CHAPTER IX

CONFUCIAN "RITUAL" (LI) AND CIVIL SOCIETY

HE XIRONG

            Throughout its long history Chinese culture has been profoundly influenced by Confucian ethics, of which ritual is one important aspect. Looking at the ritual of Confucius and the contents of The Book of Rites and The Book of Etiquette at the end of the 20th century we would find much of them too elaborate or even pedantic. Besides, Chinese his-tory has experienced a period of "killing people with ritual". For these reasons the ritual of Confucius often has been looked upon with a critical eye. However, from the philosophical point of view Confucian ritual is an essential aspect of a civilized Chinese society, and for the following reasons: firstly, it embraces the nature and dignity of human existence; secondly, it points to the highest realm of human idealism and to the way to achieve this; thirdly, it defines the position of human beings in the universe and the harmonious state of the human world. These three: order, intelligence and harmony, are the marks of a truly civilized society, and the starting points of a higher civilization.

            The word for "ritual" in Chinese carries a series of meanings: "ceremony", "rites", "propriety", "rules of propriety", "good custom", etc. Here I will not discuss the meaning and content of ritual, but its historical and philosophical significance.

RITUAL DEFINES THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN BEING,

            SEPARATING IT FROM BEASTS: DIRECTLY IT

            RESTRAINS AND SUBLIMATES ONE’S NATURAL DESIRES

            At the time of Confucius, the discussion on "the difference be-tween man and beast" had already begun. This reflected a deepening of human knowledge and its attempt to distinguish the human from the natural world. What is the fundamental difference here? Some thought that the feature of the human is to look after one’s parents; others thought that whereas human feet are hairless, those of beasts are covered with hair; still some others thought that humans were capable of speaking, while beasts were not. All these ideas were based on physiological human phenomenon. For Confucius, the essence of what separates the human from the beast is none other than ritual: "the essence of being human is ritual and courtesy" (The Book of Rites). The Book of Rites says, "A parrot can speak, but it is not separated from birds; a gorilla can also speak, but is not separated from beasts." Hence, the capability of speaking is not the fundamental difference between the human and the beast. When one of the disciples asked about the way of filial piety, Confucius replied, "Today people see filial piety merely as looking after their parents, but even dogs and horses look after their parents. If one does not respect one’s parents, what is the difference between a man and a dog or a horse?" Respect itself is part of ritual; hence only ritual separates the human from the beast.

            The essence of the Confucian ritual is to inspire self-con-scious-ness on the part of the human mind. It stresses the moral aspect of human nature and the accomplishment of the mind. Confucian ritual as the essence separating the human from the beast often reminds people of their unique human nature, which also reflects human self-consciousness. Confucius further explores how an individual abides by such ritual. Hence he is a moralizer and his inheritors also see the moral idea as separating the human from the beast. Mencius says, "It is inhuman to be without pity; it is inhuman not to be able to distinguish the good and the evil; it is inhuman to be without comity; it is also inhuman not to be able to judge right and wrong." All these elements about which Mencius talks are moral judgments and belong to the moral aspect of ritual. Xunzi, in the Confucian school, thinks that the unique human feature is that one knows righteousness and has moral judgments. "Water and fire have air with them, but not life; grass and trees have life with them, but not sense; birds and beasts have sense with them, but not righteousness. Man has air, life, sense and also righteousness with him. He is therefore the most respectable under heaven."

            A human being does not live in isolation, but in a society in which one is related to others in various ways; in other words, a human is a social being with moral integrity. For Confucius, in order to become a social being with moral integrity, one must restrain and sublimate one’s natural desire. Because the natural desire of man includes such feelings as cunning, anger and greed, the makers of ritual must "rid man’s cunning with intelligence, his anger with courage, and his greed with kindness" (The Book of Rites). Natural human feelings include "happiness, anger, grief, fear, love, hate and desire"; in daily life such feelings as desire for good and sex, and hatred of poverty and death, are most clearly revealed. These feelings of desire and hatred, which are the most natural emotions of the human mind, are characterized by particularly unrestrained impulses and therefore must be restrained and sublimated.

