Demystifying Confucianism
By Yoko Miyamoto
Copyright 2011 Yoko Miyamoto
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Chapter 1 "The Disciple": A Novella on Confucius
Chapter 2 On Confucius and Confucianism
Chapter 3 Confucius, Laozi, Daoism, and Buddhism
Chapter 4 "The Disciple" and Japanese Understanding of Confucianism
Chapter 5 The Journey to the West: Chinese Views of History
Chapter 6 Creation of Lesser Gods: The World of Daoist Magic
Chapter 7 The Mandate of Heaven: The Traditional Social Contract of China
Chapter 8 Romance of Three Kingdoms: Male Bonding as Sanctity
Chapter 9 Women in Romance of Three Kingdoms: Seductress, Warrioress, and Wise Mothers
Chapter 10 Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits
Chapter 11 Women in Water Margin: Repression of Romantic Love and Civil Service Examinations
Introduction
The Mysterious East is a cliché you often hear when Asia is mentioned. When Jackie Chan and Jet Lee are big movie stars, youth throughout the world read manga and watch anime, and fashionable adults know something of Fen Shui, Tao, and Zen, why is Asia still a mystery?
The short answer is that Asians allow it to be a mystery. Asians identify themselves as Asians only when they are away from home. Though they know that they share their cultural bonds, most Asians do not bother to name what that common bond is. For people who have been influenced by Chinese civilization (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, to a lesser degree, Singapore. and their expats communities), the common bond is popular Confucianism. Confucianism has been the guiding principle of Chinese civilization for over twenty-five centuries. Yet Confucians have not realized that they need to explain their morality to outsiders. Confucians believe their ethics are universal human moral values. Every human, by virtue of being human, is expected to understand and share Confucian ethics so there is no need to explain to outsiders, because they do not —nay, cannot— exist.
In other words, Confucianism has never addressed the issue of the insider-outsider chasm that characterizes other major religions of the world. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam developed as the faiths of minority groups struggling against powerful majorities of the society. These traditions, therefore, have sharp focus on insider-outsider chasm.
One of Judaism’s most important religious holidays is Passover. Passover commemorates and celebrates the Exodus, the tale of how Moses led the Jews out of rich, powerful, and idolatrous Egypt where they had been slaves, how Moses received the Commandments, and how the Jews settled down in their promised land to form their own new nation under the protection of their one true God. Exodus depicts the righteousness of Jewish people as the opposite of the sinful Egyptian masters who had enslaved them. By defining the Jewishness as the opposite of Egypt, the Mosaic Law establishes the theme of the righteous minority (religious insiders) versus the mighty but evil majority (religious outsiders).
Christianity’s most important holidays are Christmas and Easter. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and the Easter commemorates his crucificion and resurrection. Christ died on the cross as the leader of an anti-establishment religious group. Jesus’ Passion —the story of his persecution, crucificion, and triumphant resurrection— is the defining story of Christianity. It depicts Christians as those who suffer persecution because of their faith; they suffer at the hand of corrupt and ignorant authorities who cannot grasp the truth of their faith. The chasm of insider-outsider (believer versus non-believer) is prominent.
Islam also emphasizes the insider-outsider chasm. Hearing the voice of God in the desert, Muhammed (also spelled Muhammad or Mohammed) surrendered to Him. Islam means surrender (to Allah’s will). Muhammed embraced the monotheistic faith of Islam amidst polytheistic Arab society. Muhammed became a religious and social rebel who defied the prevailing social convention. Muhammed and his followers were not welcomed by the polytheistic majority so they moved from Medina to Mecca to escape persecution. They subsequently triumphed over their former persecutors. In the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj, one of Five Pillars of Islam, Muslim pilgrims symbolically retrace the footsteps of Muhhamed and his earliest followers. The Islamic insider-outsider chasm is most clearly expressed in the traditional Islamic of notion of dividing the world into Dar al-Islam (the House of Islam) and Dar al-harb (the House of War).
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, thus, all started out as minority challengers to predominant society. Even the South Asian religion of Buddhism shares the characteristics of challenge to and detachment from the prevailing society. Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE), the founder of Buddhism, was born a prince and lived in luxury. At the age of 29, shocked by the discovery that many of his subjects lived in poverty and sickness, Siddhartha left the palace and his family, and pursued a life of extreme asceticism. After many days of self-punishing fasting, he achieved Enlightenment where he found the Middle Way, or disciplined moderation which is neither self-indulgent nor self-punishing. Through his Enlightenment, he moved into a different stage of being and became the Buddha who exists outside of the bound of regular human society. The Buddha started off as an insider, but ended up as an outsider. Buddhists, who become monks and nuns in imitation of Buddha, similarly leave their familial and social bonds behind to become outsiders and are very much considered as such.
The insider-outsider distinction in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam make their followers aware that there are those who do not share their faiths. They have a tradition of telling dramatic stories of conflict between the believers and non-believers. Though they do not tell such tales of conflicts, Buddhists have been trying to enlighten non-Buddhists to their truths (and consequently better known and understood than Confucianism in the West). In contrast, Confucians do not know how to explain their beliefs to those who do not share Confucian ethics, because, according to their thinking, such humans do not exist.
Mencius (c.372 BCE-289BCE), the Second Sage of Confucianism, who explained Confucius to the world in the way that Paul explained Jesus, said that if you saw a baby about to fall into a well, you would feel something. That feeling is the beginning of ethics, the essence of civilized life, and the foundation of Confucianism. You cultivate that feeling, extend it to your family, then to your neighbors, and eventually to all of society. If you don’t feel moved by a baby about to fall into a well, then you are not human. End of argument, at least from the Confucian point of view.
When the Mughal dynasty came to rule India in the sixteenth century, the Muslim conquerors called the Indians who did not convert to Islam the Hindus. Grouped together under a new name, the very diverse Indians were forced to forge a new self-identity as the Hindus vis-à-vis the Muslim rulers. Confucians knew no such encounters until the mid-nineteenth century where they started to feel the pressure of the Western colonialism.
