75
Asked by a student to explain the
rules to be followed by the seeker of
ren, Confucius replied, “One should
see nothing improper, hear nothing
improper, say nothing improper,
do nothing improper.”
Confucius was concerned not
simply with self-cultivation, but
with the relations between people,
and the proper way to behave
in a family, a community, and
a larger society. Confucius himself
admitted students of all classes as
his disciples, and fundamentally
believed that virtue lay in self-
cultivation rather than noble birth.
Because of the rigidity of the
prevailing hierarchy in China’s
feudal society, Confucius had to
find a way to promote individual
virtue without calling for a simple
meritocracy. He did so by arguing
that the virtuous man accepts and
understands his place in the social
order, and uses his virtue to fulfill
his allotted role rather than to
transcend it. “The superior man,”
he said, “does what is proper to the
station in which he is; he does not
desire to go beyond this.”
Attributes of a wise ruler
As for the rulers, Confucius advised
that rather than exercising their
powers in an arbitrary and unjust
way, they should lead by example,
and that treating the people with
generosity and kindness would
encourage virtue, loyalty, and right
behavior. However, in order to
govern others, it is necessary first
to govern oneself. For Confucius,
a humane ruler was defined by his
practice of ren; without it, he might
forfeit the Mandate of Heaven. In
many ways Confucius’s idea of the
perfect ruler echoes Laozi’s concept
of the dao: the less the ruler does,
the more is achieved. The ruler is
the stable center around which the
activity of the kingdom revolves.
Rulers who took this advice
to heart also found themselves in
need of advisors and civil servants
whose skill and trustworthiness ❯❯See also: Living in harmony 38 ■ Aligning the self with the dao 66–67
■ Selfless action 110–11 ■ Man as a manifestation of God 188
ANCIENT AND CLASSICAL BELIEFS
Imperial authority in China was
expressed through decisive rule
that reinforced the notion of a stable
power center; well-advised judgments
were less likely to require revision.Confucius
According to tradition,
Confucius was born in
551 BCE in Qufu, in the state
of Lu, China. His name was
originally Kong Qiu, and only
later did he earn the title
Kong Fuzi, or Master Kong.
Little is known about his life,
except that he was from a
well-to-do family, and that as
a young man he worked as a
servant to support his family
after his father died. He
nevertheless managed to find
time to study, and became an
administrator in the Lu court,
but when his suggestions to
the rulers were ignored he left
to concentrate on teaching.
As a teacher he traveled
throughout the Chinese
empire, returning to Qufu
at the end of his life. He died
there in 479 BCE. His teaching
survives in fragments and
sayings passed down orally by
his disciples and subsequently
collected in the Analects and
anthologies compiled by
Confucian scholars.Key works5th century BCE Analects;
Doctrine of the Mean;
Great Learning