A Short History of Chinese Philosophy (8 page)

In the
Chung Yung
or
Doctrine of the Mean,
which is another chapter of the
Li Chi,
attributed to Tzu -ssu, the grandson of Confucius, it is said:
"Chung
and
shu
are not far from the Way. What you do not like done to yourself, do not do to others....Serve your father as you would require your son to serve you....Serve your ruler as you would require your subordinate to serve you....Serve your elder brother as you would require your younger

O7O. CONFUCIUS, THE FIRST TEACHER

brother to serve you....Set the example in behaving to your friends as you would

require

them to behave to you...

^

The illustration given in the
Great Learning
emphasizes the negative aspect of the principle of
chung
and
shu;
that in the
Doctrine of the Mean
emphasizes its positive aspect. In each case the measuring square for determining conduct is in one' s self and not in other things.

The principle of
chung
and
shu
is at the same time the principle
of jen,
so that the practice of
chung
and
shu
means the practice
of jen.
And this practice leads to the carrying out of one s responsibilities and duties in society, in which is comprised the quality of
yi
or righteousness. Hence the principle of
chung
and
shu
becomes the alpha and omega of one s moral life. In the
Analects
we find the passage: The master said: Shen Lthe personal name of Tseng Tzu, one of his disciples J, all my teachings are linked together by one principle. Quite so, replied Tseng Tzu. When the master had left the room, the disciples asked: What did he mean? Tseng Tzu replied: Our master s teaching consists of the principle of
chung
and
shu,
and that is all. '"(IV, 15.) Everyone has within himself the measuring square for conduct, and can use it at any time. So simple as this is the method of practising
jen,
so that Confucius said: "is
jen
indeed far off? I crave for
jen,
and lo!
jen
is at hand! "
(Analects,
VII, 29.)
Knowing Ming

From the idea of righteousness, the Confucianists derived the idea of doing for nothing." One does what one ought to do, simply because il is morally right to do it, and not for any consideration external to this moral compulsion. In the
Analects,
we are told that Confucius was ridiculed by a certain recluse as "one who knows that he cannot succeed, yet keeps on trying to do it. (XIV, 4-I-) We also read that another recluse was told by a disciple of Confucius: The reason why the superior man tries to go into politics, is because he holds this to be right, even though he is well aware that his principle cannot prevail. (XVIII, 7)

As we shall see, the Taoists taught the theory of doing nothing, whereas the Confucianists taught that of "doing
for
nothing. A man cannot do nothing, according to Confucianism, because for every man there is something which he ought to do.

Nevertheless, what he does is lor nothing, because the value of doing what he ought to do lies in the doing itself, and not in the external result.

Confucius own life is certainly a good example of this teaching. Living in an age of great social and political disorder, he tried his best to reform the world. He traveled everywhere and, like Socrates, talked to everybody. Although his efforts were in vain, he was never disappointed. lie knew that he could not succeed, but kepi on trying.

0 7 2 CONFUCIUS, THE FIRST

TEACHER

About himself Confucius said: "If my principles are to prevail in the world, it is
Ming.
If they are to fall to the ground, it is also
Ming. (Analects,
XIV, 38.) He tried his best, but the issue he left to
Ming.

Ming
is often translated as Fate, Destiny or Decree. To Confucius, it meant the Decree of Heaven or Will of Heaven; in other words, it was conceived of as a purposeful force. In later Confucianism, however,
Ming
simply means the total existent conditions and forces of the whole universe. For the external success of our activity, the cooperation of these conditions is always needed. But this cooperation is wholly beyond our control. Hence the best thing for us to do is simply to try to carry out what we know we ought ID carry out, without caring whether in the process we succeed or fail. To act in this way is to know
Ming.
To know
Ming
is an important requirement for being a superior man in the Confucian sense of the term, so that Confucius said: He who does not know
Ming
cannot be a superior man."
(Analects,
XX, 1.)

