Who Was Confucius?
According to Meher McArthur, author of Confucius, A Throneless King, Confucius was
- one of the most important figures in Chinese history
- regarded as one of the great philosophers in world history
- a contemporary of Buddha and predated Socrates
- an outspoken and uncompromising man who revolutionized Chinese society nearly 2,500 years ago
Confucius established many ideas that are taken for granted today. These include:
- respecting one’s parents
- the Golden Rule
- virtue being its own reward
Confucianism
The core of Confucianism is humanism, the belief that human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor especially including self-cultivation and self-creation. Confucianism focuses on the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of ethics.
Confucian ethical teachings include the following values:
- Li: includes ritual, propriety, and etiquette
- Hsiao: love of parents for their children and of children for their parents
- Yi: righteousness
- Xin: honesty and trustworthiness
- Jen: benevolence towards others; the highest Confucian virtue
