14. Famous throughout the world as a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, Confucius laid great emphasis on personal and governmental morality.

13. Confucius was born August 27, 551 B.C. in Tuo, China.

12. His birth was noble but his family was no longer prominent and were quite poor.

11. He founded Confucianism, a humanistic school of thought that emphasizes the moral principles of benevolence, propriety and ritual.

10. Confucianism is not really a religion. It is more of social and political philosophy, a code of conduct for gentlemen and way of life that has a strong influence on Chinese thought, relationships and family rituals. Confucianism stresses harmony of relationships that are hierarchical yet provide benefits to both superior and inferior, a thought deemed useful and advantageous to Chinese authoritarian rulers of all times for its careful preservation of the class system.

9. After his death his pupils collected notes on his sayings and doings and recorded them as the Analects. This compilation was added to over the years, and many sayings attributed to him are probably only loosely based on his teachings.

8. Confucius, the common name of Confucianism’s founder, is a Latinized form of the Chinese K’ung-fu-tzu, “Master K’ung.”

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7. Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited many of the Chinese classic texts including all of the Five Classics, but modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself.

6. Brought up by his mother, Confucius managed to receive a very fine education. He married at the age of 19 and had one son and two daughters.

5. Confucius died on November 21, 479 B.C. in Qufu, China. Today he is widely considered one of the most influential thinkers in Chinese history.

4. Confucius appears to have been devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, in his words, “for the sake of the self.” In the Analects, Confucius is recorded as saying: “At 15, I set my heart on learning; at 30, I firmly took my stand; at 40, I had no delusions; at 50, I knew the Mandate of Heaven; at 60, my ear was attuned to the truth; at 70, I followed my heart’s desire without overstepping the boundaries of what was right.”

3. Much of Confucius’s teachings focused on loving others and self-restraint.

2. Confucius had served in minor government posts managing stables and keeping books for granaries before he married

1. Burdened by the loss of both his son and his favorite disciples, he died at the age of 71 or 72. Confucius was buried in Kong Lin cemetery which lies in the historical part of Qufu.

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The Thousand Character Classic, a Chinese poem originating in the 6th century AD, was used for more than a millennium as a primer for teaching Chinese characters to children. The poem is composed of 250 phrases of four characters each, thus containing exactly one thousand unique characters, and was sung in the same way that children learning the Latin alphabet may use the “alphabet song”.

Later, children also learn the Hundred Family Surnames, a rhyming poem in lines of eight characters composed in the early Song Dynasty (i.e. in about the 11th century AD) which actually listed more than four hundred of the common surnames in ancient China.

From around the 13th century AD until the latter part of the 19th century, the Three Character Classic, which is an embodiment of Confucian thought suitable for teaching to young children, served as a child’s first formal education at home. The text is written in triplets of characters for easy memorization. With illiteracy common for most people at the time, the oral tradition of reciting the classic ensured its popularity and survival through the centuries. With the short and simple text arranged in three-character verses, children learned many common characters, grammar structures, elements of Chinese history and the basis of Confucian morality.

After learning Chinese characters, students wishing to ascend in the social hierarchy needed to study the Chinese classic texts.

The early Chinese state depended upon literate, educated officials for operation of the empire. In 605 AD, during the Sui Dynasty, for the first time, an examination system was explicitly instituted for a category of local talents. The merit-based imperial examination system for evaluating and selecting officials gave rise to schools that taught the Chinese classic texts and continued in use for 1,300 years, until the end the Qing Dynasty, being abolished in 1911 in favour of Western education methods. The core of the curriculum for the imperial civil service examinations from the mid 12th century AD onwards was the Four Books, representing a foundational introduction to Confucianism.

Theoretically, any male adult in China, regardless of his wealth or social status, could become a high-ranking government official by passing the imperial examination, although under some dynasties members of the merchant class were excluded. In reality, since the process of studying for the examination tended to be time-consuming and costly (if tutors were hired), most of the candidates came from the numerically small but relatively wealthy land-owning gentry. However, there are vast numbers of examples in Chinese history in which individuals moved from a low social status to political prominence through success in imperial examination. Under some dynasties the imperial examinations were abolished and official posts were simply sold, which increased corruption and reduced morale.

