Why did Confucianism dominate Chinese aesthetic thought?

Category: Culture/Arts >> Literature >> Fiction

Description of the Problem:

What is the reason that Confucianism has always influenced people's homes for thousands of years in the long history of Chinese aesthetic thought?

Answer:

In general, Confucianism is a doctrine of moral and ethical norms in human society. Its most basic theoretical foundation is the "theory of the goodness of nature". As the author pointed out in "The Theory of Human Nature as Good and Evil", the first sentence of the popular ancient Chinese song "Three Character Classic" is "In the beginning of man, nature is good. Nature is close, and habits are far apart." In other words, human nature (nature) is good and good. Moreover, this nature is the same and similar, with universal. It is only because of the changes in habits and environment that result in differences in behavior, leading to deviations from the "good" phenomenon. Confucianism is not wrong on this point. There is a good side to human nature, and it is the mainstream.

On the basis of the theory of goodness, the main idea of Chinese Confucianism in governing the country is moral education. This idea is that since human nature is good, and vices are only infected later, so the governance of society should start from moral education, and persuade people to give up their vices, and return to the innate "good", the society will be peaceful. In ancient China, emphasis was placed on "educating the world", that is to say, educating and sensitizing the common people. Therefore, Confucianism emphasizes morality rather than the rule of law. Confucianism believes that if the people are taught with morality and propriety, they will be able to love and respect themselves, and be convinced.

The Confucian doctrine of benevolence and virtue is very important. Instead of relying on force, Confucianism emphasizes that benevolence, righteousness, and morality are the only way to fight for and manage the world. Over the past several thousand years, this idea has been proven correct countless times. Whoever can follow this law will succeed. Whoever violates this law is bound to fail. And this idea is not only useful for ruling a country, it can be useful for leaders at any level. It is perfectly applicable even in the modern world. It will also be applicable in the future. This is a crystallization of the accumulated wisdom of thousands of years of experience in human history. The Confucian theory of benevolence and virtue will never go out of fashion.

The core of Confucian ethical thinking is the word "propriety". Since all people are good by nature, those in power should let the people know how to exercise self-control and return to a polite and courteous society. It is the so-called "restrain yourself and return to propriety". This etiquette includes manners, etiquette, politeness, and rules and regulations. Therefore, the thinking of Confucianism requires people to know how to exercise self-control, restrain their desires, observe etiquette and eliminate violence, so as to achieve a peaceful social environment. It is this Confucian idea of "propriety" that has made China a state of etiquette recognized by the whole world. There is nothing wrong with the idea of etiquette. It just needs to be changed from the rigid part of it.

Confucianism therefore laid down many specific rituals for society, which are expressed in the "Three Principles and Five Constants". Mr. Li's concept of respect for the elderly is included in this ethical framework. The Three Principles and Five Principles have always been a target of criticism by anti-Confucianists. From the perspective of modern society, there are indeed many aspects of these social norms that do not fit in with modern values. However, these outlines are just some of the manifestations of Confucian moral thinking applied to social norms. One may say that these forms of expression are too stereotyped and not flexible enough; or that certain forms no longer meet the needs of modern society. This is all understandable. However, it is important to note the difference between form and content. An idea can affect many, many aspects, and there are countless forms of expression. The fact that a certain aspect is not applicable, or that a certain form is unreasonable, does not mean that this kind of thinking is not applicable and unreasonable on other occasions and in other forms.

Since there are so many aspects of Confucianism (the list in this article is not exhaustive), one cannot jump to the conclusion that Confucianism is outdated based on a single event or aspect.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Confucianism is the core of traditional Chinese culture and the theoretical basis for the maintenance of feudal monarchy. Confucianism and the system of monarchical dictatorship constitute the two main elements of ancient Chinese political history. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was fundamental

The ruling class needed to ideologically confine people

Confucianism suited them just fine