4.5

<**Standard 4.4** ........................................................................................................................... **Standard 4.6**>

=Focus Question: //Who was Confucius and what were his writings on good government, codes of proper conduct, and relationships between parent and child, friend and friend, husband and wife, and subject and ruler?//=

[[image:Quill_and_ink.png]]Confucius

 * Born around 551 BCE in China
 * Name was Kong Qui or K’ung Fu-tzu
 * Little is known about his childhood
 * Became a philosopher
 * Believed in loving others
 * Wrote many works on his beliefs

For more, link to **Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy**


 * See also, Great Philosophers: Confucius**


 * [[image:primary_sources.PNG link="@http://classics.mit.edu/Confucius/doctmean.html"]]The Doctrine of the Mean, written 500 BCE**

See [|The Teachings of Confucius] including the Doctrine of Equilibrium and Harmony from Drexel University.

See also Political and Cultural Aspects of Chinese Civilization for more on Confucius in Chinese history.


 * On government:**
 * Order is necessary
 * Order will be maintained with concern for others and appropriate behavior
 * Subjects should obey their rulers

//Li//: includes ritual, propriety, etiquette, etc. //Hsiao//: love within the family: love of parents for their children and of children for their parents //Yi//: righteousness //Xin//: honesty and trustworthiness //Jen//: benevolence, humaneness towards others; the highest Confucian virtue //Chung//: loyalty to the state, etc. For more info, click here.
 * Taught these values**:


 * Parent and Child **
 * The child should obey and serve their parents
 * Mutual respect
 * The child should behave properly outside the home to bring honor to their family
 * Friend and Friend **
 * Treat others how you want to be treated


 * Husband and Wife **
 * Husband should be a good person so the wife will obey him
 * Husband is head of house and wife will obey him

For more on his relationship theories, click here.
 * Subject and Ruler **
 * Ruler should be kind to his subjects
 * He should live what he preaches
 * If he is kind, his subjects will follow him



Click here to read //The Analects// by Confucius

[|Link] to Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Confucius

History for Kids on [|Confucius]

For more, see [|United Religions Initiative Kids: Confucianism]as well as background on the other world religions of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.