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Kong Fuzi (Kongzi) and Laozi (Lao Zi) were contemporaries in China (6th century BCE). Born in the state of Lu, Philosopher Kong Fuzi (551-479 BCE) was a Chinese educator and reformer of exemplary vision, who endeavored to elevate the most refined elements in the prevailing societal and governmental traditions by traveling throughout China, giving advice to its rulers, and teaching morality and ethics. Known as the Virtuous Teacher Kong, the profound thinking of Kong Fuzi (Kongzi, Kong Zi, Confucius), as well as, the centuries of commentary that it inspired were both central and integral to the cultural system of the Chinese. Confucius was a name given to Philsopher Kong Fuzi by a western missionary and has no meaning to the Chinese who call him Kong Fuzi (Kongzi, Kong Zi, Master Kong). Seasoned for more than 2,000 years, the Philosophy of Kong Fuzi has been fully integrated into Chinese culture. Kong Fuzi taught philosophy, the classics, poetry, music, and his views on governmental reform to about three thousand young male students during his lifetime. Of these, he chose the seventy-two best and brightest to become known as his disciples. During the Qin dynasty most of the writings and teachings of Kong Fuzi were destroyed. After they were overthrown by the Han dynasty, the surviving scholars reconstructed New Script texts from their memory of the destroyed texts. Later on people discovered burnt fragments of the original books and compiled the Old Script texts. The Han Dynasty approved and supported the Five Major Classics of Kong Fuzi which became known as the Wu Jing. They were the Analects of Confucius, the Book of Songs, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Great Learning, and the Mencius. The Wu Jing shaped the foundation of Chinese education. Besides China, the works of Kong Fuzi have also been an inspirational influence on the cultures of several other countries in the area. Kong Fuzi, (who believed there was a pervasive thread of universal unity connecting everything), used analogy, examples from his daily life experiences, short sayings, adages, aphorism, maxims, and tautology to answer the questions of his students. Central themes of his teachings were written down in the Analects of Confucius over a thirty to fifty year period some time after his passing. Over the centuries, there have been various versions of the Analects of Confucius including the Lu Analects, the Qi Analects, the Ancient Text Analects (which had two additional chapters titled "Question the King" and "Know"); and, the Marquis Zhang Analects, (the most widely known version). Kong Fuzi described himself as a transmitter of existing knowledge and prevailing wisdom. Claiming that he himself had originated nothing, Kong Fuzi urged his students to continually pursue their studies, to think profoundly for themselves, to philosophically examine past politcal events, to consider the expressed feelings of the common people from sources like the Book of Odes, to delve deeply into the wisdom wells of knowledge, and to continue to expand their knowledge of the ancient scriptures. During the Qin dynasty most of the writings and teachings of Kong Fuzi were destroyed. After they were overthrown by the Han dynasty, the surviving scholars reconstructed New Script texts from their memory of the destroyed texts. Later on people discovered burnt fragments of the original books and compiled the Old Script texts. The Book of Odes (Book of Songs, Shi Jing, Classic of Poetry) was a compilation of 305 Chinese poems dating from as long ago as 1000 BCE. After studying three thousand poems, Kong Fuzi structured a revised compilation of songs, which became known as the Book of Odes. In the Book of Odes, there were 160 Folk Songs (airs), 40 Hymns (deities and ancestral songs), 31 Major Festal Songs (solemn court ceremonies songs), and 74 Minor Festal Songs (traditional court festival odes). Kong Fuzi promulgated a Mandate of Heaven capable of unifying the peoples of the country by bringing peace and prosperity for everyone. He believed that rulers should be chosen based on merit (rather than strictly by parentage); as well as, their devotion to the people. Virtuous leaders who constantly strove for perfection in all aspects of daily living served as a worthy role model for others to emulate (eliminating the necessity of regulating personal conduct). According to the Analects of Confucius, when asked by his students for one word to serve as a as a guiding lantern for others to follow on their journey through life, Kong Fuzi chose the Golden Rule of shu - Never impose upon others what you would not choose to impose upon yourself. Kong Fuzi advocated ancestral reverence; considerate kindness towards others; familial loyalty; truthful impeccability in speech, facial expressions and bodily mannerisms; and respectful attentiveness to developing and honing exemplary personal behaviors. He encouraged delineating a more compassionate, ethical future for everyone by studying and learning from the past. Confucian ethics taught the importance of basing one's life on the