Confucianism
Mercy Nagbe
Rel/133
December 19, 2014
Rev. Lewis Hoye

Confucianism

The five basic relationships according to Confucius, each person has a specific place in society and certain duties to fulfill. Confucius hoped that if people knew what was expected of them they would behave correctly. Therefore, he set up five relationships principal in which most people are involved and these relationships were Ruler and subjects, father and son, elder brother and younger brother, husband and wife and friend and friend. All involve the authority of one person or over another, except the last. Power and the right to rule belong to superiors over subordinates; that is, to older people over younger people, to men over women. Each person has to give obedience and respect to "superiors"; the subject to his ruler, the wife to her husband, the son to his par­ents, and the younger brother to the older brother. The "superior," however, owes loving responsibility to the inferior.
An ideal person through the eyes of Confucius would follow the rules of heave and obey heavens will. By adhering to the rules of heaven that person would morally be attuned.
For nearly 2,000 years, Confucianism has shaped the social, ethical and political aspect of Chinese cultures. It was developed by the greatest Chinese philosopher, Confucius, is a philosophy which focuses on the conduct and practices of people in daily life. It plays a key role in forming the norms of social morality which influence the culture in personal, family and social relationships. Confucius was mainly interested in how to bring about societal order and harmony. He believed that mankind would be in harmony with the universe if everyone understood their rank in society and were taught the proper behaviors of their rank. Similarly, he believed that the social order was threatened whenever people failed to act according to their prescribed roles. Confucius devised a system of interdependent relationships— a structure in which the lower level gives obedience to the higher (extending from the family level to the national). As a result, Chinese culture tends gives a considerable amount of reverence for authority and age, though not necessarily sincere, especially in a changing modern China today.

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Collier Macmillan,Lagerwey, John, Taoist Ritual in Chinese Society and History. New York, (1987).