Dbq On Confucianism

The first point to be understood about Confucianism is that it is not a religion. Confucianism is an ethical system. However, it does have religious traits (Chiyun 337). The Confucianist accepts the existence of a supreme being. Similar to how Christians accept the existence of a God. The trait of mercy and love is commonly held by Buddhism and Confucianism. Confucianist’s belief in prayer is just the same as a Christian or a Buddhist. The difference of Confucianism in relation to being a religion is that it does not promise nirvana as a reward for believing. The purpose of Confucianism is to convince people to behave by teaching different concepts.

During the years of 551-470 BC (which was the time when Confucianism was founded)
It was the first inscribed in the oracle records on the bronze ritual vessels in the documents preserved by the Book of Documents. In these documents, jen meant kindness. The word was created my Confucius. He gave jen many meanings. The translations of jen are benevolence, goodness, and love. Jen is made of two elements: the sign meaning human and the sign meaning two. The concept of jen is always concerned with human relationships. The elements of a jen relationship are respect, benevolence, and sincerity. In Confucian text there are five relationships announced: those between prince and minister, between parent and child, between friends (Campbell 416). “The virtue in the five relationships is all reciprocal in nature. A minister owes loyalty to his ruler, and a child respect to the parent. But the ruler must also care for his/her subjects, and the parent for the child. Siblings will be good friends to each other, not competitors, if they behave like friends” (Chiyun 74). The five relationships show a vertical sense of ranking (Ching
These celebrations are twice a year. There are many different ceremonies because of cultural and historical differences among the Chinese, the Koreans, and the Japanese. The ceremonies are held in the fall and spring. The ceremonies take place on the first “ting” day in the second month of fall. The “ting” which comes under the element of fire is the fourth of Ten Stems or Cyclical signs and so the first “ting” occurs within the first third of the month. On these days the ceremonies will occur during the early morning hours. The presence of the Sun is symbolic to the ritual. The ceremonies’ main focus is a sacrificial offering to Confucius and various categories of Confucius sages. Many Confucianists still believe that the sages and other (ancestors) return to partake of the offerings and receive praise. The celebration is a group ceremony and public performance but only certain people can participate. An important purpose of the rituals is to keep important elements of the past. The celebration of historical events and legends add to the Confucian value