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BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY AND MEYCAUAYAN

COLLEGE CONSORTIUM

GRADUTE SCHOOL

Relationships

(Confucianism)

Relationships are central to Confucianism. Particular duties arise from one's particular

situation in relation to others. The individual stands simultaneously in several different

relationships with different people: as a junior in relation to parents and elders, and as a senior in

relation to younger siblings, students, and others. While juniors are considered in Confucianism

to owe their seniors reverence, seniors also have duties of benevolence and concern toward

juniors. This theme of mutuality is prevalent in East Asian cultures even to this day. Social

harmony the great goal of Confucianism therefore results in part from every individual knowinghis or her place in the social order, and playing his or her part well. When Duke Jing of Qing

asked about government, by which he meant proper administration so as to bring social harmony,

Confucius replied:

There is government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is

father, and the son is son.

Filial piety

"Filial piety" (Chinese: ; pinyin: xio) is considered among the greatest of virtues and

must be shown towards both the living and the dead (including even remote ancestors). The term

"filial" (meaning "of a child") characterizes the respect that a child, originally a son, should show

to his parents. This relationship was extended by analogy to a series of five relationships

(Chinese:; pinyin: wln):

The Five Bonds

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Ruler to Subject Father to Son Husband to Wife Elder Brother to Younger Brother

Friend to Friend

Specific duties were prescribed to each of the participants in these sets of relationships. Such

duties were also extended to the dead, where the living stood as sons to their deceased family.

This led to the veneration of ancestors. The only relationship where respect for elders wasn't

stressed was the Friend to Friend relationship. In all other relationships, high reverence was held

for elders. In time filial piety was also built into the Chinese legal system: a criminal would be

punished more harshly if the culprit had committed the crime against a parent, while fathers

often exercised enormous power over their children. Much the same was true of other unequal

relationships. The main source of our knowledge of the importance of filial piety is The Book of

Filial Piety, a work attributed to Confucius and his son but almost certainly written in the 3rdcentury BCE. Filial piety has continued to play a central role in Confucian thinking to the present

day.

The gentleman

The term jnz (Chinese:; literally "nobleman") is crucial to classical Confucianism.

Confucianism exhorts all people to strive for the ideal of a "gentleman" or "perfect man". A

succinct description of the "perfect man" is one who "combines the qualities of saint, scholar,

and gentleman." In modern times the masculine translation in English is also traditional and is

still frequently used. Elitism was bound up with the concept, and gentlemen were expected to act

as moral guides to the rest of society.

They were to:

Cultivate themselves morally; Show filial piety and loyalty where these are due; Cultivate humanity, or benevolence.

The great exemplar of the perfect gentleman is Confucius himself. Perhaps the tragedy of

his life was that he was never awarded the high official position which he desired, from which he

wished to demonstrate the general well-being that would ensue if humane persons ruled andadministered the state. The opposite of the Jnz was the Xiorn (Chinese: ; pinyin:

xiorn; literally "small person"). The character in this context means petty in mind and heart,

narrowly self-interested, greedy, superficial, or materialistic.

Rectification of names

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Confucius believed that social disorder often stemmed from failure to perceive,

understand, and deal with reality. Fundamentally, then, social disorder can stem from the failure

to call things by their proper names, and his solution to this was Zhngmng (Chinese: ;

pinyin: zhngmng; literally "rectification of terms"). He gave an explanation of zhengming to

one of his disciples.

Zi-lu said, "The ruler of Wei has been waiting for you, in order with you to administer the

government. What will you consider the first thing to be done?"

The Master replied, "What is necessary is to rectify names."

"So! indeed!" said Zi-lu. "You are wide of the mark! Why must there be such rectification?"

The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior man, in regard to what he

does not know, shows a cautious reserve.

If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to

success.

When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand

or foot.

Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spokenappropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior

man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect."

"On the Rectification of Names" claims the ancient sage-kings chose names (Chinese:;

pinyin: mng) that directly corresponded with actualities (Chinese: ; pinyin: sh), but later

generations confused terminology, coined new nomenclature, and thus could no longer

distinguish right from wrong.