Kun Fu-Tzu or, in a Europeanized form, Confucius is a Chinese philosopher whose name has become a household name. It symbolizes the basic provisions of culture
China. We can say that Confucius and his teachings are the property of Chinese civilization. The philosopher was surrounded by honor even in communist times, although Mao Zedong tried to contrast his own theories. It is known that the main ideas of its statehood, social relations and relationships between people were built by traditional China precisely on the basis of Confucianism. These principles were laid back in the sixth century BC.
Confucius and his teachings became popular along with Lao Tzu's philosophy. The latter based his theory on the idea of a universal path - the “Tao”, along which one way or another moves both phenomena and living beings, and even inanimate things. The philosophical doctrine of Confucius is the exact opposite of the ideas of Lao Tzu. He was not very interested in abstract ideas of a general nature. He devoted his whole life to developing the principles of practice, culture, ethics and politics. His biography tells us that the philosopher lived in a very turbulent time - the so-called "Age of the struggling kingdoms", when human life and the welfare of entire societies depended on chance, intrigue, military luck, and no stability was foreseen.
Confucius and his teaching became so famous because the thinker actually left untouched the traditional religious morality of the Chinese, only gave it a rationalized character. By this, he tried to stabilize both social and interpersonal relationships. He built his theory on the “five pillars”. The basic principles of the teachings of Confucius are "Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin."
The first word roughly means what the Europeans would translate as "humanity." However, this main Confucian virtue is more like the ability to sacrifice one’s own good for the sake of the public, that is, to give up one’s own interests for the sake of others. “And” is a concept that combines justice, duty and a sense of duty. “Li” - rituals and rituals necessary in society and culture that give life and order to a fortress. "Ji" is the knowledge needed to control and conquer nature. "Xin" is trust, without which real power cannot exist.
Thus, Confucius and his teaching legitimized the hierarchy of virtues, proceeding, according to the philosopher, directly from the laws of heaven. No wonder the thinker believed that power has a divine essence, and the ruler - the prerogatives of a higher being. If the state is strong, the people prosper. That is what he thought.
Any ruler - the monarch, the emperor - is the "son of Heaven." But this can be called only that gentleman who does not arbitrariness, but obeys the command of heaven. Then divine laws will apply to society. The more civilized the society and the more refined the culture, the farther they are from nature. Therefore, art and poetry must be something special, refined. Just as a well-mannered person differs from the primitive, so culture differs from obscenity in that it does not sing about passion but accustoms to restraint.
This virtue is not only useful in family and neighborhood relations, but also good for management. The state, family (especially parents) and society - that is what a member of society should think about first of all. He is obliged to keep his own passions and feelings in strict frameworks. Any civilized person should be able to obey, listen to older and higher and reconcile with reality. These are briefly the main ideas of the famous Confucius.