In the period preceding 1040–1050 AD, prefectural schools had been neglected by the state and left to the devices of wealthy patrons who provided private finances. The chancellor of China at that time, Fan Zhongyan, issued an edict that would have used a combination of government funding and private financing to restore and rebuild all prefectural schools that had fallen into disuse and abandoned. He also attempted to restore all county-level schools in the same manner, but did not designate where funds for the effort would be formally acquired and the decree was not taken seriously until a later period. Fan’s trend of government funding for education set in motion the movement of public schools that eclipsed private academies, which would not be officially reversed until the mid 13th century.

Confucianism stressed the importance of the family and reverence to your elders. Confucius said, “A young man should serve his parents at home,” and “But dogs and horses likewise are able to do something in the way of support; without reverence, what is there to distinguish the one support given from the other?” Confucius was saying that family should come first before anything else and we must take this responsibility seriously as a top priority. Confucius even goes on to say, “After doing this, if he has energy to spare, he can study literature and the arts.” Confucius is saying that serving your parents and elders, should even come before your own education. This contrasts to the Neo-Confucianism view of education, while also following the view of family being important. Neo-Confucian view was that, “What Heaven confers is called nature. Accordance with this nature is called the Tao. Cultivating the Tao is called education.” This basically says that in order for there to be a more perfect place, people have to be educated. However Neo-Confucianism also believes that society cannot operate correctly without a proper family attitude. “The governing of the country lies in the regulation of the family.” Confucianism believes that your family’s needs should always come before your own, while Neo-Confucianism believes that a properly orchestrated family is needed for society to continue properly, as well as the people being well educated.

Neo-Confucianism came about because of the views imposed by Daoists and Buddhists on Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism believes when joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure are in appropriate levels, “it is called harmony. Chung is the great root of all-under-heaven.” This is in accordance to the Daoists belief to let things balance out to have peace. This also fits into the Buddhists belief of there being a spirit that connects everyone as well as the belief that all life has suffering just as sorrow and anger is needed along with pleasure and joy.

Buddhists and Daoists also believe that desire is bad and clouds the truth. Even Confucianism valued this. “Filial piety and fraternal submission are they not the root of all benevolent action. Neo-Confucianism stresses this even more when moving toward these Daoists and Buddhists views. It can be said for Neo-Confucianism, “if righteousness be put last, and profit be put first, they will not be satisfied without snatching all.” and desire clouds what is the truth and good. Neo-Confucianism adopted these ideas as a way to break away from the restrictive view of Confucianism. This had a great impact on China. This belief in the good along with bad came to China as Yang and Yin. The idea of reverence and humility also comes from Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism along with the belief that there needs to be suffering in order to learn. Confucianism also teaches that we can learn from our elders and teachers even if they are flawed, much like the Chinese culture believes. “I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.”

In order to assess these two belief systems, more documents concerning the makeup of Buddhism and Daoism would be beneficial. Some may possibly be the holy texts to each religion to learn more of their beliefs and intent. Additional documents concerning the development of Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism may also be helpful in assessing these two belief systems.

Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism both agree on many cultural aspects, such as the family, that conformed into the Chinese culture. It is also clearly shown the Daoists and Buddhists had a great influence over the new ideas that Neo-Confucianism adopted to find a release from the restrictiveness of Confucianism.

I am starting my response paper by raising my complicatedness about Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto. My complicatedness basically formed because of the curiosity to know about religion in the world, including Eastern Asian Religion. The very question that always comes up is, are Taoism and Confucianism considered as religion or just a philosophical teaching? Some people might think that I did not have to raise this question, because the meaning of religion is too broad and there is no exact definition about religion. But, ethically critic, If Lau Tse and Kung teaching can consider as a religion, then why Aristotle’s or Plato’s teaching not considered as religion.

