21 Facts About Confucianism

1.

Confucianism, known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China.

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2.

Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or simply a way of life, Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.

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3.

Confucianism was suppressed during the Legalist and autocratic Qin dynasty, but survived.

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4.

Confucianism focuses on the practical order that is given by a this-worldly awareness of the Tian.

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5.

Worldly concern of Confucianism rests upon the belief that human beings are fundamentally good, and teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor, especially self-cultivation and self-creation.

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6.

Confucianism holds one in contempt, either passively or actively, for failure to uphold the cardinal moral values of ren and yi.

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7.

Traditionally, cultures and countries in the East Asian cultural sphere are strongly influenced by Confucianism, including China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, as well as various territories settled predominantly by Han Chinese people, such as Singapore.

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8.

The use of the term "Confucianism" has been avoided by some modern scholars, who favor "Ruism" and "Ruists" instead.

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9.

Confucianism revolves around the pursuit of the unity of the individual self and the God of Heaven, or, otherwise said, around the relationship between humanity and Heaven.

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10.

Confucianism is concerned with finding "middle ways" between yin and yang at every new configuration of the world.

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11.

Confucianism gave an explanation of zhengming to one of his disciples.

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12.

Confucianism was educated in Shang-Zhou theology, which he contributed to transmit and reformulate giving centrality to self-cultivation and agency of humans, and the educational power of the self-established individual in assisting others to establish themselves.

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13.

Confucianism, despite supporting the importance of obeying national authority, places this obedience under absolute moral principles that curbed the willful exercise of power, rather than being unconditional.

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14.

Confucianism — including the most pro-authoritarian scholars such as Xunzi — has always recognised the Right of revolution against tyranny.

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15.

Confucianism influenced the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who was attracted to the philosophy because of its perceived similarity to his own.

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16.

Confucianism praised Confucian ethics and politics, portraying the sociopolitical hierarchy of China as a model for Europe.

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17.

In later centuries, Confucianism heavily influenced many educated martial artists of great influence, such as Sun Lutang, especially from the 19th century onwards, when bare-handed martial arts in China became more widespread and had begun to more readily absorb philosophical influences from Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism.

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18.

Confucius and Confucianism were opposed or criticised from the start, including Laozi's philosophy and Mozi's critique, and Legalists such as Han Fei ridiculed the idea that virtue would lead people to be orderly.

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19.

Some South Koreans believe Confucianism has not contributed to the modernisation of South Korea.

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20.

Confucianism "largely defined the mainstream discourse on gender in China from the Han dynasty onward.

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21.

Confucianism's stresses the complementarity and equal importance of the male and female roles according to yin-yang theory, but she clearly accepts the dominance of the male.

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