CONFUCIUS

born 551 BC, Ch'-fu, state of Lu [now in Shantung province, China] died 479, Lu Chinese (Wade-Giles) K'ung-fu-tzu, or K'ung-tzu, or (Pinyin) Kongfuzi, or Kongzi, original name K'ung Ch'iu, literary name Chung-ni China's most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, whose ideas have influenced the civilizations of all of eastern Asia. Although little reliable information exists on Confucius' early life, his family was probably of the impoverished nobility; he was orphaned at an early age and grew up poor. He was largely self-educated but apparently became the most learned man of his day. Learning, however, was not his greatest interest; Confucius was deeply disturbed by the political and social conditions of his times. Unable to obtain an official position in which he might implement his ideas of reform, he spent the greater part of his life educating a group of disciples. Confucius was not a religious leader in the ordinary sense, for his teaching was essentially a social ethic. Though his interest in books was secondary to his passion for reform, many of the ancient classics were attributed to his authorship and editorship. These books, interpreted in Confucian terms, formed the basic curriculum of Chinese education for more than 2,000 years. born 551 BC, Ch'-fu, state of Lu [now in Shantung Province, China] died 479, Lu Chinese (Wade-Giles) K'ung-fu-tzu, or K'ung-tzu, or (Pinyin) Kongfuzi, or Kongzi, original name K'ung Ch'iu, literary name Chung-ni China's most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, whose ideas have influenced the civilization of East Asia. Confucius' life, in contrast to his tremendous importance, seems starkly undramatic, or, as a Chinese expression has it, it seems plain and real. The plainness and reality of Confucius' life, however, underlines that his humanity was not revealed truth but an expression of self-cultivation, of the ability of human effort to shape its own destiny. The faith in the possibility of ordinary human beings to become awe-inspiring sages and worthies is deeply rooted in the Confucian heritage, and the insistence that human beings are teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour is typically Confucian. Although the facts about Confucius' life are scanty, they do establish a precise time frame and historical context. Confucius was born in the 22nd year of the reign of Duke Hsiang of Lu (551 BC). The traditional claim that he was born on the 27th day of the eighth lunar month has been questioned by historians, but September 28 is still widely observed in East Asia as Confucius' birthday. It is an official holiday, Teachers' Day, in Taiwan. Confucius was born in Ch'-fu in the small feudal state of Lu in what is now Shantung Province, which was noted for its preservation of the traditions of ritual and music of the Chou civilization. His family name was K'ung and his personal name Ch'iu, but he is referred to as either K'ung-tzu or K'ung-fu-tzu (Master K'ung) throughout Chinese history. The adjectival Confucian, derived from the Latinized Confucius, is not a meaningful term in Chinese, nor is the term Confucianism, which was coined in Europe as recently as the 18th century. Confucius' ancestors were probably members of the aristocracy who had become virtual poverty-stricken commoners by the time of his birth. His father died when Confucius was only three years old. Instructed first by his mother, Confucius then distinguished himself as an indefatigable learner in his teens. He recalled toward the end of his life that at age 15 his heart was set upon learning. A historical account notes that, even though he was already known as an informed young scholar, he felt it appropriate to inquire about everything while visiting the Grand Temple. Confucius had served in minor government posts managing stables and keeping books for granaries before he married a woman of similar background when he was 19. It is not known who Confucius' teachers were, but he made a conscientious effort to find the right masters to teach him, among other things, ritual and music. Confucius' mastery of the six artsritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmeticand his familiarity with the classical traditions, notably poetry and history, enabled him to start a brilliant teaching career in his 30s. Confucius is known as the first teacher in China who wanted to make education available to all men and who was instrumental in establishing the art of teaching as a vocation, indeed as a way of life. Before Confucius, aristocratic families had hired tutors to educate their sons in specific arts, and government officials had instructed their subordinates in the necessary techniques, but he was the first person to devote his whole life to learning and teaching for the purpose of transforming and improving society. He believed that all human beings could benefit from self-cultivation. He inaugurated a humanities program for potential leaders, opened the doors of education to all, and defined learning not merely as the acquisition of knowledge but also as character building. For Confucius the primary function of education was to provide the proper way of training noblemen (chn-tzu), a process that involved constant self-improvement and continuous social interaction. Although he emphatically noted that learning was for the sake of the self (the end of which was self-knowledge and self-realization), he found public service a natural consequence of true education. Confucius confronted learned hermits who challenged the validity of his desire to serve the world; he resisted the temptation to herd with birds and animals, to live apart from the human community, and opted to try to transform the world from within. For decades Confucius was actively involved in politics, wishing to put his humanist ideas into practice through governmental channels. In his late 40s and early 50s Confucius served first as a magistrate, then as an assistant minister of public works, and eventually as minister of justice in the state of Lu. It is likely that he accompanied King Lu as his chief minister on one of the diplomatic missions. Confucius' political career was, however, short-lived. His loyalty to the King alienated him from the power holders of the time, the large Chi families, and his moral rectitude did not sit well with the King's inner circle, who enraptured the King with sensuous delight. At 56, when he realized that his superiors were uninterested in his policies, Confucius left the country in an attempt to find another feudal state to which he could render his service. Despite his political frustration he was accompanied by an expanding circle of students during this self-imposed exile of almost 12 years. His reputation as a man of vision and mission spread. A guardian of a border post once characterized him as the wooden tongue for a bell of the age, sounding Heaven's prophetic note to awaken the people (Analects, 3:24). Indeed, Confucius was perceived as the heroic conscience who knew realistically that he might not succeed but, fired by a righteous passion, continuously did the best he could. At the age of 67 he returned home to teach and to preserve his cherished classical traditions by writing and editing. He died in 479 BC, at the age of 73. According to the Records of the Historian 72 of his students mastered the six arts, and those who claimed to be his followers numbered 3,000. Additional reading For a major study of Confucius, see H.G. Creel, Confucius: The Man and the Myth (1949, reissued 1975), also published as Confucius and the Chinese Way (1949, reprinted 1960). Also see the introduction to Confucius, The Analects (Lun Y), trans. from Chinese by D.C. Lau (1979, reissued 1986). Tu Wei-ming