Confucianism

“One who rules by moral force is like the polar star, which remains in its place while all the lesser stars do homage to it” (Analects, pg.54), a quote once said by Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. Confucian moral virtues have the potential to shape and provide a foundation for China’s politics, society, and ideology. As an aspiring member of China’s ruling class, it would be wise to choose Confucianism for the rising Han Dynasty of 201 BC. Confucianism has been one of the key state religions during the Zhou Period in China and should continue to be so in the Han Dynasty in order to promote moral cultivation and state development for a flourishing Chinese empire. In contrast to the other religions of the time such as Legalism, Daoism, and Buddhism, Confucianism provides a strong political, intellectual, and moral foundation for both the ruling class and the commoners of the society.

The Confucian religion was founded by Confucius and developed in 551 BC. The major influence of Confucius was his stress on the moral, ethical, political, and practical emphasis of education (Lecture 17). The education was based on the Four Books and Five Classics which were texts written and inspired by Confucius. Within this set of books comes the book of Analects which contains his greatest sayings which are inspirational in shaping the society with moral foundations. For example, Confucius once said, “A gentlemen can see a question from all sides without bias. The small man is biased and can see a question only from one side (Analects pg.55).” In relation to the quote, Confucius emphasizes the importance of self cultivation. In response as a state ideology, it provides a foundation for moral cultivation.

In order to elaborate the importance of Confucianism’s moral cultivation, one must come to understand its five virtues and significance of a family based relationship. The five virtues are known to be humaneness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness (Lecture...