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The Teaching of Confucius

Dr. M. V. Kamath

My dear Gauri,

If there is one name with which Chinese culture has been associated, it is that of Confucius- Kung Fu-tsu or Kung, the Master. The Chinese speak of him reverentially as the First Teacher, not because there were no teachers before him but because he stands above all of them in moral grandeur.

Confucius lived about the same time as the Buddha. He was born around 551 B.C His father died when he was hardly three years old and he was brought up by a wonderful but impoverished mother. To assist her he had to do many menial tasks. This gave him a true understanding of how the common people lived and what their problems were.

He was born at a time when China was passing through a great deal of turbulence. There was interminable warfare among many small states. Soldiers were paid on the basis of producing the severed heads of the enemy. Inevitably, when conquering armies passed by, there was indiscriminate killing. Whole populations, sometimes as many as 400,000, were beheaded! Life in China at that time was anything but safe. There were no abiding principles to live by.

This is where Confucius’ teachings became important. He preached five values: Jen, Chuntzu, Li, To and Wen, meaning goodness, gentleness, propriety (the right thing to do at any given time), government by virtue and the arts of peace. Confucius was an excellent teacher.

His wisdom is collected in what is referred to as the Analects of Confucius . This is a collection of anecdotes and maxims. A few samples are as follows:

The Master said: “The true gentleman is friendly but not familiar; the inferior man is familiar but not friendly.”

The king asked: “What would you say of the man who is liked by all his fellow men?” Confucius replied: “That is not sufficient. What is better is that the good among his fellow citizens like him and the bad hate him.”

The Master said: “The well-bred are dignified but not pompous. The ill-bred are pompous but not dignified.”

Confucius’ method of teaching was like that of Socrates, of whom I have written to you in an earlier letter. Confucius was a most informal man and not pompous. He loved to be with people, to dine out and he could join his friends in singing. He could also drink, but in moderation.

Early in his life he established himself as a teacher. But he wanted to work for the government because he felt that it was only through government office that he could make himself effective. He had supreme confidence in his ability to change society, if only he was given a chance, he never really rose to the top in the administrative service for he could be brutally frank.

Once the ruler of his own state, who had come to power by usurping it, asked Confucius for advice on how to rule. Confucius replied that before the ruler sought to govern others, he had better learn to govern himself!

After he turned fifty, Confucius, thinking that he had a divine mission, spent thirteen years travelling from state to state giving advice to rulers on how to improve their government. But he achieved little success. People began to say: “Great indeed is Confucius! He knows about everything, but has made no name in anything!”

But it is a measure of his greatness that Confucius came to be acknowledged as “the greatest single intellectual force of his time” only after he died! He died in 478 B.C at the ripe age of 73.

Confucius did not establish a religion as much as a code of ethics and right behavior. He would tell stories to illustrate his point. One of the best known of all the stories of Confucius is how on the lonely side of Mount T’ai, he heard the mourning wail of a woman. He went over to her and asked why she was weeping. The woman said: “My husband’s father was killed here by a tiger, my husband also, and now my son has met the same fate!” “Then why”, asked Confucius, “do you live in such a dreadful place?”

“Because”, replied the woman, “there is no oppressive ruler here!” Kings and rulers would immediately get the message.

Said Confucius:

If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in character.

If there is beauty in character there will be harmony in the home.

If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.

Isn’t it beautifully said?

In my next letter I shall deal with early trade between India and the West and how India’s wealth attracted traders from Arabia, Greece and Rome.

Your loving,

Ajja