Confucianism Arose to Ensure

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest(Confucius). Confucius was born in 551 B.C in Lu, China. He was a Chinese philosopher that taught through the 3 core values of Confucius. He believed in finding harmony. His teachings inspired an idea called Confucianism. Confucianism is known as a civil religion. It is not a religion but more of a system of societal values, many of which align with other religions.

During the 6th and 5th century B.C. in Chinese society, Confucianism arose to ensure social order continued. Harmony can be reached through three simple values: filial piety, ritual consciousness and humaneness. These values are foundational to understanding Confucianism. Filial piety is the first and foremost important of the three core values. It is the root of most of the beliefs in Confucianism. The junzi works on the rootonce the root is planted, the dao is born.

Filiality and respect for elders, are these not the roots of ren?(Confucius, 1.2). In Chinese the word ren' means humanity and the word junzi' means a capable person. Confucius is referring to how filial piety is one of the rudimentary values that help one reach harmony or ren. Filial piety is the relationship between family members. Confucianism focuses primarily on the relationship between a parent and a child. A parent is expected to care for their children when they are young and a child will care for their parent when they're old. When the parent dies filial piety does not end, it continues into the afterlife.

Descendants should offer sacrifices to their ancestors, such as meat and wine. In order to reach harmony, one must obey their elders and continue building relationships in the afterlife. Ancestral worship is a supporting belief of Filial piety. It goes hand and hand with filial piety. Ancestral worship is simply the extension of filial piety into the afterlife. Ancient Chinese societies revolved around ones place in the home and the people around them. When a parent dies, it is normal for a son or daughter to grieve for a three year period. This mimics the first three years of a child's life that requires lots of care and supervision. Humaneness is the second essential belief in Confucianism. This is the general concern for other human beings.

The silver rule is a teaching of Confucius that many live by today. What I do not wish others to do to me, I do not wish to do to others(Confucius, 5.12). The silver rule is a version of the golden rule that projects humaneness. Ren means humanity in Chinese. Confucius thought that all people have the ability to be kind and caring. One of the overarching beliefs of Confucianism is that people are born good or with good instincts.

Confucius also taught that education helps leads to a civil society, and without education, people grow to be uncaring, hateful, impulsive. The final core value of Confucianism is ritual consciousness or propriety. There were three main versions of philosophy, Realism, Legalism, and Confucianism. Realism and Legalism state that rigid laws should determine how a nation should run. Contrary to Realism and Legalism, Confucianism bases in rituals. Rituals were common in Ancient China, most were sacrifices to the gods. Confucius thought social rituals were a necessity for a sophisticated society.Through Li life is properly ordered and harmony is established (Carroll, 2018). Confucist rituals consisted of crucial events in a persons life, such as birth, mariage and death.

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