After decades of struggling with the question how to reconcile the tradition and modernization, China under the Communist government denounced the traditional values of Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), and Buddhism (as well as the “corrupt bourgeois Western capitalists”) in an attempt at a wholesale change of Chinese culture into his brand of agrarian communism. Not only the Communist Party, but also many Western sociologists, following the German sociologist Max Weber's argument, claimed that Asian countries could not develop capitalism because of Confucianism. Japan, Taiwan, South Korea have since more than sufficiently proven that Confucianism is no hindrance to the development of capitalism. Singapore, whose first prim minister Yuan Yew Lee prominently embraced Confucianism, has become a high-tech and financial power hub.
After the passing of Chairman Mao Zedong in 1976, the Chinese have been rediscovering and reclaiming their cultural traditions. Even the Communist Chinese government that once denounced Confucianism now calls their official language teaching program the Confucius Institute. It has also declared in 2008 that it will build the Chinese Culture Symbolic City centering on Confucius’s birthplace in eastern Shandong province; it is projected to be a city sized monument celebrating traditional Chinese culture, with its focus on Confucius. New Confucian schools are popping up in China and books on Confucianism hit the bestseller list. Yu Dan, whom some call China’s Oprah, sold multi-million copies of Confucius From the Heart: Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World (Chinese original in 2007) and runs very popular self-help shows loosely based on Confucius’ words. The Chinese even instituted their Confucius Peace Prize in 2010. The process of forging the Confucian identity vis-à-vis the Western world has only started in China.
I think it is high time that we Confucians start trying to explain Confucianism to non-Confucians.
Many fine books have been written in English on Confucius and Confucianism. These fine academic books tend to have the intellectuals’ bias toward high culture and great philosophers. Yes, they are the pinnacles of the culture, but they are not the sole content of Confucian culture. In order to understand Confucianism as culture, one needs know common people's understanding of Confucianism. In the traditional popular Chinese culture, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism are closely intertwined. While intellectuals may distinguish differences between Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, common people accept mixture as the norm. The vast majority of people learned about the workings of the world not through Confucius’ Analects, but through popular stories. If we only focus on Confucian intellectuals, we fail to understand Confucianism as culture.
Popular stories, borrowing freely from accumulated traditional oral lore of common people, are as much the creation of individual authors as of many generations of storytellers. The Chinese have told and retold rich and colorful tales of heroes and villains, gods and demons, battles and intrigue, love and treachery, flying daggers and dragons, magic and miracles, and of magnitudes saved and slain. These stories have been the backbone of popular Confucian culture. They also form the shared cultural heritage the inhabitants of the Confucian cultural sphere; Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, and all their expatriates around the world have shared these stories as their heritage, not only in book forms, but also in human and marionette plays, storytelling on street corners and in theaters, radio and TV shows, movies, and more recently, anime, manga, and video games. Korean TV dramas are popular in mainland China because of their Confucian story lines. Hong Kong and Chinese movies are very popular in Japan. And Hong Kong and Taiwan sometimes make movies based upon Japanese novels and manga. Popular stories were, and still are, the conveyors of a living and evolving tradition.
These popular stories are also great materials to rebuff the prevailing preconception that Confucian culture is uniformly repressive toward women. Yes, as the philosophy of a patriarchal society, male Confucian moralists tried hard to keep women in their “proper” place, just as the Christian church tried to make women swear not only to “love and cherish” but also “serve and obey” their husbands. How successful such efforts were, however, is another question. China is a vast country of 5,000 years long history with many local custom differences, which cannot be painted by one monolithic Confucian model. As the Chinese sociologist Lin Yueh-hwa remarks (not about the popular novels but about the real state of Chinese marriage): “As against the common view of the Chinese women as a suppressed being, subordinate to her men folk and her mother-in-law in ways which render her almost a chattel, we are given here examples of a woman who has money of her own, investing in business; of sister-in-law fighting beyond the control of their husbands’ uncle; of a man being nagged by his own wife for defending his daughter-in-law; of a daughter-in-law …chasing her husband round the room with a knife…” There are many stories of wife-phobic husbands in Chinese literature. Some even argue what looks like repression is the reflection of men's female phobia.
So, that's what I am trying to do here; demystifying Confucianism and Confucian culture mainly using popular stories. I need to qualify my intent. I am not trying to argue that my understanding is the “true” or “correct” understanding of Confucianism. I am simply trying to present how I, as modern Japanese, understand Confucius and Confucianism. For that purpose, I use a Japanese novella titled "The Disciple" as the starting point in understanding Confucius and Confucianism (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 discusses Confucius and Confucianism, expanding and supplementing what is told in “The Disciple”.
Daoism (Taoism) and Buddhism are intertwined with Confucianism in Chinese culture. Chapter 3 looks at the relationship of these three religions. "The Disciple" has a Japanese slant of leaning toward martial. The historical reason behind this tendency is explored in Chapter 4.
The Journey to the West, which is a Mahayana Buddhism propaganda edutainment, expressly tells that three holy teachings of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism can peacefully coexist in China. The novel also shows how the Chinese viewed the history and time, which is very different from the Western views. (Chapter 5)
Daoist magic novel Creation of Lesser Gods tells the rise of the Zhou dynasty that laid the foundation of imperial China as a part of gods' world reorganization plan. While Daoist gods got rid of their accumulated aggression by warring and killing, the human world went through the turmoil of dynasty change.(Chapter 6) This novel teaches the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, the idea that the emperor gains or loses his right to rule through his virtue or lack thereof. This idea was the traditional social contract of China and still retains its influence in China. (Chapter 7)
Romance of Three Kingdoms is said to capture the essence of being Chinese; being political, operating on the basis of personal bond of trust. This novel is well known for the "Live together, die together" brand of male bonding of three central hero, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. Romance of Three Kingdoms recounts the events of the war-torn Three Kingdoms period with tales of battles and political intrigues, intricate war strategies and tactics, and winners and losers. (Chapter 8) Even though male bonding looms large in Romance of Three Kingdoms, women also play various interesting rolls. Chapter 9 introduces these remarkable women, including Diaochan who is counted as one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China and the wise mother who dies as a martyr, smiling.
