Confucianism Essay - 573 Words

Confucianism 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 â€Å"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. The relationships are said to function smoothly if you stress li,†¦show more content†¦The practice of offering sacrifices and other rituals to Confucius in special shrines began in the 1st century A.D. and continued into the 20th century. Confucianism has often had to contend with other religious systems, mainly Taoism and Buddhism. It has also suffered declines, especially from the 3rd to 7th century. It had a renaissance period in the late T’ang dynasty. It was not until the Sung dynasty and the appearance of neo-Confucianism that Confucianism became the dominant philosophy among educated Chinese. Using Taoist and Buddhist ideas, neo-Confucian thinkers formulated a system of metaphysics, which had not been a part of older Confucianism. They were particularly influenced by Ch’an, or Zen Buddhism. Nevertheless they rejected the Taoist search for immortality and Buddhist ethical universalistic teachings, keeping instead the political and social vision of the early Confucian teachings. In 479 B.C. the government made it part of the civil service examination. The neo-Confucian teachings were unified and established as orthodoxy by Chu Hsi and his system dominated Chinese intellectual life. His metaphysics is based on the concept of li, or principle of form, and the combination of these, called the â€Å"supreme ultimate.† During the Ming dynasty, the idealist school of Wang Yang-ming stressed meditation and knowledge. The overthrow of the monarchy, with whichShow MoreRelatedConfucianism : Taoism, Confucianism, And Confucianism1156 Words   |  5 PagesRaymond Cho EALC 350 October 29, 2014 Professor Birge Which philosophy: Taoism, Confucianism, or Legalism would be best in your opinion for maintaining a peaceful society? Why? Perhaps there is no single philosophy that can create a truly peaceful society. The conundrum of choosing a philosophy to embody a peaceful society is rather complicated, as the ideologies of the philosophies often differ greatly from their real world application. 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