Thus to know
Ming
means to acknowledge the inevitability of the world as it exists, and so to disregard one' s external success or failure. If we can act in this way, we can, in a sense, never fail. For if we do our duty, that duty through our very act is morally done, regardless of the external success or failure of our action.

As a result, we always shall be free from anxiety as to success or fear as to failure, and so shall be happy. This is why Confucius said: The wise are free from doubts; the virtuous from anxiety; the brave from fear.
(Analects,
IX, 2.8.) Or again: "The superior man is always happy; the small man sad." (VII, 36.)

Confucius Spiritual Development

In the Taoist work, the
Chuang—tzu,
we see that the Taoists often ridiculed Confucius as one who confined himself to the morality of humanheartedness and righteousness, thus being conscious only of moral values, and not super-moral value. Superficially they were right, but actually they were wrong.

Thus speaking about his own spiritual development, Confucius said: "At fifteen 1 set my heart on learning. At thirty I could stand. At forty I had no doubts. At fifty I knew the Decree of Heaven. At sixty I was already obedient [to this Decree]. At seventy I could follow the desires of my mind without overstepping the boundaries [of what is right]."
(Analects,
II, 4) The learning which Confucius here refers to is not what we now would call learning. In the
Analects,
Confucius said: "Set your heart on the
Too."
(VII, 6.) And again: "To hear the
Too
in the morning and then die at night, that would be all right." (IV, 9.) Here
Too
means the Way or Truth. It was this
Too
which Confucius at fifteen set his heart upon learning. What we now call learning means the increase of our knowledge, but the
Too
is that whereby we can elevate our mind.

Confucius also said: "Take your stand in the
li
[rituals, ceremonies, prop-074

CONFUCIUS, THE FIRST TEACHER

er conduct]."
(Analects,
VIII, 8.) Again he said: "Not to know the
li
is to have no means of standing." (XX, 3.) Thus when Confucius says that at thirty he could "stand, he means that he then understood the
li
and so could practice proper conduct.

His statement that at forty he had no doubts means that he had then become a wise man. For, as quoted before, "The wise are free from doubts."

Up to this time of his life Confucius was perhaps conscious only of moral values. But at the age of fifty and sixty, he knew the Decree of Heaven and was obedient to it. In other words, he was then also conscious of super -moral values. Confucius in this respect was like Socrates. Socrates thought that he had been appointed by a divine order to awaken the Greeks, and Confucius had a similar consciousness of a divine mission. For example, when he was threatened with physical violence at a place called K'uang, he said: "If Heaven had wished to let civilization perish, later generations (like myself) would not have been permitted to participate in it. But since Heaven has not wished to let civilization perish, what can the people of K uang do to me?"
(Analects,
IX, 5.) One of his contemporaries also said: "The world for long has been without order. But now Heaven is going to use the Master as an arousing tocsin.
(Analects,
III, 2.4O Thus Confucius in doing what he did, was convinced that he was following the Decree of Heaven and was supported by Heaven; he was conscious of values higher than moral ones.

The super—moral value experienced by Confucius, however, was, as we shall see, not quite the same as that experienced by the Taoists. For the latter abandoned entirely the idea of an intelligent and purposeful Heaven, and sought instead for mystical union with an undifferentiated whole. The super-moral value which they knew and experienced, therefore, was freer from the ordinary concepts of the human relationships.

At seventy, as has been told above, Confucius allowed his mind to follow whatever it desired, yet everything he did was naturally right of itself. His actions no longer needed a conscious guide. He was acting without effort. This represents the last stage in the development of the sage.

Confucius' Position in Chinese History

Confucius is probably better known in the West than any other single Chinese. Yet in China itself, though always famous, his place in history has changed considerably from one period to another.

