Confucius Believed in Restoring the Essay

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" (Confucius, The Analects p.63 2, 2.5). Confucius had also taught, that filial piety was one of the two threads that held his whole teaching together. It could be said to symbolize the inner and outer, the yin and yang dimensions of human conduct. A person needs to be faithful to both the family and the larger world (Confucianism, 62). Ancestral veneration is not something we only see in Chinese religion, in fact it is practiced in many different religions in different types of ways (Li, 594). Perhaps it could be said then that the ancestor cult might have arisen out of psychological needs or attitudes, including the fear of the deceased, as well as feelings of piety towards them.

The Chinese word for ritual is Li and it is one of the five main virtues taught. Hsun-tzu, is best remembered for his doctrine of ritual action. He provides the practical side of Confucian religion. "If you are respectful but lack ritual you will become exasperating; if you are careful but lack ritual you will become timid; if you are courageous but lack ritual you will become unruly; and if you are upright but lack ritual you will become inflexible" (Confucius, Analects, p23 8, 8.1). Ritual can be seen as the means to find harmony and balance between opposing qualities that could otherwise lead to conflict. It is through ritual that a hierarchy is formed and so everyone in society is assigned a place. There seemed to be a desire by Confucius to revive the etiquette of earlier dynasties. In fact, ritual is such an important part of Confucianism, that it is also known as the ritual religion li-chiao (Hasen, 174). It is these teachings that helped to keep alive the older cult of veneration for ancestors, and the worship of heaven.

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Confucius also emphasized the need to have the right inner dispositions, without which ritual propriety becomes hypocrisy.

There are many ways of looking at Confucianism. For an insider, it not only represents a religion and its beliefs, but also culture and history. For an outsider, Confucianism could be just a philosophy for its lack of a central power and the existence of other worldly beings. For a scholar it is a system which is easily corrupted and therefore it serves as great morals but is not easily done (Liu, 2001). Coincidently it was in the same century that Confucianism was repressed in China, that so many innocent people were killed by communists. Just like the Chinese philosophy where two extremes make one, the people of China proved to have two extremes in history. There were some who had extremely humanitarian values, perhaps the light or bright part of the spectrum and then there were also the inhumane ones, perhaps the dark or negative part. The very modernization of China and desire for economical growth has caused a lot of tragedies in Chinese history resulting in the loss of lots of lives. It can be looked at as a rebellious act by the people of China who didn't agree with old humanitarian views, in the modern world, they seemed naive. Either way, Confucianism might be more a way of life, than a religion, yet it can be argued that all religions are a way of life. At least it is a humanitarian religion whose basis is people and society and not fear of supreme power......

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