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! ===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 BCβAD 316) | journal= Oriens Extremus | volume= 46 | year = 2007 | pages = 48β83 | 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=52β54}} [[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]] (771β481 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> 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