Confucianism: An Introduction

by Ronnie L. Littlejohn

It is arguably Confucianism, not Communism, which lies at the core of China's deepest sense of self. Although reviled by Chinese intellectuals of the 1950s-1990s, who spoke of it as 'yellow silt clotting the arteries of the country', Confucianism has defied eradication, remaining a fundamental part of the nation's soul for 2500 years. And now, as China assumes greater ascendancy on the world economic stage, it is making a strong comeback as a pragmatic philosophy of personal as well as corporate transformation, popular in home, boardroom and in current political discussion. What is this complex system of ideology that stems from the teachings of a remarkable man called Confucius (Kongzi), who lived in the distant sixth century BCE? Though he left no writings of his own, the oral teachings recorded by the founder's disciples in the 'Analects' left a profound mark on later Chinese politics and governance. They outline a system of social cohesiveness dependent upon personal virtue and self-control.
For Confucius, society's harmony relied upon the appropriate behaviour of each individual within the social hierarchy; and its emphasis on practical ethics has led many to think of Confucianism as a secular philosophy rather than a religion. In this new, comprehensive introduction, Ronnie Littlejohn argues rather that Confucianism is profoundly spiritual, and must be treated as such. He offers full coverage of the tradition's sometimes neglected metaphysics, as well as its varied manifestations in education, art, literature and culture.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Burak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good starting point for reading about Chinese philosophy and China. At the beginning, I was planning to read just the first three chapters, but I realized that all the chapters are necessary. I especially liked the section on contemporary arguments. Some of the technical material is too complex and too Chinese for a foreign reader to fully grasp, but the book doesn’t shy away and does a good job of helping readers understand the bigger picture, as much as an introductory book can.
The necessary historical contexts are enough and they creat interest to be well read on Chinese History (if it is even possible).

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my essay

This was useful for preparing for exams and essays and allowed me to be ready for the exams that I had to sit

[Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a fan of the Routledge World Religions series, it was quite nice to find the I.B. Tauris Introductions to Religion series (and I.B. Tauris in general!), which contains books on several religions not (yet?) covered by Routledge's. And, what's more, they're all available on Scribd! Ronnie L. Littlejohn's Confucianism: An Introduction was my first foray into this series, and it was quite enlightening.

The book starts by discussing what is perhaps the essential question: is Confucianism a religion or a philosophy? Littlejohn gives several definitions of religion, and then states that under all of them Confucianism would be considered a religion. He also makes sure to distinguish it from the Abrahamic religions, and stress that differences do it exist, to try to draw readers away from the most-common Western assumptions of what constitutes a religion. From there, he talks about the time period of Confucius, then Confucius teachings. This, in my opinion, would cover what most Westerners (yes, I realize I'm making a broad generalization) would know about Confucianism and much more (such as the Spring and Autumn period, etc.). From there he proceeds to the next generation of scholars, who some might have heard of: Xunzi and Mencius.

That was the end of familiar ground for me, and the next few chapters were quite interesting. They talked about the changes and scholars that influenced Confucianism throughout the centuries, including how it adapted to Buddhism and Daoism, and he talks about Neo-Confucianism and Confucianism in the modern period. Overall, he stresses how the topic falls into the chosen definition of religion. A lengthy list of notes is at the end of the book (thankfully the Scribd edition had hyperlinks!) and any English translations of materials he used were mentioned when the text was introduced.

Overall this was a great book, and I would recommend it to anyone who knows little to nothing about Confucianism, as it is a nice eye-opener to how deeply ingrained the tradition was into Chinese society, as well as pertains information to draw away from the stereotypical (American?) view of Confucius and delve deeper into what he actually taught.