7.2 china's belief systems part i
grade: n/a
view grade information. opens a dialogue
due: wednesday, january 25, 2017 at 11: 59 pm
23read the following passages from the de techbook:

7.2.2 "confucius"

7.2.3 "the belief of confucianism"

7.2.4 "influence of confucianism"

confucius

who was confucius?

confucius
a statue of confucius in shanghai. the ideas of confucius affected all levels of chinese society.

paragraph #1: confucius was a teacher who lived in eastern china from 551 to 479 bce, during the warring states period. he lived in the state of lu, in what is now shandong province. lu was invaded several times as warring lords fought for control of the state. confucius believed that society was broken and needed to change before a peaceful china could emerge.

b500china. gif

paragraph #2: confucius believed china was in disorder because the lords were not ruling well. he believed rulers needed to be honest, rule fairly, and set a good example for their subjects. confucius also believed government officials needed to display these same qualities so that people’s faith in their rulers and officials would return. he believed that if rulers acted with integrity, then their subjects would gladly follow their leadership and order would be restored to china. how do historians know this is what confucius taught?

after confucius’s death, several of his followers, or students, collected his sayings and published them in a book called the analects . this book preserved the teaching of confucius for future generations.

the beliefs of confucianism
what were the main ideas of confucianism?

paragraph #3: confucius believed that the key to a successful society was relationships that were based on honesty and respect. he defined five key relationships: ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, and friend and friend. of these five relationships, only the relationship between a friend and friend was considered a relationship of equals. confucius considered the other four to be hierarchical relationships. in a hierarchical relationship, one person has more power than the other, but each person has a distinct role and set of responsibilities.

paragraph #4: although confucius spoke of the father-son and older brother-younger brother relationships, the same relationships held true for a mother and a daughter or an older sister and a younger sister. however, according to confucius, women were obedient to men, so a husband held the power in a marriage.

paragraph #5: confucius believed that in each relationship, the person with more power was required to set a good example for the other person and to use his or her power wisely. this person should act fairly and honestly, showing those below him how to behave with integrity. the person with less power was expected to obey and respect the more powerful individual. so a younger brother would obey and respect his older brother. however, if the older brother did not behave with honesty and integrity, he would not be worthy of respect.

paragraph #6: confucius taught that if each person acted according to his or her station in life, then society would run smoothly. china would once again have a peaceful, well-ordered state, rather than the chaos that existed during the warring states period.

the influence of confucianism
how did confucianism influence chinese government?

paragraph #7: confucianism, or the teachings of confucius, did not have a great influence on chinese government during his life. however, after his death, his followers established schools and collected his lessons in the analects. these efforts to continue the spread of confucianism, which would eventually have an influence on later chinese dynasties and continues to affect chinese culture today.

paragraph #8: in particular, the han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce) was influenced by the teachings of confucius. the han established a large empire and needed an orderly and effective system of government to manage the territory.

han_dynasty. jpg

paragraph #9: this led them to choose government officials based on their qualifications rather than their connections. previously, government posts had been awarded to the sons of nobles, to gain the nobles’ loyalty. the han instituted the civil service exam and gave government posts to those with the highest scores. this merit-based system had its roots in confucianism. confucian ideals were also taught in schools at every level, so many of those officials who passed the exams were heavily influenced by confucianism.

directions - complete both tasks for china's belief systems part i:

1) after reading each paragraph, write one sentence that sums up the main idea. there are 9 paragraphs to do.

2) explain how confucianism impacted the chinese government.