EDWARD'S LECTURE NOTES:
More notes at http://tanguay.info/learntracker
C O U R S E
Chinese Thought: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science
Edward Slingerland, University of British Columbia
 |
C O U R S E L E C T U R E Confucius: I Transmit, I Do Not Innovate Notes taken on January 23, 2015 by Edward Tanguay |
•
Confucius sees himself as merely passing on the Western Zhou tradition
•
Analects 7.1
•
"I transmit, I do not innovate."
•
doesn't see himself as a creator or an innovator
•
however, Confucius did actually innovate or transform Zhou thought
•
1. idea of a gentlemen
•
he's democratizing the idea of junzi
•
anyone can become a junzi
•
at least any male can
•
similar to the change in English
•
anyone who acts like a gentleman is a gentleman
•
we mean he's cultured, well-mannered
•
the Confucian way was open only to men
•
he in fact has quite horrific views of women
•
2. from outer beauty to inner beauty
•
"ren"
•
goodness
•
benevolence
•
the virtue of being a perfected human being
•
in the Zhou dynasty, definition is much more narrow
•
the physical appearance of a junzi (gentleman)
•
"handsome" or "well-formed"
•
attractive
•
Confucius internalizes ren from an external to an internal quality
•
not about beauty in an aesthetic sense but about being perfectly formed morally
•
3. democratized the "de"
•
in the Zhou dynasty, the de was something you could possess if you were from the Zhou royal line
•
for Confucius, anyone can acquire "de"
•
anyone who becomes a gentleman can get this power
•
become a morally perfected person in line with heaven is not the province of a hereditary class
•
is accessible to anyone (men) who adopt Zhou culture
•
you can see the seeds of meritocracy here which get set up later in the Chinese exam system
•
in theory everyone could take this exam and whoever scores the highest score is prime minister, the second highest gets the second position
•
being an elite is a result of commitment, learning, and making yourself of who you are
•
4. ritual makes us human
•
Confucius considers himself passing down the tradition of Zhou ritual
•
Zhou ritual even encompassed how you act when you are alone
•
Confucius universalizes ritual, it becomes the human language
•
the primary means by which we become human beings
•
a cultural and behavior language which helps us act like human beings instead of animals
•
anyone can adopt it
•
ritual is about creating virtues
•
at one point when Confucius can't get anyone to listen to him, he says he is going to go live among the "Eastern barbarians"
•
uncouth people
•
tatooed
•
half naked
•
"if a gentleman lived among them, what uncouthness would there be?"
•
even the wildest Barbarians can become Chinese through the influence of the gentleman and learning Chinese culture
•
there is only one correct culture and it is the Chinese culture and anyone can adopt it
•
different than the Japanese or Jewish conception of culture which are both exclusive
•
so Chinese culture has been able to assimilate other cultures because of this idea that anyone who adopts the proper practices can become a properly cultivated Chinese person
•
5. culturally deeply conservative
•
human nature is not particularly helpful
•
xing = human nature
•
we are all born the same
•
we are all born equally crude and unformed
•
on the issue if human nature is good or bad, Confucius doesn't have a statement on that
•
human nature is neutral tending toward badness, crude and uncouth in and of itself, so we need to have culture to reshape this material
•
metaphor of craft formation
•
reshaping a raw material which, by itself, has no shape and is ugly, needing to be formed into a crafted, beautiful object
•
6. importance of community
•
modern Western view, e.g. Canada and America
•
the person is very individualistic
•
we are lone individuals striding through the world, endowed with stuff by nature that makes us who we are
•
we move away from our families at an early age and establish our own identity
•
for Confucius
•
culture makes us human
•
family and community makes us a person
•
we are a person in and of the social roles we inhabit
•
who we are is informed by the role
•
in the family
•
in the community
•
a big part of the Confucian way is to perfect family and social roles
•
not trying to cultivate an asocial excellence in people
•
they are social virtues which allow us to take our place in a community
•
7. filial piety
•
xiao [syow]
•
the virtue of being an obedient child
•
obey your parents and do what they say
•
Analects 2.5: "What is filial piety? / Do not disobey. When your parents are alive, serve them in accordance with the rites, when they pass away, bury them in accordance with the rites and sacrifice to them in accordance with the rites."
•
not completely unqualified obedience
•
Analects 4.18: "In serving your parents you may gently remonstrate with them. However, once it becomes apparent that they have not taken your criticism to heart you should be respectful and not oppose them, and follow their lead diligently without resentment."
•
a fairly conservative view
•
this is foreign to us
•
we have an idea that children should become independent as soon as possible
•
family should be a site for negotiation
•
is still very much alive in Asian countries
•
not just actions but attitude
•
Analects 2.8: "It is the demeanor that is difficult"
•
not just obeying them physically, but internally
•
take on their values
•
the most basic virtue
•
the root from which the other virtues grow
•
get this virtues right in the family