Confucian Ritual

Confucian Ritual

Introduction

Confucianism describes a system of philosophy that Confucius initiated in China.  After Confucius, Mencius (371-289 B.C.) also played a pivotal role in the development of Confucian thought (De Barry et al., 1999). Yao (2000) offered a compelling account of the Confucian tradition in China. Confucianism theory acts as a mode of conduct among people in communities that believed in Confucian teachings. Confucianism has been practiced in China, and it has influenced the way of life and thought of Chinese people. Confucian was practiced before during the migration of missionaries in China. The Confucian rituals are performed during the great moment of life, such as birth, marriage, capping, and death. Yao (2000) reveals that Confucianism is a fundamental tradition that has found relevance in schools, rituals, and sacred places. This paper explores the Confucian understanding of ritual and the practice of spiritual cultivation. An analysis of the literature reveals that the Confucian idea of ritual has religious, social, and psychological dimensions with sacrifice as the hallmark of ritual.

The Ritual

Collective and official ritual is a fundamental component of the Confucian religious practice. Confucianism is regarded as a tradition of ritual (lijiao) (Yao, 2000). In this regard, it has a deep connection with the state religion. During the reigns of Shang and Zhou, Confucianism played a pivotal role in shaping religious practices. This philosophy also established a system of doctrine that offered guidelines for private and official practices (Yao, 2000). In China, the ritual (li) describes the rites, ceremonies, and moral codes. Li portrays the sacred ritual vessel and includes the practice of “serving gods and praying for good fortune” (Yao, 2000). Later, the character of li was developed and extended into a term that describes the laws and codes of the human and natural world. Scholars have attempted to describe li in many ways as it regards the Confucian tradition. Legge (1968) described li as rules of ceremony that originate from heaven, but the movement reaches the earth (cited in Yao, 2000). This description further stated that the distribution of such rules of ceremony spreads to all aspects of life. Other essential characteristics of rituals in the Confucian tradition include being practiced through offering, eating and drinking, marriage, mourning, archery, and chariot driving. Other manifestations of ritual during sacrifice and friendly missions.

The ritual tradition nearly collapsed in the time of Confucius due to the neglect of the religious dimension of ritual. Rulers used ceremonies to please officials so that they could not violate the laws. It was important for rulers to use ritual to strengthen the unity of people (De Barry et al., 1999). Aside from the great moments of life, some rituals also occur during ordinary circumstances involving human interaction. In China, rituals were performed to reserve the cosmic order. The Emperor took a keen interest in ritual, and the practice was popular in imperial China. Each year, there would be the worship of heaven that had become a significant day in imperial China. Missionaries such as Ricci, among others, decided to follow the Confucianism way of life to be assimilated into China culture. Confucianism culture has numerous theories, such as the Confucian ritual theory, which governs moments of life from birth to death. Confucian laws rely on ritual Confucian theory governing moments and interactions of human life. A ritual such as the annual worshipping of heaven was implemented as a Confucian law of worshipping dynasties and ancestors in heaven. Confucius recognized ritual as a suitable way of governing a state. He famously observed that states are administered by ritual. Confucius’s idea of ritual anchored on the claim that people above who observe ritual will inspire common people to do the same. In so doing, the ritual can make people to become virtuous.

Ritual Confucian theory became more famous in the world after missionaries studied Confucian tradition. Initially, missionaries that migrated to China hoped to spread Christianity in China (Yao, 2000). Thus, forcing them to practice some Chinese rituals common among Confucian scholarship. Missionaries began practicing different Confucian rituals such as growing hair and wearing Confucian clothes, among others. Ricci and other Christian missionaries adapted to the Confucian mode of life to the extent of writing a letter on Confucian rituals, which led to the spread of Confucian in the world. Ritual Confucian theory entails doctrinal ideas from humanism to spiritualism. However, the spiritual aspect focuses on human destiny.

Dimensions of the Confucian Ritual

Li exhibits social, religious, and psychological dimensions in the Confucian philosophical thought. According to Yao (2000), the meaning of the ritual goes beyond ritual and includes property. It transcends civil laws to customs and includes ethical senses for feeling, acting, and liking (Yao, 2000). From a religious perspective, li enables communication between humans and spiritual powers. In the Confucian tradition, the practice of ritual for religious purposes includes an orderly performance of music and dance and the use of offerings and sacrifice (Yao, 2000). This initiative is believed to appease the ancestors to whom such religious rituals are dedicated. By offering sacrifices and carrying out rituals in this manner, the descendants of the ancestors demonstrate their gratitude and commitment to the spiritual powers. It is instructive to recognize that the process of conducting religious rituals include repenting faults, securing happiness and success, and gaining confidence.

Spiritual rituals of Confucian occur on account that humans are perfect as long as they can solve secular problems without compromising unity among other humans or Heaven. Therefore, ritualistic Confucians ensure harmony without necessary gaining material satisfaction. Rituals such as lack of priests to guide humans on spiritual relation with the heavens do not render Confucian tradition useless. Instead, Confucian rituals seek holiness in an ordinary means and disciplined life through kindness and harmony. For that reason, Ritual Confucian theory relates secular to holy while humanistic to religion, which demonstrates a firm understanding of the ultimate as well as transcendence to human eternity (Yao, 2000). Faith in Heaven, together with the Mandate of Heaven, is among confusion rituals practiced by Confucian humanism religion. Confucian rituals believe that humanity is capable of acquiring perfection that enables them to live up to the heavenly principles. Hence, human beings have a mission to ensure equality regardless of religious customs.

