A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy

by Wing-Tsit Chan

  Mu-shu said, “According to what I have heard, this is called hereditary rank and emolument, not immortality. There was a former great officer of Lu by the name of Tsang Wen-chung. After his death his words remain established. This is what the ancient saying means. I have heard that the best course is to establish virtue, the next best is to establish achievement, and still the next best is to establish words. When these are not abandoned with time, it may be called immortality. As to the preservation of the family name and bestowment of membership in the clan branch in order to preserve ancestral sacrifices uninterrupted from age to age, no state is without these practices. But even those with great emolument cannot be said to be immortal.” (ibid., Duke Hsiang, 24th year)

  Comment. Chinese belief in the immortality of influence has not changed since ancient times, and is still the conviction of educated Chinese. It is remarkable that a simple and casual utterance made when Confucius was only a child of three should have remained an unalterable conviction for the Chinese for 2,500 years.

  ▪ ▪ ▪--2--▪ ▪ ▪

  THE HUMANISM OF CONFUCIUS

  Confucius (551–479 b.c.) can truly be said to have molded Chinese civilization in general. It may seem far-fetched, however, to say that he molded Chinese philosophy in particular—that he determined the direction or established the pattern of later Chinese philosophical developments—yet there is more truth in the statement than is usually realized.

  Neo-Confucianism, the full flowering of Chinese thought, developed during the last eight hundred years. Its major topics of debate, especially in the Sung (960-1279) and Ming (1368-1644) periods, are the nature and principle (li) of man and things. (For this reason it is called the School of Nature and Principle, or Hsing-li hsüeh.) Supplementary to these topics are the problems of material force (ch’i); yin and yang (passive and active cosmic forces or elements); T’ai-chi (Great Ultimate); being and non-being; substance and function; and the unity of Nature and man. Confucius had nothing to do with these problems, and never discussed them. In fact, the words li, yin, yang, and t’ai-chi are not found in the Lun-yü (Discourses or Analects). The word ch’i appears several times, but is not used in the sense of material force.1 And Confucius’ pupils said that they could not hear the Master’s views on human nature and the Way of Heaven.2 He did not talk about human nature except once, when he said that “by nature men are alike. Through practice they have become far apart,”3 but the theory is entirely different from the later orthodox doctrine of the Confucian school that human nature is originally good.

  The present discussion is based on the Analects, which is generally accepted as the most reliable source of Confucius’ doctrines. The subject of “the investigation of things” originated in the Great Learning and most of the other topics are mentioned in the Book of Changes,4 But these two Classics are not generally regarded as Confucius’ own works. Furthermore, even if they were, the subjects are only briefly mentioned without elaboration. It is correct then to say that the Neo-Confucianists drew their inspiration from them or made use of them to support their own ideas, but it would be going too far to suggest that they provided an outline or framework for later Chinese philosophy.

  However, judging on the basis of the Analects alone, we find that Confucius exerted great influence on Chinese philosophical development in that, first of all, he determined its outstanding characteristic, namely, humanism.

  As pointed out in the previous chapter, the humanistic tendency had been in evidence long before his time. But it was Confucius who turned it into the strongest driving force in Chinese philosophy. He did not care to talk about spiritual beings or even about life after death. Instead, believing that man “can make the Way (Tao) great,” and not that “the Way can make man great,”5 he concentrated on man. His primary concern was a good society based on good government and harmonious human relations. To this end he advocated a good government that rules by virtue and moral example rather than by punishment or force. His criterion for goodness was righteousness as opposed to profit. For the family, he particularly stressed filial piety and for society in general, proper conduct or li (propriety, rites).

  More specifically, he believed in the perfectibility of all men, and in this connection he radically modified a traditional concept, that of the chün-tzu, or superior man. Literally “son of the ruler,” it came to acquire the meaning of “superior man,” on the theory that nobility was a quality determined by status, more particularly a hereditary position. The term appears 107 times in the Analects. In some cases it refers to the ruler. In most cases, however, Confucius used it to denote a morally superior man. In other words, to him nobility was no longer a matter of blood, but of character—a concept that amounted to social revolution. Perhaps it is more correct to say that it was an evolution, but certainly it was Confucius who firmly established the new concept. His repeated mention of sage-emperors Yao and Shun and Duke Chou6 as models seems to suggest that he was looking back to the past. Be that as it may, he was looking to ideal men rather than to a supernatural being for inspiration.

