There are three religions in China, viz, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Confucius and Lao-Tze, founder of Taoism, were contemporaries. Lao Tze was fifty-three years older than Confucius. Lao-Tze was 83-years-old, more than twice the age of Confucius when they met. There was much difference in the ideas and beliefs of the two men as there was difference in their age. The substance of their conversation has been handed down to us by Chinese historians. Socrates and the Buddha were also the contemporaries of Confucius.

Confucius was born in 551 BC in the feudal State of Lu, a portion of what is now the province of Shangtung on the northeastern seaboard of China. The name of Confucius in Chinese is Kung-Fu-Tse, i.e., the statesman-philosopher Kung. The first European scholars who visited China found the name hard to pronounce. So they turned it into Latin and Called him Confucius.

Confucianism is not a religion in the customary sense. It has neither priesthood nor any monastic order. It existed in China long before the time of Confucius. In one of his recorded sayings he speaks of himself as a "transmitter" and not a "maker" or originator. He did not give a new religion to the world or a new ethical code. What he gave to the world was only a powerful restatement of the fundamental principles of human morality or ethics. He issued a new and improved edition of the old one. The moral code he framed contained some grand ethical truths.

Confucius devoted himself to the improvement of society. He always thought of the well-being of the society. He tried his level best to contribute much to the social welfare. 'The Analects' or collection of sayings mainly on social welfare, human peace and harmony in society. He strained his every nerve in giving moral training to people. He laid very great emphasis on cultivation of ethical virtues. He tried to remove the discordant or disturbing elements in society. He had a strong conviction that if the superiors and elders had a blameless character, others would follow them and there would be love and universal peace everywhere. Confucius laid a great emphasis on education and learning, and study of the rules of right conduct with a view to their practical application. According to his teaching, man's chief end is to know and make the most of himself as a member of society. He preached to his disciples and the people the principles of good life and social harmony. His teaching was largely concerned with the problems of good government. He said : "The ruler himself should be virtuous ruler is like the pole-star which, by keeping its place makes all other stars to revolve round it. As is the ruler, so will be the subjects.

What was Confucius's idea of virtue ? Swami Sivananda explains : "His word for it was 'Jen'. The proper understanding of his ethical doctrine chiefly depends on the implications of Jen. There is no single English equivalent of Jen in all its shades of meaning. The essence of all his teachings may be summed up under this one word 'Jen'. The nearest equivalent to this difficult word is social virtue. All those virtues which help to maintain social harmony and peace like benevolence, charity, magnanimity, sincerity, respectfulness, altruism, diligence, loving kindness, goodness are included in Jen.

One of the disciples asked him : "O Venerable Master! Please tell me what constitutes social virtue." Confucius replied "Loving others." Another disciple asked, "Master, is there any one maxim which should be acted upon throughout one's own life ?" He replied, "Do not do others what you do not wish them to do to you." A chief disciple of Confucius said : "The single principle that ran throughout the teachings of my Master is loyalty to oneself and charity to one's neighbour."

Many of his short sayings are admirable in their pith and sagacity. What could be better than these : "Learning withoutthought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous." "It is only the truly virtuous who can love or hate others." "To be poor without murmuring is difficult; to be rich without being proud is easy."

The various sayings of Confucius presented the attributes of the superior man. Confucius asked his disciples to admire the superior man, to emulate him. He said that every human being cherishes the aspirations to become a superior man; superior to his fellows; superior to his own past and present self.

Purpose : "The superior man learns in order to attain to the utmost of his principles."

Poise : "The superior man in his thought does not go out of his place."

Self-sufficiency : "What the superior man seeks is in himself, and what the ordinary man seeks, is in others."

Earnestness : "The superior man in everything puts forth his utmost endeavours."

Thoroughness : The superior man bends his attention to what is radical. That being established, all practical courses naturally grow up.

Sincerity : "Is it not his sincerity which distinguishes a superior man ?"

Truthfulness : "What the superior man requires is that in what he says there may be nothing inaccurate."

Purity of though and action : "The superior man must be watchful over himself when alone."

Love of truth : "The superior man is anxious lest he should not get truth; he is not anxious lest poverty comes upon him."

Rectitude : "The superior man thinks of virtue, the ordinary man thinks of comfort."

Prudence : "The superior man wishes to be slow in his words and earnest in his conduct."

