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 CONFUCIANISM

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CONFUCIANISM

sacrifices. They are repeatedly mentioned in the Confucian t«xts, where instructions are given for their proper celebration. From the Chinese notion of sacri- fice the idea of propitiation through blood is entirely absent. It is nothing more than a food-offering ex- pressing the reverent homage of the worshippers, a solemn feast to do honour to the spirit guests, who are invited and are thought to enjoy the entertainment. Meat and drink of groat variety are provided. There is also vocal and instrumental music, and pantomimic dancing. The officiating ministers are not priests, but heads of families, the feudal lords, and above all, the king. There is no priesthood in Confucianism.

The worship of the people at large is practically confined to the so-called ancestor-worship. Some think it is hardly proper to call it worship, consisting as it does of feasts in honour of dead relatives. In the days of Confucius, as at present, there was in every family home, from the palace of the king himself down to the humble cabin of the peasant, a chamber or closet called the ancestral shrine, where wooden tab- lets were reverently kept, inscribed with the names of deceased parents, grandparents, and more remote ancestors. At stated intervals offerings of fruit, wine, and cooked meats were set before these tablets, which the ancestral spirits were fancied to make their temporary resting-place. There was, besides, a pub- lic honouring by each local clan of the common ances- tors twice a year, in spring and autumn. This was an elaborate banquet with music and solemn dances, to which the dead ancestors were summoned, and in which they were believed to participate along with the living members of the clan. More elaborate and mag- nificent still were the great triennial and quinquennial feasts given by the king to his ghostly ancestors. This feasting of the dead by families and clans was restricted to such as were united with the living by ties of relationship. There were, however, a few public benefactors whose memory was revered by all the people and to whom offerings of food were made, onfucius himself came be to honoured after death, aeing regarded as the greatest of public benefactors. Even to-day in China this religious veneration of the naster is faithfully maintained. In the Imperial 'olli'ge in Peking there is a shrine where the tablets of 'onfucius and his principal disciples are preserved. Pwire a year, in spring and autumn, the emperor goes here in state and solemnly presents food-offerings vitli a prayerful address expressing his gratitude and le VI it ion.

In the fourth book of the "Li-ki" reference is made n tho sacrifices which the people were accustomed to ■ffi r to the "spirits of the ground", that is to the 'f -[irits of higher rank, however, the people seem to 11 \' t.iken no active part. This was the concern of Iv'ir highest representatives, the feudal lords and the iim Each feudal lord offered sacrifice for himself imI his subjects to the .subordinate spirits supposed o h i\i> especial care of his territory. It was the pre- n^iiive of the king alone to sacrifice to the spirits, •nth threat and small, of the whole realm, particularly 1' Ih.iven and Earth. Several sacrifices of this kind . I r< offered every year. The most important were hn- at the winter and summer solstice in which If I. ■ti and Earth were respectively worshipped. To r II 11 1 lit for this anomaly we must bear in mind that irriline, as viewed by the Chinese, is a feast to the pirit guests, and that according to their notion of rniriity the highest deities .should be feted only by III' highest represent.atives of the living. They saw liiiMss in the custom that only the king, the Son of li iMii, should, in his own behalf and in behalf of his I'l'l'l'. make solemn offering to Heaven. And so it is 1 I ly. The sacrificial worship of Heaven and F)arth I ' li lirated only by the emperor, with the assistance, jidced, of a small army of attendants, and with a
 * iirii^ presiding over the local fields. In the worship

magnificence of ceremonial that is astonishing to be- hold. To pray privately to Heaven and burn incense to him was a legitimate way for the individual to show his piety to the highe-st deity, and this is still prac- tised, generally at the full moon.

(e) Folilics. — Confucius knew but one form of gov- ernment, the traditional monarchy of his native land. It was the extension of the patriarchal system to the entire nation. The king exercised an absolute au- thority over his subjects, as the father over his chil- dren. He ruled by right Divine. He was providen- tially set up by Heaven to enlighten the people by wise laws and to lead them to goodness by his example and authority. Hence his title, the " Son of Heaven". To merit this title he should reflect the virtue of Heaven. It was only the high-minded king that won Heaven's favour and was rewarded with prosperity. The unworthy king lost Divine assistance and came to naught. The Confucian texts abound in lessons and warnings on this subject of right government. The value of good example in the ruler is emphasized most strongly. The principle is asserted again and again, that the people cannot fail to practise virtue and to prosper when the ruler sets the high example of right conduct. On the other hand the implication is con- veyed in more than one place that when crime and misery aboimd, the cause is to be sought in the un- worthy king and his unprincipled ministers.

IV. Hlstory of Confucianism. — It is doubtless this uncompromising attitude of Confucianism to- wards vicious self-seeking rulers of the people that all but caused its extinction towards the end of the third century B. c. In the year 213 B. c, the subvertcr of the Chow dynasty, Shi Hwang-ti, promulgated the decree that all Confucian books, excepting the "Y- king", should be destroyed. The penalty of death was threatened against all scholars who should be foimd possessing the proscribed books or teaching them to others. Hundreds of Confucian scholars would not comply with the edict, and were buried alive. When the repeal came under the Han dynasty, in 191 B. c, the work of extermin,ation was wellnigh complete. Gradually, however, copies more or less damaged were brought to light, and the Confucian te.xts were restored to their place of honour. Genera- tions of scholars have devoted their best years to the elucidation of the "King" and "Shuh", with the re- sult that an enormous literature has clustered around them. As the State religion of China, Confucianism has exercised a profound influence on the life of the nation. This influence has been little affected by the lower classes of Taoism and Buddhism, both of which, as popular cults, began to flourish in China towards the end of the first century of our era. In the gross idolatry of these cults the ignorant found a satisfac- tion for their religious cravings that was not afforded by the religion of the State. But in thus embracing Taoism and Buddhism they did not cease to be Confu- cianists. These cults were and are nothing more than accretions on the Confucian beliefs and customs of the lower classes, forms of popular devotion clinging like parasites to the ancestral religion. The educated Chinese despi.ses both Buddhist ami Taoi-st supersti- tions. But while nominally professing Confucianism pure and simple, not a few hold rationalistic views regarding the spirit world. In number the Confucian- ists amount to about three hundred millions.

V. CoNFUciANi.s.M VF.n.su.s Chhi.stian Civiliza- tion. — In Confucianism there is nuich to admire. It has taught a noble conception of the supreme Heaven- god. It h.as inculcated a remarkably high standard of morality. It has prompted, as far as it knew how, the refining influence of literary education and of po- lite conduct. But it .stands to-day encumbered with the serious defects that characterize the imperfect civilization of its early development. The associa- tion of T'icn with innumerable nature-spirits, spirits