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Spread of Confucianism I
By peace | May 30, 2008
Following the death of Confucius, his disciples continued to expound his teaching, The followers of Confucius, notably Mencius and Xun Zi, expanded the scope of Confucius’ teaching, touching on issues such as human nature, which were contentious in their day.
Mencius (fourth Century BC) considered that man was inherently good, and it behoved the ruler to liberate this goodness by setting a good example that the people would follow. Xun Zi (third century BC), on the other hand, believed that man naturally tended towards evil and that this tendency had to be curbed through education. In spite of these differences, both Mencius and Xun Zi believed that men had the potential to become sages.
Other schools of thought had emerged to challenge Confucianism, such as the Mohist school, which rejected its emphasis on a hierarchical society and advocated universal love, and later Taoism. China was unified under the First Emperor Qin Shi HuangDi in 221BC and another school, the Legalists, who believed that loyalty to the emperor and the state was the highest virtue, then became dominant during the Qin Dynasty. Many Confucians were put to death and their writings were banned. But the Qin was overthrown and the Legalists discredited. The Han Dynasty rulers, anxious to rebuild their bureaucracy on a firm ideological foundation, turned to Confucianism to provide it, and Confucianism became the orthodox school of thought supported by the majority of Chinese rulers for 2000years.
The philosopher and politican Dong Zhongshu provided the theoretical basis for the ascendancy of Confucianism when he recommended to Emperor Wudi in 136BC that Confucianism should be the means by which the rulers should effect general unification, and that ‘All not within the field of the Six Classics should be cut short and not allowed to progress further’. The Six Classics were the ancient books which Confucius based his teaching. Dong Zhongshu’s intention was to discourage all other schools and promote Confucianism as the ideological basis for the education of officials. At the same time, a cult of Confucius was encouraged. Confucian temples were erected in all towns and for a while Confucius was widely regarded as a god, but from the first century onwards this period of glorification declined.
Types of Confucianism: Neo-Confucianism emerged as an attempt to reestablish Confucianism in the Chinese society, in the wake of the popularity of Taoism and Buddhism. It differentiated itself from pure Confucianism in that it was more philosophical and more open to dealing with issues about human nature and its relationship with the universe. It aimed to develop Confucianism systematically into a more comprehensive school of thought. Neo-Confucianism was especially popular in Korea and Japan.
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