Water Margin is a Robin Hood type bandit novel. While Romance of Three Kingdoms mostly describes the lives of political leader class, Water Margin describes mostly the lives of middle class and lower, showing how common people viewed the world. (Chapter 10) This novel offers a look into the repression of romantic love in Chinese literary tradition. It also shows how the imperial bureaucracy based on the civil service examination system were perceived by common people. (Chapter 11)
Epilogue offers a brief introduction to the dreamy, romantic family saga Red Chamber Dream. By introducing these classic stories and explaining their relevance to the contemporary society, Demystifying Confucianism aims to offer an easier way to understand East Asian Confucian culture.
A Note on the Chinese Romanization
The way the people of Confucian cultural sphere shared the heritage is learning to read written classical Chinese. Written classical Chinese was a lingua franca of Asia, by which different ethnic groups could communicate. Many non-Han Chinese emperors were not only literate in Chinese but also could compose elegant poetry in Chinese. Even now, if they do not speak each others' language, Japanese and Chinese try to communicate in writing Chinese characters.
There are different methods of Romanizing Chinese language. The two most commonly used forms are Wade-Giles and Pinyin. The Chinese government uses Pinyin as the official Romanization method. The concurrent existences of different Romanization systems, which sometimes transcribe the same Chinese character in very different forms, make things very difficult for the English writers and readers. The highest Confucian moral virtue of love for the fellow humans is spelled as ren in Pinyin, and as jen in Wade-Giles. This is almost maddening. Since when j and r are the same sound?
In Chinese, same sound with different tones (flat, going up, going up only at the end, and going down) can mean different characters and meanings. Even with pronunciation marks, there are often plural characters the sound could mean; the only way to make clear which character it is to supplement the pronunciation with Chinese character. Supplementing Chinese characters to every ambiguous word makes it very cumbersome to read.
There is no perfect solution. Some academics use Wide-Giles, while others use Pinyin without pronunciation marks. They sometimes supply Chinese characters for the words of importance in their context. Though this is not a very satisfactory solution, this is the best compromise method we have for transcribing Chinese into English. Here I choose to use Pinyin, but without pronunciation marks, and supply Chinese characters as I see necessary.
When I was checking out books on Confucianism from a library, the circulation guy joked, “Some may call it Confusionism!” While I do not believe Confucianism is in any sense confused or confusing, there is no denying that the Romanized forms of Chinese language in deed remain very confusing.
References
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P. Fokkelman, "Exodus," in The Literary Guide to the
Bible, ed., Robert Alter and Frank Kermode (Cambridge, MA:
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Nahum M. Sarna, Exploring
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Books, 1986).
Ernst S. Freichs, “Introduction,” in Exodus:
The Egyptian Evidence, ed. Ernst S. Freichs and Leonard H. Lesko
(Winona: Eisenbrauns, 1992).
Michael Walzer, "The House of
Bondage: Slaves in Egypt," in Exodus, ed. Harold Bloom
(New York: Chelsea House, 1987).
Burton L. Mack, The Lost
Gospel: The Book of Q & Christian Origins (San Francisco:
Harper SanFrancisco, 1993).
Burton L. Mack, Who Wrote the
Testament?: The Making of the Christian Myth (New York: Harper
Collins, 1995).
Elaine Pagels, The Origin of Satan (New
York: Random House, 1995).
Daniel N. Schowalter, “Churches in
Context: The Jesus Movement in the Roman World,” in Oxford
History of the Biblical World, ed. Michael David Coogan (Oxford,
Eng. /New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
Robin Lane Fox,
Pagans and Christians: Religion and Religious Life from the Second
to the Fourth Century A.D. When the Gods of Olympus Lost their
Dominion and Christianity, with the Conversion of Constantine,
Triumphed in the Mediterranean World. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
1987).
Ernest Renan, “Muhammad and the Origins of Islam,”
in The Quest for the Historical Muhammad, ed. Ibin Warraq (New
York: Prometheus, 2000).
Entai Tomomatsu, Bukkyo Seiten
(The Sacred Teaching of Buddha) (Tokyo: Kodan-sha,
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Lizzie Collingham, Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
Lin Yueh-hwa, The
Golden Wing: A Sociological Study of Chinese Familism (New York:
Kegan Paul Trench Trubner & Co., 1947). (The quote is from p.
xiii-xiv.)
T. R. Reid, Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in
the East Teaches Us About Living in the West (New York: Vintage,
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Shinji Komada, Rongo: Sono Uraomote (Two Faces of
the Analects) (Tokyo: Tokuma Shobou, 1989).
Chapter 1. "The Disciple": A Novella on Confucius
Japanese novelist Nakajima Atsushi (1909-42) described Confucius through the eye of his disciple Zilu in a novella titled “The Disciple” (published posthumously in 1943). Nakajima was born into a family of renowned Confucian scholars. Though not a Confucian scholar by profession, he grew up steeped in Confucian learning and was very proficient in Chinese classics. Though he became famous only after his death, his novellas since came to be revered as masterpieces. His novellas are read and studied by Chinese scholars and have been translated into Chinese, too.
Supplementing the Analects with other historical materials, “The Disciple” recounts Confucius' life as a teacher. The protagonist of the story is Zilu who is counted as one of the ten best students of Confucius and the second most mentioned student in the Analects. (The most mentioned is Guanhui who also appears in this novella.) Zilu had been a tough guy before becoming a Confucius’ disciple, and had hard time learning the ways of cultured literati. By affectionately describing uncouth Zilu’s mishaps and misgivings, this novella makes a lively introduction to Confucianism.
