Episode 8: Great Ideas of the Zhou: Later Confucianism
Foundations of Eastern Civilization
Dr Craig Benjamin (2013)
Film Review
In this lecture, Benjamin talks at length about two of Confucianism’s earliest devotees, Mencius (372 – 289 BC) and Xunxi (312 – 221 BC).
The last 500 years of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-221 BC) is variously known as the Period of the 100 Schools, the Spring and Autumn period and the Golden Age of Chinese philosophy. During this era of continual civil war, Confucianism, Legalism and Daoism were the most important of these philosophical schools.
Following the death of Confucius in 471 BC, his disciples copied and widely circulated the five texts he identified as essential for educating teachers and rulers (see Great Ideas of the Zhou: Confucianism). In the process, numerous subschools of Confucianism emerged, specializing in specific Confucian precepts.
Like Confucius, the Confucian scholar Mencius traveled between China’s warring states seeking a political appointment. Unsuccessful he, too, was forced to take on private students to support himself. With a special interest in political theory, he taught the basic role of the state was to facilitate human interactions. Because the state existed to benefit the people it ruled, this gave them the right to overthrow or even murder a tyrannical king. He also taught that that people were born good and corrupted through life experience, unless this was circumvented by study, reflection, education and dedication to the four Confucian virtues (Great Ideas of the Zhou: Confucianism).
Xunzi was one of China’s first professional educators. Teaching at the Jixia Academy in Qi, he also believed bad rulers should be deposed. He taught that human beings were born evil (greedy, lazy and lustful) but had the potential to improve themselves through education and self-reflection. An agnostic, he didn’t believe in life after death and taught that heaven and nature were oblivious to human rituals. He was one of the first Chinese scholars to oppose using natural signs to foretell the future.
Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.
The Most Revolutionary Act 