Confucianism

Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher, Confucius(孔子). It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that influenced the culture and history of East Asia. In the languages of East Asia, the tradition of Confucianism has often been identified with scholarly group known as ru. Ru means “soft,” “gentle,” and “enduring.”

In Confucianism, human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour especially including self-cultivation and self-creation. A main idea of Confucianism is the cultivation of virtue and the development of moral perfection. Confucianism holds that one should give up one’s life, if necessary, either passively or actively, for the sake of upholding the cardinal moral values of ren and yi.

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