A Historical View of the Expansion and Philosophy of Confucianism and Buddhism
Andre Milla (4520100)
American Military University
April 25, 2014
History 111
Joseph Esposito
Confucianism and its Expansion
Confucius was one of the first men to have different ideas on how rulers should go about their ruling of people during the Zhou Dynasty. “Its career as a prominent tradition in China began with its adoption by the Han dynasty, and virtually every East Asian regime of the past thousand years or more has endorsed Confucianism as its official ideology.” Confucius believed that rulers should rule in a manner that is beneficial to the people being governed and in a way that is morally right and traditionally acceptable (for the time). Confucius spent most of his time with a group of followers, in search of a ruler who would follow his teaching and take his advice. (web.cn.edu)(patheos.org 1)
Confucius’s ideas were described as traditional, and he often talked about a time when the rulers would look after the people; “the inferiors followed their superiors; parents and children, husbands and wives, and everyone worked together and did what was expected of them.” Confucius described the importance of family and “considered the family as the basic unit of society.” He emphasized the importance of children obeying their parents. The teachings of Confucius were similar to a hierarchy; “the senior leads and protects; the junior supports and obeys.” For example the relationships between husband and wife, older and younger siblings, and the relationships between friends all had a hierarchy (patheos.org 1).
“The spread of Confucianism across East Asia was accomplished largely through voluntary and consensual means, rather than by conquest o...
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...he teachings, rather than worshipping a specific God. Confucianism teaches that all people are good and it emphasizes the importance of every individual to be good to one another. Buddhism is teaching the importance of reaching a certain level of enlightenment, meaning a moment in their lives where they do not do anything morally wrong and have a high level of understanding in their life (pbs.org). Confucianism encourages their young to obey their elders. The idea expects the inferiors of the house hold or social class obey their superiors and show respect. There is great admiration for the elders in Confucianism. Buddhism highlights the four noble truths, which state they we as humans are born into suffering, “we cause our own suffering, we should stop doing things that make us suffer and follow an enlightened path to end our suffering” (people.opposingviews.com).
To begin, Confucianism is a system of philosophical and ethical teachings founded by Confucius. Confucianism was the code of ethics accepted as the certified religion of most of the immense empires in the territory since the Han Dynasty. Confucianism provided an outline of ethical and religious beliefs that most of the Chinese expanded to make other religions such as Daoism and Legalism. To expand, Confucianism was founded by Confucius and his beliefs on the political and social order of China. Confucius believed that everything would fall into place if children had respect for their parents and if the rulers were honest. In Confucianism, specific roles were followed by each person in the family. The head of the family, the father, was the one primarily in control and then it was the oldest son that was next in line. Confucius had the belief that a ruler has to be everything he wants
Confucius was a philosopher, political intellect and an educator whose philosophies have significantly prejudiced not only the Chinese principles but the entire world evolution. He lived through the “Spring” and “Autumn” epoch of Chinese history, when east central China was separated over a dozen fighting states. The inordinate ailment and grief he saw swayed his political thoughts, which highlighted command, grading and the rule of a compassionate self-governing state.
Wu Zhao, the first female emperor of China, rose to power during the Tang Dynasty and her active role with Buddhism fabricated a perpetual impact in the Chinese society as a whole. There is no doubt that Buddhism and the Tang administration, under Wu’s reign, formed a symbiotic relationship with one another. She is considered to be one of the most prominent advocators of the religion during the era. Her efforts to spread of Buddhism and the monetary support help Buddhism to expand throughout the people significantly, which provide the religion another source of financial income to spread even further. Regardless of Empress Wu’s intention, she has furnished the religion in numerous ways, but what did she receive in return? This proposes the question: To what extent did Empress Wu’s support of Buddhism, politically and financially, help Wu and better her empire overall?
Confucius’ impact on Chinese culture has withstood numerous generations and continues to be one of the most prominent philosophies found in Chinese culture. Firmly rooted in years of education, Confucius spent considerable time developing his set of values and principles. In his article entitled “Confucius and the Effortless Life of Virtue”, author Hagop Sarkissian adds to this by saying, “Confucius set his mind on a course of study or cultivation at the age of fifteen, and pursued such studies for a span of fifty-five years, and was thereby able to cultivate a state of being such that he could follow his immediate inclinations in all of life’s predicaments without transgressing social norms” (Sarkissian 1). Confucius’ extensive studies only added to the philosophy represented in the Analects. This includes the pas...
The relationship between ruler and subject is that the ruler must work to protect and govern, while subjects must provide their ruler with loyalty. The father is responsible for caring for his son and providing him an education, while the son must show his father obedience and honor. In the husband and wife relationship, the husband is to provide for his wife, while the wife shows obedience and takes care of the home. The older brother has the responsibility to take care of his younger brother and look after him, while the younger brother must show obedience. Lastly, the relationship between elder and younger places the elder with the responsibility of taking care of the younger. The younger must then show respect and obedience toward the elder. In the even that the elder is unable to care for themselves, as in the case of aging parents, it is the younger’s responsibility to care for the elder. The idea is that when each person is doing their duty in each relationship, society will run much more smoothly and harmoniously. While Confucianism focuses on social aspects, it does not consider the
Confucianism became popular during the Han Dynasty as it was the state religion and had a great impact on East Asia (Confucianism 1, pg. 7). Born in 551 BCE in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Confucius himself absorbed the teachings of Mahavira and the Buddha (Confucianism 1, pg. 2) He had a set of virtues that he believed a functioning society should stand by such as benevolence, love and rites. Confucius wanted China to return to the old days when people were loyal to their rulers and rulers were polite and caring towards their people. He believed rulers s...
