Confucianism which is a way of life taught by Confucius in the 6th–5th century BC.
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Sometimes viewed as a philosophy, sometimes as a religion, Confucianism is perhaps best understood as an all-encompassing humanism that neither denies nor slights Heaven. Confucianism has been followed by the Chinese for more than two millennia. It has deeply influenced spiritual and political life in China; its influence has also extended to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. East Asians may profess themselves to be Shintoists, Taoists, Buddhists, Muslims, or Christians – but seldom do they cease to be Confucians.
Fast Facts Date founded: 6th-5th cent. BC Place founded: China Founder: Confucius (551-479 BC) Adherents: 5-6 million
Confucius, the common name of Confucianism’s founder, is a Latinized form of the Chinese K’ung-fu-tzu, “Master K’ung.”
The terms “Confucianism” and “Confucian,” derived from the Latinized Confucius, are not meaningful terms in Chinese. They are western terms, coined in Europe as recently as the 18th century.
The main principle of Confucianism is ren (“humaneness” or “benevolence”), signifying excellent character in accord with li (ritual norms), zhong (loyalty to one’s true nature), shu (reciprocity), and xiao (filial piety). Together these constitute de (virtue).
Confucianism is characterized by a highly optmistic view of human nature. The faith in the possibility of ordinary human beings to become awe-inspiring sages and worthies is deeply rooted in the Confucian heritage (Confucius himself lived a rather ordinary life), and the insistence that human beings are teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour is typically Confucian.
Confucius regarded Heaven (T’ien) as a positive and personal force in the universe; he was not, as some have supposed, an agnostic or a skeptic.