  Not only did Confucius give Chinese philosophy its humanistic foundation, but he also formulated some of its fundamental concepts, five of which will be briefly commented on here: the rectification of names, the Mean, the Way, Heaven, and jen (humanity). In insisting on the rectification of names, Confucius was advocating not only the establishment of a social order in which names and ranks are properly regulated, but also the correspondence of words and action, or in its more philosophical aspect, the correspondence of name and actuality. This has been a perennial theme in the Confucian school, as well as in nearly all other schools. By the Mean, Confucius did not have in mind merely moderation, but that which is central and balanced. This, too, has been a cardinal idea in Chinese thought. In a real sense, the later Neo-Confucian ideas of the harmony of yin and yang and that of substance and function did not go beyond this concept. In his interpretation of Heaven, he departed from traditional belief even more radically. Up to the time of Confucius, the Supreme Power was called Ti (the Lord) or Shang-ti (the Lord on High) and was understood in an anthropomorphic sense. Confucius never spoke of Ti. Instead, he often spoke of T’ien (Heaven). To be sure, his Heaven is purposive and is the master of all things. He repeatedly referred to the T’ien-ming, the Mandate, will, or order of Heaven. However, with him Heaven is no longer the greatest of all spiritual beings who rules in a personal manner but a Supreme Being who only reigns, leaving his Moral Law to operate by itself. This is the Way according to which civilization should develop and men should behave. It is the Way of Heaven (T’ien-tao), later called the Principle of Heaven or Nature (T’ien-li).

  Most important of all, he evolved the new concept of jen which was to become central in Chinese philosophy. All later discussions on principle and material force may be said to serve the purpose of helping man to realize jen.7 The word jen is not found in the oracle bones. It is found only occasionally in pre-Confucian texts, and in all these cases it denotes the particular virtue of kindness, more especially the kindness of a ruler to his subjects. In Confucius, however, all this is greatly changed. In the first place, Confucius made jen the main theme of his conversations. In the Analects fifty-eight of 499 chapters are devoted to the discussion of jen, and the word appears 105 times. No other subject, not even filial piety, engaged so much attention of the Master and his disciples. Furthermore, instead of perpetuating the ancient understanding of jen as a particular virtue, he transformed it into general virtue. It is true that in a few cases jen is still used by Confucius as a particular virtue, in the sense of benevolence. But in most cases, to Confucius the man of jen is the perfect man. He is the true chün-tzu. He is a man of the golden rule, for, “wishing to establish his own character, he also establishes the character of others, and wishing to be prominent himself, he also helps others to be prominent.”8 In these balanced and harmonized aspects of the self and society, jen is expressed in terms of chung and shu, or conscientiousness a
nd altruism, which is the “one thread” running through Confucius’ teachings, and which is in essence the golden mean as well as the golden rule. It was the extension of this idea of jen that became the Neo-Confucian doctrine of man’s forming one body with Heaven, or the unity of man and Nature, and it was because of the character of jen in man that later Confucianists have adhered to the theory of the original good nature of man.

  It is clear, therefore, that Confucius was a creator as well as a transmitter. He was not a philosopher in a technical sense, but Chinese philosophy would be quite different if he had not lived. He was born in 551 (or 552) b.c. in the state of Lu in modern Shantung. His family name was K’ung, private name Ch’iu, and he has been traditionally honored as Grand Master K’ung (K’ung Fu-tzu, hence the Latinized form Confucius). He was a descendant of a noble but fairly poor family. His father died when Confucius was probably three years old. Evidently a self-made man, he studied under no particular teacher but became perhaps the most learned man of his time.

  He began his career in his twenties or thirties. He was the first person in Chinese history to devote his whole life, almost exclusively, to teaching. He sought to inaugurate private education, to open the door of education to all, to offer education for training character instead of for vocation, and to gather around him a group of gentlemen-scholars (thus starting the institution of the literati who have dominated Chinese history and society).

