Confucianism and Daoism(全文)

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1、China is one of the earliest civilized countries in the world, and has contributed indelibly to the cultural development of mankind. The spiritual tradition of China has resulted in a rich and unique civilization. We are admired by the world for our great cultural heritage. To understand this tradition we must focus on the history of thought in China, for it is this which constitutes the Chinese cultural context.

2、Throughout much of China’s long and fascinating history, two rival approaches to life competed for dominance. One was Confucianism, with its emphasis on reason, traditional morality, and social philosophy. The other was Daoism, with its stress on intuition, mystical identification with nature, and endless transformation. The two most important figures in China’s history of thought are Confucius and Laozi. Their teachings may be said to sum up the past and forecast the future.

3、Before Confucius and Laozi were long centuries of nature-and ancestor-oriented responses to the sacred. The ancient Chinese had polytheistic ideas and worshiped many gods among whom was the supreme God (Di), represented as a remote and imperial creator, or as nature deities. From the sixth century BC onwards, Confucian and Daoist ethics and metaphysics began to play a bigger and bigger part in the Chinese consciousness. They formed a system of social values and fulfilled various spiritual and ethical functions very much like those of religion.

4、The following is a brief introduction to Confucianism and Daoism.

Confucius and Laozi

5、Confucius is the Latinized form of the Chinese Kong Fuzi. Fuzi, or Zi, means ‖the master‖, which is a suffix added to the surname of a learned man respected by others. Confucius and his most well-known disciple, Mencius (Mengzi), are the only Chinese with Latinized names. Having been made famous in Europe as Confucius and Mencius for hundreds of years, it was impossible thereafter to call them Konzi and Mengzi.

6、Confucius was the first well-known professional teacher in ancient China. He had a lifelong devotion to learning and teaching and occasionally served as a political advisor to rulers of different states of that time called the Period of the Warring States. He summarized his life development in this way:‖ At fifteen, my mind was set on learning. At thirty, my character had been formed. At forty, I had no more perplexities. At fifty, I knew the mandate of heaven. At sixty, I was at ease with whatever I heard. At seventy, I could follow my heart’s desire without transgressing moral principles.‖ In his last years Confucius worked on editing such classics as The Book of Poetry (Shi Jing), Spring and Autumn Annals (Chun Qiu), and The Book of Changes (Yi Jing). The wisdom of Confucius is best known to us through Analects (Lun Yu), which contains numerous conversations of Confucius and his students. The Analects was combined with the Great Learning (Da Xue), The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhong Yong) and The Book of Mencius (Meng Zi) to form the four great Confucian classics studied for centuries by the Chinese for education and for civil service examinations which survived until the waning years of the Qing Dynasty in the first decade of the 20th century.

7、The teachings of Confucius harmonize well with those of Laozi (spelled as Lao-tzu or Lao-Tes in some English translations) who lived in the sixth century BC. Laozi is regarded as the first ancient sage in China. He dedicated his whole life to study of Dao (Tao in English dictionaries). We cannot, however, be sure of his real name. Laozi is a description rather than a name. It can mean ―old philosopher‖ or ―old

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sir‖ , but it also can mean ―old child‖ or ―old fellow‖. Perhaps Laozi followed his own dictate that one should not be attached to names and thereby kept himself so well hidden that today very little is known of him except his writings. Legend tells us that when he was old and tired of the corruption of the world he rode an ox-drawn chariot to the mountain pass of the western frontier. The Keeper of the Pass, having observed omens and expecting a sage, begged the old man to write a book before withdrawing from civilization. So Laozi composed the Dao De Jing (Tao The Ching, The Great Tao), consist of about 5,000 Chinese characters. This concise book is probably one of the greatest writings in the world and became the scriptural foundation of Daoism (Taoism) philosophy and the Daoist (Taoist) religion. ―Dao‖ implies an absolute reality roughly comparable to the Western idea of God; yet it is described not anthropomorphically but as a dynamic and natural process. ―De‖ means virtue in the sense of spiritual power. ―Jing‖ is the word for book or classic.

8、It is traditionally believed that a meeting took place between Laozi and Confucius. Confucius went to the State of Zhou where Laozi lived to put questions to Laozi concerning the rites. Sima Qian, the famous historian, wrote how Confucius told his disciples after this meeting, though he was criticized by Laozi for his pride and ambition, ―I know how birds fly, how fish swim, how animals run. Yet the runner may be trapped; the swimmer may be hooked; and the flyer may be shot by an arrow. But who knows how dragons ride on the winds through clouds into heaven? Today I have seen Laozi and can compare him only to a dragon.‖

9、The teachings of Confucius readjusted the moral and spiritual fiber of the people, especially that of the intellectuals. He taught the people to keep spirits at a distance and to focus their energies instead on the cultivation of a good character as well as virtues such as human-heartedness and love for others. He gave the people a higher vision of themselves as human beings capable of perfection in character and morals. As a result, the shamanistic hold on the people receded gradually into the background. By the late Zhou (1100BC-256BC), the teachings of Confucius had become a major influence, and by the time of the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), it was adopted as the state orthodoxy. By then, the ruling class and the educated in society looked down on shamans as impostors who traded on the credulity of the masses. In the Supreme Being- that of ―Heaven ‖ (Tian) or ―Supreme Lord‖ (Shang Di). These were not new concepts, but they were concepts that had been forgotten with the political and social and spiritual deterioration of China after the last Golden Age, believed to be that of Kings Wen and Wu during the time of the early Zhou(around 1100BC).

