History Creator / Confucius

Confucius's enduring legacy is the codification of an ethos that predated him by centuries into a system of relatively coherent moral codes.[[note]]Indeed, he sees himself as "merely" preserving and passing on values prevalent during the Western Zhou era.[[/note]] It is sometimes said Buddhism or Taoism are not so much "religions", as they are philosophies. Confucianism however isn't even so much a philosophy, as it is a model of behavior. There have been several cycles of decay and revival in the history of Confucianism, but the latest wave of Neo-Confucianism is at the core of what has been claimed as 'traditional' values in East Asia: a strong emphasis on family life and loyalties (filial piety), deference to authority and personal responsibility in authority (feudal loyalty). Associated with these are the prizing of self-discipline and (academic) learning. After his death, it was proclaimed as the official religion/ethos of the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu. (Whether they actually did it is another question entirely; a common proverb about the Han states was that they went for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legalism_(Chinese_philosophy) Legalism]] under the banner of Confucianism) and went on to become insanely popular. It was one out of the few hundred schools of thought to actually achieve notoriety and holds enormous sway over modern ideology and politics.[[note]]One reason for the massive influence is that Confucius advocated a path for all scholars, which is for them to become officials. As it turned out, many of Confucius's disciples did become officials, and they in turn used their influences to elevate their teacher to the status of a sage. Another reason is that Confucius's teachings are more easily followed by the upper classes, i.e. the classes who can afford to be educated and then seek their fortunes at officialdom.[[/note]]

"[[ForWantOfANail If names be not correct]], language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success.\\

-->"Tsai Wo asked, saying 'A benevolent man, though it be told him—,"There is a man in the well," will go in after him, I suppose.' Confucius said, 'Why should he do so?' A superior man may be maid to go ''to the well'', but he cannot be made to go down into it. He may be imposed upon, but he cannot be befooled."

* GoodIsNotDumb: Confucius taught that benevolent men practice their benevolence with prudence. Tsai Wo, a skeptic of Confucius, supposed that a benevolent man would jump into a well if told "There is a man in the well". Confucius replied that a superior man would come up ''to'' the well, but only to be sure there really is a man in the well.

-->-- '''The Analects'''

* GoodIsNotDumb: Confucius taught that benevolent men practice their benevolence with prudence. Tsai Wo, a skeptic of Confucius, supposed that a benevolent man would go into a well when told "There is a man in the well". Confucius replied that a superior man would go ''to'' the well to be sure there really is a man in the well.

* GoodIsNotDumb: Confucius taught that benevolent men practice their benevolence with prudence. Tsai Wo, a skeptic of Confucius, supposed that a benevolent man will go into a well when told "There is a man in the well". In response, Confucius replied that a superior man will go ''to'' the well to be sure there really is a man in the well.

The name "Confucius" comes from the 16th century Latin translation of the ''Analects'' by the Jesuit scholar Matteo Ricci, who introduced him to the Catholic world. The Mandarin is ''Kǒng zǐ'' (孔子; "Master Kong") or ''Kǒng Fūzǐ'' (孔夫子 "Grand Master Kong"). [[AlternateCharacterReading He is known as 'Koshi' in Japan.]] In Chinese tradition, his [[IHaveManyNames names]] are (in Hanyu Pinyin) ''Qiū'' (丘, his given name or ''míng'') and ''Zhòngní'' (仲尼, his courtesy name (''zì'') and almost never used by his disciples). (Yes, you can call him "Johnny Kong" if you want to be utterly informal.)

* GentleGiant: According to legend, was 9 and a half feet tall, though units were shorter then, so who knows? [[note]]The Chinese feet (''chi'') during the Eastern Zhou era varied from 0.22m to 0.231m., which would make Confucius very tall in the modern age, and an absolute giant back in his day.[[/note]] As a side note, his height could have been inherited from his father, who was even taller and was said to be a great warrior, with great strength to boot.

* LikeFatherLikeSon /LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Played with. Confucius was said to have inherited his father's height; unlike the old man, he did not have a quick temper, although some of his students (particularly Zilu) might agree that he had a sharp tongue.