  In his younger years Confucius had served in minor posts in Lu. At fifty-one he was made a magistrate, and became minister of justice the same year, perhaps serving as an assistant minister of public works in between. At fifty-six, finding his superiors uninterested in his policies, he set out to travel (for almost thirteen years) in a desperate attempt at political and social reform. He took some of his pupils along with him. Eventually disappointed, he returned, at the age of sixty-eight, to his own state to teach and perhaps to write and edit the Classics. According to the Shih chi (Records of the Historian),9 he had three thousand pupils, seventy-two of whom mastered the “six arts.”10 He died at the age of seventy-three.

  Many Chinese scholars, especially in the last several decades, have debated such questions as whether he actually made a trip some time in his forties to see Lao Tzu to inquire about ancient rites and ceremonies, whether he wrote the Ch’un-ch’iu (Spring and Autumn Annals), edited the other ancient Classics, and wrote the “ten wings” or commentaries of one of them, namely, the Book of Changes. After having once rejected these claims, many scholars are now inclined to believe them. The controversy has by no means ended. At the same time, the fact that the Analects is the most reliable source of Confucius’ teachings is accepted by practically all scholars. For this reason, the following selections are made entirely from this book.

  Ceremonies and Music: 1:12; 2:5; 3:3-4, 17, 19; 6:25; 8:8

  Confucius: 2:4; 5:25; 6:26; 7:1, 2, 7, 8, 16, 18-20, 37; 9:1, 4; 10:9, 14; 14:30, 37, 41; 18:6; 19:24

  Education and Learning: 1:1, 6, 8, 14; 2:11, 15; 6:25; 7:7, 2, 24; 15:38; 16:9; 17:8; 19:6

  Filial piety: 1:2,6, 11; 2:5, 7; 4:18, 19,21

  Government: 2:1, 3; 3:19; 8:9, 14; 12:7, 11, 17, 19; 13:3, 6, 16, 29, 30; 14:45; 15:4; 16:1

  Heaven, Spirits, Destiny: 2:4; 3:12, 13; 5:12; 6:20, 26; 7:20, 22, 34; 9:1, 5, 6; 11:8, 11; 12:5; 14:37; 16:8; 17:19

  Humanism: 6:20; 10:12; 11:11; 12:22; 15:28; 18:6

  Humanity (jen): 1:2, 3, 6; 3:3; 4:2-6; 6:20, 21, 28; 7:6, 29; 8:7; 12:1, 2, 22; 13:19, 27; 14:30; 15:8, 32, 35; 17:6, 8; 19:6

  Knowledge and Wisdom: 2:17, 18; 4:2; 6:18, 20, 21; 7:27; 12:22; 14:30; 15:32; 16:9

  Literature and Art: 1:15; 6:25; 7:6; 8:8; 9:5; 15:40; 17:9

  Love and Golden rule: 4:2, 15; 5:11; 6:28; 12:2, 5; 14:36, 45; 17:4

  Mean and Central thread: 4:15; 15:2

  Nature, human: 5:12; 6:17, 19; 16:9; 17:2, 3

  Rectification of names: 12:11, 17; 13:3, 6

  Righteousness: 2:24; 4:16; 13:3, 6; 15:17

  Superior man: 1:2, 8, 14; 2:11, 13; 4:5, 24; 6:16; 9:13; 13:3; 14:30; 15:17, 20, 31; 16:8, 10; contrasted with inferior man: 2:14; 4:11, 16; 8:6; 12:16; 13:23, 26; 14:24; 15:20; 17:23

  Virtue: 1:4, 6, 8; 4:12; 7:6; 8:5, 7, 13; 9:4; 13:18, 19; 14:33; 15:8, 17; 16:4, 10; 17:6, 8

  Way (Tao): 4:5, 8; 7:6; 15:28, 31; 17:4

  Words and Acts: 2:13, 18; 4:24; 13:3; 14:29

  THE ANALECTS11

  1:1. Confucius said, “Is it not a pleasure to learn and to repeat or practice from time to time what has been learned? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar? Is one not a superior man if he does not feel hurt even though he is not recognized?”

