Lecture 15
Confucius Says
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Today’s Topics
• Foundation of Chinese Neo-Kinship society
• Political Philosophy of Chinese Neo-Kinship:
– King as Good Father of All
– The Mandate of Heaven
• Essential ideas of Confucian philosophy
– Jen and Li
– The Doctrine of the Mean
• Absolute and Relative in Morality
• Contradiction in Confucius?
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Neo-Kinship Society
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One clan group rules others
Head of clan > king of society
Kinship + hierarchy
= Kinship system adapts to civilization
Kinship is not replaced by legal unification
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Sharp class division under Shang
• City of Louyang: “to the north were the
dwellings and graves of the wealthy and
powerful, marked by ritual bronze vessels and
sacrificial victims; to the south were the
dwellings of the commoners and their burial
places in trash pits.” Spodek, 94
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Bronze Age Hierarchy
• See Shang dynasty bronze wine vessel, p. 94
• Bronze as metal of aristocracy
• = Bronze age society, like Mesopotamia
– But based on kinship hierarchies,
– not legal system
• Iron comes to peasantry late; a powerful state
is already established
– Hence, implications of iron age take place within
the framework of the old bronze-age society
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Neo-Kinship Society
• One clan group conquers others
– Contrast with Western model: internal warrior, like
Gilgamesh, breaks with clan democracy, imposes
his own rules: “law,” legalism
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Head of clan > king of society
Kinship + hierarchy
= Kinship system adapts to civilization
Kinship is not replaced by legal order
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Recall: Rise of the hierarchical state
• 1) Traditional system of community control
– Military leader is subordinate to community
– Iroquois: women elders in charge
• 2) Conquest of the community
– From within the community: the military leader seizes
control, overthrows the old kinship order (Legal state of
the West—positive law replaces kinship traditions)
– From outside the community: another kinship community
takes over, conquers the first (neo-kinship state of the
East).
– Kinship remains, and so no laws are necessary.
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Early ancestor worship
• Father of family is “priest”:
– mediator with Heaven
• The “gods” include great grandmother!
– i.e., not alien, arbitrary rulers, as in the West
– Religion = ritual exchange between living and
spirits of the dead
• => a religion of kinship rooted in the natural
world (animism)
– Heaven and the Earth as cosmic father and
mother
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Ideology of the Good Father
• With neo-kinship hierarchy, the King is
regarded as the Father of all his people
– Not literal kinship but metaphorical
– However, ethnic appearance, culture, language is
similar
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How justify overthrow of old dynasty?
• King as mediator between heaven and earth
• Originally claims divine right of kings
– as in Mesopotamia, Egypt
• But how justify a new dynasty?
– Xia > Shang
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Mandate of Heaven
• New dynasty (Shang) replies: “Mandate of
Heaven” was lost by abuses of old dynasty
• Former King did not rule as a good father
should
• = Divine right of revolution
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Qin revolution
• Qin centralization:
– Unifies China by military force: 221 BCE
– Replaces family-based tradition with centralized legal
system
– Law made by the Emperor replaces kinship traditions of
the different conquered states
• Results of over-extension of state: chaos and
impoverishment
– Recall reasons for fall of Roman empire: over-extension,
legalism
• Han revolution: return to family-based system and
right of revolution
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Two Approaches to Society
• “The Governor of She said to Confucius, ‘In
our village there is a man nicknamed ‘Straight
Body’. When his father stole a sheep, he gave
evidence against him.’ Confucius answered, ‘In
our village those who are straight are quite
different. Fathers cover up for their sons, and
sons cover up for their fathers. Straightness is
to be found in such behaviour.’” (Analects, XIII,
18)
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Why Confucianism?
