Classical Confucianism
8 min readGreat Confucian figures in this period were
Confucius，Mencius and Xun Zi.
·Confucius
Confucius（551-479 BC）was a great thinker of the State of Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period，and also the first educator who popularizedprivate schools.In his late years，Confucius，in thecompany of his disciples，traveled around the smallkingdoms of northeast and central China，expounding his political beliefs in the hope of finding a ruler who might employ him and practice his doctrines.
He failed to see them implemented.The essentials of his thoughts are recorded in The Analects of Confucius，a collection of his teachings and exchanges with his disciples concerning mainly the relation of individual and society，of man and heaven and of individual and others.Major Confucianist concepts are as follows.
The Rectification of Names
Confucius believed that the smooth running of a state and its social stratification depended on the rectification of names.As far as social relationship is concerned，behind each name are the responsibilities and obligations each individual should fulfill.For example，the name“emperor”represents the virtues that an ideal emperor should possess.If an emperor rules his nation according to what the name“emperor”requires，then he is worthy of the name.
Confucius said，“An emperor should act in the way an emperor should be；a subject should act in the way a subject should be；a father should act in the way a father should be；a son should act in the way a son should be.””
Righteousness，Humanity and Ritual
These three concepts concern the behavior of individuals.Righteousness is a set of moralnorms which all members of a society should observe.The concept of humanity is a general term meaning”compassion”or“loving others”.When Yan Yuan（521-481BC），one of Confucius’famous disciples，asked about humanity，Confucius replied，“Loving others.”When asked about the cultivation of humanity，Confucius said，”What you do not wish for yourself，do not do to others.The man of humanity wishing to be successful himself seeks to help others to be successful；wishing to develop himself，seeks to help others to develop.”Furthermore，cultivating such concern for others involves restraining oneself and the observance of social rituals.Confucius said，”To restrain oneself and abide by rituals is humanity.”As for the cultivation of individual propriety，Confucius guided，“Look at nothing in defiance of ritual，listen to nothing in defiance of ritual，speak of nothing in defiance of ritual，and never act in defiance of ritual.”Righteousness，humanityand ritual are the exact requirements for the smooth running of a society，and an emperor should rule right by virtue.
To Recognize the Mandate of Heaven
To recognize the Mandate of Heaven is another important Confucian concept.
Confucius argued that acting virtuously is the requirement of the code of social ethics itself，and that the process of acting virtuously is the final aim rather than a necessary means of doing or achieving something else.In other words，the true value of an action lies in itself.Confucius himself is a good example.Though met with much hardship and low effectiveness in his later attempts to popularize and practice his social and political philosophy，Confucius never got discouraged or gave up.He said，“The action of a gentleman aims at righteousness.As to the failure of right principles，he has already been aware of that.”
·Mencius:The Confucian Idealist
Mencius（372-289BC），a citizen of the State of Zou in the Warring States Period，is another great Confucian thinker who once learned from Zi Si（483-402BC），the grandson of Confucius.Later he went to the State of Qi and became a famous court scholarthere.Mencius sought to defend the teachings of Confucius and further developed them.Hisphilosophical thoughts are mainly manifested in The Book of Mencius，which recorded his conversations and exchanges with his disciples，some noble officials and the King Hui of the State of Liang（369-319BC）.
Mencius made major contributions to the spread of humanism in Confucian thought，declaring that man，by nature，was inherently good.Confucius said nothing about the reason why man tends toact virtuously.Mencius further argued that the four Confucian ethical attributes humanity，righteousness，propriety and wisdomresult respectively from our cultivating four kinds of predispositions of heart that everyone shares:sympathy，shame，courtliness and the sense of right and wrong，which distinguish human being from animals.
In his political philosophy，Mencius claimed that the ruler of a country should be a sage like the legendary emperors Yao and Shun，and should rule with virtue rather than military power.He also believed that the right to rule was granted by the Heaven or Mandate of Heaven which was thought to be a kind of impersonal authority governing all the operations of the universe，and that the Mandate of Heaven in terms of political ruling power was manifested by the acceptance of a ruler by the people.Undoubtedly，people also got their right from heaven to rise up to overthrow a tyrant.When this happened，the mandate of ruling power was said to be taken away by the heaven from the unworthy ruler.Mencius said，“The people rank the highest in a state；the state the second；the ruler last.”
