Oriental Religious Faiths: Confucianism

ORIENTAL RELIGIOUS FAITHS, CONFUCIANISM. BY KUNG HSIEN HO, OF SHANGHAI. {From the Daily Reports of the Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 1893.) The most important thing in the superior man's learning is to fear disobeying Heaven's will. Therefore, in our Confucian Religion the most important thing is to follow the will of Heaven. The book of Yih King, says, "In the changes of the world there is a great Supreme which produces two principles, and these two principles are Yin and Yang." By supreme is meant the spring of all activity. Our sages regard Yin and Yang and the five elements as acting and reacting on each other without ceasing, and this doctrine is all important, like as the hinge of a door. The incessant production of all things depend on this as the tree does on the root. Even all human affairs and all good are also dependent on it; therefore it is called the Supreme, just as we speak of the extreme points of the earth, as the north and south poles. By Great Supreme is meant that there is nothing above it. But Heaven is without sound or smell, therefore the ancients spoke of the Infinite and the Great Supreme. The Great Supreme producing Yin and Yang is law producing forces. When Yang and Yin unite they produce water, fire, wood, metal, earth. When these five forces operate in harmony the four seasons come to pass. The essences of the Infinite, of Yin and Yang, and of the five elements combine, and the Heavenly becomes male, and the earthly becomes

female. When these powers act on each other all things are produced and reproduced and developed without end. As to man, he is the best and most intelligent of all. That is what is meant in the book of Chung Yung when it says that what Heaven has given is the spiritual nature. This nature is law. All men are thus born and have this law. Therefore it is, Mencius says, that all children love the parents, and when grown up all respect their elder brethren. If men only followed the natural bent of this nature then all would go the right way; hence the Chung Yung says, " To follow nature is the right way." The choicest product of Yin Yang and the five elements in the world is man, the rest are refuse products. The choicest among the choice ones are the sages and worthies, and the refuse among them are the foolish and the bad. And as man's body comes from the Yin and and man's soul from the Yang he cannot be perfect. This is what the Lung philosophers called the material nature. Although all men have at birth a nature for goodness, still if there is nothing to fix it then desires arise and passions rule, and men are not far from being like beasts; hence, Confucius says, "Men's nature is originally alike, but in practice men become very different." The sages knowing this sought to fix the nature with the principles of moderation, uprightness, benevolence, and righteousness. Heaven appointed rulers and teachers, who in turn established worship and music to improve men's disposition, and set up governments and penalties in order to check men's wickedness. The best among the people are taken into schools where they study wisdom, virtue, benevolence and righteousness, so that they may know beforehand how to conduct themselves as rulers or ruled. And, unless after many generations there should be degeneration and difficulty in finding the truth, the principles of Heaven and earth, of men and of all things have been recorded in the book of Odes for the use of after generations. The Chung Yung calls the practice of wisdom religion. Our religion well knows Heaven's will, it looks on all under Heaven as one family, great rulers as elder branches in their parents' clan, great ministers as chief officers of this clan, and the people at large, as brothers of the same parents; and it holds that all things should be enjoyed in common, because it regards Heaven and earth as the parents of all alike.

And the commandment of the Confucian is to "Fear greatly lest you offend against Heaven." But what Confucians lay great stress on is human affairs. What are these? These are the five relations and the 'five constants. What are the five relations? They are those of sovereign and minister, father and son, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, and that between friend and friend. Now the ruler is the son of Heaven, to be honored above all others; therefore in serving him there has to be loyalty. The parents' goodness to their children is boundless, like Heaven's, therefore the parents should be served faithfully. Brothers are branches from the same root, therefore mutual respect is important. The marriage relation is the origin of all human relations, therefore mutual gentleness is important. As to friends, though, as if strangers to our homes it is important to be very affectionate. When one desires to make progress in the practice of virtue as ruler or minister, as parent or child, as elder or younger brother, or as husband and wife, if any one wishes to be perfect in any relation, how can it be done without a friend to exhort one to good and check one in evil? Therefore one should seek to increase his friends. Among the five relations there are also three bands. The ruler is the band of the minister, the father is that of the son, and the husband is that of the wife. And the book of the Ta Hsioh says, "From the Emperor down to the common people the fundamental thing for all to do is to cultivate virtue. If this fundamental foundation is not laid, then there cannot be order in the world. Therefore great responsibility lies on the leaders. That is what Confucius means when he says: "When a ruler is upright he is obeyed without commands." Now to cause the doctrine of the five relations to be carried out everywhere by all under Heaven, the ruler must be intelligent and the minister good, then the government will be just; the father must be loving and the son filial, the elder brother friendly, the younger brother respectful, the husband kind, and the wife obedient, then the home will be right; in our relation with our friends there must be confidence, then customs will be reformed, and the order will not be difficult for the whole world, simply because the rulers lay the foundation for it in virtue.