Both Taoism and Confucianism were considered as basic Chinese religion. Their concept is almost the same. Their concept such as: Recognition of Multiple Gods and Spirits, Ying and Yang, Filial Piety and Ancestor Worship, Divination, Development of Belief in the Shang Ti and Decline of Feudal system.[1] But one of the most powerful teaches in Taoism or Confucianism is their philosophy of Ying and Yang.  It is the symbol that all the tings in this world created “berpasangan.” If there is a good thing, there is also a bad thing. Yin is characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive; and is associated with water, earth, the moon, femininity and nighttime. In contrast, Yang is characterized as fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, and aggressive; and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity and daytime.[2]

Shinto is a national religion in Japan. It’s a real native Japanese religion. However, many people got misunderstood thinking that Shinto is apart of Buddhism. And it wasn’t. Buddhism is Buddhism itself, while Shinto is Shinto itself. People might be confused because seeing how people in Japanese seem to combine between Shinto of Buddhism. It’s actually the reaction of syncretism. And this is what happened in Japan. Some people born as a Shinto but died as a Buddhism. It is because the concern about life in this world is served by Shinto, while the concern about life after death served by Buddhism.

In Indonesia itself, Only Confucianism that was recognized as religion by the State. The adherent of Confucianism could mention their identity as Confucianism. They are also finally got some budget from the government. But not for the Shinto and Taoism. Maybe someday the country will accept them. Who knows?

[1]  Read, Hopfe, Lewis M., and Mark R. Woodward. “Religions Originating in China and Japan.”Religions of the World. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2011. 170-73. Print.

[2] Osgood, Charles E. “From Yang and Yin to and or but.” Language 49.2 (1973): 380–412. JSTOR. 1 November 2011, jstor.org

Image via Wikipedia

Introduction

Asia, mostly Communist, has successful entered the international market as a champion. The country is leaders in numerous especially technology. Some writers have argued “Confucius and his teaching” was a major factor in today’s Asian countries. “The Confucian values of family, acceptance of authority, moderation in all things and the limits to personal ambition in favor of the good of society as a whole seen as necessary, not only for the survival of Chinese doctrine, but as essential core of world thinking.” What is Confucianism and how it has affected Asian countries? How can it be applied to our businesses today?

The Idea in a Nutshell

K’ung Fu Tzu or, as we know him, Confucius, was a “philosopher, political figure, educator, and founder of the Ru chook of Chinese Thought.” His name means “an utterance of thankfulness when prayers have been answered.” Confucius views differed tremendously as compared to officials in his community and he was “exiled” from Lu, his home town. He believed every human being had the potential to be better citizens when taught. Some of Confucius’ writings”rin, Li, Yi, Chi, and Chung; Confucius believed it’s important that everyone especially leaders take responsibility for each other. So what is Confucian doctrine you ask and how does it apply today?

