A significant difference between Confucius and Socrates, however, lay in their attitudes toward their personal contribution to society. Whereas Socrates saw himself as an outsider in the society of Athens, Confucius had an interest in influencing the political life of Chou Dynasty China. He shared with the Socrates of the Republic, as opposed to the real Socrates, an interest in establishing the best possible political state—a realm in which men of learning would lead.
Looking around him at the problems of his times, he saw princes who thought only of their own interests and not of the people as a whole. Therefore he sought to influence the princes through a new corps of civil servants with a strong training in morals. Because morality and education went hand in hand, he believed, it was necessary to focus on learning. But learning had another purpose as well: in a world of crafty, selfserving princes, it was best for the scholar to know as much as he could.
Socrates would later say that he knew nothing, but that he helped others formulate ideas of their own. Confucius was similarly humble, as befit his image of the proper scholar. He claimed that he had thought of nothing new, but rather had recombined old ideas. Though this was far from the case, it is true that the Confucian social philosophy was based around a new interpretation of two old concepts in Chinese
Thought: li (LEE), or one's proper place in society; and jen (ZHEN), which might be described as inner virtue or conscience.
Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), with Lin Biao (clapping hands). Respect for the teachings of Confucius permeated Zedong's rule in the twentieth century.
It is very hard to find English equivalents for either term, since both are deeply rooted in the Chinese culture. In any case, someone who developed a proper awareness of both jen and li became mature. He became what Confucius described as a “gentleman,” or chun-tzu (joon-ZOO). Confucius's ultimate goal, through cultivating scholars, was to raise up a generation of rulers possessing both jen and li. Only when all people, from the top down, appreciated their place within the fabric of social life, could there truly be peace and happiness in the world.
World History
