This is another series where we will look towards some of the subjects related to East Asia China, Korea and Japan. The Philosophy of Confucianism. Article-1

 “The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for a life.”                                                                                                       -Confucius

Confucianism is a philosophy, a set of virtues and norms for human society to develop itself morally, ethically and strengthen politically. Though it emerged in china but it has its extent to other major east Asian countries as well like Korea and Japan from ancient times till now even after modernization.

                        Confucius was born in China around 551BC in the state of Lu to a low ranking official. His father is said to be died when he was very young and then he was raised by a single mother. He developed his intellect in fields of polity, poetry and philosophy etc. He was a great thinker, academician and administrator as he held several key posts in Chinese government during his time. The term Confucianism is a western term it is actually called as “Ruism” and Confucius is also a name given by westerners his real name is Kong Qui. Confucianism was introduced in Korea in 4th century C.E. by its contacts with China and subsequently in Japan in mid-6th century C.E. by way of Korean kingdom of Paekche along with Buddhism and essentials of Chinese civilization. Although all the three countries had their own belief systems and practices i.e. Daoism in China, Shintoism in Japan and Shamanism in Korea they accepted Confucianism as different sect and introduced many changes and reforms to their political, cultural and societal systems.

                        Confucius stressed on ideals like loyalty, which means one’s loyalty towards his emperor, country and society thus, this is what we see in social structure of China, Japan and Korea where the ruling elite class, then administrative with different terminologies like Yangban(s) in Korea, Daimyo and Shogun in Japan etc. Under this thought to show their loyalty towards emperor, a system called as Sankin Kotai was formed in Japan in 15th century under which each domanial lord called Daimayo had to visit the capital city of Edo(now Tokyo) and to stay there for a defined time period, although this system abolished by a revolution in 1862 but this system is a way to show that how much strong Confucius ideals were, though this practice had political aspect as well because it helped a king to keep a check on his officials. He very much stressed on social order and placing humans according to their skills and labor in society thus, farmers, scholars, artisans and other skilled people were very much respected in societies of China and Japan; merchants were considered as ‘parasites’ who lived on others labor although they were rich but not laborious as they depend on other’s skills for their work.

                         Confucian principles of Filial Piety and self-generation has put a deep impact on the culture of these countries. A practice of ancestral worship has emerged with different rituals like in China incense sticks are lit to please the dead spirit and burning money will ensure that they are not poor in afterlife. During the Chinese New Year, people take leave from their work and spend time with their parents and family to ensure the tradition. On the first day of Chinese New Year people do ‘kowtow’- practice of kneeling down before parents and elders to show respect towards them. In Korea some ancestral rites like ch’arye- special holiday rites, chesa- death memorial rites and songmyo- memorial rites at grave sites are commonly followed. Similarly, in Japan the ceremony to remember their ancestors is called as ‘Bon’ where people go back to their parental homes to pay tribute to their ancestors and also go to their cemetery to pay homage to their ancestors and dead. One more way to remember their forefathers is through ‘Butsudan’ (family altars to ancestors); it displays names of ancestors inscribed on tablets. Traditional Korean ceremony called as ‘Paebaek’ which is performed during weddings where the couple has to bow in front of their parents, and afterwards they will bless them with their blessings and toss walnuts and dates into the skirt of her dress to encourage fertility.  So, these are some of the rituals around Filial Piety followed in East Asia.

                            The concept of self-generation indicates towards development of human being morally and ethically to be humane. It stresses on humanness and devotion of one towards his/her country and traditions. To achieve the goal of humanity Confucius asks one to do self-churning to eradicate evils in us, either it be king or a layman it is necessary for all. Thus, Confucius didn’t believe in afterlife and heaven but he and his followers talks about heavenly earth which could be achieved through principles like Filial Piety and self-generation. Over the time many rituals have developed around these principles but the motive behind this is to stay close to it, to keep them alive. The practice of Filial Piety is not only related to ancestor worship but also for everyone from a child to an elderly. This concept of Filial Piety depicts the importance of family and through it, it aims to develop the society from the top notch to the commoners. Confucius states that “if a king is getting profound love from his parents than his subjects will naturally be humane”, it can be interpreted as Confucius describing that how a king should behave towards his people in order to expect loyalty from them.

                             Confucian ideals have also impacted the education system of these countries as well. Some examples of it are; in Japan in 7th century an imperial academy was established called Diagakuryo which was meant to train aristocrats and elite class citizens for civil services examinations and the syllabus for this was based on Confucian learnings and classics. Similarly, in Korea Hwarang an organization of Silla Dynasty was established to prepare elites for highest state responsibilities and its education was also based on Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. In China also, Confucian influence on education can be seen, Chinese book ‘Standards for being a good student and child’ consist a chapter called ‘On being filial at home’.

                               Confucianism has also impacted language and art forms of East Asia for example- ‘China considered Korea as a country of gentlemen’ where ‘gentlemen’ is noted as ‘Junzi’, as in Confucian Analects text. One more example of influence of Confucianism on Korean society and culture is Kyongo; it is used to signify one’s strong sensitivity to age difference, social status, occupation etc. Grammatical aspects are also kept in mind before speaking as it can bring a difference in connotations because there are minute pronunciations spacings for different categories of age groups and general salutations etc.; this is all due to belief in Confucian principles like Filial Piety to treat people according to their age and social status. With the coming up of Neo-Confucianism in East Asia some schools who believed in unity of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism in Japan and China came up with some doctrines and philosophies which are evident through their paintings like: -

1.    1. Sankyo (three patriarchs)

2.     2.  Sansan-Zu (three sages tasting vinegar; here vinegar is a symbol of life i.e. Confucius, Buddha, Lao-Tzu)

3.      3. Kokei Sansho (three laughers of Tiger Ravine)

 The philosophies depicted from these paintings tries to show strong relations between the two countries. At last, Confucianism has impacted the society and culture of East Asia in many ways either politically, socially or ritually. But it has worked as thread to bind these countries, a way for these countries to find commonalties between them.   

1. Sankyo (three patriarchs)



2.Sansan-Zu (three sages tasting vinegar; here vinegar is a symbol of life i.e. Confucius, Buddha, Lao-Tzu)

3. Kokei Sansho (three laughers of Tiger Ravine)


                            “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.”

                                                                                                   -Confucius

Bibliography: -

1.Introduction to Confucianism by- Xin Zhong Yao

2.HuffpostIndia.com

Websites: -

1.www.asiasociety.org

2.www.newworldencyclopedia.org

3.www.ancient.eu

4.www.nationalgeographic.com

5.plato.stanford.edu

6.cefia.aks.ac.kr.in

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