  Comment. Interpretations of Confucian teachings have differed radically in the last 2,000 years. Generally speaking, Han (206 b.c.–a.d. 220) scholars, represented in Ho Yen (d. 249), Lun-yü chi-chieh (Collected Explanations of the Analects),12 were inclined to be literal and interested in historical facts, whereas Neo-Confucianists, represented in Chu Hsi (1130-1200), Lun-yü chi-chu (Collected Commentaries on the Analects) were interpretative, philosophical, and often subjective. They almost invariably understand the Confucian Way (Tao) as principle (li), which is their cardinal concept, and frequently when they came to an undefined “this” or “it,” they insisted that it meant principle. This divergency between the Han and Sung scholars has colored interpretations of this passage. To Wang Su (195-265), quoted in Ho, hsi (to learn) means to recite a lesson repeatedly. To Chu Hsi, however, hsi means to follow the examples of those who are first to understand, and therefore it does not mean recitation but practice. In revolt against both extremes, Ch’ing (1644-1912) scholars emphasized practical experience. In this case, hsi to them means both to repeat and to practice, as indicated in Liu Pao-nan (1791-1855), Lun-yü cheng-i (Correct Meanings of the Analects). Thus Ho Yen, Chu Hsi, and Liu Pao-nan neatly represent the three different approaches in the three different periods. Generally speaking, the dominant spirit of Confucian teaching is the equal emphasis on knowledge and action. This dual emphasis will be encountered again and again.13

  1:2. Yu Tzu14 said, “Few of those who are filial sons and respectful brothers will show disrespect to superiors, and there has never been a man who is not disrespectful to superiors and yet creates disorder. A superior man is devoted to the fundamentals (the root). When the root is firmly established, the moral law (Tao) will grow. Filial piety and brotherly respect are the root of humanity (jen).”

  1:3. Confucius said, “A man with clever words and an ingratiating appearance is seldom a man of humanity.”15

  1:4. Tseng-Tzu16 said, “Every day I examine myself on three points: whether in counseling others I have not been loyal; whether in intercourse with my friends I have not been faithful; and whether I have not repeated again and again and practiced the instructions of my teacher.”17

  1:6. Young men should be filial when at home and respectful to their elders when away from home. They should be earnest and faithful. They should love all extensively and be intimate with men of humanity. When they have any energy to spare after the performance of moral duties, they should use it to study literature and the arts (wen). 18

  1:8. Confucius said, “If the superior man is not grave, he will not inspire awe, and his learning will not be on a firm foundation.19 Hold loyalty and faithfulness to be fundamental. Have no friends who are not as good as yourself. When you have made mistakes, don’t be afraid to correct them.”

  Comment. The teaching about friendship here is clearly inconsistent with Analects, 8:5, where Confucius exhorts us to learn from inferiors. It is difficult to believe that Confucius taught people to be selfish. According to Hsing Ping (932-1010),20 Confucius meant people who are not equal to oneself in loyalty and faithfulness, assuming that one is or should be loyal and faithful; according to Hsü Kan (171-218), Confucius simply wanted us to be careful in choosing friends.21

  1:11. Confucius said, “When a man’s father is alive, look at the bent of his will. When his father is dead, look at his
conduct. If for three years [of mourning] he does not change from the way of his father, he may be called filial.”

  Comment. Critics of Confucius have asserted that Confucian authoritarianism holds an oppressive weight on the son even after the father has passed away. Fan Tsu-yü (1041-1098) did understand the saying to mean that the son should observe the father’s will and past conduct,22 but he was almost alone in this. All prominent commentators, from K’ung An-kuo to Cheng Hsüan (127-200),23 Chu Hsi, and Liu Pao-nan have interpreted the passage to mean that while one’s father is alive, one’s action is restricted, so that his intention should be the criterion by which his character is to be judged. After his father’s death, however, when he is completely autonomous, he should be judged by his conduct. In this interpretation, the way of the father is of course the moral principle which has guided or should have guided the son’s conduct.

  1:12. Yu Tzu said, “Among the functions of propriety (li) the most valuable is that it establishes harmony. The excellence of the ways of ancient kings consists of this. It is the guiding principle of all things great and small. If things go amiss, and you, understanding harmony, try to achieve it without regulating it by the rules of propriety, they will still go amiss.”

  1:14. Confucius said, “The superior man does not seek fulfillment of his appetite nor comfort in his lodging. He is diligent in his duties and careful in his speech. He associates with men of moral principles and thereby realizes himself. Such a person may be said to love learning.”