Communication Between Cultures

and frequently use the word “no.” Confucian philosophy, on the other hand,

encourages indirect communication. For example, “In Chinese culture, requests

often are implied rather than stated explicitly for the sake of relational harmony and

face maintenance.”^258 Yum makes much the same point while demonstrating the link

between Confucianism and talk:“The Confucian legacy of consideration for others

and concern for proper human relationships has led to the development of communi-

cation patterns that preserve one another’s face. Indirect communication helps to pre-

vent the embarrassment of rejection by the other person or disagreement among

partners.”^259

Confucianism and Ethics

As you have seen throughout this section, Confucius, like Buddha, was concerned

more with this life than with the next. Because of that basic outlook, both systems

focused their ethical advice on how people treated each other. This approach is

reflected in the fact Confucius never used words such as“good”and“evil”when

speaking about the human condition. He was interested in what people could do to

bring out the best in each other. What he taught his followers was how“one ought to

become involved in reforming the larger social and political structures of one’s soci-

ety, and how one ought to conduct oneself when in a position of influence and

power.”^260 Two of the most important ways of ethical conduct, according to Confu-

cius, werebenevolenceandreciprocity. For Confucius, benevolence, as an ethical act,

“denotes humaneness, fellow feelings, even love.”^261 InAnalects4.1–6, Confucius

comments on this ethical virtue, noting,“If the will is set on benevolence, there

will be no practice of wickedness.”

Matthews writes,“The word reciprocity is a good description for Confucian

ethics.”^262 The Confucian attitude toward reciprocity and ethics is one you have

been exposed to in nearly all of the religious traditions we have examined. For Con-

fucius, the issue was simple:“People should avoid doing to others what they would

not want done to them. They should do those things that they should like done to

themselves.”^263

Confucianism and Notions About Death

Our discussion of death as applied to Confucianism will be very brief when compared

to other traditions, as death and an afterlife were not important to Confucius. He was

a practical man and felt there was no need to speculate about things that nobody

knew about for sure. When asked questions about death and an afterlife, it was

reported that Confucius would always respond,“How can one know about death

before he knows clearly about life?”For Confucius, a person should strive to live the

best possible life while here on earth. When urged by his disciples to speak on the

subject of death, he would proffer a rather simple response. In terms of an afterlife,

he would tell his students,“You are not able even to serve man. How can you serve

the spirits?”^264

While Confucius showed little interest in the topic of death,“Rites for the dead

are by no means neglected by Confucians.”^265 Because of his strong belief in such vir-

tues as filial piety, honor, and formal ritual, Confucius urged his followers to engage in

156 CHAPTER 4•Worldview: Cultural Explanations of Life and Death

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