Confucianism is a philosophy and way of life formed in China by Confucius, an early Chinese philosopher. It began as a simple concept with ideals of personal virtue, simple filial piety, and basic gender distinctions and social inequalities. But, over time with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism it began to transform into a way of life that was degrading towards women with certain hostilities towards rivaling religions. In its early period, from around 500 B.C.E to the Common Era, Confucianism changed in that it became the leading belief system and a major part of Chinese tradition. From the transition into the Common Era to the end of the Classical time period, Confucianism was altered because of a loss of popularity following the collapse of the Han dynasty and the corruption in the governing political system. In its ending period, the post-classical era, Confucianism underwent perhaps its biggest adjustments with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism. The ideas and virtues presented in the “rebirth of Confucian philosophies” of intolerance of foreign religions and extreme filial piety...
The teachings according to Confucius refer to Confucianism. Confucianism is the multifarious classification of ethical, collective, political and pious philosophy developed by Confucius and the old Chinese practices (Bertrand, 1999). Confucianism aim is actually making an individual honorable but also making such an individual the character of learning and of proper manners. The ideal and faultless man has to combine the characters of a saint, an intellectual and gentleman. Confucianism is a religious conviction whose adulation is focused on offerings to the dead. The idea of responsibility is extensive beyond the precincts of morals and holds close to the minutiae of daily living.
Both religions in some form supported a caste-based system, however, Confucianism achieved this by writing about "filial piety", whereas the Laws of Manu depict the religious roles of each caste. "Filial piety is obedience"(Confucius). To elaborate, filial piety is the belief within Confucianism that "when parents are alive, children should serve their religiously" (Confucius). As a political leader, parents who support the dynasty will indoctrinate the youth with the same beliefs through filial piety. A great example of this is the Han dynasty. "The Han Dynasty accepted Daoism, and Confucianism when making political decisions and shaping government policy"(Parks). The Han dynasty then transitioned towards a full system supporting Confucianism, which became the "core of Chinese education"(Confucius). Confucius's ideas On the Gentleman suggested that "men who pursue riches and honors improperly should release the desire altogether"(Confucius). This portion of the document suggested that instead of trying to pursue riches he should instead "cling to virtue" (Confucius). Politically, this allowed lower caste members to become virtuous in fulfilling their role to the dynasty, no matter how small a role. When integrated with the dynasty, these ideals ultimately breed complacency across all social caste, which ultimately leads to an easier time deploying administrative decisions within the
Confucius was alive and teaching during the Spring and Autumn period. The power of the Zhou king was on the decline and the rulers of the varying kingdoms were beginning to search for more power. Confucius sought to create a more stable and “good” way of governing the lands of ancient China. Li, said Confucius, were the rituals that men would practice and adhere by to become a gentlemen. Li was not a universal term, one man's Li would be different from another man's Li depending on their social status and role in society. These actions could range anywhere from “presents of jade and silk”(The Analects, 38), to “ err on the side of frugality than on the side of extravagance”(The Analects, 35). This makes Li very similar to the social norms that we look at today. For example, a Li in our society would be a man holding open a door for a women. The following and understandings of these different rituals would create a sound and stable society for people to live in. Confucius found that if a sound society is to be built, it is not just a few people in the ruling class that needed to follow these rites, but everyone in socie...
Confucianism is a moral and religious system of China. Its origins go back to the Analects, the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient writings, including that of Mencius. Confucius was born a mandarin under the name Kongzi. It was developed around 550 B.C. In its earliest form Confucianism was primarily a system of ethical concepts for the control of society. It saw man as a social creature that is bound to his fellow men by jen, or “humanity.” Jen is expressed through the five relationships—sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend. Of these, the filial relation is most important.
Confucius wanted people to be the best that they can be. Because of this idea, Confucius thought that people should one get power when they were good and skilled, and not because they came from powerful families that make up the dynasties. In the Ta Hsueh, Confucius talks about how people should act towards one another. I quote, “Thus, where the man of mean character takes his delight only in his own delights and his profit only from what profits himself, the man of noble character honors those of honorable worth and treats as kin those of kindred spirit around him” (Plaks and Yao 2003, 9). Confucius wanted people to think about other people more than, about what they owned. He wanted to build a community in the Zhou dynasty. He always wanted the best for people and that everyone should work hard to achieve their
... Confucianism was all about loving each other, and it united the Chinese people in a way they had never been before. Confucius’s ideas helped achieve a peaceful Chinese society. In my opinion, Confucius was right to believe that man can attain the ideal character through education, self -reflection, and self- effort, however, I do not know if society could remain intact if everything were based on the trust system. Even with laws and punishments, people commit felonies, and I can only begin to imagine what the world would be like if the only things stopping a murderer from killing were his morals.
In the category of view of society, each belief has a different view. The Confucians believed that you develop good character through a good life and that everyone has their own role.
The teachings of Confucius put order, hierarchy and social harmony over individual egoism, that is, the person is subject to the strict system of laws, obligations and rituals. Social relations are based on the criteria of age, sex and generation: in the political sphere, the governed render their maximum loyalty to the governor, while in the family, the children obey the father, the younger brother obeys the older one and, finally, the wife obeys the husband. In the different stages of life, women are always under masculine authority. As a young girl, she must obey her father, when she marries, her husband, and finally, when she becomes a widow, her