33. Confucius: The Analects
A Sourcebook in Global Philosophy - Mohammed Rustom
Winnie Sung [+]
Nanyang Technological University
Peimin Ni [+]
Grand Valley State University
Description
Confucius or Kongzi (d. ca. 479BCE), whose influence on Chinese history and culture is profound, was born in the state of Lu in ancient China, which is located in present-day Shandong Province. It is generally believed that his ancestors belonged to a noble family but that his family had fallen upon hard times during his youth. Confucius had some seventy-two disciples. They left Lu and travelled to different states, only to eventually return to Lu where Confucius spent the rest of his days teaching and editing classical texts. The main source of Confucius’s teachings is the Analects. It is a book of conversations, mainly between Confucius and his disciples, compiled by Confucius’s disciples some sixty or seventy years after Confucius’s death. Ren and li (ritual propriety) are two important concepts in Confucius’s thought. A morally superior person must observe ritual, but ritual is not just the physical performance of certain rites. Underlying ritual propriety is the appropriate attitude, namely ren. Ren is a very complex concept that is difficult to translate into an English word. It is variously translated as “human-heartedness,” “benevolence,” “goodness,” and “humaneness.” Ren is an ethical quality that is characteristic of human beings. To be characterized by ren is to have concern for others.