Session 04: Worldviews, values and other contexts—Confucianism

Topics for this session

❖ Status of "[romantic] love" within Confucian ideals and practices

Thoughts*

Core thoughts on this topic are either here, as they occur to me or on the Course Basics page under Confucianism, when I conclude they are permanent enough to move there. (The below are thoughts made just before or after this lecture, for any given semester.)

Confucianism is often the most overt value system informing the cultural world of the premodern texts we read. There are various things we need to keep in mind.

Confucianism as it was practiced preserved a clear demarcation between men and women. This doesn't create a great deal of difference in narratives among the three countries we study, but does stand in contrast to 21st-century young America sensibilities. When reading premodern texts, we cannot forget this basic assumption that was embraced by writers and readers and the narrative characters whose actions and reasoning they visualize.

We also discuss the Confucian commitment to orderliness (both as a cosmology and an ethics) including the necessity of submitting to hierarchies and embracing one's social role. This is huge in terms of the balance between the individual and society, obviously, but it is also part of what makes romantic love suspect, since it is inherently disorderly and not in service to the good of the community.

This lecture is primarily built around the basic ethical principles of Confucianism: the importance of ren (仁—benevolence, humaneness towards others; the highest Confucian virtue), xiao (孝—love within the family: love of parents for their children and of children for their parents), zhong (忠—loyalty), xin (信—honesty and trustworthiness, faithfulness), li (禮・礼—ritual, propriety) and yi (義—duty, righteousness) as frameworks for thinking about "love" within the Confucian framework. I note that marriage without love in a strict Christian position is not considered a full marriage but that in Confucianism, while love is welcome between husband and wife, in theory if they fulfill their roles properly there can be a functioning family unit without it. I argue that xiao is seen as more essential and powerful than romantic love between a man and a woman but that there is, in fact, some xiao in the structure of romantic love itself.

Required—to be completed for today's session

✓ ATTENDANCE.

✓ It is important to do the following before class otherwise our discussion can't really get started: On the sidebar click on the "Course Rules" tab and, once on that page, navigate to the comments on Confucianism. Read those comments, including the extended comments on the term "loyalty".

*UNDER CONSTRUCTION: If this has not been erased it means something on this page is incomplete. Perhaps I want to recheck information or perhaps I haven't converted the page from the version of the previous class. It is available but should be taken dubiously.

*THOUGHTS: My hope is that you look at this portion BEFORE a session. If there is content here it might help you focus on the main points of the day. However, I add various things here at various times. When I feel I haven't succeeded in class stating something clearly, I might restate it here. Of if it is a difficult concept in might be given in written form here. I will assume that you have read and rechecked for changes this session in preparation for any midterm or other quiz or test.