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Archives of Boston Society of Confucius
Volume 1, Issue 1, April 10, 2019
Defining Junzi and Ren: Confucius as the Father of Professionalism
Copyright 2019 Gang Xu. All rights reserved.
http://www.er4a2.net/bsc.html
2
Correspondence to:
Gang Xu, Ph. D.
email: cryofboston@gmail.com
Fax: (781) 625-0016
Defining
Junzi
and
Ren:
Confucius as the
Father of Professionalism
:
ABSTRACT. Confucius (552479 B.C.) is a symbol of Chinese
civilization. Despite his influence in the past two and a half
thousand years, many of his ideas remain poorly defined,
rendering them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse by
Chinese rulers domestically and to misreading and critiques
by international communities globally. Among those
ambiguities are the notions
Junzi
and
Ren
,
generically referring to a man of perfect virtue and his
benevolent quality, respectively. In this article, the author
examines the early experience of Confucius, analyzes his
affiliation with
Ru
, a social category with their origin from
religious practitioners shamans, and sorts through various
attributes that are associated with
Junzi
and
Ren
. He
concludes that Confucius first and foremost was a private
educator and an entrepreneur. Confucius lived in a time
when there were market demands for quality education and
training on state administration, arising from rivalries
among numerous political powers at the time that in turn
opened up the opportunity for upward mobility for
common people. He started a private school that was
accessible to all the people, regardless of their family
backgrounds, as long as they could afford his tuition. In his
teaching, Confucius developed and refined a set of values
that correspond to the modern-day professionalism in the
western society; he transformed the notion
Ren
, originally
denoting a practice of sacrifice and martyrdom, to a
professional quality, rejecting insignificant sacrifice in civil
services and politics. His ideal personality, i.e.
Junzi
, was a
professional in government administration, matching the
very criteria specified by the definitions of profession and
professionalism.
Ren
, the founding pillar of his ethics,
gained the meaning that represents the ability or action to
feel, vicariously, the feeling and needs of another and
todays terms, a cornerstone of professional conducts.
Regrettably, China took a different course from what
Confucius would presumably expect after the State of Qin
conquered other states and set up China into a centralized
empire in 221 B.C. Professions and Professionalism had
since lost its social environment to evolve further. Although
professionalism as a social norm remain ill appreciated and
barely practiced in China even today, Confucianism does
potentiate Chinese with the quality and aspiration for a
professional life, as evidenced by Chinese immigrants and
their descendants in America where many of them unleash
their potentials and flourish in professional fields. For his
pioneering role in developing the critical concepts of
professionalism, as well as for his lifelong pursuit of
professionalism, Confucius deserves a position as the father
of professionalism. The author projects that professionalism,
the true heritage of Confucius, would eventually serve to
walk China out of its dynasty cycle and offer a common
ground for the nation to merge with the rest of world.
KEYWORDS. Confucius, Confucianism, Confucian,
Junzi
,
Ren
,
De
,
Dao
,
Shi
,
Ru
, professionalism,
professional, profession, empathy, self-interest
Introduction
Over the past two and a half millennia, Confucius has
evolved into an icon of a major civilization. His thoughts
and his personal life have become a source of inspirations
to Chinese from all walks of life. Many of his ideas and
words have turned into cultural imprints and maxims, some
-Chinese communities worldwide; yet
many of them remain surprisingly poorly defined from a
standard of academic rigor. Such a status quo renders
Confucius and Confucianism extremely vulnerable to
exploitation and abuse by Chinese rulers domestically and
to misreading and critiques by international communities
globally.
Gang Xu
徐罡
Archives of Boston Society of Confucius
Volume 1, Issue 1, April 10, 2019
Defining Junzi and Ren: Confucius as the Father of Professionalism
Copyright 2019 Gang Xu. All rights reserved.
http://www.er4a2.net/bsc.html
3
In this article, the author uses “disciples” to refer to the students taught directly by Confucius, “followers” the indirect students who
were taught by his disciples or their students, and “students of Confucianism” the scholars and students who learned and practiced
Confucianism after Confucius’ thought was adopted as the state doctrine around 134 B.C.