Composure : " The superior man may indeed have to endure want, but the ordinary man when in want, gives way to unbounded licence."

Fearlessness : "The superior man has neither anxiety or fear."

Ease and dignity : "The superior man has dignified ease without pride; the ordinary man has pride without dignified ease."

Firmness : "Look at from a distance the superior man appears stern when approached; he is mild, when he is heard to speak; his language is firm and decided."

Capacity : "The faults of the superior man are like the sun and the moon. He has his faults and all men see them. He changes again and all men look up to him."

Benevolence : "The superior man seeks to develop the admirable qualities of men and does not seek to develop their evil qualities. The ordinary man does the opposite."

Broad-mindedness : "the superior man honours talents and virtue and bears with all. He praises the good and pities the incompetent."

Moderation : "The superior man conforms with the path of the middle course."

The most important of the writings of Confucius are called the Five Classics. The first four were said by tradition to have been compiled by Confucius and the fifth to be his own work. These Five Classics are : the Book of Changes, the Book of History, the Book of Poetry, the Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals. To the Five Classics were later added the Analects of Confucius, a record of his sayings by his pupils; and the Book of Mencius, the philosopher who developed and added to the teaching of Confucius.

Words of Wisdom

• 1. The world is only a halting place.
• 2. To plan affairs rests with; to complete affairs rests with God.
• 3. By controlling the anger of a moment you may avoid the remorse of a life time.
• 4. Blame yourself as you would blame others. Excuse others as you would excuse yourself.
• 5. Obedience is better than reverence.
• 6. Girls and servants are the most difficult people to handle. If you treat them familiarly, they become disrespectful. If you keep them at a distance, they resent it.
• 7. To walk on the path of virtue for twenty years is not enough. To do evil for a single day is too much.
• 8. A wise man will be slow to speak but quick to act.
• 9. Sincerity is the end and beginning of things. Without sincerity there would be nothing. Sincerity is the way of God. It is the way of heaven. Practise it wisely.
• 10. The three secrets of happiness : to see no evil, to hear no evil and to do no evil.
• 11. The heart of man is more dangerous than mountains and rivers, more difficult to understand than heaven itself.
• 12. The heart of a wise man should resemble a mirror, which reflects every objects without being sullied by anything.
• 13. Firmness and resolution, simplicity and gentleness of speech are qualities that make for perfect virtue.
• 14. He who does not know the Divine Law cannot become a noble man. He who does not know the laws of right conduct cannot form his character. He who does not know the force of words cannot know man.
• 15. The enlightened are free from doubt, the virtuous from anxiety and the brave from fear.
• 16. Of all the parts of man's body, there is none more excellent than the pupil of the eye. The pupil cannot be used to hide a man's wickedness. If within the heart all be correct, the pupil is bright. If within the heart all be not correct, the pupil is dull. Listen to a man's word and look at the pupil of his eyes. How can a man conceal his character?
• 17. True goodness is loving your fellowmen. True wisdom is knowing your fellow men.
• 18. With coarse food to eat, water to drink and the bended arm as a pillow the sage is the most happy in this world.
• 19. Noise is not in the market place, nor quiet in the forest, but in the hearts of men.
• 20. Better do kind acts near home than walk a thousand miles to burn incense.
• 21. When you know, to know that you know, and then you do not know, to know that you do not know - that is true knowledge.
• 22. Sorrow and trouble bring life, ease and pleasure bring death.
• 23. While still unable to do your duty to the living, how can you do your duty to the dead? While you do not know life, how can you know death ?
• 24. The enlightened mind is its own heaven; the unenlightened mind is its own hell. Swami Sivananda concludes :

"Confucius has rendered immortal the sixth century B.C. He was a born ruler of men. He would have shown as one of the world's greatest monarchs, if circumstances had been favourable.

He had a highly developed moral sense and a profound realisation of the supreme importance of morals in human life. His greatness has been universally recognised for many centuries.

He is held in the highest reverence by hundreds of millions of the world's inhabitants. Confucius was a great Chinese teacher and social reformer. He lived in an age of disorder, disquiet, disharmony, dissensions and feudal wars.

He is regarded as the Father of Chinese culture. He has had a great part in moulding the history of China and his influence is to this day a dominant factor in the public and private life of the country.

He excelled as a diligent student of antiquity. He described himself as having been born with knowledge, which he had to acquire through earnest communion with the past."

Praveen Davar