Thank you for visiting. This article is the fourth installment in a series explaining the original texts of Confucianism.
So far, I have looked at the original texts themselves — the Four Books and Five Classics. This time, changing the viewpoint, I organize and explain systematically the central ideas of Confucianism running through those original texts. Let us grasp the framework of how Confucianism showed “how a person should live.”
For an overview map of Confucianism’s original texts as a whole, please see this summary article.
The Five Constants — the Five Virtues a Person Should Have
Especially basic among the virtues Confucianism preaches is the “Five Constants.” These refer to five virtues a person should always have — “benevolence, righteousness, ritual, wisdom, fidelity.”
| Five Constants | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Benevolence | A heart of consideration that loves people. The highest virtue |
| Righteousness | Holding to the right course, not swayed by gain |
| Ritual | Keeping etiquette, manners, and social order |
| Wisdom | The wisdom to distinguish good and evil and reason in things |
| Fidelity | Having no falsehood in words, and answering trust |
Of these, the four — “benevolence, righteousness, ritual, wisdom” — correspond to Mencius’s “four beginnings” seen last time. Adding “fidelity” and arranging them into five was done, it is held, by the later Han-era Confucian Dong Zhongshu. The Five Constants, as the basic pillar, so to speak, of Confucian morals, remain the foundation of the East Asian sense of morality to this day.
World Mythology for Beginners (illustrated)View on Amazon →
The Origins of Religion: Why We Needed a ‘God’View on Amazon →
The Five Relations — the Five Basic Human Relationships
A great feature of Confucianism lies in grasping a human being not as an “isolated individual,” but always as “a being living within relationships.” The five basic human relationships are the “Five Relations.”
What I want to note is the point that these relationships are preached not as one-sided submission, but as mutual duties to be fulfilled (a reciprocal relationship). For example, in the ruler-subject relationship too, while the subject exhausts loyalty, the ruler bears the responsibility of treating the subject with ritual. By each fulfilling the virtue fitting their position, it was thought that society as a whole is harmonized.
Filial Piety — the Root of All Virtue
Even among the Five Relations, what Confucianism especially valued as the starting point of every virtue is “filial piety (xiao)” in the parent-child relationship — that is, devotion to one’s parents.
A disciple of Confucius said, “Filial piety is the root of virtue.” Why is filial piety so important? It is because it was thought that only when the heart that loves and respects one’s nearest parents is cultivated does that heart spread to the people around, and then to society as a whole. One who can cherish their parents at home is the very one who can have consideration for others in society — filial piety is the starting point of benevolence.
This idea of filial piety, not staying at love and respect for living parents, connects to “ancestor worship,” revering and venerating deceased ancestors. Confucianism’s religious side strongly appears in this filial piety and ancestor veneration. There is even a classic, the “Classic of Filial Piety,” that preaches only of filial piety, so valued was this virtue.
Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven — the Ultimate Ground of Morals
Confucianism is a thought that preaches human morals, but it places “Heaven” as their ultimate ground.
The Heaven meant here is, rather than a god with personality, a being like the source of this world’s right order and morals. Confucius said, “At fifty, I knew the Mandate of Heaven,” telling that he became aware of the mission given to him by Heaven.
This idea of the “Mandate of Heaven” extends to politics too. Mencius’s “change of mandate” seen last time — that a ruler who loses virtue is forsaken by Heaven and replaced by a virtuous person — is also based on this idea of the Mandate of Heaven. The ruler has received the command to govern the world from Heaven, and must answer with virtue.
Rectification of Names — Each Fulfilling Their Role
Finally, let me introduce the idea that well expresses Confucianism’s view of society, the “rectification of names.”
When a disciple asked, “What is the essence of politics?,” Confucius answered thus: “Let the ruler be a ruler, the subject a subject, the father a father, the son a son.” This means the ruler should be ruler-like, the subject subject-like, the father father-like, the son son-like — each should fulfill the duty fitting their name (position).
Each person correctly fulfilling their role and responsibility — that is the very root of society’s order and stability, Confucius thought. This too is an idea unique to Confucianism, which grasps a person within relationships.
Rule by Virtue — Governing by Morals, Not Law
These ideas come to fruition in Confucianism’s unique view of politics, “rule by virtue.” This is the idea that “the ruler possesses high virtue, and governs by influencing people through that virtue.”
Confucius said:
Lead them with government and regulate them with punishment, and the people will evade it and have no shame. Lead them with virtue and regulate them with ritual, and they will have shame and be set right.
This means “if you control with law and punishment, the people only try to escape punishment, and lose the heart that is ashamed of wrongdoing. But if you lead with virtue and ritual, the people come to know shame themselves and become right.”
Here is a clear opposition with the Legalists (Han Feizi and others), who in a later age preached strict governance by law. To bind by law (rule by law), or to lead by virtue (rule by virtue)? Confucianism consistently made its ideal to believe in people’s good heart, and to have the ruler first become a model themselves. The “Great Learning“‘s “cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, bring peace to all under heaven,” seen in Article 2, was exactly this idea of rule by virtue shown in order.
Sincerity — That Which Connects Heaven and Humans
Confucianism’s morals do not stay between person and person (benevolence, ritual, the Five Relations). There is a deeper concept that links them even to the order of Heaven. It is the “sincerity” that one of the Four Books, the “Doctrine of the Mean,” preaches.
The “Doctrine of the Mean” says, “Sincerity is the way of Heaven. To make oneself sincere is the way of humans.” It says being without falsehood, just as one is (sincerity), is the very working by which heaven and earth nurture all things, and a person should strive to realize that sincerity in themselves. Further, the “Doctrine of the Mean” preaches even that “utmost sincerity exhausts a person’s nature, then the nature of all things, and comes to assist the workings of heaven and earth.”
That is, in Confucianism it was thought that one person sincerely polishing themselves not only orders family, society, and state, but ultimately connects to participating in the working of heaven and earth. Daily morals connect in a single line with the grand order of the cosmos — here it well appears that Confucianism is not a mere art of living, but one profound system of thought.
To Learn More
Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.
A Complete History of Philosophy and ReligionView on Amazon →
An Illustrated Introduction to the World’s 5 Great MythologiesView on Amazon →
Conclusion
In this article, I explained systematically the central ideas of Confucianism. How was it?
Confucianism made its pillars the five virtues a person should have, the “Five Constants (benevolence, righteousness, ritual, wisdom, fidelity),” and the five basic human relationships, the “Five Relations,” and placed at their starting point filial piety, “xiao.” And, grounding them in the “Mandate of Heaven,” it aimed at the harmony of society through “rectification of names,” in which each fulfills their role.
Confucianism’s grandeur lies in grasping, as a continuous whole, everything from the individual’s virtue to the family, society, and politics.
In the next Article 5 (the final installment), I will explain how this Confucianism spread and developed through history — becoming the state religion, Neo-Confucianism, the Yangming school, and its spread to East Asia.
I hope you’ll read the next article too.
📚 Series: The Original Texts of Confucianism (5/6)
