Beliefs of Kong Fuzi
By: Aisha Rehan
- Kong Fuzi is also known as Confucius in English.
- Confucius's thought was fundamentally moral, ethical, and political in character.
- His thought was also thoroughly practical.
- He didn't deal with religious questions.
- Confucius believed that in order to have the best government, he needed to fill official positions with individuals who were well educated and focused and dedicated to their job. He wanted people who would do what was right and not what was wrong.
- Confucius focused on the formation of what he called junzi--"superior individuals"--who took a broad view of public affairs and didn't allow personal interests to influence or effect their judgement.
- Formal learning wasn't as important to Confucius as having a strong sense of moral integrity and being able to make wise and fair judgements.
The 3 Qualities That Confucius Believed Were The Most Important...
- Ren- possessing an attitude of kindness or a sense of humanity. Individuals who had this quality were courteous, respectful, diligent, and loyal. Confucius believed that ren was a quality that one most definitely needed in order to be a government official.
- Li- "a sense of propriety;" In other words, individuals should treat all other human beings with courtesy, while showing special respect to elders or superiors.
- Xiao- filial piety, which reflected the high significance of the family in Chinese society. Children were required to respect their parents and other family elders, support them in old age, look after their welfare, and remember them along with other ancestors after their death.
Confucius emphasized qualities like ren, li, and xiao because he believed that individuals who had these traits would gain influence in the larger society. If they possessed these qualities then they would have the power of leading others by example. Confucius believed that only through leadership by morally strong individuals who had these qualities would there be any hope for the restoration of political and social order in China.