Confucianism

By: Alisha, Mandy, Michael, and Preshia

Place of Origin • Confucianism was originated in East Asia• extended from countries such as China,

Korea, Japan, and even Vietnam• founded by man named Confucius • Similar philosophies as Taoism.• Confucius teaches the 'Way of Heaven" • Gives moral/religious practice • People misunderstand this religion

because of the combination of religion and philosophy

• Confucianism has a practical nature

The Founder: Confucius

• born in Lu, China • good manners + virtue = control of

oneself • taught society to take responsibility for

their actions• Appointed magistrate of Chung-tu and

later became Minister of Justice of Lu• 496 BCE- Confucius left office• Taught his practices out of the borders

of Lu

551 BCE- 479 BCE

Mencius

• Followed and defended the principles of Confucius

• believed good is in all people and evil is only learned

Do not dwell on gods, live in the

present

Hsun Tzu

• brought Confucianism to life, explaining the importance of virtue

• warned evil could easily corrupt humans

Key Beliefs

• Golden Rule: "do not do to others what you would not want to have done to you.“

The 5 Relationships

• Father/son• Ruler/citizen• Husband/wife• Older brother/younger

brother• Friend/friend

6 Key Values • Li: includes ritual, propriety,

etiquette, etc. • Hsiao: love within the family: • Yi: righteousness • Xin: honesty and trustworthiness • Ren: benevolence, humaneness

towards others; the highest Confucian virtue

• Chung: loyalty to the state, etc.

Symbols• A hexagram figure from I

China• The I divinatory system of

the I Ching is made up of trigrams representing the ever changing elemental forces of the universe

Rituals and Ceremonies • Birth : The T'ai-shen (which is the

spirit of the fetus) • Reaching maturity- young adult is

served chicken• Marriage- proposal, engagement,

dowry, procession, marriage and reception, and morning after

• Death: corpse placed in coffin and there is a funeral

Adherences in the World• 6 million around the world• Only 26,000 in North

America• Mostly located in China and

the rest of Asia

Influence in the 21st Century• persevering, respecting

others, and the principles of relationships

• today many follow Confucius' advice

Religious Significance

• A rich tradition of scholarship• sacred writings include: 5

Classics (Wu Jing) and the 4 books (Si Shu)

• practices have been severely restricted even after the Mao Zedong era

Interesting Facts• Moral + social + political + religious thought = Confucianism • the wife offers cups of tea to the wedding guest• "Confucius was completely free from four things: he had no forgone

conclusions, no dogmatism, no obstinacy, and no egotism“• Some debate on whether Confucianism is a religion

GAME TIME!