The 10 Things You Need to Know About Confucianism

1. Confucianism is considered a religion, however there isn’t a “supernatural being or any discussion of what happens after death.” “Confucianism was the dominate way of thinking in China, Japan, and Korea.” It was intended to create “a harmonious society such that…those who preside over the people should cherish the clearest aims and give the most correct lessons, honoring the requirements of humanity by loving the people as their sons; then people will use their utmost efforts to please their superiors. What is rin?
2. “Rin” which is defined as “morality,” is the center of Confucianism. “It affirms that in all mankind there are qualities of benevolence, humanity, and love and that it is the duty of governments, parents, and teachers to cultivate Rin in all aspects.” Benevolence or compassion is what we are lacking in some American businesses. To increase our morals and/or ethics as we transfer into group business, enforce to employees the importance of the group as one entity. Also, state the rules of the company, but be an example.
3. A prerequisite of “rin” is “Li” translated as “learning self-restraint, behaving, and following rituals” all traits is very important to Asian countries. As with starting a new career it must be done with diligence and practices correctly daily. “If the framework of modern business organizations largely seems unfamiliar, nowhere else have such diligent labor patterns emerged and worked.” At the heart of work ethics in most Asian countries is Confucianism, which begins with the gentleman.
4. “To create gentlemen who carry themselves with graces, speak correctly, and demonstrate integrity at all times” were Confucius’ goals. In addition to rin and Li, Yi is taught to display “duty or righteous behavior.” Chi represents “wisdom derived from both history and experience.” Chung “(reciprocity): Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.” Treatment of others is very important, not only in business but in daily activities.
5. Was Confucius simply confused or have his guidelines lead to productive employees and citizens in society? “East Asian region gained confidence from economic success; they articulated a national identity drawing heavily on Confucian characteristics, even at times crediting the tradition.” Confucianism led to many improvements in modernizing China, Japan, and Korea.
6. Others will dispute China, Japan, and Korea’s success was attributed to Confucianism. “The relevance of Confucian ethics in modern business is limited, however, for a simple reason: Master K’ung did not have much to say about the interactions with strangers, which is what, suppliers, customers, minority shareholders, and creditors tend to be.” His beliefs when used it appears also enhance external relationships as well. Practicing internally will improve “interactions with external entities.” “With open market, private enterprise, investment from the United States, Japan, Hong the economy of China is growing at nearly 10 percent per year.”
7. Another issue is the exclusion of women, “many in the region the most negative side of Confucianism is the residue of mass Confucianism seen in the treatment of women”. Women were not allowed to be involved in politics, business, or make daily decisions. This was a hindrance to East Asian countries attempting to go global and somewhat of an issue currently. Which would soon change as Asia becomes more modernized. But, did they lose their tight knit family oriented business tactics?
8. “Confucianism was rooted in the bygone days with no vision of the modern world”. Change is difficult for everyone. Revamping the way we interact in the business world should be considered in the same way.  “The challenge of the Confucian backers is to accept enough of the currents of globalization and universalism to enable essential practices to survive.”
9. With such success improving business relationships and re-inventing workplace ethics, it seems Confucianism will not be lost. “Confucianism may once again prevail if combined with modern free enterprise economics and Confucian nationalism.” Asian countries ability to integrate and adapt to change is very important in the survival of “Confucian teachings”.
10. “A saying goes, if you do not know your lord, observe his companions. It is simply a matter of what you rub up against! It is simply a matter of what you rub up against.” Ethics and morals are the key and practicing makes perfect. Management should be aware employees are always watching.

Image via Wikipedia

The Video Lounge

Confucianism is a significant part of Asia’s culture. As this video is viewed keep in mind the major improvements to society and their own culture that has been accomplished. According to the video Confucian teachings have been in existence for over 1500 years.

My Take

Confucianism is not extinct. It lives as a tool to improve business relations and it has improved China, Japan and Korea’s interaction in business. It is important to possess “ethics and morals” and allowing companies to present a brief entail of Confucian teachings at meeting may increase employee performance.  Having a set of regulations is not enough to ensure proper business etiquette.  Experience is a great factor in learning as well as following leaders that are adequately trained to perform their job and train others.

References

Bruce, R., (1989). The return to Confucius. History Today, 48 1, 7. Retrieved from http://web,EBSCOhost.com/ehost/delivery
Confucius. (2002). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy online. Retrieved from http://Plato.Stanford.edu/
Hutton, Eric L., (2005) Character, Situationism, and Early Confucian Thought, 127 (1), 37-58. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4321681
Rozman, G., (2002). Can Confucianism survive in an age of universalism and globalization? Pacific Affairs, 75 (1), 11-37. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable4127239
The ancient art of making money. Economist, 359 (8216), 5-51/2. Retrieved from http://webebscohost.com

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Contact Information

To contact the author of “Top 10 Management on Confucianism,” please email Kerett T. Williams at Kerett.williams@selu.edu or mskerett@aol.com.

About the Publisher

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Management, can be viewed at http://wyldaboutmanagement.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of his student’s publications regarding:

• management concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
• book reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
• international foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).      

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On the advice of scholars he established Confucianism as China’s governing philosophy. The precepts of Confucian philosophy were modified to make clear that everyone had to obey the emperor, but otherwise the Confucian idea that a government should serve its people rather than the other way around was made national policy.

