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The Chinese philosophical and spiritual traditions of Daoism and Confucianism have been interwoven together in the souls of the people whose reverence for ancestors and striving for harmony with nature have been elevated by the ethics and ideals of them both. The two traditions coexisted peacefully, even within the individual follower. The two philosophies have peacefully coexisted together for so long because the I Ching (Book of Changes) and the metaphysical Yin-Yang Cosmology were included in both of them. The commentaries of the Book of Changes (I Ching), a divination oracle, were imbued with the values and ethics taught by Kong Fuzi. Daoism (Taoism), which was based on the teachings of Lao Zi (Laozi), was more of a Way to achieve personal enlightenment; while, the Confucian teachings of Kong Fuzi (Kongzi, Kong Zi, Venerable Master Kong, Virtuous Teacher Kong, Confucius), dealt more with ethics and education. Daoism (Taoism), the Way of the Dao (Tao) teachings of Lao Zi has provided a synergetic complement to the traditional Confucianism teachings of Kong Fuzi in China.
Aspects of Buddhism have also been interwoven into the synergism of the teachings of Kong Fuzi and Lao Zi. Daoism shared many Buddhist concepts and words. When Chinese scholars first came across Buddhism, they found the Buddhist beliefs to be a corresponding complement to those of Daoism. The arrival of mystical Buddhist thought in China invigorated, rejuvenated and restructured Daoism. Buddhist scriptures were translated into the language and terms of Daoism. Over the years, Daoism and Confucianism have also been harmoniously synthesized with Buddhism throughout the Chinese cultural traditions. The well balanced congruent integration of the three illustrious pathways of Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism in China has been confirmed by the recurrent presence of aligned groupings of sculptures of the three esteemed founding personages (Buddha, Kong Fuzi, Lao Zi) in many temples and rock carvings. The Dazu Rock Sculptures (Dàzú Shíkè) on Mount Baoding in the image above date from around the 7th Century ACE. The rock sculptures depicted three stellar religious personages (Guatama Buddha, Kong Fuzi, Lao Zi), who were renowned respectively for their inspirationally insightful Buddhist, Confucian and Daoist Ways of Living. Situated near the city of Chongqing, China on the steep hillsides of Dazu County, the Dazu Rock Carvings were comprised of around 50,000 sculptures with inscriptions and epigraphs consisting of more than 100,000 Chinese characters. Although the initial rock carvings occurred during the early Tang Dynasty in 605 ACE, the majority of the rock carvings on Mount Beishan were initiated by Wei Junjing, the Prefect of Changzhou in the late 9th Century ACE. From 907-965 ACE during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, monks, nuns and other local people continued to emulate his exemplary works. Then in the Twelfth Century during the Song Dynasty Zhao Zhifeng, a devoted Buddhist monk, worked on the intricately crafted Mount Baoding rock carvings and sculptures for seventy years. A UNESCO World Heritage Site because of their artistic excellence, their abundant secular and spiritual multiplicity and their illumination of Chinese cultural traditions, the Dazu Rock Carvings on Mount Baoding and Mount Beishan were particularly noteworthy. They provided outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. Kong Fuzi (Kongzi, Kong Zi, Venerable Master Kong, Confucius) and Lao Zi (Laozi) were contemporaries in China (6th century BCE). Born in the state of Lu, Philosopher Kong Fuzi (551-479 BCE) was a Chinese educator and reformer of exemplary vision, who endeavored to elevate the most refined elements in the prevailing societal and governmental traditions by traveling throughout China, giving advice to its rulers, and teaching morality and ethics. Known as the "Virtuous Teacher Kong" and "Venerable Master Kong", the profound thinking of Kong Fuzi (Kongzi, Kong Zi, Confucius); as well as, the centuries of commentary that it inspired were both central and integral to the cultural system of the Chinese. Confucius was a name given to Philosopher Kong Fuzi by a western missionary and has no meaning to the Chinese who call him Kong Fuzi (Kongzi, Kong Zi, Virtuous Teacher Kong, Venerable Master Kong). Seasoned for more than 2,000 years, the Philosophy of Kong Fuzi has been fully integrated into Chinese culture. Kong Fuzi taught his views on governmental reform, music, philosophy, poetry and the classics to around three thousand young male students during his lifetime. Of these, he chose the seventy-two best and brightest to become known as his disciples. During the Qin dynasty most of the writings and teachings of Kong Fuzi were destroyed. After they were overthrown by the Han dynasty, the surviving scholars reconstructed New Script texts from their memory of the destroyed texts. Later on people discovered burnt fragments of the original books and compiled the Old Script texts.