I introduce this novella here partly because of its excellence, and partly because, as far as I know, Nakajima was the first one to successfully describe Confucius in the form of novel. The standard format to describe Confucius’ thoughts and life has been commentary, expanding the words recorded in the Analects with other historical sources and earlier commentaries. So, Nakajima's novella was quite daring. Similarly, no popular biography of Jesus existed until the French philosopher Ernst Renan attempted in The Life of Jesus (1863) which became a bestseller. Dramatizing Confucius' life still carries some risks today. When the film Confucius was produced in 2009 the celebration of the Republic’s 60th anniversary and Confucius’ 2560th birthday, the dramatization (especially Confucius’ alleged infatuation with the wicked beauty Nanzi) attracted considerable number of complaints.
I offer here a summary of the novella with some excerpts, since there is a full translation is published by Professor Nobuko Miyama Ochner. I did consult and gained insights from her translation, but the following translation is my own and any mistakes found are mine alone.
“The Disciple” tells that, before becoming Confucius’ disciple, Zilu was a roughneck, very much into the world of swords and fighting, and had no interest in learning. One day, Zilu decided to challenge Confucius who was becoming famous as a sage. Zilu walked into Confucius’ school carrying a rooster and a boar under his arms, intending to disturb the lecture by their squeaking and quacking, and thus provoking Confucius. Unperturbed by the rudeness of this noisy gate crasher, Confucius came out and calmly asked Zilu, “What do you like?” Zilu answered proudly, “I like long swords!”
"Confucius could not help but smiling. He saw in the young man’s voice and attitude so much of childish pride. However, this bullish young man’s healthy ruddy face, thick eyebrows, and bright big eyes somehow seemed to suggest underlying likable and earnest nature. Confucius asked again .
“How about learning?”
“What use could there be for learning!” Because saying this was the purpose of this visit, Zilu delivered the line with gusto, nearly shouting.
With learning’s authority thus challenged, Confucius could not just continue smiling. He began to explain patiently why learning is necessary. If a king does not have a subject who would remonstrate with him when he errs, he will lose the right way. If a man does not have a friend who offers moral guidance, he will lose moral qualities. Don’t trees need to be bound by a rope to become straight? Just as horses need whips and bows need the instrument to bend them, doesn’t a man need learning to correct his unruly nature? Everything requires straightening, shaping, and polishing to become useful.
Confucius was a very persuasive speaker, which cannot even be imagined from the written record of his words… The young man gradually lost his rebellious posturing and eventually started to listen attentively.
Still, Zilu had not lost the spirit to fight back. “But they say that the bamboo of the Nanshan Mountain grows naturally straight without being tied, and, if one cuts and uses it, it will pierce even the thick rhinoceros hide. This proves that naturally superior men need no learning.”
Confucius saw no challenge in rebutting such a naïve metaphor. If one puts feathers and arrowhead on the bamboo of the Nanshan Mountain you speak of, and polished it, won’t it pierce more than the rhinoceros hide? When Confucius said this, the lovable simpleton could find no word to say. His face became red. He stood before Confucius a while, appearing to be thinking. All of sudden, he threw away the roster and boar, bowed his head, and submitted to Confucius, saying, “I humbly beg you to teach me.” It was not simply because he could find no words to say. As soon as he had entered the hall room, seen Confucius’s person, and heard his first word, Zilu had realized that the rooster and boar did not belong there and had been overwhelmed by his opponent’s greatness, which was miles and miles beyond of his own.
On the same day Zilu performed the customary ritual to become a disciple of Confucius and entered his school."(Chapter 1)
Zilu had never met a person like Confucius. Confucius was so well-rounded. Confucius was even better at swords than Zilu, but most of times did not care to use his skill. This bowled Zilu over. Zilu sensed that Confucius had lived a hard life and knew the real world. With his physical prowess and real world savvy on one hand, and his lofty idealism on the other, Zilu found Confucius marvelous. For the first time, Zilu met a person who was great not because of some skills or attributes but just by being that person. Within a month, Zilu came to feel that he could not live without Confucius.
Throughout Confucius' wandering years, no one was happier than Zilu to follow his mater. Zilu pursued learning not because he wished to seek a public office or to improve himself. He did it out of his fierce love for Confucius. When Zilu met him, Confucius was not yet forty. Confucius was only nine years older. But to Zilu, their difference seemed immense.
Confucius found Zilu a very difficult student to teach. Zilu had a deep-seated instinctive dislike for following the external forms. Zilu did not want to accept that mastering the forms was necessary to become learned and well-mannered. Confucius found it quite a task to lead Zilu away from his ingrained dislike of the forms. Zilu believed in Confucius' person. He could not believe Confucius' person was built by following the forms. Confucius scolded Zilu for not thinking enough about how to cultivate moral qualities in himself.
When he said "The wisest and stupidest do not change," Confucius did not mean Zilu. Confucius did not consider Zilu stupid. He deeply appreciated this uncouth student's unique quality; the lack of regard for personal gain. This was such a rare characteristic that most regarded it a form of stupidity. But Confucius knew this virtue of Zilu was even more precious than his courage or political talent.
The one thing Zilu did immediately follow the required form was his attitude toward his parents. His parents and relatives were deeply impressed by how filial Zilu had become since becoming Confucius' student. "Zilu felt uncomfortable. He felt he was not being filial, but just lying to his parents. He had been more honest when he was a ruffian and making them lament. He felt embarrassed by his parents' happiness over his show of filial piety; they could not see through that his action did not come from his heart. He was not the most astute observer of human psychology, but being extremely honest, Zilu noticed such discrepancies. One day, he suddenly realized his parents had grown old. Remembering how well they used to look when he was a child, he broke into tears. Since then, his filial devotion became real and heartfelt. But that was yet to happen." (Chapter 2)
One day, Zilu run into some friends from his rough and tumble days. He chatted with them a while. One of them poked fun at Zilu, saying his school uniform looked shabby, and asked if Zilu didn't miss his sword. Zilu let that pass. Then, this guy went further and said, "I hear your master Confucius is quite a piece of work. Looking serious and preaching what he doesn't mean seems to make a lot of money." He said this just in jest, but Zilu changed color. He grabbed the offender and punched him hard in the cheeks. The guy fell down. Intimidated by Zilu's fury, his former friends left without a word.
