ConfucianismComparative Religions

The First Teacher

Confucius◦Kung Fu-tzu◦Kung the Master

Born around 551 BCE in the __________________ province

Raised by a single motherBecame a ____________in his early 20sGoal was to hold public office in Chinese

_______________________

At 50 years old, he began a _____year journey from state to state spouting his beliefs/wisdom

Faithful ______________followed him on this journey

Eventually was invited to return _______.Spent the last _________years of his life

editing the Chinese classicsDied in 479 BCE at _____years old.

Confucius taught using the ____________ method◦Conversed with his students regarding

_____________ they posed in the conversations◦Cite different _________________◦Ask _______________________questions

He presented himself to his students, not as their leader, but as a fellow _______________

Mission of his students◦_____________________society

His teaching◦Passion for learning made him a _____________◦_________________kept him from being a fanatic

His preferences◦Preferred _______________over power and wealth

May not have held a government office while alive, but has ended up the man who has _________________Chinese gov’t more than anyone else.

The Problem Confucius Faced

Social Anarchy◦Confucius lived during the time in China that is

known as the Period of the _____________ States The _________________Dynasty was dead ______________________was dead

◦To keep society from destroying itself, Confucius knew he needed to reinvent ___________________

Two important points of Tradition:◦1. The degree to which tradition can ___________

a society is amazing!◦2. Tradition influences society

___________________.Confucius’s contemporaries were guided

by◦______________________ self-interest instead of

group-conscious social expectationsSo, how did he re-invent Tradition?????

Rival Answers

Enlightenment says _______________ peopleRealists say “_______ ‘em to make ‘em

behave”Mo Ti, a Chinese philosopher, said “don’t

use force, use ___________” (a hippie way before his time)

Which would Confucius choose??????

Confucius’s Answer

Confucius chose tradition.◦He longed for the ________________ times of the Chou

Dynasty.◦He began to deliberately use tradition because the people

of his day had lost respect for the ___________________ that spontaneous tradition should have been causing.

He met two conditions of re-vitalizing tradition to set the stage for its acceptance◦He made it ________________ with the past by tying it with

what was already familiar◦He realized what wasn’t working and needed

___________________ in the old way

Confucius had to decide how tradition would __________________ society◦Make _______________ideas a part of every

aspect of society Temples, theaters, homes, toys, proverbs, schools,

history, stories, etc.◦He used his ______________to fit this pattern.

His students recorded these in the ____________________

The Content of Deliberate Tradition

Confucius used five ideals to make tradition deliberate◦1. _______________◦2. Chun Tzu◦3. _______________◦4. Te◦5. _______________

Jen◦The ideal relationship between people

_________________ _________________ _________________

Chun Tzu◦Humanity at its _______________– Jen has been

reached by everyone

Li◦ The way things _______________be done

Rectification of Names – ____________ roles should be defined Doctrine of the Mean – nothing in _________________ Five Constant Relationships

◦ _______________________________◦ Husband and wife◦ _______________________________◦ Friends◦ _______________________________

Age – age earns respect due to the _________________ older people possess.

◦ Rituals – following the right details of relationships means life is essentially _____________________ and works well

Te◦The power of _________________ example◦Society needs leaders who are respected and

admired, who set the right examples of _____Wen

◦The arts of ___________________ Music, poetry, painting The sum of culture in its _______________ mode

The Confucian Project

A good man or woman is always trying to become ____________________

A Confucian keeps him/herself active in society – they aren’t _____________________

They recognize that the ____________ is the center of relationships◦ A meeting place where lives ______________◦ Five Constant Relationships has the roles in each relationship

different – does this make one person superior to the other? No, not as long as they know and practice their role

__________________. Abuse of the relationship occurs when the roles are not

__________________.

The Five Constant Relationships automatically built the __________________ into Confucian-style politics.◦Heaven sees as the people see; heaven wills as

the people willThe Confucian scheme calls for continual

___________________ at all levels of relationships. If all works together well peace is achieved.

Ethics or Religion?

Confucius believed the world was divided into ______________ and ___________◦Ancestors were in Heaven (____) that was

controlled by the Supreme Ancestor – ______________

◦Earth had ___________ on it, waiting to move to Heaven (ti)

◦__________________ was more important◦Earth communicated with Heaven via sacrifice

The channel for this communication was called __________________

It was important to communicate with ancestors because they knew the past and that helped them ______________ those on Earth regarding the future.◦Ancestors couldn’t talk, so they sent _______–

weather signs, animal signs, physical signs, etc.Confucius shifted the emphasis from

Heaven to _____________ in his teachings.

A hotly debated topic of his day:◦Which should come ___________ earthlings or

ancestors?◦Confucius said ______________ – ancestors are

already dead.This shifted attention away from ancestor

worship to ________________.◦He did say to continue to revere ancestors “as

if they were present”

Confucius believed there was a power in the universe that made sure “___________” was rewarded.◦He called this the Will of Heaven – the first

thing ______________ will respect.Confucius believed once all was right with

the self, the person would become _______ with humanity and the universe.

Impact on China

Confucianism founded a class of _______________ who would become the ruling elite in China.◦Confucius became the most important figure in

__________________ history◦130 BCE Confucian texts were the basic

discipline to train _____________ officials◦The ______________ Dynasty made Confucianism

China’s state religion

China combines Confucianism with other things in life◦Confucian in ________________and public life◦Taoist in __________________life and hygiene◦Buddhist in matters relating to _____________◦Shamanistic ________________added in

Scholars believe ancestor worship and filial piety have made the ____________ the religion of China

Due to Confucianism and its Doctrine of the ________________, the Chinese today still consider it a _________________to have to settle matters in court

Due to Wen, Chinese culture was very strong in the arts – even invaders often _________________ into the Chinese way of life

Growth of many East Asian countries can be attributed to Confucianism – link social technology with scientific technology and get the formula for _________________success!