Confucianism

Confucianism developed around the teachings of Confucius and is based on a set 
of Chinese classic texts. It was the mainstream ideology in China and the 
sinized world since the Han dynasty and may still be a major founder element 
in Far-East culture. It could be understood as a social ethic and humanist 
system focusing on human beings and their relationships. Confucianism 
emphasizes formal rituals in every aspect of life, from quasi-religious 
ceremonies to strict politeness and deference to one's elders, specifically 
to one's parents and to the state in the form of the Emperor.

Confucianism (Pinyin: rújia "The School of the Scholars"), sometimes 
translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical and philosophical 
system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius.

Debated during the Warring States Period and forbidden during the short-lived 
Qin dynasty, Confucianism was chosen by Han emperor Han Wu Di and used as a 
political system and a kind of state religion. Despite loss of influence during 
the Tang dynasty, Confucianist doctrine remained mainstream Chinese orthodoxy 
for two millennia, until the beginning of 20th century, when it was vigorously 
repressed by Chinese Communism.

Since Confucius' death, many people, mostly in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, 
have professed Confucianist beliefs and seen in this historical figure the 
"Greatest Master."

Taoism and Buddhism are two other systems of thought with a major influence 
on China. During the Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi and other thinkers integrated their 
mystical aspirations into a syncretic system referred in the West as to 
Neo-Confucianism.

Development of early Confucianism

Confucius was a man of letters worried about the troubled times he lived in. 
He went from place to place trying to spread his political ideas and influence 
the many kings contending for supremacy of China. The loss of might (or, said 
in a Chinese way, the loss of Dao) of the previous Zhou emperors drove China 
to permanent civil war and many wished to reunify the country (although the 
contention that China was unified previously is debatable). Deeply persuaded 
he had a mission on Earth ("If right principles prevailed through the empire, 
there would be no use for me to change its state." Analects XVIII. 6.), 
Confucius tirelessly promoted the ancient virtues of illustrious kings, as 
the Duke of Zhou, trying to get sufficient political power and found a new 
dynasty, as when he planned to accept an invitation from a rebel and "make 
a Zhou dynasty in the East" (Analects XV. 5). In this respect, his thinking 
may be said to be political. However, as the common saying Confucius is a 
"king without a crown" shows, he never did gain the opportunity to apply 
his ideas and was expelled much of the time and eventually went back to 
his homeland to spend the last part of his life teaching.

The Analects of Confucius, considered the closest we have to a primary 
source for his thoughts, relates discussions with his disciples in short 
sayings. As this book is a compilation of snatches of conversation, 
questions and answers, or slices of Confucius' life, there is no description 
of a coherent system of thought. Instead of using deductive reasoning and the 
law of non-contradiction, like many Western philosophers, he used tautology 
and analogy to explain his ideas. Because of this, Western readers may think 
he had no clear ideas on what he wanted, but he also said "I seek a unity 
all pervading" (Analects XV. 3., trad. Legge) and "There is one single 
thread binding my way together." (IV.15. trad. Lau).

The first drafts of a real system may be due to disciples or disciples of 
disciples, but firstly to Zi Si, Confucius' grandson. During the 
philosophically fertile period of the Hundred Schools of Thought, great early 
figures of Confucianism like Mencius and Xun Zi (not to be confused with 
Sun Zi) developed Confucianism into an ethical and political doctrine. Both 
had to fight contemporary ideas and gain the ruler's confidence through 
argumentation and reasoning.

Some of Xun Zi's disciples, like Han Feizi, became Legalists (a kind of 
law-based totalitarism very far from virtue-based Confucianism) and helped 
Qin Shi Huang to unify China under a very strong state control of every 
human activity. This was the first Chinese dynasty. It lasted 16 years, 
during which money, written Chinese characters, laws and the width of an 
axle were unified, and a great auto de fe declared against all existing 
books except medical and technical ones. So, historically, Confucius' dream 
of unification and peace in China came from a school of thought, Legalism, 
that was almost diametrically opposed to his consistent reliance on rites 
and virtue.