Free A Short History of Chinese Philosophy by Yu-lan Fung Page A

"The wise are free from doubts."
    Up to this time of his life Confucius was perhaps conscious only of moral values. But at the age of fifty and sixty, he knew the Decree of Heaven and was obedient to it. In other words, he was then also conscious of super -moral values. Confucius in this respect was like Socrates. Socrates thought that he had been appointed by a divine order to awaken the Greeks, and Confucius had a similar consciousness of a divine mission. For example, when he was threatened with physical violence at a place called K'uang, he said: "If Heaven had wished to let civilization perish, later generations (like myself) would not have been permitted to participate in it. But since Heaven has not wished to let civilization perish, what can the people of K uang do to me?" (Analects, IX, 5.) One of his contemporaries also said: "The world for long has been without order. But now Heaven is going to use the Master as an arousing tocsin. (Analects, III, 2.4O Thus Confucius in doing what he did, was convinced that he was following the Decree of Heaven and was supported by Heaven; he was conscious of values higher than moral ones.
    The super—moral value experienced by Confucius, however, was, as we shall see, not quite the same as that experienced by the Taoists. For the latter abandoned entirely the idea of an intelligent and purposeful Heaven, and sought instead for mystical union with an undifferentiated whole. The super-moral value which they knew and experienced, therefore, was freer from the ordinary concepts of the human relationships.
    At seventy, as has been told above, Confucius allowed his mind to follow whatever it desired, yet everything he did was naturally right of itself. His actions no longer needed a conscious guide. He was acting without effort. This represents the last stage in the development of the sage.
    Confucius' Position in Chinese History
    Confucius is probably better known in the West than any other single Chinese. Yet in China itself, though always famous, his place in history has changed considerably from one period to another.
    Historically speaking he was primarily a teacher, that is, only one teacher among many. But after his death, he gradually came to be considered as the teacher, superior to all others. And in the second century B.C. he was elevated to an even higher plane. According to many Confucianists of that time, Confucius had actually been appointed by Heaven to begin a new dynasty that would follow that of Chou. Though in actual fact without a crown or a government, he had ideally speaking beco me a king who ruled the whole e mpire. How this apparent
    O76 CONFUCIUS, THE FIRST TEACHER
     
    contradiction had happened, these Confucianists said, could be found out by studying the esoteric meaning supposedly contained in the Spring and Autumn Annals. This was supposed by them not to be a chronicle of Confucius' native state (as it actually was), but an important political work written by Confucius to express his ethical and political ideas. Then in the first century B.C., Confucius came to be regarded as even more than a king. According to many people of that time, he was a living god among men-a divine being who knew that after his time there woud someday come the Han dynasty (106
    B.C.-A.D. 2.2.O), and who therefore, in the Spring and A utumn Annals, set forth a political ideal which would be complete enough for the men of Han to realize. This apotheosis was the climax of Confucius'
    glory, and in the middle of the Han dynasty Confucianism could properly be called a religion.
    The time of glorification, however, did not last very long. Already beginning in the first century A.D., Confucianists of a more rationalistic type began to get the upper hand. Hence in later times Confucius was no longer regarded as a divine being, though his position as that of the Teacher remained high. At the very end of the nineteenth century, to be sure, there was a brief revival of the theory that