Some of the spiritual and humanist elements include the Way of Humans, Way of Harmony, and the Way of Heaven describes Confucian doctrines. The ritual of the way to heaven emphasizes the political, natural, metaphysical, religious, ethical, and transcendental aspects in Confucian doctrines. The Way of Humans elaborates on human correspondence with other humans and the implementation of customs, while Way of harmony deals with the achievement of harmony between humans plus unity between humans and heaven (Yao, 2000). Spiritual rituals of Confucian tend to be different from other religions because it lacks priests and law books such as the Bible used by the Christian.

The social dimension of the Confucian ritual underscores the principle of embodying the laws of heaven and regulating the expressions of human nature. In the Confucian tradition, an individual that attained li lived while the one who lost it died. The process of conducting the ritual in social dimensions enhances the position of an individual not only in the family but also in the community and society that he lives. Consequently, the special position that such an individual occupies enables them to assess what should be done or not done in a given situation (Yao, 2000). From a social standpoint, the world would become a peaceful and orderly place if anyone acted according to li. Such a world, in Confucian understanding, would be “governed without governing, ruled without ruling, and ordered without ordering” (Yao, 2000).

The psychological dimension of the ritual is akin to the harmony that is derived from the work of art, such as music, dance, or poetry. The ritual makes it easy to follow the rules and derives enjoyable personal experience in doing so. The experience of the ritual is paramount for the development of an individual’s character. It allows for the harmonization and expression of emotions and feelings. The promotion of Confucianism into a state ideology during the Han dynasty led to the integration of the Confucian ideas about the ritual. The Confucian records regarding ancient ritual suggested imperial practices (de Barry et al., 1999). It is because the consequence of integrating the ideas about ritual led to the formation of the imperial theo-political system in China. The Confucian tradition considers ritual as a criterion for determining virtues. Such virtues include courage, carefulness, respectfulness, and forthrightness (Yao, 2000). The Confucian tradition recognizes that ritual and music, besides the above-mentioned virtues, complete a man. Ritual provides a firm ground for man to stand, and it is fundamental to the establishment of man.

Sacrifice as the hallmark of the Ritual

Sacrifice is a fundamental aspect of ritual in the Confucian tradition. Three Chinese characters underpin the meaning of sacrifice. Ji denotes a hand while si is a combination of a sacred altar and a human embryo. The third character is xiang, which represents a pictograph of an ancestral temple, and symbolically offers sacrifices to the ancestors (Yao, 2000). Ji holds a piece of meat as if it offers it to the earthly spirits, while si serves the purpose of offering sacrifices to the heavenly spirits. Yao (2000) reveals that jisi describes the activities that are related to sacrifice in the Confucian tradition. The three grades of sacrifice include the grand, medium, and small sacrifice. The grand sacrifice encompasses silk, jade, and animals as offerings. In imperial China, these sacrifices were made to the Lord of High in the Temple of Heaven. The second category of sacrifices includes the offering of animals and metal, while the final category includes offering only animals (Yao, 2000). This category of sacrifices was made to the moon and the sun, including the gods of agriculture in imperial china. Also, offering small sacrifices became the hallmark of ritual in ordinary temples.

Rituals and sacrifices have been documented and recorded in Confucian classics. Under this tradition, there is strict observance of the ritual, and it is treated with care, reverence, and sincerity. De Barry et al. (1999) noted that the process of making offerings had a symbolic meaning in the Confucian philosophy. In this regard, observance of the ritual followed the rules and expressed reverence. The performance of the ritual sought to enhance harmony, prosperity, and happiness. The prosperity envisaged in the process of performing the ritual was for the state, the land, and people. The meaning and significance of the ritual have been a subject of discussion in many studies. The use of ceremonies in China ensured the good ordering of men. While many ceremonies could be conducted under the Confucian tradition, the sacrifice became the most significant ceremony (Yao, 2000). Other ceremonies include mourning, festivities, military, and hospitality.

The Confucian philosophical thought offers a humanistic interpretation of ritual and sacrifice. Confucianism holds that sacrifice should not be imposed on individuals. Rather, it should come from people’s hearts (Yao, 2000). Only people with virtue can achieve the meaning and purpose of sacrifice. The Confucian teaching emphasizes that sacrifice may herald good fortune even though it holds that personal gain is not the main purpose of sacrifice.

Conclusion

This paper sought to explore the Confucian ritual as a significant element of the Confucian philosophy. An examination of the available literature has revealed that ritual in the Confucian tradition has religious, social, and psychological dimensions. From a religious perspective, rituals were performed as a way of communication between heavenly spirits and followers. In some cases, ritual offered an opportunity for descendants to communicate with their ancestors. The study has established that sacrifice is a significant embodiment of the Confucian ritual. It contains three important elements, including ji, si, and xiang.

References

De Barry, W. T. et al. (1999). Sources of Chinese Tradition. Volume 1: From Earliest Times to 1600. Columbia University Press

Yao, X. (2000). An introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.