Lisa Hook

History 411

Professor Pollard

2/9/04

Primary Source Analysis #2:

Confucius on Good Government

              During the Classical Period of World History, religion is a unifying or segregating aspect to many cultures of the times.   At a time when unification of statehood is common and empires are expanding, religion is a medium by which citizens can connect to one another.   In China, there were three major religions that encompassed the beliefs of the people: Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism.   Confucius, who lived during 500 B.C.E., was notably the most influential scholar of the time.   Confucianism is questionably a religion.   Many scholars doubt that it is a religion because he does preach to a higher being (a god), but rather tries to instill morals and values into his followers to create “junzi” or proper gentlemen.   Confucius did not want to address religion because it “went beyond the capacity of mortal human intelligence.” [1]   His three central values are ren (kind benevolent behavior), li (sense of propriety), and lastly, xiao ( filial piety which is devotion to one's parents and ancestors).   Confucius never wrote down his sayings or beliefs, but rather through conversations with his disciples, they (probably second generation disciples) collected Confucius' sayings into a book called the Analects .   Confucius believed in a unified statehood and only those men who had strong morals could be rulers.    Through analysis of the primary source the Analects , it is evident that Confucius was a man of his word.   There is a direct parallelism between the written version of his sayings and his actions.   His disciples were faithful to him and tried to achieve goodness in their lives and incorporated those values into China's unified statehood.   Through leading by example, his followers influenced the larger society, in this case China.

              Confucius' outlook on government was much different than other politicians.   “He refused to compromise his beliefs in the interest of political expediency, and he insisted on observing principles that frequently clashed with state policy.” [2]   Confucius created leaders that were virtuous and possessed a strong sense of character.   The Master, as his disciples referred to him as, compared political leaders to the north star “which keeps its place, while all the stars turn toward it…” [3] By this comparison, Confucius refers to government leaders as being stable and secure.   These leaders led by example and as a result, people chose to follow them in their endeavors, leading to a unified nation.    

              Confucius implies that people by nature, do not have a sense of shame.   Without a sense of shame, people do not know the difference between good and evil.   The leaders of a government are thus responsible for creating this sense of shame.   “If they be led by virtue, and uniformity be provided for them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good…” [4]   By having shame creates wise junzi and thus they will be good leaders who will unite their society.  

              When trying to create rulers who will have a vast following, Confucius felt that one must led by example.   “When a prince's personal conduct is correct, his government is effective without the issuing of orders.   If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be followed.” [5]   This is an exemplary case supporting the idea that Confucius' actions paralleled his words.   Confucius had followers from around the world.   People chose to follow him because he conducted himself in a way that was morally right.   People saw this in him and thus chose to follow him and his beliefs.

              The Analects is a primary source that truly reflects the beliefs of the grand leader, Confucius.   He was the leader of all leaders and because he believed in educating the uneducated and creating a system of morals and virtues, the Master created leaders that were able to unify their state.   By incorporating such “religious” belief systems in a central government, people were more inclined to want to do good deeds and be a loyal follower.   More than a follower, these people became leaders.

Bibliography

Bentley, Jerry H. and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions and Encounters: A Global

Perspective on the Past . New York: McGraw Hill 2003.

Muller, Charles.   The Analects of Confucius .

http://www.hm.tyg.jp/~acmuller/contao/analects.htm (accessed March 7, 2004).

[1] Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past (New York: McGraw Hill 2003), 189.

[2] Bentley and Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters, 189.

[3] Bentley and Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters, 191.

[4] Bentley and Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters, 191.

[5] Bentley and Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters, 191.