parent/Child
Husband/Wife
Elder Sibling/Younger Sibling
Elder Friend/Junior Friend
Ruler/Subject
These all depend on the key concepts of:
The Rectification of Names
Shu (Reciprocity)
Xiao (filial piety)
The Mandate of Heaven
Key Concepts
Ren
Junzi
Li
Te: power, virtue, the power by which people
rule and are ruled, virtuous power
– (Politically) Three essentials of government:
1. Economic sufficiency
2. Military sufficiency
3. Confidence of its people (this is the most important)
Key Concepts
Jen/ren
Chun-tzu
Li
Te
Wen: “the arts of peace”
– People indifferent to art are only half human
– Art has power to transform human nature
– It makes regard for others easy
– The nation with the highest, most noble culture
Is Confucianism a Religion?
Cicero:
– Religion as “binding” force
– Religion as “re-reading”/interpreting
Is Confucianism a Religion?
Cicero
Huston Smith:
– “way of life woven around ultimate concerns”
– “concern to align humanity with the
transcendental ground of its existence”
Is Confucianism a Religion?
Heaven and earth seen as a continuum, but
Confucius seemed to shift the emphasis to
earth
Heaven as a source of virtue
Self-community//Heaven-earth
Key Cultural Impact
East Asia‟s social emphasis
Key Cultural Impact
East Asia‟s social emphasis
Conspicuous Social Effectiveness
Key Cultural Impact
East Asia‟s social emphasis
Conspicuous Social Effectiveness
Almost seamless religious syncretism
Key Cultural Impact
East Asia‟s social emphasis
Conspicuous Social Effectiveness
Almost seamless religious syncretism
Importance of the Family
Key Cultural Impact
East Asia‟s social emphasis
Conspicuous Social Effectiveness
Almost seamless religious syncretism
Importance of the Family
Respect for the elderly
Key Cultural Impact
East Asia‟s social emphasis
Conspicuous Social Effectiveness
Almost seamless religious syncretism
Importance of the Family
Respect for the elderly
Preference for negotiation and mediation
Key Cultural Impact
East Asia‟s social emphasis
Conspicuous Social Effectiveness
Almost seamless religious syncretism
Importance of the Family
Respect for the elderly
Preference for negotiation and mediation
Learning/arts key to human transformation
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private
character, on integrity and tolerance toward others, and the rule of
conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the
governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported
by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the
truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the
varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation by
reaffirming all that is good and true that came before ideals of justice and
conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
--George W. Bush, U.S. Presidential Inaugural address,
1/20/2005
junzi [ chun-tzu] "gentleman"
ren [ jen] "Goodness"
Dao [ Tao] "the Way"
yi "rightness”
zhong "role-specific duty"
shu "sympathetic understanding"
xiao "filial piety"