pursuit of yì or righteousness reciprocity, and of performing morally right actions for the right reason. Yì righteousness sprouted from the seed of rén empathetic kindness towards others. Virtuous behavior blossomed like a lotus lily upon the pond of harmonic relations with others. Confucianism was a philosophy of a Way of Life that was mainly about the ethical relations that defined the standards for family life and the administration of the state. According to the teachings of Kong Fuzi, the motive for change must be right. It must be good for the whole, as well as, the self. A moral self was cultivated through a path of virtue where Yi-Jen-Li were integrated into righteous benevolent propriety. Kongzi's teachings also have a deep reverence for the powers of Heaven and Earth that regulate nature and effect the course of human events. Kong Fuzi's ethical teachings included the following values and virtues: Chung (loyalty to the state); Li (ritual, propriety, etiquette); Hsiao (love within the family); Jen (benevolence, humaneness towards others); Yi (righteousness); and Xin (honesty and trustworthiness). Four of life's passages were regulated by tradition: birth; reaching maturity; marriage (with the six stages of proposal, engagement, dowry, procession, marriage, reception); and death. Over the centuries, the teachings of Kong Fuzi have been elaborated and expanded by his students and follower to include sets of practices and rules. Books on Confucianism were written by Mencius and Xun Zi. Mencius wrote eloquently about the immeasurable innate goodness of humankind; while, Xun Zi wrote about the reasonable worldly wise aspects of thinking.
Later on, the Song dynasty scholar Zhu Xi, who taught at the White Deer Grotto Academy, reinterpreted Kong Fuzi's teachings and blended them with those of Daoism (Taoism) and Buddhism. With the assistance of other scholars, Zhu Xi codified the Analects of Confucius, the Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean into the Four Books, Confucian classics cannon; and, the Classic of Poetry, the Classic of History, the Book of Changes (I Ching), the Classic of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals into the Five Classics. The ideas of Zhu Xi, which became the prevailing viewpoint, have become known as Neo-Confucianism. Zhu Xi also wrote comprehensive commentaries on all of the Confucian classics that explained the nature of humans and the world. He was a strong proponent of the belief of Kong Fuzi that humans were innately good. Zhu Xi taught about the universal element of Qi or vital physical force, and Li or rational law principle based on the Great Ultimate of Tai Ji (Chi). Tai Ji moved Qi to create change in the material world and generated the five elements of earth, fire, metal, water, and wood, as well as, the two energy modalities of Yin and Yang. Meditation focused on morality and feeling harmonious with the universe. There are about six million followers of the teachings of the Greatest Master Kong Fuzi throughout the world. Most of them live in China, Korea, and Japan with about 26,000 of them living in North America. On September 30, 2004, for the first time since the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, an official memorial ceremony was conducted to honor the birthday of Kong Fuzi (Confucius). Thousands of people from around the world including Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and the United States, attended the celebration of the renowned ethicist and scholar's 2, 555th birth anniversary in his hometown of Qufu City in east China's Shandong Province.
His descendants (his only grandson, Zisi, continued his philosophical school
after his death), government officials, and envoys from diverse walks of life
saluted the altar in turn. Flowers were offered before a stature of Kong Fuzi
(Confucius), and, people dressed in traditional ancient costumes reenacted
ceremonies from the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The Sacred Site focal point of Hierarch Kong Fuzi and the Tenth Ray of Divine Illumination is The Confucius Temple, which is located at Qufu in China. The former living quarters of his first grandson, the Temple of Confucius (Kong Fuzi) was built in 478 BCE, as a place to revere the great philosopher and educator. Over the ensuing years, the temple dedicated to Kong Fuzi has been destroyed, reconstructed, renovated, and expanded. Today it consists of over a hundred buildings that have retained their exemplary artistic and cultural character because of the devoted care and attention of emperors of the Western Han Dynasty and successive historical periods. The left, middle, and right paths lead to the temple which is sheltered by ancient pine trees and an outer wall with four corner towers. Along these three paths, there are nine courtyards, pavilions, halls, and many other rooms.
The temple houses a
collection of around 2,000 tablets, over 7,000 files from 1534-1948, and
numerous cultural artifacts, including stone statutes from the Han Dynasty... Hierarchs Goddesses Gods of Twelve Universal Rays
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