A central notion in Confucianism is a term that
Confucius used frequently to refer to a paragon of virtue:
Junzi
. Before his time, it was fairly clear that
Junzi
denoted a lord or a young man of high nobility, such as a
prince (1, 2). Throughout his lifetime, Confucius had
transformed the term, originally of socioeconomic
designation, into an embodiment of ethical perfection, with
Ren
as his core attribute. Like many great pioneers in
religion and philosophy, Confucius himself did not fully
elaborate on the words
Junzi
and
Ren
; his successors had
come up with some generic interpretations for the two
terms. As such, English translators have used the words
Junzi
Ren
in their works on
The Analects of Confucius
(3-12), a
book ascribed to Confucius but actually compiled and
edited by his disciples and followers* after his demise. The
book documented his comments or interactions with his
contemporaries, many of which were his responses to the
questions from his disciples; it is one of a few credible
references to the study of Confucius and his thoughts.
In this paper, the author examines the early experience
and cultural background of Confucius in the context of his
time. The author then analyzes various attributes associated
with
Junzi
and
Ren
, as imparted in
The Analects of
Confucius
. This research leads to the conclusion that
Confucius was a pioneer in the practice of professionalism.
Confucius was one of the first, if not the first, who had
formulated a complete theory of professionalism, with
Ren
representing the ultimate manifestation of empathy.
1. The Early Experience and Cultural Background of
Confucius
Confucius was born in the State of Lu in the Zhou Dynasty
(1046221 B.C.) in 552 B.C. (13) In Chinese history, it was a
time when the Zhou Kingdom had lost its control over its
principalities (states), of which many had gained de facto
independence; those states competed with each other,
some looking for people from other states to fill their lands
and join their bureaucracies.
the beginning of a period when different philosophies and
political ideas could be advocated, as hallmarked by
Hundred Schools of Thought, before China became a
centralized empire in 221 B.C. when Qin Dynasty declared
its reign over the entire China and set up an institution that
continues today. China in those days started to see
opportunities for upward mobility for common people.
Confucius father Kong He was a military commandant
of nobility (14, 15), with the rank of
Shi
. In the Zhou
Dynasty,
Shi
was the lowest rank in the bureaucracy (16); it
was either inherited or designated to those who were the
younger sons of a higher rank holder, as noble families
expanded and branched out in their lineages (Fig. 1). Unlike
a head of principality or a major statesman, who typically
held the title of duke or viscount, a
Shi
was not granted
with a land or fief to live upon; instead he was expected to
offer services to a duke or viscount to earn his living,
typically as a warrior in wartime and a counselor or retainer
in peacetime. In the feudal system,
Shi
thus constituted the
supply of civil service workforce as well as a military reserve
component. They also represented an educated social class
Figure 1. Designation of four major
bureaucratic ranks over a period of three
generations in the Zhou Dynasty in a
hypothetic royal family, starting from two
brothers. It is assumed that each male
member of the family produces two sons.
For simplicity, the rank for those who assist
the Kings is not shown. The rank of the
younger son of a
Shi
is not specified in the
literature, marked as uncertain.
Archives of Boston Society of Confucius
Volume 1, Issue 1, April 10, 2019
Defining Junzi and Ren: Confucius as the Father of Professionalism
Copyright 2019 Gang Xu. All rights reserved.
http://www.er4a2.net/bsc.html
4
who had the time and aptitude to attain and refine skills in
the fields other than agriculture. As evident from Figure 1, a
significant stratum of
Shi
could build up from zero in a
society within just a few generations of a royal family, let
alone nearly half a millennium into the same dynasty.
