Confucianism is a tradition that is practiced in ancient China and was founded by Confucius. Him and his disciples were able to spread the culture that has become the center of the East Asia region. Cultural values and traditions in China borrow a lot from Confucianism (Deuchler 1995, 302-390). Confucianism forms the most of the complex intellectual Chinese history and has greatly impacted the and shaped the culture of the entire Chinese communities and the surrounding nations neighboring the nation (Goossaert and Palmer2011, 2011, 411-415).
The Confucian system has shaped social aspects of life such as family, marriages, politics, academics to mention but a few (Goossaert and Palmer2011, 2011, 411-415). Confucianism holds human life to be the most important and does not condone practices such as infanticide (Deuchler 1995, 302-390). As a teaching of the Confucian system, the Chinese have increased their loyalty to their leaders and morals have been effectively installed in them. In the Chinese society elders are accorded utmost respect and honor.
Teaching the body involves strategized bodily arrangements and this is referred to as the LI philosophy. However, Confucians acknowledge other options of training including scholarly training (Deuchler 1995, 302-390). Confucianism teaches respect for one another with reference to everyone’s social standards supporting the discretion in relationships between juniors and superiors. Setting up a descent form of governance must include the rites and beliefs of the Chinese people and this is what the Confucians advocate for up to date.
Confucianism upholds the Ren principle which advocates perfection hence campaigning for people to do everything competently. They believe in seeing nothing indecent, doing nothing indecent, hearing nothing indecent, and saying nothing indecent as well. According to Confucians, humanity is good which is in contact with an umber of other philosophies. The Confucian model does not encourage the subordination of women and it teaches against gender inequality (Goossaert and Palmer 2011, 2011, 411-415).
According to Confucian philosophy, there are five social interactions that greatly influence public interaction (Goossaert and Palmer 2011, 2011, 411-415). They include the relationship between husband and wife, the relationship between father and son, the relationship between the king and the officials, the relationship between the an elder and a young person, and lastly the relationship between friends (Deuchler 1995, 302-390). Confucius was mainly interested in creating a harmonious interaction between men and women (Yao 2000, 320-360).
Junzi was an ideal of the Confucian philosophy that supported the the shared cooperation between men and women in the society (Yao 2000, 320-360). LI which stands for ritual is the only way according to Confucius for humanity to achieve Ren (Goossaert and Palmer 2011, 411-415). Confucianism teaches responsible actions and calls on the entire humanity to cat in the utmost care to behave in the most appropriate manner in all circumstances. This backs the reasoning of the Confucians on the principle of proper governance calling upon leaders to lead their people with excellence (Kim 2012, 96-115).
With the principle of the Ying and Yang, all things have an opposite side but they all complement each other and are equally important (Holcombe 1999, 293-298). The Ying and Yang show that although the two sides are not equivalent they show a sense of mutual complementary and harmony which was the main intention of the Confucian philosophy (Goossaert and Palmer 2011, 411-415). A clear mind and and a pure heart are the backbone of the Confucian philosophy (Kim 2012, 96-115). This philosophy upholds knowledge and action as an inseparable duo and that the two depend upon each other.
Bibliography
Deuchler, Martina. The Confucian Transformation of Korea: A Study of Society and Ideology (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph). (USA: Harvard University Asia Center, 1995), 302-390.
Goossaert, Vincent and David Palmer. The Religious Question in Modern China. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011), 411-415.
Holcombe, Charles. The Confucian Monarchy of Nara Japan. (New York: Religions of Japan in practice. – Princeton, N.J. S, 1999), 293-298.
Kim, Youngming. Women and Confucianism in Choson Korea: New Perspectives. (New York: State University of New York Press, 2012), 96-115.
Yao, Xinzhong. An Introduction to Confucianism. (United Kingdom: Cambridge university press, 2000), 320-360.