Kong Fuzi (who believed there was a pervasive thread of universal unity connecting everything) used adages, analogy, aphorisms, examples from his daily life experiences, maxims, short sayings, adages, aphorism and tautology to answer the questions of his students.
Central themes of his teachings were written down in the Analects of Confucius over a thirty to fifty year period some time after his passing. Over the centuries, there have been various versions of the Analects of Confucius including the Ancient Text Analects (which had two additional chapters titled "Question the King" and "Know"), the Lu Analects, the Marquis Zhang Analects (the most widely known version) and the Qi Analects. Kong Fuzi described himself as a transmitter of existing knowledge and prevailing wisdom. Claiming that he himself had originated nothing, Kong Fuzi urged his students to consider the expressed feelings of the common people from sources like the Book of Odes, to continue to expand their knowledge of the ancient scriptures, to continually pursue their studies, to delve deeply into the wisdom wells of knowledge, to philosophically examine past political events and to think profoundly for themselves. The Book of Odes (Book of Songs, Shi Jing, Classic of Poetry) was a compilation of 305 Chinese poems dating from as long ago as 1000 BCE. After studying three thousand poems, Kong Fuzi structured a revised compilation of songs, which became known as the Book of Odes. In the Book of Odes, there were 160 Folk Songs (airs), 40 Hymns (deities and ancestral songs), 31 Major Festival Songs (solemn court ceremonies songs), and 74 Minor Festival Songs (traditional court festival odes). Kong Fuzi promulgated a "Mandate of Heaven" capable of unifying the peoples of the country by bringing peace and prosperity for everyone. He believed that rulers should be chosen based on merit (rather than strictly by parentage); as well as, by their devotion to the people. Virtuous leaders who constantly strove for perfection in all aspects of daily living served as a worthy role model for others to emulate (eliminating the necessity of regulating personal conduct). According to the Analects of Confucius, when asked by his students for one word to serve as a guiding lantern for others to follow on their journey through life, Kong Fuzi chose the Golden Rule of Shu (never impose upon others what you would not choose to impose upon yourself).
Confucian ethics taught the importance of basing one's life on the pursuit of Yì (righteousness reciprocity) and of performing morally right actions for the right reasons. Yì righteousness sprouted from the seed of Rén (empathetic kindness towards others). Virtuous behavior blossomed like a lotus lily upon the pond of harmonic relations with others. Confucianism was a philosophy of a Way of Life that was mainly centered around the ethical relations that defined the standards for family life and the administration of the state. According to the teachings of Kong Fuzi, the motive for change must be right. It must be good for the whole; as well as, for the self. A moral self was cultivated through a path of virtue where Yi-Jen-Li were integrated into righteous benevolent propriety. Kongzi's teachings also had a deep reverence for the powers of Heaven and Earth that regulated Nature and effected the course of human events. Kong Fuzi's ethical teachings included the following values and virtues: Chung (loyalty to the state), Li (ritual, propriety, etiquette), Hsiao (love within the family), Jen (benevolence, humaneness towards others), Yi (righteousness) and Xin (honesty and trustworthiness). Four of Life's Passages were regulated by tradition: birth, reaching maturity, marriage (with the six stages of proposal, engagement, dowry, procession, marriage, reception) and death.
Meng Tzu was a philosopher circa 371-289 BCE, who like Confucius traveled
from state to state, conversing with the government rulers. The book Chuang Tzu,
(which was filled with vivid parables and metaphorical tales with vivid imagery
that contained the essence of early Daoist thought), consisted of both his writings
and of the writings by others in regard to him life and his teachings.
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Daoism was a
Chinese philosophical spiritual path where
the goal was for everyone to become one with the Dao (Tao), the force which
flows through everything, the primal cause of life. The overall goal of
the philosophy of Kong Fuzi was to cultivate the ethical transformation of the
individual self while contributing to the attainment of an ideal, harmonious
society. Daoists (Taoists) focused on intuitive insights into Nature, while,
those that followed the teachings of Kong Fuzi emphasized education and the
rational, intellectual approach.
The Han Dynasty approved
and supported the Five Major Classics of Kong Fuzi which became known as
the Wu Jing. They were the Analects of Confucius, the Book of Songs, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Great Learning and the Mencius. The Wu Jing shaped the foundation of Chinese education. Besides China, the works of Kong
Fuzi have also been an inspirational influence on the cultures of several other
countries in the area.
Kong Fuzi advocated ancestral reverence, considerate kindness towards others, familial loyalty, truthful impeccability
(in speech, facial expressions, bodily mannerisms) and respectful attentiveness to developing and honing
exemplary personal behaviors. He encouraged delineating a more compassionate,
ethical future for everyone by studying and learning from the past.
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