just indignation which inspired the heart of Confucius, but suggested
that before he entered upon such an enterprise, it would be best to
confer with his ministers. “Sire,” said the philosopher, “I have
acquitted myself of a duty in laying this case before you; but it
will be useless to insist upon it before your ministers, whom I know
are disinclined to enter into my views. Reflect, I pray you, as a
sovereign, upon what I now propose, and consult only with yourself as
to its execution. Your servants are not sovereigns, and have no other
than their own ends to gain, to which they sometimes sacrifice the good
of their master and the glory of the state. I have no other end in view
than to support the cause of justice; and I conjure you, by the sacred
names of justice and good order, to go and exterminate this miscreant
from the earth, and, by restoring the throne of Tsí to its rightful
owner, to exhibit to the world your justice, and strike a salutary
terror into the hearts of all who may wish to imitate this successful
villany.” On leaving, the prince said to Confucius, “I will think
seriously on what you have said, and, if it be possible, will carry it
into execution.”
Towards the end of his days, when he had completed his revision of the
Five Classes, he, with great solemnity, dedicated them to Heaven. He
assembled all his disciples and led them out of the town to one of the
hills where sacrifices had been usually offered for many years. He here
erected a table, or altar, upon which he placed the books; and then,
turning his face to the north, adored Heaven, and returned thanks upon
his knees, in a humble manner, for having had life and strength granted
him to enable him to accomplish this laborious undertaking; he implored
heaven to grant that the benefit to his countrymen from so arduous a
labor might not be small. He had prepared himself for this ceremony by
privacy, fasting and prayer. Chinese pictures of this scene represent
the sage in the attitude of supplication, and a pencil of light, or
a rainbow, descending from the sky upon the books, while his scholars
stand around in admiring wonder.
In his seventy-third year, a few days before his death, leaning upon
his staff, Confucius tottered about the house, singing out,—
“The great mountain is broken!
The strong beam is thrown down!
The wise man is decayed!”
He then related a dream he had had the night before, to his pupil,
Tsz’kung, which he regarded as a presage of his own death; and, after
keeping his bed seven days, he died on the 18th day of the second
month, and was buried in the same grave with his wife. Tsz’kung mourned
for him six years in a shed erected by the side of his grave, and then
returned home. His death occurred 479 B. C., the year of the battle of
Platæa, in Greece, and about seven years before the birth of Socrates.
Many events of great importance happened during his life, in western
countries, of which the return of the Jews, and building of the second
temple, Xerxes’ invasion of Greece, the expulsion of the kings from
Rome, the conquest of Egypt, and establishment of the Persian monarchy
in its fullest extent, were the most important.
Posthumous honors in great variety have been conferred upon Confucius.
Soon after his death, the prince of Lú entitled him _Ní fú_, or father
Ní; which under the reign of Lintí, of the Hán dynasty, 197 B. C., was
changed to _Ní kung_, or duke _Ní_, and his portrait was ordered to be
hung up in the public school. By the emperors of the Tang dynasty it
was made _sien shing_, the ancient sage. He was next styled the royal
preacher, and his effigy clad in king’s robes, and a crown put on
its head. The Ming dynasty called him the most holy ancient teacher,
Kungtsz’, which title is now continued to him. His descendants have
continued to dwell in Shántung province, and the heads of the family
have enjoyed the rank of nobility, being almost the only hereditary
noblemen in the empire out of the imperial kingdom. They are called
Yenshing kung. In the reign of Kánghí, one hundred and twenty years
ago, the descendants of the sage numbered eleven thousand males; the
present is said to be the seventy-fourth generation. The chief of the
family is commonly called the “holy duke,” and enjoys all the honors
of a prince. Whenever he visits the court, the emperor receives him
with almost the same respect and ceremony as he does ambassadors from
foreign countries. P. Amiot relates that he was honored with a call
from him, upon one of his visits to court. “He was a pleasant and
modest man, whom knowledge had not filled with conceit. He received,
when he came to our house, some religious books, which we offered
him in exchange for some Chinese books he gave us. His name was Kung
Chauhán, and he was of the seventy-first generation in direct descent
from the sage,—in all probability the oldest family in the world, of
which the regular descent can be traced.” In the Life of Confucius,
written by Amiot, which forms one of the volumes of the _Mémoires sur
les Chinoises_, there is a brief account of each of these heads of
this family, with notices of other distinguished persons belonging to
the house.
