Confucianism (Louise Chipley Slavicek)

In Confucianism, Louise Chipley Slavicek provides a background to this ancient system of thought rooted in the teachings of Kong Fuzi, the Chinese scholar we in the West know as Confucius.*

Summary
Confucius was born around 550 BC in northeastern China.  Despite an impoverished childhood, he loved learning and was able to get an education, his passion for it intensifying after his mother's death.  He was obsessed with learning the ancient ways.  He became a well-respected scholar, and started a school, being "convinced that learned and virtuous men had the power to transform their communities by their words and actions," with a focus on developing government officials.

The Confucian canon of scriptures contains five works (called, suitably, the "Five Classics"): the Book of Changes, Book of Poetry, Book of History, Spring and Autumn Annals, and Book of Rites.  Some of these existed well before Confucius' time; indeed, his "self-proclaimed mission was to restore his troubled society to an earlier and better time by teaching traditional wisdom and values."  That said, in the centuries following his death, a new school of thought would emerge called Confucianism, based on his ideas (and those of later prominent disciples, Mencius and Xunzi) on "how to achieve an orderly society and a good government." 

Important concepts in Confucianism:
- Human-heartedness ("ren"), or love/compassion for all human beings
- Reciprocity ("shu"), or seeing things from another's perspective
- Filial piety (obedience and respect towards parents)
- "Li," the "traditional Chinese rules of social decorum and ritual"

Eventually (~150 BC), Confucianism became Chinese state doctrine, where it would remain strong for 400 years, before challenges from rival views like Daoism and Buddhism eroded its place in society.  Though Confucius was primarily concerned with life in this world, later scholars expanded his teachings to cover the afterlife and other core religious questions in response to (and in some cases based on) these competing schools of thought.  Eventually, Confucianism would regain its place, cementing its status in China for one thousand years, from the tenth to twentieth centuries, with a firm hold over education and politics.

In the last century, defeats to foreign powers (primarily British and Japanese) led the Chinese to question their devotion to this system of thought and associated rituals, and the communist takeover after WWII heralded great change.  That said, Confucian principles remain in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean societies, where (for example) a strong focus on ethics has resulted in societies stressing honor- for example, you can forget your wallet and expect to find it where you left it days later (try that in America).

Review
This was a decent introduction.  Straightforward and succinct.  The writing was basic, and geared towards teens, so not as eloquent as I prefer; a good treatment nonetheless.

Rating: B+

*Personally, Kong Fuzi sounds much cooler.