Confucius must have heard about it. He summoned Zilu. Without mentioning the incident, Confucius told Zilu, junzi (君子man/men o f great virtue) of the ancient times used loyalty (忠 zhong) and benevolence (仁 ren) to govern. They didn't need to resort to force. Petty men (小人 shaoren) tend to mistake insolence for courage, but for junzi, courage means upholding righteousness (義 yi). Zilu listened to him obediently.
Another day, Zilu overheard a street speaker disparaging Confucius. Zilu went up to the speaker and glared at him. Hi's angry face was enough to scare away the speaker. Similar things happened several times. Confucius scolded Zilu many times, but Zilu told himself, "If the so-called junzi feel as much fury as I feel and can control it, he is truly great. But I doubt they actually feel as much rage as I do. I bet they feel only little rage so that they can control it." After a year or so, Confucius said with a wan smile, "Since Yu (Zilu's style name) entered my gate, I stopped hearing disparaging words." (Chapter 3)
One day, Zilu was playing a zither. Confucius heard his music and commented that Zilu's music showed that his mind was rough and violent. When a fellow student relayed the master's words, Zilu was shocked. He knew he was a bad player, but had believed that was because of his lack of skill and training. Now he was told it was because of the state of his mind. He needed to think. For several days, he stayed in his room, thinking hard. He did not eat and lost weight. Finally, he believed he had figured it out and played zither very tentatively. Confucius did not comment this time, and showed no sign of displeasure. A junior student named Zigong told Zilu that the master did not disapprove. Zilu broke out in a broad smile. "Zigong could not help but smiling. Smart Zigong knew Zilu's music was still full of rough and violent air. And that Confucius did not say anything because he felt for Zilu's earnestness of spending days trying to improve his music." (Chapter 4)
Among the students, Zilu received most scolding. He talked to Confucius most boldly, too. Zilu did not care if others laughed at him. He could not say he agreed to or understood something when he did not. Since Zilu was usually a man who held the ideal of independence, self-respect, and trustworthiness, and did not tolerate a talk down, the sight of him getting scolded by Confucius looked strange. Zilu himself sometimes chuckled at himself, feeling that he was dumping all the tough mental work on Confucius, like a child getting thing he can do himself done by his mother.
However, Zilu had one thing he could not concede even to Confucius. The word heroism did not quite cut it. Calling it trustworthiness (信 xin) or righteousness sounded too academic and stuffy. What to call it was not important. To Zilu, it was a kind of pleasure. Whatever made him feel it was right, whatever did not was wrong. It was rather different from ren (benevolence/ love of fellow humans) that Confucius taught, but Zilu selectively digested the master's words that fit his view, such as: "The person who is morally determined and the person who has achieved ren will not seek to live at the cost of harming ren. They would even sacrifice their lives to complete ren”; and "'Fine words, a pretentious appearance, and excessive respect; to conceal resentment against a person, and appear friendly with him; I would be ashamed for such conduct."
At first, Confucius tried to reign in this tendency of Zilu, but later gave up. Despite his shortcomings, Zilu was a good man. Depending upon the situation, his shortcoming could be of great value. Confucius thought Zilu only needed general guidance. His utterance such as "If you love trustworthiness, but don't like to study, then you will be foiled by deception. If you love honesty, but don't like to study, you will be foiled by back-stabbing" was aimed not personally at Zilu but at Zilu as the eldest and therefore leader among his students. "Because what could be a desirable quality in the particular individual that was Zilu could be mostly harmful in other students." (Chapter 5)
At this time, the reigning Zhou dynasty was divided in two factions and fighting each other. More than ten major states were also constantly fighting with each other. In Confucius' home state, Dukedom of Lu, the previous Duke had lost to powerful ministers and fled the dukedom. After seven years in exile, he passed away. The dukedom was de fact owned by three ministers. When the most powerful of them, Yang Hu, fell victim to his own scheming and lost power, the reigning Duke Ting summoned Confucius and appointed him the capital's governor. In a short time, Confucius brought order and prosperity to the capital. Impressed, the Duke asked Confucius, "The way you govern the capital, can you apply it to the entire Dukedom of Lu?" Confucius replied, "It can be applied not only to the Dukedom of Lu, but also to the entire empire." This reply impressed the Duke even more. The Duke promoted Confucius to the minister overseeing the land distribution and civil affairs, then to Minister of Law, with some duties of prime minister. Upon Confucius' recommendation, Zilu became the Chief of Staff to carry out his reform plans.
Confucius aimed to centralize the power in the hand of the Duke. In order to do so, he had to take on the three clans who were more powerful than the Duke. Confucius decided to demolish the clans' private forts. Zilu was to carry out the mission. Seeing the clear result of his work on such a large scale felt great. Zilu took deep satisfaction in destroying the organizations and rules the rotten politicians had put in place. He was happy to see Confucius finally implementing his vision into action. Confucius, in turn, found Zilu a dependable and cable politician.
One clan revolted and attacked the capital. At one point, the emery's arrows were reaching the Duke's hideaway. Confucius' skillful guidance saved the day. Zilu was again deeply impressed. He had known the master's political skills and personal physical prowess, but this was the first time he saw him conduct warfare. Needless to say, Zilu himself fought on the front line. After so many years, swinging long sword still felt good. Grappling with rough reality suited Zilu better than pondering over the classics.
The Duke of Lu was forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty with the neighboring Dukedom of Qi. Confucius accompanied the Duke to the meeting. The triumphant Qi courtiers acted insolently. Confucius reprimanded the Duke of Qi and his ministers for their lack of manners so fiercely that they trembled in fear. This made Zilu grin with pleasure. However, the Duke of Qi became wary of Confucius and the Dukedom of Lu becoming strong under his guidance. The Duke of Qi sent well-trained beautiful dancers to the Duke of Lu, hoping to distract him from his duties. This old-fashioned commonplace tactic worked and the Duke stopped attending court meetings. Ministers followed the suit. Zilu got upset and resigned. Confucius tried his best to coax the Duke back to his duties, but in vain. He finally gave up and resigned. Leaving the dukedom, Confucius composed a song and sung, "Facing such beauties' voice, junzi have to leave, facing such beauties' voice, junzi have to lose. Thus started his never-ending wandering years. (Chapter 6)
Zilu had one big question. He had the question since childhood. As an adult and now becoming an old man, he could still not find the answer. It was something nobody else seemed to question. Why do the evil prosper and the good suffer?