The lowering of taxes and easing of laws were popular and had the desired effect of making Liu Bang and his descendants popular for the next 200 or so years.

Trade with the outside world was expanded during the Han Dynasty, which lasted until 220 c.e. China spread southward and northwestward and extended its northern Great Wall to cover part of the so called Silk Road, the trade routes over which China exported and imported goods to and from Europe, Rome, Persia, and India.

Even peasants began to share in some of the nation’s wealth. An educational system was begun in the 140s b.c.e. to teach boys Confucianism and a basic understanding of geography and the sciences. This system served to indoctrinate the barbarian provinces into the Chinese way of life, and it provided the government with a pool of people it could appoint to government offices based on their merits.

During the last 100 years of the Han Dynasty eunuchs gained control of much of the central government, and they enriched themselves and manipulated governments oficials. 

Angry and resentful, some Han generals rebelled and slaughtered the eunuchs. One of the generals, Dong Zhuo, put the last Han emperor, Xian (r. 189–220 c.e.), on the throne. Dong Zhuo failed to control his troops, who went on a rampage in the capital city, Luoyang, sacking the city and burning government buildings, including the national library. In another age Xian might have been a great emperor, but it was all he could do just to hang on to his throne until he abdicated at sword point in 220 c.e.

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Man who run behind
Car get exhausted.

Man with one
Chopstick go hungry.

Man who scratch butt
Should not bite fingernails. 

Man who eat many
Prunes get good run for money. 

War does not
Determine who is right, war determine who is
Left.

Wife who put
Husband in doghouse soon find him in
Cathouse. 
 
 
Man who drive like
Hell, bound to get there.

Man who live in
Glass house should change clothes in
Basement.

Man who fish in
Other man’s well often catch crabs.

Hope I made you smile even for only a moment.

Confucianism was derived from the philosophy that the brilliant scholar Confucius developed. His philosophy concerned worldly goals and ideas that would insure social order and good government. Confucius taught that it was important for people to accept their place in society. He emphasized five main relationships: father to son, elder brother to younger brother, husband to wife, ruler to subject, friend to friend. According to Confucius, everyone had duties and responsibilities and proper behavior would bring order and stability. Confucius thought that filial duty, or respect for parents, was more important than any of the other duties. When it came to government, Confucius said that a ruler had the responsibility to provide good government; in return, the people should be respectful and loyal subjects.

Legalism: 

The philosophy of Legalism came from the teachings of Hanfeizi. According to Hanfeizi, “The nature of man is evil. His goodness is acquired.” He said that greed was the reason for most actions and the cause of most conflicts. Hanfeizi claimed that the only way to achieve order was to pass strict laws and enforce harsh punishments. His teachings became known as Legalism because of his emphasis on law. Legalists though that strength, not goodness, was a ruler’s greatest quality. Many ancient rulers chose Legalism as the most effective way to keep order, but the laws were so cruel that later generations despised it, although it survived in some laws.

Daoism:

The founder of Daoism was known as Laozi or “Old Master”. Daoism was not concerned with bringing order to human affairs; Instead, Daoists wanted to live in harmony with nature. Laozi looked beyond every day cares to focus on the Dao, or “the way” of the universe. Daoists wanted to end conflict between human desires and the simple ways of nature. Many Daoists turned from the “unnatural” ways of society. They viewed government as unnatural and the reason for many problems. To Daoists, the best government was one that governed the least. Daoism became a popular religion with gods, goddesses, and magical practices that were still based upon Laozi’s teachings. Daoists work contributed to science and medicine as they did experiments and tried to find substances that would give them immortality.