Historically speaking he was primarily a teacher, that is, only one teacher among many. But after his death, he gradually came to be considered as
the
teacher, superior to all others. And in the second century B.C. he was elevated to an even higher plane. According to many Confucianists of that time, Confucius had actually been appointed by Heaven to begin a new dynasty that would follow that of Chou. Though in actual fact without a crown or a government, he had ideally speaking beco me a king who ruled the whole e mpire. How this apparent

O76 CONFUCIUS, THE FIRST TEACHER

contradiction had happened, these Confucianists said, could be found out by studying the esoteric meaning supposedly contained in the
Spring and Autumn Annals.
This was supposed by them not to be a chronicle of Confucius' native state (as it actually was), but an important political work written by Confucius to express his ethical and political ideas. Then in the first century B.C., Confucius came to be regarded as even more than a king. According to many people of that time, he was a living god among men-a divine being who knew that after his time there woud someday come the Han dynasty
(106

B.C.-A.D. 2.2.O), and who therefore, in the
Spring and A utumn Annals,
set forth a political ideal which would be complete enough for the men of Han to realize. This apotheosis was the climax of Confucius'

glory, and in the middle of the Han dynasty Confucianism could properly be called a religion.

The time of glorification, however, did not last very long. Already beginning in the first century A.D., Confucianists of a more rationalistic type began to get the upper hand. Hence in later times Confucius was no longer regarded as a divine being, though his position as that of
the
Teacher remained high. At the very end of the nineteenth century, to be sure, there was a brief revival of the theory that Confucius had been divinely appointed to be a king. Soon afterward, however, with the coming of the Chinese Republic, his reputation fell until he came to be regarded as something less than
the
Teacher, and at present most Chinese would say that he was primarily
a
teacher, and certainly a great one, but far from being the only teacher.

Confucius, however, was already recognized in his own day as a man of very extensive learning. For example, one of his contemporaries said: "Great indeed is the Master K ung! His learning is so extensive that he cannot be called by a single name."
(Analects,
IX, 2..) From the quotations given earlier, we may see that he considered himself the inheritor and perpeluator of ancient civilization, and was considered by some of his contemporaries as such. By his work of originating through transmitting, he caused his school to reinterpret the civilization of the age before him. He upheld what he considered to be best in the old, and created a powerful tradition that was followed until very recent years, when, as in Confucius own time, China again came face to face with tremendous economic and social change. In addition, he was China s first teacher. Hence, though historically speaking he was only
a
teacher, it is perhaps not unreasonable that in later ages he was regarded as
the
teacher.

078

CONFUCIUS, THE FIRST TEACHER

CHAPTER 5

, THE FIRST OPPONENT OF CONFUCIUS

IHE next major philosopher after Confucius was Mo Tzu. His family name was Mo and his personal name was Ti. As the
Shih Chi
or
Historical Records
does not say where he came from, and in fact tells us almost nothing about his life, there has been a difference of opinion regarding his native state. Some scholars hold that he was a native of Sung (in what is today eastern Honan and western Shantung), and others that he came from Lu, the same state as Confucius. His exact dates are also uncertain, hut probably he lived sometime within the years 479~38l B.C. The main source for the study of his thought is the book bearing his name, the
Mo-tzu,
which contains 53 chapters and is a collection of writings by his followers as well as by himself.

Mo Tzu was the founder of a school known after his name as the Mohist school. In ancient times his fame was as great as that of Confucius, and his teaching was no less influential. The contrast between the two men is interesting. Confucius felt a sympathetic understanding for the traditional institutions, rituals, music, and literature of the early Chou dynasty, and tried to rationalize and justify them in ethical terms; Mo Tzu, on the contrary, questioned their validity and usefulness, and tried to replace them with something that was simpler but, in his view, more useful. In short, Confucius was the rationalizer and justifier of the ancient civilization, while Mo Tzu was its critic. Confucius was a refined gentleman, while Mo Tzu was a militant preacher. A major aim of his preaching was to oppose both the traditional institutions and practices, and the theories of Confucius and the Confucian ists.