            Although ritual is an institution coming from without, in the end it must enter into the individual mind and finally reach the level of "humane feeling". Confucius sees this as "the field of sage kingship", which must "be ploughed with ritual, sowed with righteousness, hoed with study, accumulated with kindness, and stabilized with music" (The Book of Rites). Here Confucius not only defined the nature of man, but also explained that the way to becoming a social being is through ritual. Ritual is both within and without the human mind. It can be known and realized self-consciously, but needs also to be regu-lated and taught. The ritual of Confucius is, on the one hand, a restraint and sublimation of man’s natural desire, and, on the other hand, a creation of civilization.

RITUAL POINTS TO THE HIGHEST REALM OF HUMAN IDEALISM                    AND TO THE WAY TO ACHIEVE IT

            The essence of Chinese philosophy is to achieve the ideal life. Unlike Western idealism, the ideal life in Chinese philosophy includes two aspects, namely the ideal personality and the ideal society. Just as Chinese philosophy emphasizes harmony and unity, the ideal life focuses on harmony and unity between the individual and the community, and between man and nature. Hence, the individual can achieve an ideal life only through pursuing an ideal society. This view of harmony and unity helps to enhance love and unity in human society.

            For Confucius ritual is also the mark of the complete human as far as the ideal life is concerned. "One cannot be a man if one does not learn ritual"; "One cannot be a man if one does not know ritual", "a man stands on ritual". Such sayings reveal that Confucius identifies ritual with being a human. Ritual is being a human; it is the symbol of an ideal life: it is sagehood itself. If one’s life is based on ritual, one reaches the free realm of "following the desire of the mind without breaking rules". By placing oneself in the rules of ritual and at the same time surpassing them, one achieves the ideal life. Mencius too thinks of ritual as the only way to achieve sagehood: "Ritual is a door, . . . only the sage can walk through this door."

            How then can one achieve this ideal life? Confucius explains this problem from two aspects, of which the first is the self-consciousness of the mind seen as the manifestation of ritual which is inherent in one’s nature: one has only to follow and develop it. The second aspect is the restriction and regulation of human behavior from without. The eventual purpose of both is to maintain order an harmony in the human world. Confucius says:

Ritual is the most important aspect of man’s life. Without ritual man cannot worship the gods of heaven and earth, nor can he rightly judge the different positions of king and subject, of high and low, and of old and young. Without ritual man and woman cannot be differentiated, the blood-tie of brothers cannot be maintained, and marriage cannot be made (The Book of Rites).

As it is through ritual that order is maintained and one’s position and status are situated rightly, one must keep one’s correct position and maintain this order. "The king orders his subjects with ritual, and subjects serve the king with ritual." Once one knows his or her right position, one must behave according to ritual. "Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety" (The Confucian Analects). Such are the inherent requirements for humans. Ritual is a common aspect of human nature, and it is by self-conscious behavior that one develops this nature. Therefore ritual surpasses the boundaries of one’s profession and becomes the common feature of all human beings.

            For those who are responsible for laying down the rules of ritual, it is necessary to understand human nature and to care about human destiny, for only then can they regulate the timeless and universal rules of ritual. Confucius himself is such a person. All his life he worked for an orderly society and an ideal life--"working for the unachievable". In order for the individual to pursue ritual, one should act in accordance with ritual from two aspects, namely, to abide by ritual and to examine oneself constantly. Confucius says, "When internal examination discovers nothing wrong, what is there to be anxious about, what is there to fear?" (The Confucian Analects) On another occasion he says, "When one sees a man of worth, one should think of equaling him; when one sees a man of a contrary character, one should turn inward and examine oneself." This method of abiding by ritual and self-examination are in accord with Confucius’ idea of self-conscious benevolence, which believes that one is capable of self-awareness. The whole Confucian ethics is based on this belief.

