Confucius: The Philosophy Of A Chinese Scholar

Hello friends! Today i shall be travelling from Nigeria to China to discuss the philosophy of a moral philosopher that i was introduced to very early as a philosophy student. I did little of Chinese philosophy and i know it is based on morality. 

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Morality permeate the lives of the Chinese people. From the films of Jet Li and Jackie Chan, you will agree with me that there is a sense of high morality in the Chinese culture, especially when you look at how they respect their masters (martial tutors).

I was actually introduced to the philosophies of Lao Tzu and Confucius. But today, i shall be looking at the philosophy of Confucius. His philosophy is now being referred to as Confucianism.

Confucius name at birth is Kung Fu Tzu. His name was translated to Confucius by English writers. Confucius claims that true happiness would only be achieved from well-planned actions and helping fellow men. His philosophy was aimed at benefiting the family and society at large.

Confucianism is the philosophical teachings of Confucius. Confucius sees himself a transmitter of old traditions and not an originator. He claims that his mission is transmit the old values of the Zhou dynasty and not to introduce anything new.

His focus is on morality and how man can live a moral life. Confucianism is both philosophy and religion. These teachings are actually founded in morality. There are two central teachings in Confucianism and they are Ren and Li.

Confucius make a classification between Ren - Yi and Li.

Ren (Jen or Wren) 

Ren/Yi means human 'heartedness', goodness, benevolence.

Yi is the philosophy of Confucius that describes good feeling, human true virtues. It is the altruistic virtue of man. It is that act that is exhibited by a true moral being. 

Confucius argues that a man of Ren is one who does things selflessly. He is a man who act for others. He is a man who does things not because it is a must but because it is something he ought to do.

A man of Ren is one who wishes to be establish himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to enlarge himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.

The rules of Ren according to Confucius is: see nothing improper, hear nothing improper, say nothing improper, do nothing improper.

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Li

Li is translated as "ritual" "propriety" or "etiquette.

It is the principle of gain, benefit, order, propriety; concrete guide to human action.

Li tells us that when others are in troubles, we should help them out of the problems, we should have the ability to distinguish the right from wrong. Being polite and respectful is Li. When the young meets the old and during family dinner, adolescents should bow down before the old. source

It is also the golden rule in Confucianism that tell us to do unto others what we would want them do unto us. He argues that we should not look unless it is in accordance with rites, listen unless it is in accordance with rites.

Li also lays emphasis on social order. For him, young people need to understand that there is order in the universe and they should always respect those older than them. This is expressed in his theory on filial piety.

Filial piety is a general attitude of offering love, respect, support, and deference to one's parents and other elders in the family, such as grandparents or older siblings. Acts of filial piety include obeying parent's wishes, taking care of them when they are old, and working hard in order to provide material comforts to parents, like food, money, or pampering. source

Filial piety also applies to all elders—like teachers, professional superiors, or anyone who is older in age—and even the state. 

The above are some of the teachings of Confucius. While it is easy to accept that he tried to actually transmit the knowledge of the old to the new, it is hard to agree that he did not originate. Originating occurs when you introduce directly or indirectly new views to an ancient views. 

Confucianism is now the way of life of some people. Some practice it as a religion. So by virtue of that, Confucius originated new things. Some people like myself follow and believe in his moral philosophy which is a bit different from the old teachings but in a good way.

I agree with him that there is a social order in the universe which i explained few days ago when i looked at Africa's ways Africans show respect to elders. 

I hope you learn one or two things from Ren, Li, Filial Piety and you understand that there is order in the universe. Also remember the Golden Rule always!

Thanks for reading.

Its your boy @smyle the philosopher