What are the five constants? Benevolence, righteousness, worship, wisdom, faithfulness. Benevolence is love, righteousness is fitness, worship is principle, wisdom is thorough knowledge, faithfulness is what one can depend upon. He who is able to restore the original good nature and to hold fast to it is called a Worthy. He who has got hold of the spiritual nature and is at peace and rest is called a Sage. He who sends forth unseen and infinite influences thoroughout all things is called Divine. The influence of the five constants is very great, and all living things are subject to them. Mencius says, *'He who has no pity is not a man, he who has no sense of shame for wrong is not a man, he who has no yielding disposition is not a man, and he who has not the sense of right and wrong is not a man." The sense of pity is the beginning of benevolence, the sense of shame for wrong is the beginning of righteousness, a yielding disposition is the beginning of religion, the sense of right and ^vrong is the beginning of wisdom. Faithfulness is not spoken of, as it is what makes the other four real, like the earth element among the five elements; without it the other four manifestly cannot be placed. The Chung Yung says, "Sincerity or reailty is the beginning and end of things. There is no such thing as supreme sincerity without action. This is the use of faithfulness." As to benevolence, it also includes righteousness, religion and wisdom; therefore the sages consider that the most important thing is to get benevolence. The idea of benevolence is gentleness and liberal mindedness, that of righteousness is clear duty, that of religion is showing forth, that of wisdom is to gather silently. When there is gentleness, clear duty, showing forth and silent gathering constantly going on, then everything naturally falls to its proper place, just like the four seasons; e. g., the spring influences are gentle and liberal and are life-giving ones; in summer life-giving things grow, in autumn these show themselves in harvest, and in winter they are stored up. If there were no spring the other three seasons would have nothing; so it is said the benevolent man is the life. Extend and devolop this benevolence, and all under heaven may be benefitted thereby. This is how to observe human relations.

As to the doctrine of future life, Confucianism speaks of it most minutely. Cheng Tsze says the spirits are the forces or servants of Heaven and earth, and the signs of creative power. Chu Fu Tze says, "Speaking of two powers, the demons are the intelligent ones of Yin, the gods are the intelligent ones of Yang; speaking of one power, the supreme and originating is called God; the reverse and the returning is Demon." Space cannot be without force, and force cannot but produce results, which is creation; therefore where things are fast produced the living force increases daily and there is growth. The things produced cannot but return to space again. Therefore after all things are fully matured, the living force begins daily to recede and be dissipated; just like the coming and going of the sun and moon, cold and heat—all inevitable. The book of changes says, "The essence of things from nothing produces something, and wandering ghosts again change from something into nothing." Confucius, replying to Tsai Wo, says: "When flesh and bones die below in the dust the material Yin becomes dust, but the immaterial rises above the grave in great light, has odor and is very pitiable. This is the immaterial essence." The Chung Yung, quoting Confucius, says, "The power of the spirits is very great! You look and cannot see them, you listen and cannot hear them, but they are embodied in all things without missing any, causing all men to reverence them and be purified, and be well adorned in order to sacrifice unto them." All things are alive as if the gods were right above our heads, or on our right hand and the left. Such being the gods, therefore Yih King makes much of divining to get decision from the gods, knowing that the gods are the forces of Heaven and earth in operation. Although unseen, still they influence; if difficult to prove, yet easily known. The great sages and great worthies, the loyal ministers, the righteous scholars, the filial sons, the pure women of the world, having received the purest influences of the divinest forces of Heaven and earth, when on earth were heroes, when dead are the gods. Their influences continue for many generations to affect the world for good, therefore, many venerate and sacrifice unto them. As to evil men, they arise from the evil forces of nature; when

dead they also influence for evil, and we must get holy influences to destroy the evil ones. As to rewards and punishments, the ancient sages also spoke of them. The great Yu, B. C. 2,255, said, "Follow what is right and you will be fortunate ; do not follow it and you will be unfortunate. The results are only shadows and echoes of our acts." Tang, 6, said, "Heaven's way is to bless the good and bring calamity on the evil." His minister Yi Yin, said, "It is only God who is perfectly just; good actions are blessed with a hundred favors, evil actions are cursed with a hundred evils." Confucius, speaking of the Book of Changes (Yih King) said: "Those who multiply good deeds will have joys to overflowing; those who multiply evil deeds will have calamities running over." But this is different from Taoism, which says that there are angels from heaven examining into men's good and evil deeds, and from Buddhism, which says that there is a purgatory or hell according to one's deeds. Rewards and punishments arise from our different actions, just as water flows to the ocean, and as fire seizes what is dry; without expecting certain consequences they come inevitably. When these consequences do not appear, they are like cold in summer or heat in winter, or like both happening the same day; but this we say is unnatural. Therefore it is said: Sincerity is the way to Heaven. If we say that the Gods serve Heaven exactly as mandarins do on earth, bringing quick retribution on every little thing, this is really to make them appear very slow. At present men say, "Thunder killed the bad man.' But it is not so, either. The Han philosopher, Tung Chung Shu (second cetury B. C.) says: "Vapors, when they clash above, make rain; when they clash below, make fog. Wind is nature's breathing. Thunder is the sound of clouds clashing against each other. Lightning is light emitted by their collision. Thus we see that when a man is killed it is by the collision of these clouds." As to becoming genii and transmigration of souls, these are still more beside the mark. If we become like genii then we would live on without dying; how could the world hold so many? If we transmigrate, then so many would transmigrate from the human life and ghosts would be so numerous. Besides when the lamp goes out, and is lit again, it is not the