            On the other hand, ritual is without the individual: "Ritual works from without." "Ritual is the measurement of making relationships, of deciding on doubtful things, of distinguishing things, and of telling right from wrong" (The Book of Rites); in other words, ritual is the measure of everything. For the individual to achieve the ideal life, he or she needs to learn ritual, to know ritual and to abide by ritual in order to be righteous in daily life. Confucius is talking about the same process when he says, "The mind is aroused by the Odes; the character is established by the Rules of Propriety; and the finish is received from music" (The Confucian Analects). Odes and music are directed to the education of the mind since among human feelings there are elements which contradict the rules of ritual. Because ritual is to be raised in daily life, it must be concrete and practicable. Therefore there has to be a set of rules which restrain the mind of the individual from without. One of the disciples says, "The Master, by orderly method, skillfully leads men on. He enlarged my mind with learning, and taught me the restraints of propriety" (The Confucian Analects). However, it is not easy to reach the realm of ritual. Therefore when Zigong, another of the disciples, asked, "What do you pronounce concerning the poor man who does not flatter, and the rich man who is not proud?" Confucius gave the following answer, "They are all right; but they are not equal to one who, though poor, is yet happy, and one who, though rich, loves the rules of ritual." This is also the ultimate goal of ritual, as Xunzi says, "Ritual is the end of learning, it is called the moral end." Because it is not easy to reach this end, the individual should keep on learning ritual, knowing it and restraining himself by it.

            For Confucius, the ideal life cannot be achieved by an individual’s solitary learning. Since the individual lives in a community, he or she should abide by ritual in forming relationships with others or with the community. Therefore the individual must "cultivate himself in reverential carefulness", "cultivate himself so as to pacify others", and "cultivate himself so as to pacify all the people." "Wishing to be established himself", he must also "seek to establish others", and "wishing to be enlarged himself", he must also "seek to enlarge others" (The Confucian Analects). In Confucian ethics the individual is closely linked to the community. Starting from this point, later followers of the Confucian school sought to govern the country and in the end to pacify the world under heaven.

            The ideal society should be an orderly society, namely one arranged according to ritual. In Confucius’ own time, the right order of society was broken by the selfishness and power of some individuals. Confucius believed that the right order could be restored only by ritual. Therefore his policy of governing the state was to restore the right order, and to restore the proper positions of king and subjects, of husband and wife and of brothers. If everyone kept his proper position and behaved according to ritual, then the harmony and order of the society could be maintained. On the contrary, if the individual was not willing to keep his position, if one thought of doing things which were improper for his position, if the people talked about politics, or if dukes or princes controlled the affairs of state, then society would be in disorder. The Confucian ideal of a civilized society is an orderly and harmonious one, which is consistent with the Confucian ideal life. This makes society’s most important concern, "in regard to the aged, to give them rest; in regard to friends, to show them sincerity; in regard to the young, to treat them tenderly." The ideal society of Confucius is one of ritual in which people are peaceful, friendly, wealthy and equal to each other. Based upon the rule of ritual in the real world, Confucius developed a social idealism which has become the ultimate goal of life for many virtuous and learned person. The two aspects of the Con-fucian ideal life, the ideal individual and the ideal society have become the philosophical bases for the advance of both the civilized individual and the civilized society.

"RITUAL" HAS DEFINED THE PLACE OF HUMAN BEINGS IN

            THE UNIVERSE AND THE HARMONIOUS CO-EXISTENCE

            OF THE HUMAN AND THE HEAVENLY WAY

            The tradition of Chinese philosophy as founded by Confucius holds that human beings are born between heaven and earth; these are boundaries for humans which cannot possibly be surpassed. Similarly, the ritual that reflects human nature originated from heaven and is contained on earth. As says the Book of Rites, "Ritual is derived from heaven, and mixed with the earth." Such knowledge comes from the unique Chinese thinking regarding human existence. From direct observation the Chinese have discovered that everything born under heaven and above the earth originated from the interaction of such antitheses as yin and yang, the hard and the soft, and the high and the low. These antitheses give order and harmony to everything that is born; the purpose of ritual is to maintain such order and harmony between human beings and the universe. Confucius thinks that "music is made to mate with heaven, and ritual is made to mate with earth.". "Only when ritual is performed does everything becomes peaceful." Only in a country ruled by ritual are all things properly placed; the ultimate purpose of ritual is to maintain harmony between heaven, earth and man.

