1. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature 376-D Week 4

4. Travels of Confucius in Eastern and Southern China 517-484 BCE.

5. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  Regardless of any academic controversy about whether the Confucian social ethic amounts to a religion, it has been around for many centuries.  It has aspects of a religion, and yet can also be seen as a system of scholarship.  Until 1905 the Confucian classical writings were used as the basis for education, and education was used as a means of recruiting an administrative class, which was the fabric of the imperial system.

6. Confucius in scholarly dress, as imagined by an artist 11 centuries after he lived. The Confucian sayings may also be imagined.

7. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  Both local and imperial ideology incorporated the cult of ancestors, so society was seen as a living past as well as a living present, and Confucius was highly regarded among official ancestors.[1]  Though in his writings, Confucius spends more time examining how we should live than probing the ultimate nature of reality, he does assume that the right to a good life depends utterly upon its harmony with the larger patterns of reality.  [1] Smart, Ninian & Hecht, Richard D., Sacred Texts of the World: A Universal Anthology, Crossroad, New York, 2000, p. 305

9. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  Confucius strongly felt that human affairs can prosper only when they are moral and derived from the implicit assumption that the cosmos itself is a moral order. [1]  Therefore, no student of religious heritage can afford to ignore the teachings of Confucius.  [1] Novak, Philip, The World’s Wisdom, Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1994, p. 112

10. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  The body of thought linked to Confucius has profoundly and continuously influenced about one-fifth of the world's population for over 2500 years.  Although the Chinese mind has also been shaped by folk religion, Taoism, Buddhism and Communism (Nihilism), Confucianism remains its chief model of moral instruction.  The primary source of Confucius’s great influence consists in his preservation of an ancient Canon of ten (10) texts, the last four of which he wrote himself.

11. An extract from Chapter Nine, “The Commonwealth State” in The Book of Rites (Confuscius)

12. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  Four Ancient Classics — 1) The Analects, 2) The Great Learning, 3) The Mean (Great Harmony), and 4) The Book of Mencius — refer to ancient Confucian texts that were used officially in civil service exams in China for over 500 years.  They introduced Confucian literature to students who then progressed to the more difficult texts: The Six Classics: 1) The Book of History, 2) The Book of Poems, 3) The Book of Change (I Ching), 4) The Book of Rites, 5) The Spring and Autum Annals, and 6) The Book of Filial Piety. [1][1] Novak, Philip, The World’s Wisdom, Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1994, p. 112

14. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  The Analects are particularly well known as a collection of sayings and observations about the master, Confucius, collected after his death by his devoted disciples.  The I-Ching, the book of changes, is not only the oldest but also the best known and most widely read of the five existing Chinese classics.  Reaching back in time from 3000 to 7000 years, it may well be the scripture containing the most ancient oral traditions still known to us.

15. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  This ancient book of wisdom of alchemy and self-analysis, The I-Ching, has been in written form for more than 3000 years, and has existed since the earliest Chinese cultures with authors unknown.  Actually, Confucianist writers added their own views and insights to this work that had more of a Taoist orientation in that, “The constant intermingling of heaven and earth gives shape to all things…”. [1]  [1] Camphausen, Rufus, The Divine Library, Inner Traditions international, Vermont, 1992, p. 31

16. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  The philosophical and divinatory basis of the I-Ching is found in the permutation of the forces of the female, earth – yin, and the male, heaven – yang.  The continuous interaction of these two universal forces produces change, seen as the movement of the Tao.  The dualistic yet complementary forces develop into the 8 trigrams made up of 3 lines of yin and 3 lines of yang, which in turn combine into 64 hexagrams.

17. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  By way of comparison, Confucius is a different kind of sage. Unlike the great spiritual personages of the Western literary traditions, he is not a prophet who cried out in the wilderness or proclaimed the revelation of God while railing against human indifference.  Nor does Confucius fit the profile of the classic spiritual hero of India or Yogi, through ascetic withdrawal from the world with sustained discipline tapping superhuman reservoirs of wisdom.

19. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  Confucius is an educator, a teacher.  He is a learner and a person in the community who encourages nothing less than the full moral maturity of the entire population.  In the words of Chinese scholar, Lin Yutang, “Like mellow old masters, and unlike magazine covers, these sayings … are for the connoisseurs, i.e., the moral connoisseurs.” accurately characterize the reverence for the sayings of Confucius.

21. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  Like its fellow traditions of wisdom, Confucianism understands that authentic humanity evolves to the extent that blind egoism erodes.  To expand the heart and mind in ever wider circles of empathy so that, starting with oneself, those circles embrace one's family, ones community, one's nation, and ultimately, all humanity.  This is the Confucian aim.

22. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  Besides Confucius himself, Mencius was one of the great practical teachers of the Confucian tradition, saying that “right conduct toward others could not help but be expressed in varying degrees depending on the degree of personal relationship involved.” [1]  Being practical about human nature Mencius said that people tend by their nature toward goodness, and it is only the adverse circumstances of their nurture that erode goodness and engender evil. [2]  [1] Novak, Philip, The World’s Wisdom, Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1994, p. 134  [2] Novak, Philip, The World’s Wisdom, Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1994, p. 135

23. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  The goal of Confuscianism, then, is for all people to express their inborn goodness; and as a group, to establish a social order that makes the expression of good possible for all.

25. The Roots of Chinese Sacred Literature  References:  Camphausen, Rufus, The Divine Library, Inner Traditions international, Vermont, 1992  Novak, Philip, The World’s Wisdom, Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1994  Smart, Ninian & Hecht, Richard D., Sacred Texts of the World: A Universal Anthology, Crossroad, New York, 2000