10、The words of Laozi popularized the idea of Dao(Tao, Way) a concept which in time became just as important, if not more so, than ―Heaven‖ in Chinese thought. With the coming of Laozi and his important work, Dao De Jing, often called ―the Chinese Bible‖, the idea of a personal and supreme god was denied and , instead, an unknowable, absolute, immanent and transcendental Dao was introduced which was regarded as the Essence and Ultimate Reality of the universe.

11、While Confucianism manifests its influence predominantly in the ethical and political spheres, Daoism manifests its influence mainly in the spiritual, the literary and the artistic. It is useful to view Confucianism and Daoism as one whole. They are two halves, irretrievably linked in the cultural thought of the Chinese people.

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Confucianism and the “heaven”

12、Although it is difficult to measure the influence of religious or philosophical systems ,it is possible to assert that confucius was the greatest and most significant unifying force of the chinese people and of the civilization in the chinese history. In fact, confucianism is synoymous with what is known as the ―chinese great tradition‖.confucianism has left an indelible mark on the social and political structure of the nation. Through the educational system, teachers succeeded in inculcating confucian values into the minds of young people. Thus , the chinese outlook on life has been immensely colored by confucian ideas which have been formulated since his day into a governing code of etiquette and morality for all the chinese . dynasties have risen and fallen but confucianism abided, despite such changes. Becausa of confucius , the large family system , with its special emphasis on filial and fraternal obedience , continues to be a dominant factor in the chiense society. In almost everyting from national to private life , in the culture , in the manners and behavior, in the customs and traditions, e chinese are indebted to confucius. Though centuries of enforcement and practice as a social doctrinc , confucianism won uncritial acceptance by the people and became an emotional attitude as well as a way of rational thinking.

13、Confucius lived during the time when china was not yet unified . In the period of warring states , china was divided into many states which were ambitiously warring among themselves . As the consequence of the war, china experienced social , political, economic and moral chaos. The major question of the time was how people could live in peace . Murders , intriguer, assassinations , rebellions and notorious immoralities were the order of the day. Confucius witnessed glaring discrepancies between name and reality . Men seemed to have lost their humanity , as evidenced in the corruption of the royal house and the immoral behaviors of the aristocrats. Confucius spent about ten years of his life travelling from state to state in china seeking a ruler who would use his philosophy in government . Like the great spiritual leaders , he never found one in his lifetime . In some places he was treated with scant courtesy , at least once an attempt was made on his life.

14、In the Analects, Confucius said ― Ine the morning hear the Dao( way) , in the evening die content‖. The Dao, heaven’s Dao or Way, was one which confucius adhered to with great fervor and which was his supreme contribution to the Chinese culture.

15、Although there have been attempts to call the confucian ideology an atheistic or agnostic one, it is not possible to do so on the grounds that confucius’ concept of heaven is not as sharply and well-defined as the personsal God in the Christian theology. In fact, on closer examination of the confucian writings, one finds that confucius recognized the existence of heaven ( tian) as a sort of supreme being who rules over man and the world .( The chinese word tian was originanlly the word for God) . Heaven in this view is both transcendent and immanent . Confucius stood in awe of this ultimate source of creativity which works incessantly in the universe and the human world . If religious belief is understood to mean faith in something transcendent that has exerted profound influence on our liver, then confucius must be regarded as a deeply religious man.

16、Confucius had a lively faith heaven . This faith in heaven is the ultimate source of his greatness . he acknowledged , ― It is only heaven that is

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grant ―, and ― he who sins against heaven has no one to whom he may pray‖ . Heaven is a trem that often occurres in his teaching: ― the superior man stands in awe of three things . He stands in awe of the mandate of heaven ; he stands in awe of great men; and he he stands in awe of the words the sages. The inferior man is ignorant of the mandate of heaven and does not stand in awe of it . He is disrespectful to great men and is contemptuous toward the word of the sages.‖

17、His faith in heaven conviniced him that man’s happiness depended upon the approval of heaven rather than the praises of men , upon one’s interior qualities rather than external things. Once he said : ― I do not murmur against heaven nor grumble against man. My studies lie low , but my penetration rises high . tian alone knows me.‖ This faith explains why confucius could be so composed and serene when faced with the dangers of life . the idea of heaven led confucius to feel that somehow , somewhere there was a power that stood on the side of the side of the lonely person struggling for what is right.