Kong He had nine daughters and a son from his earlier
marriages. His son however had foot impairment, a
condition that would disqualify him from serving in the
military and inheriting the title of
Shi.
To beget an heir,
Kong He married the young woman Yan Zhengzai when he
was already old. The young wife prayed for a son on a hill
and later indeed gave birth to a son. The couple honored
her prayer by naming the baby boy after the hill (15),
though the boy was addressed respectfully as Confucius
after he became established. Kong He passed away when
Confucius was three years old, leaving the boy and the
young mother unsupported.
Zhou Dynasty is believed to have a well-developed
education system for the juniors of its noble families (17).
Its curriculum included subjects on six arts and six
etiquettes: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy
and mathematics for arts and countenances in six different
settings for etiquettes. Although there is no reference to
inclined to believe that Confucius had taken his privilege as
a member of a noble lineage and finished a formal and
normal education of his time for his rank, despite the fact
that his father had already passed away and the family was
not well off financially. Supporting this argument, 1)
Viscount Meng Xi, one of the three leading statesmen in
the State of Lu, told his sons that Confucius was a
descendant of a noble family that had produced some
eminent sages (18); 2) when Confucius had his son at the
age of twenty (13), the Duke of Lu sent him a fish to
congratulate (15). This, together with the previous tale,
was known to the ruler
and administrators of his state and he was treated
accordingly; 3) Confucius himself was consciously aware of
his rank and certainly explored the opportunities that were
presented to people of his class. When he was twenty-five
years old, the premier of Lu Viscount Ji hosted a banquet
for
Shi
, and Confucius went (19). Therefore Confucius could
unlikely miss the benefits designated for his rank, including
a formal education. Further supporting this argument,
Confucius was expert at math, archery and charioteering
(20-22), the three subjects on the curriculum of noble
education. Of particular interest is his confidence in his
mastery of charioteering. In his time in China, a military
battle was fought between chariots. Each chariot nucleated
an operational unit or squad, consisting of a dozen of
soldiers on average, of whom two warriors and a steerer
rode the chariot and led the attacks (23, 24). In emergency
situations the steerer had to jump off the chariot to push,
pull or move the chariot and he had to be physically strong.
consistent with the descriptions about his physical build
and strength in the literature (25, 26). Because charioteering
was a military-oriented skill involving teamwork and special
equipment, i.e. a chariot and horses, it might not be easily
acquirable through self-study; Confucius must have
received formal training on the subject, which was aimed at
preparing young noble descendants for their obligations in
wars. Also noticeably, The Analects of Confucius describes
his participation in archery contests, in a manner clearly
showing the imprints of fine training (21).
However a standard education was apparently not
Figure 2. Chariot assembly in prepara-
tion for a battle in the Zhou Dynasty.
Each chariot carried a steerer (middle)
and two warriors, who led the attack; it
was followed by a squad of walking
soldiers. Only chariots in the front row
were identified by arrows. The drawing
is adapted from Note 24.
Archives of Boston Society of Confucius
Volume 1, Issue 1, April 10, 2019
Defining Junzi and Ren: Confucius as the Father of Professionalism
Copyright 2019 Gang Xu. All rights reserved.
http://www.er4a2.net/bsc.html
5
enough for Confucius to land a decent position. He later
so he pursued six arts instead (27). The Chinese word
career setback. First, from a macroscopic perspective, the
setup on passing and designating bureaucratic ranks and
obligations in the Zhou Dynasty, as illustrated in Figure 1,
seemed to help build a hierarchy of balanced authority and
expertise within a noble family initially. As the family
expanded after first few generations, however, a class of
Shi
would start to build up and so would come the
competitions for available positions in state administration
and services. In a family-based feudal system, people from
families of waning nobility and dwindling size, such as
Confucius, would be understandably disadvantaged in the
job market.
Second, Confucius was likely discriminated for his
heritage and cultural background.
