(551 – 479 BCE)

Life of Confucius

Born into a modest family in Southeast China; father died when young; labored for money

Began his studies at 15, and through his 20s held a number of minor government posts

Married, and began tutoring; education became his vocation; continued government service

Spent the next 30 years gaining a reputation for wisdom and candor; was not promoted

At 50, decided to spread his teachings in different parts of China

Spent 13 years traveling and advising various officials; could not find permanent employment

Followed by a band of disciples who began to collect his wisdom

Invited back to his province; spent last 5 years editing classics of Chinese thought

Six Ancient Classics

 6 Ancient Classics: Book of History

Book of Poetry

Book of Change

Book of Rites

Spring and Autumn Annals

Book of Filial Piety

Four Books

The Great Learning

The Doctrine of the Great Harmony

Mencius

Analects

(1000 – 500 BCE)

The breakdown of Chou Dynasty; rival violent kingdoms

Rise of the Realist School of Thought promoting law, order, punishment, external control

Rise of the Mohist School of Thought (Mo Tzu) promoting charity, love to strangers

Confucianism rejects the Realists as too authoritarian and the Mohists as too utopian

Confucius: tradition, notion of common good, life of correct attitude, virtue as “second nature”

Confucius: Social order is patterned on natural order & so must be complex

Politics is a necessary realm of human endeavor, a space where traditional virtue and present concerns meet to create a living tradition

Li

 “proper comportment” or “ritual”:

Hsiao

“family veneration"

Jen

“goodness”

The Chun-tzu

“Noble Person”

Te

“moral force”

Wen

“the arts”