Confucianism – be a gentlemen
In the first section, we have read a lot of works about divines and philosophy. These works are categorized as the works of authority, which have great influences in people’s believes and thoughts within a specific environment. Unlike religious text, which is a major part of works we have read in section 1, Confucianism deals with human behavior and conduct towards each other and pay little attention to the matters such as sin, souls or after life. In fact, in the text of Analects, the Master suggests “to respect ghosts and gods, but keep them in a distance” in order to gain wisdom. The initial goal of Confucius spreading his idea is to establish an ethical system that guides individual’s behavior and makes people act in an appropriate way, that is, to be a gentlemen. Its ultimate goal is to have harmonious society and the world peace. It seems like Confucianism has nothing to do with religion. However, when Confucianism became the official philosophy of China, religions function were automatically incorporated into it. Confucius and his famous students became objects of worship. His temples were built all over the country and world, and rituals and sacrifices were performed.
As we discuss in class, there are many qualities a gentlemen should be capable of. Among these qualities, Ren is the most important virtue to be gentlemen, and other virtues follow from it. In the text we are reading, Ren is translated as goodness, but in my opinion, it not just goodness. . In Chinese, the character of Ren is consist of character Human on the left and character Two on the right, which indicates it is the virtue based on human relationships. The nature of Ren is a sense for the human dignity, which contains the concepts of love, benevolence, humanity, forgiveness and respect. To achieve Ren, people not only focus on self-cultivation but also extend Ren to others. Ren is considered the ultimate guide for the human action.
Other than Ren, the Li is the second important virtue in Confucianism. Li can be translated as ritual, but it’s not the ritual that practices in religion. Just like Ren, Li also deals with human relationships. Moreover. Li is the concrete guide of human action. Under the concept of Li, there are five relationships that should act properly in social life. They are father and son (love/respect), elder brother to younger brother (gentle/ respectful), husband and wife (love/obey), ruler and subject (benevolent/loyal), and friends (trust). We can notice three out of five involve family, because family is the basic unit of society. In Confucianism, a competent man should achieve their ultimate goals through the steps of self-cultivation to family harmony to country management, and eventually, to the world peace. Although the concept of Li existed in ancient time only apply to the nobles and rulers, Confucius broadened it to apply to all human activities and languages. The concept of Li regulates people’s action and makes people be more ethical.
Ren & Li are like two sides of a coin, and they always related each other. In the Analects, the Master defined Ren as “to master and control the self and return to Li”. In my point of view, Ren is a moral idea, and Li is the actual law to interpret Ren. A person who practices Ren & Li is going to be highly cultivated and acts properly in every situation, that is called gentlemen.
Shifan Fu
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