Mencius also held a mystical concept of“Haoran Zhi Qi”.One of his disciples once asked what Mencius was good at.Mencius replied，“I am good at cultivating the Haoran Zhi Qi in myself.Haoran Zhi Qi is hard to define.It is very vast and pervasive，overflowing in the universe.”It，most reasonably，refers to the natural nobility of the soul.As to its cultivation，Mencius guided individuals to develop their innate predispositions and improve their understanding of the running principles of the universe.In addition，individuals should act virtuously in every minute.By doing so，one can reach a state of perfect harmony with nature.
·Xun Zi:The Confucian Realist
Xun Zi（C.313-238BC），the last of the great classical Confucians，was a citizen of the State of Zhao in the Warring States Period.Like Mencius，he later became a state-sponsored academic in the State of Qi.His major thoughts are recorded in The Book of Master Xun which was written with good logic and in detail by Xun Zi himself and his followers.
Contrary to Mencius，who believed in the good nature of man，Xun Zi argued human beings were evil by nature in his piece titled Human Evilness：
Human nature is such that people are born with a love of profit.If they followthis natural inclination，they will struggle and snatch from each other and the inclination to be courtly and respectful will perish.They are born with fears and hatreds.If they follow them，they will become violent and tendencies toward good faith will perish.They are born with sensory desires for pleasing sounds and sights.If they indulge them，the disorder of sexual license will result，and ritual and moral principles will die out.Though believing human beings were evil by nature，he held a dialectic view that human beings could be cultivated to be virtuous，even to be a sage.
Regarding the relationship between man and heaven，Xun Zi held a materialist view that man，earth and heaven were equally important.For Xun Zi，earth and heaven are the source from which everything in the universe is derived.Man，though a product of nature，is distinct from it.
He is born to understand the way nature runs and to create civilizations.Here Xun Zi highlighted the subjective initiative of human beings.He said，“Heaven’s ways are constant.It does not prevail due to Emperor Yao；it does not perish due to Emperor Jie.Respond to it with order and good fortune follows；respond to it with disorder and ill fortune follows.” Xun Zi also developed his own theory of language and names.Unlike his two predecessors，who viewed names from an ethical point of view，Xun Zi viewed names both ethically and practically.He said in the piece Rectification of Names，“We have names to signify real objects.On one hand，names can be used to iluminate the noble and the humble；on the other hand，they can be used to distinguish things.”He also held a similar idea as the Swiss linguist Saussure（1857-1913）concerning the relationship between a real world object and its name.He continued，”There is no fixed name for a real world objeet.The name of an object is first given by a certain speech community and later accepted universally.If so，the object then has a proper name.”
·Classical Confucian Metaphysics
Confucian Metaphysics is mostly displayed in Yi Zhuan，a commentary on The Book of Changes，and The Doctrine of the Mean，a piece in The Record of Rites.
Yi Zhuan discusses the concept of“Dao，”the most important Confucian metaphysical concept.Different from the Taoist Dao which is abstract and can not be explained in words，Confucian Dao refers to the concrete principle which governs the running of universal items，thus it can be told and clarified.The Dao of being an emperor，a father or a son and the Dao of being stiff are examples of Confucian Dao.In addition to the particular Dao of each species，there is still a unified Dao which governs the birth of everything in the universe.Confucian philosophy considered the division of an object into two contrasting but complementary forces.
One is said to be passive and named Yin，and the other is said to be active and named Yang.The intercommunication of the two forces gives birth to everything in the universe.Confucian philosophy declared，”Yin and Yang make up the Dao.”
Another point from Yi Zhuan is that everything in the universe exists in a course of constant changes during which everything is going to its opposite side or self-denial.
There is also a Dao which governs the cultivation of people to a state of perfect harmony with the universe.Such a state can only be reached by doing daily routines peacefully and acting virtuously.When perfecting oneself，one should care about others and help others perfect themselves，which，in the Confucian point of view，is said to help the universe cultivate everything on the earth.While acting，according to Confucian philosophy，one should observe a golden doctrine of the Mean，which means acting appropriately and naturally to maintain a state of constant equilibrium of mind.The doctrine of the Mean is the essential Dao or principle for a harmonious society and relation between human and nature.