Why? Zilu fumed. They say the evil may prosper a while but leap the consequence later. But that is only saying that humans eventually perish. He rarely heard of the good getting just reward. What is Heaven doing? If Heaven makes such an unjust world, I have to rebel against it. Does Heaven not distinguish good and evil? When Zilu asked Confucius about this, Confucius only talked about the nature of human happiness. Does that mean the reward of doing good is only in the satisfaction of doing good? Zilu did not like that. He wanted the good get a clear-cut reward.
Zilu felt this indignation most strongly about his master. Why does this greatest man have to suffer such hardships? Why does he, not having a happy family life, have to live a life of wandering in his old age? When Confucius said to himself, "The phoenix hasn't arrived. The river doesn't show the direction. Alas, what to do?" Zilu could not help but cry. Confucius lamented for the world, but Zilu cried for Confucius.
Zilu resolved that he would become a shield to stand between the sorry reality and Confucius. The master guided and protected him intellectually and morally, so he would do his very best to protect his master from the drag of daily grind. He knew he was not the most learned or most talented of the disciples. But no one else had his drive to risk his life for the sake of the master. (Chapter 7)
Zigong said, "Here is a beautiful jade. Should we hide it in a box or should we sell to a good buyer?" Confucius immediately said, "Let's sell it. Let's sell it. I will seek a good price." That was Confucius' intention when he left for the life of wandering. Most of disciples who followed him were also looking for a buyer. Zilu was of a different mind. Though he enjoyed the experience in the Dukedom of Lu where he had the power to put his conviction into action, that was because he was working under Confucius. If not working under Confucius, Zilu would rather hide the beautiful jade and wear a rag. Zilu would rather remain Confucius watchdog all his life than serving an unworthy master.
Among Confucius' students, Zigong, who was 22 years younger than Zilu, distinguished himself by his brightness. Confucius always praised Guanhui highly, but Zilu thought more of Zigong. Zilu was not fond of Guanhui who was like a younger version of Confucius but without his vitality and political savvy. Zilu liked Zigong's vitality and smartness. Everyone noticed Zigong was still immature in many ways, but time would take care of that. Zilu thought Zigong had a bright future.
One day Zigong said, "The master says he despises clever words. But he himself is a master of words. This is dangerous. It is very different from the case of Zai Yu (another disciple). Zai Yu's clever words are so obvious that you enjoy his rhetorical flair but do not trust him. His words are safe, in that sense. The master's words are very different. Instead of being fluent, he has the weight behind his words that make you trust him. Instead of sarcasm, he uses metaphors of significance that wins you over. I believe 99 percent of what the master says is absolute truth. We all should follow him in the 99 percent. But there is a slight danger in the last one percent where his words may be used to defend his personal preference. Maybe I am asking too much because I have gotten to know the master so well. If the later generation venerate him as a saint that is what ought to be. I have never seen a person so close to perfection and there will be few like him in the world. I just want to say that even such a person has to be questioned in some cases. Guanhui is very similar in his preference to the master, so he would never feel this way. Doesn't the master praise Guanhui so often because of their similar preferences?" Zilu was upset by this youngster's criticism of the master, but could not dismiss Zigong's observation, even though he knew it was partly motivated by jealousy. He harbored a similar discontent about the master. Zilu felt both admiration and contempt for Zigong for articulating the vague discontent into words.
Zigong asked Confucius, "Do the dead know things? Or they can't?" He was asking about the existence of soul after death. Confucius replied, "I dare not say the deed knows because I am afraid that might drive the filial people into serving the dead at the cost of this life. I dare not say they don't because I am afraid that might make the unfilial sons abandon the parents and not perform funerals." Zigong was not happy with the reply. Confucius knew what Zigong meant. But being a realist and this world oriented, Confucius was trying to redirect this bright disciple's interest.
Zigong told Zilu about this. Such questions as souls' existence after death did not interest Zilu. But he was curious how Confucius saw death. So he asked about death. Confucius said, "I don't yet know what life is. How can I know about death?" Zilu was impressed. Zigong felt Confucius evaded the question again. (Chapter 8)
Duke Ling of Wei was a very weak-willed ruler. Though not so stupid as not to know right from wrong, he would rather believe flattery than hard advice. His wife Nanzi was well-known for her wantonness. Nanzi was a clever one, had her own ideas about politics, and Duke Ling followed her every wishes. If they wanted to be heard by Duke Ling, people first went to Nanzi.
When Confucius entered the Dukedom of Wei, Confucius was summoned by the Duke, but did not see Nanzi. Nanzi summoned Confucius, saying that it was customary to see Nanzi before seeing the Duke. Confucius did not see a reasonable way to avoid the summon, so he went to greet her. Zilu was furious that Confucius greeted such an ill-reputed woman. Confucius was both amused and dismayed by Zilu. While he could act in politics with realism, Zilu still harbored a big child inside him who showed no sign of growing up.
Duke Ling invited Confucius to accompany him on a wagon ride around the capital, to talk about politics. Nanzi did not like this. When Confucius greeted the Duke and tried to get on the royal wagon, Nanzi was already occupying the seat next to the Duke's. The Duke dared not say anything to Nanzi, and made Confucius sit in a separate wagon. The wagons went through the capital. The people sighed and lamented at the sight of Nanzi in the royal horse-drawn wagon and Confucius in a shabby cow-drown wagon.
The sight made Zilu mad. He saw how happy Confucius had been to receive the invitation form the Duke. He was about to crash through the crowd. Two younger students clang to him. Seeing tears in their eyes, Zilu lowered his fist.
