Confucian Tradition in East Asia
The purpose of this rese
This is an excerpt from the paper...
The purpose of this research is to examine the key ideas of the Confucian tradition in East Asia. The plan of the research will be to set forth brief descriptions of such features of Confucianism as filial piety, righteousness, propriety and self-cultivation, benevolence, perfect virtue, and moral and ethical character, and then to discuss institutions that were developed in Imperial China from the third century B.C. to the twentieth century A.D., to make Confucian ideas politically workable and effective. As well, the Confucian influence on the political and social institutions and culture in Japan prior to 1868 will be discussed, with reference to the key ideas of the tradition.The key ideas of Confucianism are set forth in short narrative texts designed to illustrate those ideas. And it is important to realize that these ideas have a societal function. Consider ancestor worship or filial piety, which plays an important role in both family and society. As the Classic of Filial Piety notes, He who loves his parents will not dare to incur the risk of being hated by any man, and he who reveres his parents will not dare to incur the risk of being contemned by any man. When love and reverence of the Son of T'ien are thus carried to the utmost in the service of his parents, the lessons of his virtue affect all the people, and he becomes a pattern to all within the four seas: this is the filial piety of the Son of T'ien. The reason the family is so important to Confu
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nfucianism in Imperial China.
To understand the political and social institutions that were developed to make Confucian ideas workable and usable in Japan prior to 1868, it is important to understand a competing ideology--Buddhism--and its influence on Japanese culture. For a period, Buddhism had state sponsorship, and in Japan Buddhism evolved into Zen. There is evidence that Buddhist and Confucian ideals were in conflict in Japan and China alike, as shown in a discussion of the Seventeen-Article Constitution of prince Shotoku.
The influence of Confucian ethical and political doctrines is almost everywhere apparent in this set of basic principles of government. In Article II, however, Buddhism is specifically subscribed to as contributing to the ideal of social harmony. The fact that most of these principles are stated in very general terms reflects the characteristic outlook of Confucianism: the ruler should offer his people moral guidance and instruction, not burden them with detailed laws which involve compulsion rather than elicit cooperation. Therefore this Constitution exhorts the people to lay aside partisan differences and accept imperial rule in order to achieve social harmony.
On the other hand, the second of the 1
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3200
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)
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