Confucianism

Confucius was a relatively low-level Chinese official who traveled to many Chinese provinces spreading his ideas about good government and society at a time of great disunity in the land. One critical element of Confucianism was its demand that

The society be unified, harmonious, and hierarchical under the leadership of an emperor.

The unity and harmony were to be reinforced by a social system in which virtually every person knew his or her exact status. This hierarchy has many levels, but the most frequently discussed are the relationships between emperor and subject, father and son, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, and friend and friend. Of all the relationships, only the relationship between friends has the possibility of equality.

Everyone had a stake in the perpetuation of the system because as people aged, they gained status over those who were younger. The family hierarchy reinforced the national hierarchy. Chinese fathers supported the emperor because he gave them control over their families. With clear hierarchical relationships, harmony and unity could be promoted. This no doubt supported a successful empire for a long time. However, with the model of a single person as ruler, the Chinese have had difficulty in understanding democracy. Conflicts may still develop between those who desire the give and take of democracy and those who prefer the harmony and stability of one-person rule.

Confucianism is said to be the least "religious" of all world belief systems. In fact, some people who use a very strict definition of religion refer to Confucianism as an ethical philosophy. Regardless, its impact on the Chinese has been tremendous over the past two thousand years. Confucianism is heavily dependent on history since it does not rely on either revelation or reason for its legitimate authority. Confucius did not claim to be a god, to have talked to a god, or even to have thought up his philosophy on his own. Instead, he claimed he had studied the past and found the best foundation for society in China's ancient practices.

The historical foundation of Confucianism reinforces other parts of his philosophy. Confucianism urges worship of one's ancestors because they are the part of the past that gives legitimacy to the present. Confucianism reveres elders precisely because they are likely to become ancestors before anyone else. This age-based hierarchy is critical for Confucian legitimacy. Such hierarchy promotes stability, but conflict may still develop if stability becomes unreasoning rigidity in the face of necessary change.