Confucius and the disciples left Wei next day. Confucius lamented, "I have yet met a man who loves morality as much as he loves women." (Chapter 9)
Dukes and kings revered Confucius as a wise man but did not want him. Zilu felt that Confucius was too big for them. One offered to make him a royal guest of honor. Others employed his disciples. But none wanted to implement Confucius' full program. Their ministers treated Confucius with jealousy and politicians rejected him.
Undaunted, Confucius and the disciples traveled from state to state, training themselves, and looking for employment. Rather incredibly, they actually believed that they were trying to get employed not for their own sake, but for the sake of the empire and dao (tao: the Way). Because of this conviction, they were cheerful even though poor, and never gave up in the face of difficulty. They were strange fellows.
When Confucius and the disciples were invited by King Zhao of Chu, politicians of the neighboring Chen and Zhai organized a mob to stop them. The politicians were trying to prevent Chu from employing Confucius. Confucius and the disciples were besieged and could not cook for seven days. They were tired, hungry, and some fell ill. Confucius did not show any sign of distress. He kept his daily routines and was singing, playing a zither. Seeing his fellow students in distress, Zilu could not understand this. So he asked Confucius "Is it because of good manner that you play and sing?" Confucius kept on playing and singing. After the piece was finished, Confucius said, "Yu (Zilu's style name), I tell you. Junzi (men of great virtue) practice music so as not to be arrogant. Shaoren (petty men) practice music so as not to be afraid. Who are you to follow me without knowing me?"
Zilu was taken aback for a moment. So as not to be arrogant, in this situation? But, then, he understood what Confucius meant. Out of joy, Zilu grabbed a spear and danced. Confucius played music for him and they performed three rounds. The others watched, forgetting their worry a while.
Another time during the siege, Zilu asked Confucius, "Can junzi be in a dire strait?" Confucius answered, "Being in a dire strait means straying from dao. Now, I follow the path of ren (benevolence) and yi (righteousness) and am facing the mob. I won't call this a dire strait. If you call being hungry and tired a dire strait, junzi can, of course, find himself in a dire strait. The difference is that shaoren lose the calm." Zilu blushed. Shaoren in him was exposed! Zilu realized the great bravery of Confucius who maintained his calm in the face of danger. Zilu also realized what he used to think of as bravery, facing the blade without fear, was so petty. (Chapter 10)
One day, Zilu was separated from the others and trying to catch up. Zilu ran into an old man. Zilu greeted him and asked, "Have you seen the master?" The old man replied, "How would I know who is your "master"?" He continued, "You look like one of those who live by talking empty theories without actually working." The old man started to work in the field. Zilu realized this was a recluse, so he bowed and waited. After a while, the recluse invited Zilu home. T he recluse slaughtered a chicken and cooked millet and the chicken for dinner. He introduced Zilu to his two sons. After dinner, the old man, a little tipsy because of a little wine, played a zither. His sons sang along. Though obviously poor, the household felt spiritually rich. The three family members seemed content and intellectual.
The old man said to Zilu, "You use cart to go over land and a boat to go over water. This has always been the case. Would you use a boat to go over land? Trying to apply the Zhou dynasty's ancient laws to the present day is like using a boat over a land." He clearly knew that Zilu was a Confucius' student. "Fulfillment is in enjoying life. Not in climbing to a high official rank." This was not the first time Zilu met recluses. But it was the first time Zilu spent time among such people. Zilu thought, with a hint of envy, that it was a beautiful life they live.
However, Zilu did not accept the old man's word passively. Zilu said, "I know it would be great to leave the world behind, but a man should not only seek enjoyment. Trying to keep oneself clean by ignoring the greater good is not right. We know well that dao cannot prevail in a world like this. We also know the danger of preaching dao in a world like this. But we believe that we need to dare preach dao because of the sorry state the world is in."
Next morning, Zilu left the recluse's home and hurried along to catch up with Confucius and fellow students. Zilu mentally compared the recluse and Confucius. Confucius was no less insightful than the old man. Confucius did not desire a high rank any more than the old man. Still, Confucius chose, instead of saving himself trouble, to wander and preach in the hope of improving the world. Zilu suddenly felt anger for the recluse.
Near midday, Zilu caught the sight of a group of people walking. When he recognized Confucius for his extraordinary height, Zilu felt a pang of pain for his master. (Chapter 11)
On the boat from Song to Chin, Zigong and Zai Yu were talking. They were discussing Confucius' words, "Even in a small village of ten houses, there will be a person who is similar to me in nature. He just does not like to study as much as I do." Despite these words, Zigong argued that Confucius' great completeness was due to his extraordinary innate qualities. Zai Yu countered that Confucius' conscious effort to better himself played a larger role. Zai Yu meant that the difference between Confucius and others are quantitative, not qualitative. Zigong argued back that when the quantitative difference was overwhelming, it became a qualitative difference; Confucius' ability to pursue self-cultivation so far proved he was different. Zigong said Confucius' definitive quality was his unfailing instinct for seeking the balanced middle.
Zilu thought they were just idle talkers. If the boat overturned, they would panic. If something happens, it is me who will protect the master. Zilu silently recited Confucius' words, "Clever words ham morality," and felt proud of himself.
However, Zilu had some issues with Confucius. When Duke Ling of Chin had an affair with his minister's wife and appeared in the court wearing her underwear to rob in the fact, an official named Xieye remonstrated with the duke and was killed. A student asked Confucius about this incident that happened some one hundred years earlier. Xieye's death was like that of Bi Gan, the great minister of the olden day. Could his act be called the act of ren? Confucius said, "No, Bi Gan and Zhou Wang were relatives and his rank was Junior Tutor, so he could reasonably expect that Zhou Wang would feel remorse after his death. (We will meet Bi Gan and Zhou Wang in Creation of Lesser Gods.) That was ren. In the case of Xieye, he was no relative of Duke Ling and a mere court official. If he found the Duke wrong and the country unruly, he should have resigned. Without realizing that he could not reasonably expect Duke Ling to repent, Xieye wasted his life. It was far from ren."