Confucianism stressed the importance of the family and reverence to your elders. According to Document 1 Confucius said, “A young man should serve his parents at home,” and according to Document 6, “But dogs and horses likewise are able to do something in the way of support; without reverence, what is there to distinguish the one support given from the other?” Confucius was saying that family should come first before anything else and we must take this responsibility seriously as a top priority. According to Document 1, Confucius even goes on to say, “After doing this, if he has energy to spare, he can study literature and the arts.” Confucius is saying that serving your parents and elders, should even come before your own education. This contrasts to the Neo-Confucianism view of education, while also following the view of family being important. Document 3 states the Neo-Confucian view that, “What Heaven confers is called nature. Accordance with this nature is called the Tao. Cultivating the Tao is called education.” This basically says that in order for there to be a more perfect place, people have to be educated. However Neo-Confucianism also believes that society cannot operate correctly without a proper family attitude. Document 2 says, “The governing of the country lies in the regulation of the family.” Confucianism believes that your family’s needs should always come before your own, while Neo-Confucianism believes that a properly orchestrated family is needed for society to continue properly, as well as the people being well educated.

Neo-Confucianism came about because of the views imposed by Daoists and Buddhists on Confucianism. According to Document 3, Neo-Confucianism believes when joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure are in appropriate levels, “it is called harmony. Chung is the great root of all-under-heaven.” This is in accordance to the Daoists belief to let things balance out to have peace. This also fits into the Buddhists belief of there being a spirit that connects everyone as well as the belief that all life has suffering just as sorrow and anger is needed along with pleasure and joy.

Buddhists and Daoists also believe that desire is bad and clouds the truth. Even Confucianism valued this. Document 5 says, “Filial piety and fraternal submission are they not the root of all benevolent action. Neo-Confucianism stresses this even more when moving toward these Daoists and Buddhists views. Document 4 goes on to say for Neo-Confucianism, “if righteousness be put last, and profit be put first, they will not be satisfied without snatching all.” and desire clouds what is the truth and good. Neo-Confucianism adopted these ideas as a way to break away from the restrictive view of Confucianism. This had a great impact on China. This belief in the good along with bad came to China as Yang and Yin. The idea of reverence and humility also comes from Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism along with the belief that there needs to be suffering in order to learn. Confucianism also teaches that we can learn from our elders and teachers even if they are flawed, much like the Chinese culture believes. Document 7 says, “I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.”

In order to assess these two belief systems, more documents concerning the makeup of Buddhism and Daoism would be beneficial. Some may possibly be the holy texts to each religion to learn more of their beliefs and intent. Additional documents concerning the development of Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism may also be helpful in assessing these two belief systems.

Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism both agree on many cultural aspects, such as the family, that conformed into the Chinese culture. It is also clearly shown the Daoists and Buddhists had a great influence over the new ideas that Neo-Confucianism adopted to find a release from the restrictiveness of Confucianism.

Tokugawan Japan introduced the bakuhan system of class relationships throughout society. It was required by law that all (non-elite) people belong to one of four classes: warriors (samurai), farmers, artisans and merchants, which was abbreviated to shi-no-ko-sho. Within this overall structure, the strictest demarcation was between the samurai and the other three classes. Laws dictated that samurai wear two swords in public and no one else was permitted to do the same; the rights of samurai to tax the farmers were enshrined in law to formalize the principle of violence above diligence and through this means the aristocratic elites could enforce their will throughout remote parts of the country. Farmers represented more than 80% of the population and the samurai just 7%, with the mostly urban-dwelling artisans and merchants representing the remainder of the population. These last two classes also had their rights and duties circumscribed according to laws based on neo-Confucianist principles.

These classes affected men, mostly, with women confined to minor status. Within the family, where women were expected to restrict themselves, absolute obedience was demanded by the head of the household (kacho) and, among members of the household, the principle of damson-joshi (respect for men and contempt for women) was upheld. In contrast to Confucianism, therefore, the bakuhan system placed nearly all the stress on the duty the social inferior should show to the superior and much less stress on the responsibility of the superior to protect and take care of the inferior.

A rigidly enforced class structure such as this in pre-modern Japan inevitably requires systems and laws to keep people in their ordained positions and to prevent social mobility. Ultimately, of course, this leads to weakening of the state as those appointed to positions of power are selected by the accident of birth rather than merit. It also spread a shadow over all forms of artistic, cultural and imaginative activity and ensured that any seeking to dissent from the social norms be considered a criminal or traitor and treated appropriately.