Confucius was a descendant of a royal family in the
Shang Dynasty (c. 16001046 B.C.). After the Zhou Dynasty
was designated as the duke of the State of Song (15). The
State of Song however represented the adherents to the
Shang Dynasty, who were different from the tribes that
dominated the rest of the Zhou Kingdom. Therefore, the
s should be
viewed as a show of magnanimity and conciliation that the
King of Zhou bestowed on his defeated rival.
People in the Shang Kingdom were known as skilled
traders and merchants to the tribes outside their territory.
Reflecting this historical perception, , the Chinese
word for businessman, literally means Shang people.
In the Shang Dynasty, there seemed to be quite evolution
of trades and specialties. Among them were the divination
and diverse rituals performed by shamans. Shang had a
culture of animism. Its royal court heavily relied on
divination for its operations; the result of each divination
was recorded on an oracle shell (28). There are suggestions
that some divining shamans might well be members of
royal household or kings (29, 30). Such royal shamans,
together with shamans on other functions, say, medical
healing, formed a body of privileged elites whose authority
was based on their knowledge and their claim to the power
that enabled them to communicate with deities, natural
spirits, and ancestors. After the Shang Kingdom was
overthrown, those shamans spread over in different states
of the Zhou. They traded their knowledge and services for a
living, often involved in rituals and ceremonies. Their
successors grew along different specialties and formed a
category of servicemen that were collectively known as
Ru
(31), or Confucians in the western literature.
When used as a noun to refer to
Ru
, the term
blunders ever made in connection with Confucius in the
English world. Not only does it mislead readers, but it
would also offend Confucius if Confucius were still alive and
found out that his name is misrepresented. As readers
would conclude from the rest of this article, Confucius had
very mixed views, and mixed feelings as well, about
Ru
. In
this paper, whenever appropriate, this author will use
teachings, while keeping
Ru
their roots in the practice of early shamanism. Many
Ru
were
Ru
Ru
. Being
different types of
Ru
is critical to critically understand
Chinese history in general and Confucius in particular.
In his review on the evolution of
Ru
, Hu Shih in 1934
cited earlier annotations and pointed the origin of the
Chinese character
Ru
to
Xu
(meaning need) (31).
Chinese characters are pictograph at root; they are created
first by using simplified yet characteristic drawings to
denote physical objects and then by modifying, assembling,
or aggregating existing characters to represent abstract
concepts. As such, the initial semantic designation of a
Chinese character could often be revealed by examining the
early versions of the character. The earliest version of the
Chinese character
Xu
has been identified in oracle shell
inscriptions from the Shang Dynasty, appearing as a man
with drops of water on both sides of his body (32). This has
Archives of Boston Society of Confucius
Volume 1, Issue 1, April 10, 2019
Defining Junzi and Ren: Confucius as the Father of Professionalism
Copyright 2019 Gang Xu. All rights reserved.
http://www.er4a2.net/bsc.html
6
been interpreted as a shaman taking a shower before
performing a ritual. Another early version of the character is
found on a bronze vessel, dating back to a time window
about 350 years before the birth of Confucius (Fig. 3) (33).
This character is composed of two characters (rain)
and (sky), joined vertically. The character seemingly
specifies the nature of the water drops in the earliest
version of
Xu:
they are the drops of rain, as part of the
character (rain) on the top of
Xu
. Under (rain),
the character (sky) appears as a man who is dancing.
This composition suggests an alternative interpretation for
Xu: Xu
designates a ritual performed by a shaman who
Following this inference, it is interesting to note that Paul U.
Unschuld made such a description on rainmaking rituals in
ancient China (34): "Shamans had to carry out an
exhausting dance within a ring of fire until, sweating
profusely, the falling drops of perspirations produced the
desired rain." He took drops of perspirations from shamans
as an incarnation of rain. His narrative could offer another
interpretation for the earliest version of the character
Xu
(32). Together, analysis of the earliest versions of the
character
Xu
suggests that
Xu
and
Ru
have their very
origin in the rainmaking rituals in the antiquity of China, a
frequent event of the time (35).
