Confucianism can be defined as the “moral and religious system of
China” ("Confucianism," 2013).
Confucianism is viewed as a religion sometimes as well as a philosophy
and “may be understood as an all-encompassing way of thinking and living that
entails ancestor reverence and a profound human-centered religiousness”
("Confucianism," 2014). The
principles in Confucianism consist of an individual’s focus on morals and
ethics especially altruism without speaking of presence of divinities.
Five Great Relationships
Relationships are extremely important in Confucianism, however all
relationships are not considered equal so they are ranked in the order of
importance beginning with father-son. The relationship between father and son
is the basic ideal of family relationships in Confucianism as it is a
representation of all parent-child relationships because “parents must be
responsible for the education and moral formation of the children. The children must be respectful and obedient
to their parents, and they must care for them in their old age” (Molloy, 2013
p.231). Elder brother-younger brother relationship is the next important
relationship in Confucianism because “an elder brother must assume
responsibility for raising the younger siblings, and the younger siblings must
be compliant” (Molloy, 2013 p.231).
The husband-wife relationship is of importance in Confucianism because
they are responsible for taking care of each other, however the relationship between
husband and wife has rank because “the husband is an authoritative protector,
and the wife is a protected homemaker and mother” (Molloy, 2013 p.232). The
Elder-younger relationship is important because “all older people have
responsibility for younger people, because younger people need care, support
and character formation. This means, as
well that younger people must show respect to those older than they are and be
open to their advice” (Molloy, 2013
p.232). Ruler-subject is the last of
the five great relationships although it seems that it should be first it is
not because of how the role of the ruler is viewed in Confucianism. In Confucianism “a ruler must act like a
father assuming responsibility and care for the subjects who are like his children. Thus, the father-son relationship is primary
in that it is the model for most other relationships” (Molloy, 2013 p.232). The five great relationships in Confucianism
suggest that individual’s must maintain social responsibility and status which
is known as rectification of names.
The Ideal Person in
Confucianism
The behavior of the ideal person in Confucianism will show
kindness and compassion towards others and will gain knowledge and integrity
from the teachings that will prompt forgiveness, purity, devotion, humility and
kindheartedness. They will possess other qualities such as “loyalty, consensus,
hard work, thrift, honesty, uprightness, and emotional control” (Molloy, 2013 p.236). The ideal person in Confucianism demonstrates
sincerity by making the choice to “do what is correct for society” (Molloy,
2013 p.236) by eliminating selfish desires in order to fulfill their
obligations to society. It is believed
that through sincerity an individual with morals will “become united with the force
of the universe, which is the way to heaven” (Molloy, 2013).
Role of Confucianism Today
There have been many criticisms of Confucianism; however
“Confucianism has been a great patron of the Chinese arts. The ideal human being, the junzi, does not
need to be rich, but he or she must be a well-rounded lover of history, art,
poetry, and music” (Molloy, 2013 p.243). Confucianism influenced the creation
of family portraits that many people kept their homes as a reminder of the
importance of the family structure.
Confucianism is modern society influences human behavior with his
teachings on righteous behavior. The
moral behavior taught in Confucianism “have helped lead many Confucian
countries to modern economic development” (Molloy, 2013 p. 248).
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