Zilu was listening and could not agree. He asked, "Regardless of if it was ren or not, isn't there something admirable about his drive to try saving the country, forgetting his person? The result was bad, but should you dismiss him as wasting his life?"
"Yu, you are so taken by what is admirable in such low form of righteousness and cannot see beyond it. Junzi of the olden days served most loyally when the country followed dao, and resigned from the post when the country fell out of dao. You do not seem to be able to understand the wisdom of such behavior. The poetry says, "When you see many evil people, do not press righteousness." This applies to Xieye."
Zilu thought a while. "Does that mean the most important thing in the world is to keep oneself safe? Is each individual's behavior more important than trying to make the world safer place? If Xieye had resigned, it would have been fine for him. But what about the people of Chin? Isn't dying in trying to remonstrate with the Duke more meaningful for the people of Chin?"
"I do not say keeping oneself safe is the most important. If that were the case, I wouldn't call Bi Gan a man of ren. However, even if dying for dao, there is the right time and occasion to do so. Knowing the right time and occasion requires wisdom. Rushing to death isn't wise."
Zilu still felt unconvinced. Zilu sometimes felt that, while he talked about achieving ren even at the cost of death, Confucius thought that keeping oneself safe was the wisest choice. Other students did not feel the way Zilu did, because keeping themselves safe was the wisest choice was self-evident to them.
Zilu left the master, looking unconvinced. Confucius gazed on his receding back, and commented sadly. "He is a straight arrow when the country follows dao. He is a straight arrow when the country stray from dao. He is like Shiyu of Wei. He won't die a natural death." (Chapter 12)
Zilu followed Confucius, in out of Wei four times, staying three years in Chin, and from Cao, to Song, to Zhai, to Ye, and to Chu.
Zilu knew that there was no hope of a duke or king implementing Confucius' program, which did not bother him any longer. For many years, Zilu was angry at the world without dao and ineffectual lords, and aggrieved by Confucius' ill fortune. But by now, Zilu started to realize the meaning of their fate to follow Confucius. It was not a passive acceptance of fate. It was a positive acceptance of the fate to become the alarm bell to the world, not limited by small political divisions or by his historical time. Zilu came to appreciate Confucius' wisdom of not despairing in the face of difficulty, never despising the realty, and do the best within the confine of what was available. Zilu understood why Confucius seemed to care about what the people of future might think of him. Too taken by the present reality, clever Zigong did not quite see the Confucius' fate that went beyond the confine of his own time. Simpleton Zilu, maybe because of his straight-forward love for his master, came to realize what Confucius was to be in history.
Having spent years in wandering, Zilu reached 50. Though not exactly mellowed down, Zilu had gained personal gravitas. He had the air of a person who could say, "I have no need for tons of grains. It will not make me a better man." Instead of looking like a self-righteous would-be, he now looked a real statesman. (Chapter 13)
When he visited Wei for the fourth time, Confucius, begged by the young Duke of Wei and Grand Tutor Gong Shuyu, made Zilu serve in the dukedom. When Confucius went home to Lu after more than ten years of wandering, Zilu stayed in Wei.
Wei had been in turmoil for more than ten years because of the late Duke Ling's wife, Nanzi. First, a man named Gong Shuwu schemed to remove Nanzi, but faced Nanzi's counter-accusations, and had to go into exile in Lu. Then, the son of Duke Ling, Crown Prince Kuai Kuei, tried to assassinate the mother-in-law, but failed, and escaped to Jin. While there was no Crown Prince, Duke Ling died. Che, the young son of Crown Prince in exile, was installed as Duke Chu. With the help of Jin, the former Crown Prince entered the western Wei and was looking for the chance to become the Duke of Wei. The one who tried to defend the duke's throne was the son. The one who tried to usurp him was the father. The Dukedom of Wei which Zilu was to serve was in such a sorry state.
Zilu's duty was to govern the estate of Bo for Grand Tutor Gong Shuyu's family. The Gong family was a highly respected clan and Gong Shuyu was renown for his statesmanship. Bo used to belong to Gong Shuwu who went into exile because of Nanzi. People of Bo were, therefore, rebellious toward the ruling duke. The people of the area tend to be quarrelsome to begin with. Confucius himself had been attacked by a mob in this area.
Before heading to Bo, Zilu asked Confucius for advice. Confucius said, "If you are humble and respectful, you do not need to worry about violence. If you are generous and right, the mighty would welcome you. If you are benevolent and decisive, no one will cheat." Zilu thanked Confucius and headed to Bo.
Once in Bo, Zilu invited the local bosses and had a heart to heart talk with them. He was not trying to tame them. Confucius always said, "You cannot punish when you haven't taught." Zilu was trying to tell the local bosses what he was thinking. His unpretentious honesty was welcomed and the local bosses praised Zilu for his clarity and broad-mindedness. By then, Zilu was well known as the manliest man of Confucius' disciples. Confucius's recommendation, “If there is anyone who can judge a case correctly only listening to one party, it is Zilu!” was also widely known. Such reputation surely helped Zilu in Bo.
Three years later, Confucius happened to pass through Bo. When he entered the estate, he said, "Well done, Yu, you are humble, respectful, and trustworthy." When they entered a village, he said "well done, Yu, you are loyal, trustworthy, and generous." When he entered Zilu's mansion, he said, "Well done, Yu, you are insightful and decisive." Zigong, who was accompanying Confucius, asked him why he praised Zilu even before seeing him. Confucius said, "Once in the estate, the farmland is well taken care of. This is because the governor is humble, respectful, and trustworthy, so the people work hard. Once in the village, the houses are well taken care of and trees are thriving. This is because the governor is loyal, trustworthy, and generous, so the people follow his words. Once inside his garden, tit is very clean and no servant disobeys his words. This is because the master is insightful and decisive that the governance is secure. Even without seeing Zilu, I have already seen how he governs." (Chapter 14)