• Confucius defends primacy of family, kinship
• Praises Sage kings of Xia dynasty (2205-1766
BCE)
– Confucius’ birth: 551 BCE
– Xia precedes the hereditary monarchy and the
sharper inequalities of Shang (1766-1122 BCE)
• Confucius refers to a time that is closer to
early kinship egalitarianism
– No hereditary monarchy with the early Xia
– Confucius: return to the time before “the Fall”
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Kinship tradition of China
• > reflects ancient Chinese kinship tradition of over
1700 years before Confucius
– Traditionalism of Confucius: find the truth, the core values,
in the tradition—but at its ideal starting point
– The Qin Emperor in 221 BCE was trying to reverse 2000
years of history by installing legalism
• Confucius’ tradition provides ethical corrective for
corrupt states
– Coincides with tradition of Mandate of Heaven
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Anti-traditionalism of Greece
• Socrates rejects the rule of tradition
– He “corrupts the youth,” by demanding that we rethink
everything for ourselves, not accept what the elders say
– Reflects Greek overthrow of old kinship order
• Socrates/Plato/Epictetus
– Appeal to law as the basis of social order
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Heart of Confucian thought: Jen (Ren)
• “A young man’s duty is to be filial to his parents at
home and respectful to his elders abroad, to be
circumspect and truthful, and, while overflowing
with love for all men, to associate himself with
humanity [jen]. If, when all that is done, he has any
energy to spare, then let him study the polite arts.”
– (See different translation in Spodek, 210: “overflowing
with love for living beings, and intimate with those who
are humane”)
• “What you would not want for yourself, do not do to
others.” (Spodek, 210), “Doctrine of the Mean”
– “Negative Golden Rule”
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Why begin with parents?
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Jen is learned in the home
1) First object of practice: parents, siblings
2) Then, extend to others in widening circles
3) Finally: all humanity
Confucius: love all humanity as you love
yourself, as you love your parents
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East v. West
• Difficulty in West because of legalism?
– You are a person = citizen with equal rights
– Recall Roman cosmopolitan citizenship
• Equality in legal relations
– Some are rich, others poor
– All are equal under the law as citizens
• Inequality in family relations: parent/child
– Emphasis on my duties v. “my rights”
– Emphasis on love. Not on rights
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External expression: Li (Yi)
• “Look at nothing contrary to ritual [li]; listen to
nothing contrary to ritual; say nothing
contrary to ritual; do nothing contrary to
ritual.” (Spodek 210)
– Li = ritual propriety
– Yi = propriety
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Li as ritual
• “The Master said, ‘If there was a ruler who achieved
order without taking any action, it was, perhaps,
Shun. There was nothing for him to do but to hold
himself in a respectful posture and to face due
south.’” (Analects, XV, 4.)
• King rules by observing ritual, not by force
• Gives example to others: if all followed his example –
peace in the land
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Relation of Jen and Li
• “Respectfulness [jen], without the rules of
propriety [li], becomes laborious bustle . . .
Straightforwardness [jen] without the rules of
propriety [li], becomes rudeness.”
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Contemporary problems of Li
• “Dear Miss Manners:
• If a woman offers you her hand in greeting, should
you shake it only or should you grasp it, squeeze it
gently, and at the same time pull her toward you and
peck her on the cheek?
• “It would appear to me most appropriate to kiss a
woman on the cheek, but if she offers you her lips
instead, what should you do – kiss her on the lips or
go round to a cheek?
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Kissing, continued
• “Once you have kissed a woman as a greeting,
are you expected to continue with the practice
in all future greetings involving that person? If
you don’t is that person likely to be
offended?” (79)
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Absolute and Relative in Morality
• Inner spirit: respect for other people
– Learn this in your family
– Begin with your parents
• External expression: relative to culture
– In India: greet someone by placing hands in prayer
position and bowing
– Handshake contaminates
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Doctrine of the Mean:
• Balance between opposites: Jen and Li
– Inner spirit of love; appropriate external behavior
– Compare with Daoism: Yin and Yang
• NB: ambiguity in translation of the Doctrine of the
Mean (balance)
– Followed by the “superior” man
– Not followed by the “mean” (common, inferior) man
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Contradiction in Confucius?
• (1) Overflow with love for all humanity
• (2) Should you treat injury with kindness?
• “What do you say concerning the principle that
injury should be recompensed with kindness?” The
Master said, “With what then will you recompense
kindness? Recompense injury with justice, and
recompense kindness with kindness.”
• Compare Jesus: “Turn the other cheek.”
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Solution to contradiction
• Inner respect: jen:
– Therefore love everyone.
• External behavior: li
– But do not behave the same way to everyone.
• Apply to misbehaving child
– Love the child
– But “punish” the behavior
• Lesson: all actions have consequences
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