Confucianism

==Terminology==
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| footer = Older versions of the grapheme {{zhi|c=儒|p=rú|l=scholar, refined one, Confucian, traditionalist}}: it is composed of {{zhi|c=人|p=rén|l=person}} and {{zhi|c=需|p=xū|l=to await}}, itself composed of {{zhi|c=雨|p=yǔ|l=rain, instruction}} and {{zhi|c=而|p=ér|l=sky}}. According to [[Kang Youwei]], [[Hu Shih]], and [[Xinzhong Yao|Yao Xinzhong]], they were the official shaman-priests (''[[wu (shaman)|wu]]'') experts in rites and astronomy of the Shang, and later Zhou, dynasty.{{sfnb|Yao|2000|p=19}}
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Strictly speaking, there is no term in Chinese which directly corresponds to "Confucianism". The closest catch-all term for things related to Confucianism is the word ''ru'' ({{zhi|c=儒|p=rú}}). Its literal meanings in modern Chinese include 'scholar', 'learned', or 'refined man'. In [[Old Chinese]] the word had a distinct set of meanings, including 'to tame', 'to mould', 'to educate', and 'to refine'.<ref name="Eno">{{Cite book |last=Eno |first=Robert |title=The Confucian Creation of Heaven: Philosophy and the Defense of Ritual Mastery |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-7914-0191-0 |edition=1st}}</ref>{{rp|190–197}} Several different terms, some of which with modern origin, are used in different situations to express different facets of Confucianism, including:
* {{zh|labels=no|c={{linktext|儒家}}|p=Rújiā}} – "the ''ru'' school of thought";
* {{zh|labels=no|c={{linktext|儒教}}|p=Rújiào}} – "''ru'' religious doctrine";
* {{zh|labels=no|t={{linktext|儒學}}|s={{linktext|儒学}}|p=Rúxué}} – "''ru'' studies";
* {{zh|labels=no|c={{linktext|孔教}}|p=Kǒngjiào}} – "Confucius's religious doctrine";
* {{zh|labels=no|c={{linktext|孔家店}}|p=Kǒngjiādiàn}} – "Confucius's family's business", a pejorative phrase used during the [[New Culture Movement]] and the [[Cultural Revolution]].

Three of them use ''ru''. These names do not use the name "Confucius" at all, but instead focus on the ideal of the Confucian man. The use of the term "Confucianism" has been avoided by some modern scholars, who favor "Ruism" and "Ruists" instead. Robert Eno argues that the term has been "burdened{{nbsp}}... with the ambiguities and irrelevant traditional associations". Ruism, as he states, is more faithful to the original Chinese name for the school.<ref name=Eno/>{{rp|7}}

The term "Traditionalist" has been suggested by David Schaberg to emphasize the connection to the past, its standards, and inherited forms, in which Confucius himself placed so much importance.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schaberg |first=David |author-link=David Schaberg |year=1997 |title=Remonstrance in Eastern Zhou History |journal=Early China |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=22 |pages=130–179 at '''138''' |doi=10.1017/S0362502800003266 |jstor=23354245 |s2cid=163038164}}</ref> This translation of the word ''ru'' is followed by e.g. Yuri Pines.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pines |first=Yuri |author-link=Yuri Pines |year=2005–2006 |title=Biases and Their Sources: Qin History in the "Shiji" |journal=Oriens Extremus |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |volume=45 |pages=10–34 at '''30''' |jstor=24047638}}</ref>

According to [[Zhou Youguang]], ''ru'' originally referred to shamanic methods of holding rites and existed before Confucius's times, but with Confucius it came to mean devotion to propagating such teachings to bring civilisation to the people. Confucianism was initiated by the disciples of Confucius, developed by [[Mencius]] ({{circa}} 372–289&nbsp;BCE) and inherited by later generations, undergoing constant transformations and restructuring since its establishment, but preserving the principles of humaneness and righteousness at its core.{{sfnb|Zhou|2012|p=1}}