former flame that is lit. When the cloud has a rainbow it rains, but it is not the same rainbow as when the rainbow appeared before. From this we know also that these doctrines of transmigration should not be believed in. So much on the virtue of the unseen and hereafter. As to the great aim and broad basis of Confucianism, we may say it searches into things, it extends knowledge, it has a sincere aim, i. e.: to have aright heart, a virtuous life, so as to regulate the home, to govern the nation and give peace to all under Heaven. The book of Great Learning, Ja Hsigh, has already clearly spoken of these, and the least thing is to govern the country and give peace to all under Heaven. The foundation is laid in illustrating virtue; for our religion in discussing government regards virtue as the foundation, and wealth as the superstructure. Mencius says: "When the rulers and ministers are only seeking gain the nation is in danger." He also says: "There is no benevelent man who neglects his parents, there is no righteous man who helps himself before his ruler." From this it is apparent what is most important. Not that we do not speak of gain; the Great Learning says: "There is a right to get gain. Let the producers be many and the consumers few. Let there be activity in production, and economy in the expenditure. Then the wealth will always be sufficient. But it is important that the high and low shall share it alike. As to how to govern the country and give peace to all under Heaven the nine paths are most important. The nine paths are: (1) cultivate a good character, (2) honor the good, (3) love your parents, (4) respect great officers, (5) carry out the wishes of the ruler and ministers, (6) regard the common people as your children, (7) invite all kinds of skillful workmen, (8) be kind to strangers, (9) have consideration for all the feudal chiefs. These are the great principles. Their orign and history may also be stated. Far up in mythical ancient times before literature was know Fu Hi arose and drew the eight diagrams in order to understand the superhuman powers and the nature of all things. At the time of Tang Yao (B. C. 2,356) they were able to illustrate noble virtue. Nine generations lived together in one home in love and peace, and the people were firm

and intelligent. Yao handed down to Shun a saying: "Sincerely hold fast to the 'Mean.'" Shun transmitted it to Yu and said: "The mind of man is restless—prone to err; its affinity for the right way is small. Be discriminating, be undivided that you may sincerely hold fast to the "Mean." Yu transmitted this to Tang of the Siang dynasty (B. C. 1766.) Tang transmitted it to Kings Wen and Wu of the Chow dynasty (B. C. 1122.) These transmitted it to Duke Kung. And these were all able to observe this rule of the heart by which they held fasl; to the "Mean." The Chow dynasty later degenerated, then there arose Confucius who transmitted the doctrines of Yao and Shun as if they had been his ancestors, elegantly displayed the doctrines of Wen and Woo edited the Odes, and the History, reformed religion, made notes on the Book of Changes, wrote the Annals of Spring and Autumn, and spoke of governing the nation, saying, "Treat matters seriously and be faithful, be temperate and love men, employ men according to proper times, and in teaching your pupils you must do so with love." He said to Yen Tsze : "Self-sacrifice and truth is benevolence. If you can for one whole day entirely sacrifice self and be true, then all under Heaven will become benevolent." Speaking of being able to put away selfishness and attaining to the truth of Heaven, everything is possible to such a heart. Alas! He was not able to get his virtues put into practice, but his disciples recorded his words and deeds and wrote the Confucian Analects. His disciple Jseng Tsze composed the Great Learning. His proud son Tsze Sze composed the doctrine of the Mean (Chung Yung.) When the contending states were quarreling, Mencius, with a loving heart that could not endure wrong arose to save the times. The rulers of the time would not use him, so he composed a book in seven chapters. After this, although the ages changed, this religion flourished. In the Han dynasty Tung Chung Shu (twentieth century B. C.) in the Sui dynasty Wang Tung (A. D. 573-617); in the Tang dynasty Han Yo (A. D. 768-824) each made some part of this doctrine better known. In the Sung dynasty (A. D. 960-1260) these were the disciples of the philosophers Cheng, Chow, and Chang, searching into the spiritual natue of man, and Chu Fu-Tsze collected their works and this religion shone with great brightness. Our present dynasty, respecting scholarship and considering truth im-

346 IMPROVEMENT ERA portant, placed the philosopher Chow in Confucian temples to be reverenced and sacrificed to; Confucianists all follow Chu Fn-Tsze's comments. From ancient times till now those who followed the doctrines of Confucius were able to govern the country; whenever these were not followed there was disorder.