            This thinking differs distinctly from Western thought which inquires after virtue by means of reason. From the very beginning it sees the ideal life of mankind as part of the heavenly harmony. Chinese philosophers as represented by Confucius firmly believe that the universe is a harmonious whole of which humans are a part. Therefore human society must also be in harmony both within itself and with the other parts of the universe. In the universe the human being co-exists with other kinds of lives for the universe is a single and undivided unit. The ultimate value of human existence lies in heaven and earth, that is, in the universe, not in humans themselves.

            Heaven and earth are boundaries which humans cannot surpass; they should abide by the rule of heaven and perform ritual accordingly. This leads to one of the fundamental doctrines of Chinese philosophy: heaven and humans are one. Confucian ritual is aimed directly at returning to the order of the universe. Man can know and communicate with heaven through the education of virtue, as Mencius says, "One who exhausts his mind knows his character and one who educates his mind can serve heaven."

            Feng Youlan, the famous Chinese philosopher, divides human life into four stages; the natural state, the functional state, the moral state and the state of heaven and earth. The first two stages are for the well-being of the self; only in the last two stages is the well-being of the self linked to that of society. In the last stage alone does the individual know that the self is part of the universe, and that what one does must be for the good of the whole universe. In other words, in this stage he comes to knows not only humans but also heaven; one becomes one with heaven. Feng sees this last stage as the ideal life which the individual should seek to achieve. This ideal coincides with what Confucius says: "Follow the mind without breaking the rules."

            The thought of heaven and humans being one in Chinese philosophy compels one to realize that he or she is not small in comparison to heaven (or the universe), nor is heaven formidable in comparison to them; hence, one is willing to reach for heaven. The search for moral virtue is then not a kind of ascetic practice, but a happy experience. This concern for human life and for the universe reflects the dignity and sublimation of human existence. Ritual and the view that heaven and human beings are together have profound influence upon the advance of human civilization. Chinese philo-sophers see the nature of man as a process of "being born and growing from day to day" by consistently accepting the endowments of heaven.

            Wang Fuzhi, a well-known philosopher living at the end of the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the Qing dynasty, holds that human nature is continuously improved. He believes that man learns the way from the sensual aspects of things such as their color and sound, and that learning the way enables consistent improvement in man’s nature. With the improvement of one’s nature one is better equipped to perceive the heavenly way or course. It is in this interaction of human beings and heaven that the human reaches the realm of freedom in behavior and thought. This dialectical tradition reflected in Wang’s theory of interaction between the heavenly course and human nature is an important contribution of Chinese philosophy.

            The intrinsic character of ritual requires that humans grasp the rules of heaven with the mind in order to achieve unity with heaven; on the other hand, the practicality of ritual requires that humans grasp the rules of heaven from daily life. Therefore ritual is a set of rules or regulations that can be followed. This tradition of heaven and humans being one, and of knowledge and behavior being one, has put the relation of humans and nature, and of humans with other humans into a single whole, thereby constituting the idealism of unity and harmony in the Chinese mind.

            The significance of Confucian ritual for civil society lies in Confucius’ seeing ritual not only as requirements from without, but also as an intrinsic factor within the mind that affects human behavior. This philosophy is helpful both for the sublimation of natural human desire and for the education of moral virtue. Were ritual to be seen only as requirements from without, it would ignore and eventually abandon human nature. Ritual points the way to the ideal life itself. The establishment of the order of the individual and society requires the individual to maintain such order, and further to perfect both the individual and society. Ritual is the mode of access to the rules of heaven and earth. Heaven, as the boundaries that man cannot surpass, becomes the source of human value and the ultimate end of human existence. The view of "co-existence with man" and "co-existence with all lives" is helpful also in solving the vital problems caused by science and human existence. Ritual will always push toward the advance of civilization.