18、Faith in Heaven and sense of heavenly mission could be seen in confucius’ declaration that since heaven endowed him with virtue or power (De), none could harm him and that since heaven would not destroy culture, his enemy would not be able to harm him. It is apparent that confucius felt that he had been entruseted by heaven with a mission to cure the ills of the chinese people, and be hoped that heaven would not permit him to fail . Believing he had this heavenly conferred virtue as well as a heavenly appoionted destiny , he went about his mission as a great educator of the people resolutely and with great conviction . He regarded himself as heaven’s instrument on earth , a bell to arouse the people from their lethargy.

19、In common with other great spiritual leaders confucius was neither loved nor respected for his insights in his lifetime and was often ridiculed and misunderstood. Up to the time of his death he was unable to make the Dao prevail. At times of great distress, he was heard to remark :‖ Alas! How is it that the Dao does not prevali!‖ on another occasion , he cired out in despair that there was no one who understood him, but added , ― but heaven understands me !‖ if such cries were uttered at all by a man who was known no be normally serene and composed , then they must have been said at moments of extreme agony and , for this reason , should be taken all the more seriously .

20、Confucius also believed in the power of divine beings. He praised the strong power of spirits. The abcient chinese believed that the offering of sacrifices to beings in other worlds was means of disciplining one’s mind and nature . confucius sacrificed to spirits as though they were actually present. Once, when confucius was ill , his disciple zilu prayed for him. Upon hearing this , the sage asked zilu whether this was true . ―yes‖ ansewered zilu,‖ I have prayed for you to the gods above and below .‖ confucius told zilu :― I have been praying ,too , for a long time .‖ what confucius meant was that he had been praying all his life , not just during his current illness . there is also in analect a prayer by confucius: ― whatsoever I have done amiss, may heaven avert it , may heaven avert it .‖

21、The essence of all his techings may be summed up under this one word ―ren‖(jen). The nearest equivalent to this difficult word is ― social virtue‖.

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All those virtues which help to maintain social harmony and peace like benevolence , charity , magnanimity, sincerity, respecfulness, altruism, diligence, loving kindness, goodness are included in Ren.

22、Confucius laid great stress on the of character, purity of heart and conduct . He exhorted the people develop a good character first, which is best of all virtues. The nature of man , according to confucius , is fundamentally good inclined towards goodness. Perfection of goodness can be found in sages and saints . every man should atempt to reach the ideal by leading a virtuous life , by possessing a very noble character , and by doing his duty unselfishly with sincerity and truthfulness. He who is endowed with a good character and divine virtue is a princely type of man . The princely man sticks to virtue , and the inferior man clings to material comfort. The princely man is just while the inferior man expercts rewards and favours. The princely man is just while the inferior man expects rewards and favours . the princely man is dignified, noble , magnanimous, and humble while the inferior man is mean, proud, crooked, and arrogant . once , in response to a question as to what wisdom was. Confucius replied ,‖to be devoted to one’s duties regarding others, to honor the gods and spitits and to remain far from them, this may be callen wisdom.’

23、His teaching was largely concerned with the administration of good government, He said, ―The Ruler himself should be virtuous, just, honest and dutiful.

A virtuous ruler is like the Pole-star which, by keeping its place, makes all others stars to evolve round it. As is the Ruler, so will be the subjects.‖

24、Confucius held that the society was made up of five relationships; Those of hushand and wife, of parents and child, of elder and younger brothers, or generally of elders and youngsters, of Ruler and Minister or subjects, and of friend and friend. A country would be well-governed when all the parties performed their parts aright in these relationships. Confucius said:‖There was Dao only when fathers were fathers, when sons were sons, whne rulers were rulers and when ministers were ministers.‖

25、Confucius’ view of Heaven was endorsed and further developed by Mencius(371-289BC), whose writings became one of the Confucian classics. Like Confucius, he was a professional teacher and a political advisor who traveled from state to state. He believed that human nature is innately good and that we need only discover the beart. He recommended humane government and felt that righteousness is far more important than utility and profit. He believed that virtue is inherent in everyone’s nature and that therefore everyone is equal to everyone else; also the people are most important in the state, and they have the right to change their government. A humane government places men of virtue and ability in positons of responsibility and works to benefit the people; such a country will be at peace and free of troubles. Mencius pointed out that when men are won over by virtue, their hearts are pleased and their cooperation is sincere.

26、Like Confucius, Mencius also acknowledged the existence of a Supreme Ultimate:‖Heaven gives birth to creatures.‖ Mencius went even further to point out a concrete way to approach Heaven:‖ He who exerts his mind to the utmost knows his nature. He who knows his nature knows Heaven. To preserve one’s mind and to nourish one’s nature is the way to serve Heaven.‖