Confucianism

By | October 8, 2021

Confucianism of, – based on Confucius declining worldview or philosophy widespread, especially in China, but also in other parts of East Asia (especially Japan). Its founder felt himself to be a »narrator«, and in his teaching he combined numerous older v. a. social ideas that made Confucianism a complex and therefore very adaptable school of thought. What was essential was the rationalization of “heaven” (originally an ancestral deity) into a power that was no longer necessarily thought of as personal, albeit a moral one, the analogous transformation of religious-magical customs into “rites”, the reinterpretation of the originally noble »prince’s son« to the »noble« (Junzi) legitimized through education (acquired through upbringing) in the moral sense as well as the return of all individual virtues (relocated from the military to the civil) such as piety, loyalty, legality, reliability and modesty the humanistic ideal of “fellow humanity” (Ren). The sky is considered to be the embodiment of the natural and ethical laws of the universe. Like heaven, from the Confucian point of view, the ruler also follows the general law of nature; The maintenance of the natural law is guaranteed by the general observance of the rites, in the execution of which the harmony of man and the cosmos is documented.

According to aceinland, the duties to be fulfilled in the family, the community of friends and in the state are summarized in the “five relationships” between prince and public servant, father and son, husband and wife, older and younger brother, older friend and younger friend. In each of these relationships the practice of the virtue expressed in humanity, justice and reverence (the “rites”) gains special expression. These ideas, which unite religious and philosophical, socio-ethical and political aspects, were taken from (or interpreted into) the “Five Classics”, which were enriched with numerous comments at an early stage, which, although much older, were traditionally by Confucius have been edited and are therefore considered to be “holy”, canonical texts of Confucianism: the “Book of Changes” (Yijing), the “Book of Songs” (Shijing), the “Book of Documents” (Shujing), the “Notes on the rites “(Liji) and the” spring and autumn annals “(Chunqiu). Among the first significant successors of Confucius, Mengzi took the view of the primordial goodness of human nature, which included a mystical interpretation of Confucianism, Xunzi on the other hand that of their wickedness, from which a more objective attitude and v. a. the emphasis on education. In the 2nd century BC Confucianism became through the Hankaiser Wudi proclaimed the official worldview in China, which is fundamental to the education system and thus to the state and its officials. After religious currents with mystical-prophetic tendencies initially prevailed in the oral tradition by linking state ethics with phenomena of nature in Confucianism (“New Text School”), a more sober, historical one emerged from the 1st century AD oriented direction (»Alttext-Schule«) in the foreground. From the 3rd century AD onwards, Confucianism was temporarily pushed back by Daoism and especially Buddhism. But he experienced a rebirth in the 10th century in “Neo-Confucianism”, which absorbed numerous Daoist and Buddhist elements, which in addition to the elevation of other older texts to “classics” v. a. expressed in the compilation of the “Four Books”: “Conversations” of the Confucius (Lunyu), the book Mengzi (Menzius), “Great Teaching” (Daxue, Ta-hsüeh) and “Measure and Center / Keeping the Center” (Zhongyong). The two main currents of Neoconfucianism, which emerged in the 11th-14th centuries. Century prevailing »realistic« »school of principles« (Lixue, Li-hsüeh) and the »idealistic« »heart school« (Xinxue, Hsin-hsüeh) of the 15th-17th centuries. Century (Chinese philosophy and religion), stood in a certain analogy to the different views of Xunzi and Mengzi. Confucianism also had a great influence in other East Asian countries, especially since the 4th century BC. In Japan, where, however, more decidedly than in China, loyalty to the state took precedence over loyalty to the family. The decline of Confucianism since the 18th century was partly due to the source criticism applied to the Confucian “classics” and partly to the multiple occupation of the imperial throne, which is essential for the self-image, by foreign dynasties (Mongols and Manchu); practically all modern revolutionary movements (including communism) also opposed Confucianism because of its rigid understanding of hierarchy in the context of public and private life. Mao Zedong’s 1976. Outside of China – e. For example, in Taiwan, Singapore and in the areas of Asia and America inhabited by overseas Chinese – a resurgence of Confucianism can be observed recently, which appears to some extent – beyond its status in China – as a modern social ethic “compatible” with capitalism.

Confucianism