In the Western world, the [[Radical 85|character for water]] is often used as a symbol for Confucianism, which is not the case in modern China.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} However, the ''[[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|five phases]]'' were used as important symbols representing leadership in [[Han dynasty]] thought, including Confucianist works.<ref name=":04">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Wuxing (Wu-hsing) |encyclopedia=[[Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]] |url=https://iep.utm.edu/wuxing/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |last=Littlejohn |first=Ronnie |language=en-US |issn=2161-0002}}</ref>

===Five Classics and the Confucian vision===
[[File:Confucius, fresco from a Western Han tomb of Dongping County, Shandong province, China.jpg|thumb|[[Confucius]] in a fresco from a [[Western Han]] tomb in [[Dongping County|Dongping]], [[Shandong]]]]
Traditionally, Confucius was thought to be the author or editor of the [[Four Books and Five Classics|Five Classics]] which were the basic texts of Confucianism, all edited into their received versions around 500 years later by Imperial Librarian [[Liu Xin (scholar)|Liu Xin]].<ref>{{ cite journal
| last = Nylan | first = Michael
| title= "Empire" in the Classical Era in China (304 BC–AD 316)
| journal= Oriens Extremus
| volume= 46 | year = 2007 | pages = 48–83
| publisher= Harrassowitz Verlag
| jstor =24047664
}}</ref>{{rp|51}} The scholar [[Xinzhong Yao|Yao Xinzhong]] allows that there are good reasons to believe that Confucian classics took shape in the hands of Confucius, but that "nothing can be taken for granted in the matter of the early versions of the classics". Yao suggests that most modern scholars hold the "pragmatic" view that Confucius and his followers did not intend to create a system of classics, but nonetheless "contributed to their formation".{{sfnb|Yao|2000|pp=52–54}}

[[File:Confucius Tang Dynasty.jpg|thumb|Painting of Confucius donning [[hanfu|traditional robes]], by [[Wu Daozi]], 8th century]]

The scholar [[Tu Weiming]] explains these classics as embodying "five visions" which underlie the development of Confucianism:
* ''[[I Ching]]'' (''Classic of Change'' or ''Book of Changes''), generally held to be the earliest of the classics, shows a metaphysical vision which combines divinatory art with numerological technique and ethical insight; philosophy of change sees cosmos as interaction between the two energies yin and yang; universe always shows organismic unity and dynamism.
* ''[[Classic of Poetry]]'' or ''Book of Songs'' is the earliest anthology of [[Chinese poetry|Chinese poems]] and songs, with the earliest strata antedating the Zhou conquest. It shows the poetic vision in the belief that poetry and music convey common human feelings and mutual responsiveness.
* ''[[Book of Documents]]'' or ''Book of History'' is a compilation of speeches of major figures and records of events in ancient times, embodying the political vision and addressing the kingly way in terms of the ethical foundation for humane government. The documents show the sagacity, filial piety, and work ethic of mythical sage-emperors Yao, Shun, and Yu, who established a political culture which was based on responsibility and trust. Their virtue formed a covenant of social harmony which did not depend on punishment or coercion.
* ''[[Book of Rites]]'' describes the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou Dynasty. This social vision defined society not as an adversarial system based on contractual relations but as a network of kinship groups bound by cultural identity and ritual practice, socially responsible for one another and the transmission of proper antique forms. The [[Four occupations|four functional occupations]] are cooperative (farmer, scholar, artisan, merchant).
* ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' chronicles the period to which it gives its name, [[Spring and Autumn period]] (771–481&nbsp;BCE), from the perspective of Confucius's home state of [[Lu (state)|Lu]]. These events emphasise the significance of collective memory for communal self-identification, for reanimating the old is the best way to attain the new.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tu |first=Weiming |title=The Heritage of China: Contemporary Perspectives on Chinese Civilization |publisher=University of California Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-520-06441-6 |editor-last=Ropp |editor-first=Paul S. |chapter=Confucian Tradition in Chinese History |editor-last2=Barrett |editor-first2=Timothy Hugh}} p. 113</ref>
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