Institute of Philosophy

Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

Shanghai, PRC

DISCUSSION

            In the history of Confucianism a number of its dimensions were dissociated and manipulated for political purposes. Thus, originally the sense of harmony bespoke a sense of mutually beneficial relationship based on mutual personal restraint and benevolence on the part of the ruler as well as the citizen, the father as well as the child. In dynasties after the Han this original benevolent and internal character was forgotten so that it came to be understood as an external imposition of order predicated upon obedience to something alien. This, in turn, was compounded by a sense of tradition as mere repetition of the old which had become ossified and unchanging and by a sense of hierarchy as simply imposition and enslavement. In all of this the meaning of Confucianism was progressively obscured and perverted.

            Hence, it is necessary to look once again at Confucian thought and its key notion of ritual or Li. First, it should be noted that the rationalist analytic dissociation of life so that some facets are means for others as ends is poorly adapted to appreciating Confucian thought. This, in contrast, is essentially synthetic and focused upon life taken existentially, that is, upon the very exercise of life. Hence keeping the order which promotes life cannot be dissociated as a means from life as a goal, but is essential to the very process of living. Indeed it is what gives it proportion and harmony, what institutes this as true and hence just, as good and hence attractive, indeed as beautiful and hence enjoyable.

            It is necessary to see ritual not only as an external order imposed from without, but especially as internal in nature i.e. as being the natural order of things. This being the case, to revere one’s father is not the act of a slave, any more than for a parent to love one’s child is to lose the parent’s power to direct and guide the child. On the contrary, it is to recognize the deep truth of all great cultures, namely, that real power is love, that real leadership is through doing, and that satisfaction comes not from one’s own accomplishment but from the depth and extent of one’s benevolence.

            If this be so then tradition is not a dead repetition of the past, but an active search to apply the best that has been garnered by a people in the circumstances thus far so that the life of future generations can be enlivened and deeply enjoyed.

            What then should be said of the stage of life in the classical traditions of the Chinese as well as of other peoples? One needs to recognize that this is an ideal and that most persons will achieve only the first stages in their own life time. This, however, does not mean that the higher stages are irrelevant, even for those who will not them-selves achieve them. On the contrary, the higher stages are what un-fold the full meaning of a civilization and of all that is within it. Hence, even if many will not achieve a highly altruistic practice in their life, they see in others and know themselves that their attempt to be decent, basically honest, and concerned with the welfare of their family is part of a civilization which points inappropriately to higher ideals and that these ideals inspire and give dignity to the whole.

            What is the task of the philosopher in this? It should be his or her task first to go about understanding and articulating the content of the tradition as adequately as possible. This means not attempting to reduce it by an inappropriate mode of understanding, e.g. to a Car-tesian analysis of all into clear and distinct ideas. On the contrary, it is one task of philosophers to attempt to broaden the appreciation of understanding to ways that include the aesthetic awareness needed for a more adequate appreciation of one’s culture and its tradition.

            Moreover, for Chinese (as well as other) cultures it will be important that the work of understanding be able to open to, and draw upon, the actual exercise of life, and in turn be able to work creatively in the circumstances to apply the tradition in new ways.

            Beyond this issue of knowledge it is the task of philosophers to comprehend the various dimensions of this life--its sense of human beings both in their particularity and in their social character, and this on both the speculative and the practical levels.

            In this context should one say then that each culture possesses its own truth which is meaningless to others. Certainly, to the degree that they have discovered saving truth philosophers should share this with others. But the inverse is true as well; what is discovered by other peoples should be sought by those in other tradition. It is the task of philosophers to go in search of truth and meaning of human life, to appreciate this and to interpret it to their own culture.