Half a millennium into the Zhou Dynasty,
Ru
became a
very heterogeneous group in terms of their socioeconomic
statuses. While some were better off as retainers to
prominent families, many others might have to travel from
one village to another, just to secure an opportunity for a
service such as a funeral ceremony (31). Despite that,
Ru
wore certain attire and hat that distinguished them as
practitioners of specialty services. Confucius was a
Ru
too.
He took up the practice of rituals since his early childhood
(36).
The public perception of
Ru
was quite varied, however.
Yan Ying, a contemporary of Confucius and then the prime
Ru
are slick
at talk and unbound by laws; they are arrogant and self-
righteous, not fit to assist. They venerate funerals and
prolong mourning, costing a fortune to perform an
expensive funeral, not fit to guide custom. They lobby and
ask f).
Ru
were slick and
untrustworthy, aloof and pretentious, and crooked and
money hungry. He made this comment specifically in
reference to Confucius. Earlier, Confucius had met with the
Duke of Qi and gained his trust. The Duke had planned to
grant Confucius a fief. But Yan Ying applied the stereotype
of
Ru
against Confucius. Confucius was denied the offer.
Confucius was 37 years old then and already an
established educator and consultant. This incident could
not likely be the one that had halted his early career
advance and turned him into a field that required in-depth
learning (27). Before this, Confucius had already done
intensive study in music with Shixiang, consulted with Lao-
Figure 3. An early version of the Chinese character
Xu
需 on the
bronze vessel MengGui 孟簋 that dates back to circa 900 B.C. A)
An ink replica of the inscription on the bronze vessel; the
character
Xu
is identified within the yellow box. B) The character
Xu
from the inscription, after background noise is filtrated out. C)
The character is dissected into two components, the character for
“rain(雨)” on the top and the character for “sky(天)” at
the bottom. The character for “rain” is derived from the image
of rain drops from sky; the character for “sky” is from the
image of an adult with his head emphasized, pointing to the
notion “top” or “above.”
Archives of Boston Society of Confucius
Volume 1, Issue 1, April 10, 2019
Defining Junzi and Ren: Confucius as the Father of Professionalism
Copyright 2019 Gang Xu. All rights reserved.
http://www.er4a2.net/bsc.html
7
(13, 18). Nevertheless, the incident highlights the prejudice
that Confucius had to live with.
On the one hand, Confucius was certainly aware of some
disturbing realities associated with some
Ru
. Later he
encouraged one of his disciples to be a decent
Ru
but not a
despicable
Ru
(38). He also distanced himself from anything
involving natural spirits and deities (39, 40), which had been
intrinsic to the practice of shamans and still constituted the
justification for some services performed by
Ru
.
On the other hand, it might well be the pro-business
culture among
Ru
entrepreneurship. At age 23, Confucius started a private
school on state administration and services. The school was
open to all, regardless of their family backgrounds, as long
as they could afford his tuition (41). His business was well
received and there were clear demands for his education.
Confucius himself taught or advised numerous students; his
students were able to assemble a significant number of
students as well. For example, one of his disciples Tantai
Mieming enrolled three hundred students after he left
Confucius and had his own school (42); after Confucius
passed away, another disciple Bu Shang (a.k.a. Zixia or Tzu-
hsia) took over a whole state and became the mentor to the
ruler of the state (43). The fact that Confucius became an
icon of Chinese civilization itself underscores the values of
In his teaching, Confucius developed a set of standards
for his students, some imprinted with the ethos of
Ru
while
others countering the stereotype of
Ru
. From a modern
perspective, what Confucius had formulated and promoted,
once painstakingly sorted through and thoroughly analyzed,
is professionalism.
2.
