The Confucian Academy and Temple - Beijing, China - April 25th, 2012
One of the things I have always admired about Confucianism is it's emphasis on education. Confucius thought it was important for those who lead to know the odes (poetry), to be able to write, to know the classics and to be well rounded in their intellectual education.
Did you know that government officials had to teach? This included the Emperor who got training from officials trained in this knowledge. All people who wanted to work in the government had to take the Confucian exams and to prove their mettle as critical thinkers and how to deal with current day problems (and how to use the past to fix those problems). This one thing I will always admire about this religion and philosophy.
The Confucian Academy and Temple is an expansive and beautiful area. At the entrance is one of the two statues of Confucius, which apparently has been designed to be his actual size and as one crosses through the door one enters the area where the Emperor himself had to go to honor the man (knowing that his philosophy is partially from where his power derived and like Mencius mentioned, could be taken if he failed in the rituals or taking care of the people).
When one goes farther into the Temple the individual finds themselves surrounded by stones with names written upon them dating back to the Yuan Dynasty. The names are of those who passed the exam and are part of the Temple and the drive to the "Best of the best."
The vibe I got here was that even in those days, Confucius was honored like the ancestors, not so much worshiped. The way in which their was any sort of worship was in making him offerings so that a person would be smarter, intelligent or lucky enough to pass the exams and get a good position. For this reason the religion of Confucius is much more secular, it is tied to the civic life and always has been, just as Confucius was. He believed the old ways should be honored (and in the end was Saintiied) but that one should keep a good distance away from spirits. A person's place in the world was the most important and being perfect at ones roles and duties. He knew how important rituals were for stability and his disciples would carry it on.
Today the old ways are making a come back. Confucius institutes are China's cultural gift to the world (though they are mostly focused on language not so much philosophy), and even in the modern world, the rituals that Confucius helped carry forward have been returned and are being used to honor him like but unlike the Emperors who did of old.
Did you know that government officials had to teach? This included the Emperor who got training from officials trained in this knowledge. All people who wanted to work in the government had to take the Confucian exams and to prove their mettle as critical thinkers and how to deal with current day problems (and how to use the past to fix those problems). This one thing I will always admire about this religion and philosophy.
The Confucian Academy and Temple is an expansive and beautiful area. At the entrance is one of the two statues of Confucius, which apparently has been designed to be his actual size and as one crosses through the door one enters the area where the Emperor himself had to go to honor the man (knowing that his philosophy is partially from where his power derived and like Mencius mentioned, could be taken if he failed in the rituals or taking care of the people).
When one goes farther into the Temple the individual finds themselves surrounded by stones with names written upon them dating back to the Yuan Dynasty. The names are of those who passed the exam and are part of the Temple and the drive to the "Best of the best."
The vibe I got here was that even in those days, Confucius was honored like the ancestors, not so much worshiped. The way in which their was any sort of worship was in making him offerings so that a person would be smarter, intelligent or lucky enough to pass the exams and get a good position. For this reason the religion of Confucius is much more secular, it is tied to the civic life and always has been, just as Confucius was. He believed the old ways should be honored (and in the end was Saintiied) but that one should keep a good distance away from spirits. A person's place in the world was the most important and being perfect at ones roles and duties. He knew how important rituals were for stability and his disciples would carry it on.
Today the old ways are making a come back. Confucius institutes are China's cultural gift to the world (though they are mostly focused on language not so much philosophy), and even in the modern world, the rituals that Confucius helped carry forward have been returned and are being used to honor him like but unlike the Emperors who did of old.