Confucianism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Loyalty==== Loyalty ({{zhi|c=忠|p=zhōng}}) is particularly relevant for the social class to which most of Confucius's students belonged, because the most important way for an ambitious young scholar to become a prominent official was to enter a ruler's civil service. Confucius himself did not propose that "might makes right", but rather that a superior should be obeyed because of his moral rectitude. In addition, loyalty does not mean subservience to authority. This is because reciprocity is demanded from the superior as well. As Confucius stated "a prince should employ his minister according to the rules of propriety; ministers should serve their prince with faithfulness (loyalty)."<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://ctext.org/analects/ba-yi |title=The Analects |chapter= Ba Yi |via=Chinese Text Project}}</ref> Similarly, [[Mencius]] also said that "when the prince regards his ministers as his hands and feet, his ministers regard their prince as their belly and heart; when he regards them as his dogs and horses, they regard him as another man; when he regards them as the ground or as grass, they regard him as a robber and an enemy."<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://ctext.org/mengzi/li-lou-ii |title=Mengzi |chapter= Li Lou II |via=Chinese Text Project}}</ref> Moreover, Mencius indicated that if the ruler is incompetent, he should be replaced. If the ruler is evil, then the people have the right to overthrow him.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://ctext.org/mengzi/liang-hui-wang-ii/zh?en=on |chapter=Liang Hui Wang xia |via=中國哲學書電子化計劃 (ctext.org)|title=孟子 |language=zh,en |script-chapter=zh:梁惠王下 }}</ref> A good Confucian is also expected to remonstrate with his superiors when necessary.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://ctext.org/analects/xian-wen/zh?en=on |chapter=Xian Wen |via=中國哲學書電子化計劃 (ctext.org) |title=論語 |language=zh,en |script-chapter=zh:憲問}}</ref> At the same time, a proper Confucian ruler should also accept his ministers' advice, as this will help him govern the realm better. In later ages, however, emphasis was often placed more on the obligations of the ruled to the ruler, and less on the ruler's obligations to the ruled. Like filial piety, loyalty was often subverted by the autocratic regimes in China. Nonetheless, throughout the ages, many Confucians continued to fight against unrighteous superiors and rulers. Many of these Confucians suffered and sometimes died because of their conviction and action.<ref>Example: [[Hai Rui]] in the Ming dynasty, {{ill|Yuan Chang|zh|袁昶}} in the Qing, and so forth.</ref> During the Ming-Qing era, prominent Confucians such as [[Wang Yangming]] promoted individuality and independent thinking as a counterweight to subservience to authority.<ref>Wang Yangming, Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings by Wang Yang-Ming, Wing-tsit Chan tran. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963), 159.</ref> The famous thinker Huang Zongxi also strongly criticised the autocratic nature of the imperial system and wanted to keep imperial power in check.<ref>William Theodore De Bary, Waiting for the Dawn: A Plan for the Prince (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), 91–110.</ref> Many Confucians also realised that loyalty and filial piety have the potential of coming into conflict with one another. This may be true especially in times of social chaos, such as during the period of the [[Transition from Ming to Qing|Ming-Qing transition]].<ref>See the discussion in {{lang|zh-hant|何冠彪}} He Guanbiao, {{lang|zh-hant|生與死 : 明季士大夫的抉擇}} (Taipei: Lianjing Chuban Shiye Gongsi, 1997).</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page