In every district in the empire there is a temple dedicated to
Confucius, and his name is usually suspended in every school-room in
the land, and incense is burned before it morning and evening by the
scholars. Adoration is paid to him by all ranks. In 1457, Jentsung,
of the Ning dynasty, set up a copper statue of the sage in one of the
halls of the palace, and ordered his officers, whenever they came to
the palace, to go to this room, and respectfully salute Confucius
before speaking of the affairs of state, even if the monarch were
present. But this custom was represented to another emperor as tending
to the worship of images, like the Budhists; and on that account the
memorialist represented that simple tablets, inscribed with the name of
him who was worshipped, were much better. This advice was followed; the
statues of Confucius and his disciples were suppressed, by order of the
emperor Chítsung, in 1530, and simple tablets have since been set up in
the temples erected to his name.
The writings of Confucius, as might be expected are held in great
veneration, and regarded as the best books in the language. He revised
all the ancient books, containing the precepts of the kings and
emperors of former times, and left them pretty much as they are at the
present day. He explained the Yi King, or Book of Changes, commented
upon the Lí Kí, or Book of Rites, and compiled the Shí King, or Book
of Odes. He composed the Shú King, or Book of Records, and the Chun
Tsaú, or Spring and Autumn Annals,—so called, it is said, because the
commendations contained therein are life-giving, like spring, and the
reproofs are life-withering, like autumn. The books are collectively
called the Wú King, or Five Classics. The Hiáu King, or Memoir on
Filial Duty; the Chung yung, or True Medium; the Tái Hióh, or Superior
Lessons, and the Lun Yü, or Conversations of Confucius, are all
considered, by the Chinese, as containing the doctrines of the sage;
the first one is sometimes ascribed to his own pen. The last three,
with the work of Mencius, constitute the Sz Shü, or Four Books, and
were arranged in their present form by Ching fútsz, about eight hundred
years ago.
The leading features of the morality of Confucius are, subordination
to superiors, and kind, upright dealing with our fellow-men. From the
duty, honor, and obedience owed by a child to his parents, he proceeds
to inculcate the obligations of wives to their husbands, of subjects
to their prince, and of ministers to their king, while he makes him
amenable to Heaven. These principles are perpetually inculcated in
the Confucian writings, and are imbodied in solemn ceremonials, and
apparently trivial forms of mere etiquette. And, probably, it is this
feature of his ethics which has made him such a favorite with all the
governments of China for many centuries past, and at this day. These
principles, and these forms, are early instilled into young minds,
and form their conscience; the elucidation and enforcement of these
principles and forms is the business of students who aspire to be
magistrates or statesmen; and it is no doubt owing in great part, to
the force of these principles on the national mind and habits, that
China holds steadfastly together—the largest associated population
in the world. Every one is interested in upholding doctrines which
give him power over those under him; and as the instruction of his
own youthful days has given him the habit of obedience and respect
to all his superiors, so now, when he is a superior, he exacts the
same obedience from his juniors, and public opinion accords it to
him. The observance of such principles has tended to consolidate the
national mind of China in that peculiar uniformity which has been
remarked by those who have known this people. It has also tended to
restrain all independence of thought, and keep even the most powerful
intellects under an incubus which, while they were prevented by outward
circumstances from getting at the knowledge of other lands was too
great for their unassisted energies to throw off. It cannot be doubted
that there have been many intellects of commanding power among the
Chinese, but ignorance of the literature and condition of other nations
has led them to infer that there was nothing worthy of notice out of
their own borders, and to rest contented with explaining and enforcing
the maxims of their sage.
Confucius must be regarded as a great man, if superiority to the times
in which one lives is a criterion of greatness. The immense influence
he has exercised over the minds of his countrymen cannot, perhaps,
be regarded as conclusive evidence of his superiority; but no mind
of weak or ordinary powers could have stamped its own impress upon
other minds as he has done. He never rose to those sublime heights of
contemplation which Plato attained, nor does his mind seem to have been
of a very discursive nature. He was content with telling his disciples
how to act, and encouraging them to make themselves and others better,
by following the rules he gave; not leading them into those endless
disquisitions and speculations, upon which the Greek moralists so
acutely reasoned, but which exercised no power over the conscience and
life. The leading features of his doctrines have been acknowledged by
mankind the world over, and are imbodied in their most common rules
of life. “Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God,” is a
direction of inspired Writ; and, so far as he knew these duties, he
inculcated them. He said little or nothing about spirits or gods, nor
did he give any directions about worshipping them; but the veneration
for parents, which he enforced, was, in fact, idolatrous, and has since
degenerated into the grossest idolatry.
[Illustration]
Transcriber’s Note:
Italics are indicated by _underscores_.
Small capitals have been rendered in full capitals.
Footnote is placed to the end of chapter.
Ligatures [oe] have been converted into oe.
A number of minor spelling errors have been corrected without note.