Junzi
as a Professional
apply an up-to-date concept of the term professionalism in
his analysis. Instead, he merely refers to the facts that
professionalism is a relatively young term, first introduced
in 1856 in a time window that is recognized as a modern
period of our history; before that, the word professionalism
was simply nonexistent (44). Since professionalism was
adopted into use, the concept has undergone significant
evolution in recent decades (45). For the purpose of this
study, the author resorts to a somewhat classic definition of
professionalism, assuming that it might be more relevant
and productive to examine a historical phenomenon with a
traditional view (46, 47), while keeping himself aware that
incorporation of insights from recent elaborations would
offer a more complete picture. With such an understanding,
he would base his analysis initially on the comparisons to
the attributes of early learned professions, such as medicine
and divinity.
When Confucius spoke to his students, he often referred
to
Junzi
as the standard for an ideal personality. Before his
time,
Junzi
had been used to identify lords and young
generations of royal families and ducal houses. Confucius
however reshaped the notion into a measure of ethical
implications, which could be applied to anyone regardless
of his familial lineage. In his advice to his disciple Bu Shang,
-like
Ru
, not a petty man-like
Ru
).
What constituted a
Junzi
in the mind of Confucius?
Despite countless efforts over the past 2,500 years or so,
an unambiguous answer to the question remains missing.
Junzi
is still an intangible Chinese word that could be
arbitrarily played either too godlily or too profanely. To
approach the question, the author starts with such a
consensus: Confucius is a
Junzi
not only was he regarded
as a
Junzi
by his contemporaries (48) but also he himself
was comfortable with such a perception and occasionally he
even hinted his standing of being a
Junzi
(49).
From this on, the author proceeds to assort various
remarks about
Junzi
, from
The Analects of Confucius
, into
different categories. This examination leads to the
conclusion that the traits of a
Junzi
match with the qualities
of a professional, as defined by both dictionaries and
attributes of a profession (46).
2.1
The job performed by a Junzi is not a trade nor a
craft but a mission or calling
Bu Shang is one of the most prominent disciples in
a major role in
Archives of Boston Society of Confucius
Volume 1, Issue 1, April 10, 2019
Defining Junzi and Ren: Confucius as the Father of Professionalism
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8
transmission of Confuc
passed away (43). He made a clear distinction between
trades and a
stay in their workshops to finish their jobs; a
Junzi
relies on
learning to reach his
Dao
). He also explained that
worthy of attention. A
Junzi
does not take up them because
he is afraid of getting too far
(51).
Dao
The root meaning of
Dao
observation by this author is that early classic Chinese is
quite similar to English in terms of both semantics and
grammar. Following semantic derivations, the meanings of
Dao
just as in Englishand the
another. In the latter case, Dao could be understood as
- r, in Bu
Confucius also made some similar comment. Apparently
insecurity in pursuing a learned occupation, as opposed to
a traditional farmer, Confucius dismissed the implication
Junzi
pursues
Dao
but not food. If you farm, you may still run into the
occasion of being hungry; if you learn, however, you may
end up with the salary of an official. Anyway, a
Junzi
is
concerned about the
Dao
).
The pursuit of the mission comes with a sense of
to become a
Junzi
if )
Junzi
stands in awe of three things: providence,
g).
2. 2
Education and continued learning is required to be a
Junzi
The Merriam-
calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and
deliberated on the nature of such knowledge and
tent system, called
describe in general terms the classes of phenomena
comprising the pro ).
Learning and continued learning is a must to become and
impart a
Junzi
, as elaborated repeatedly by Confucius and
his disciples (50, 55). In a succinct way, Confucius outlined
Dao
,
anchored to the virtue, based on the Ren, and steeped in
6other places, referred to
the six subjects on the curriculum of the time: rites, music,
archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics.
Despite the importance of education and continued
learning, Confucius made it clear that learning in itself was
not the purpose. Rather, a
Junzi
learned to practice and
apply. The very first verse of
The Analects of the Confucius
7)? In a separate verse,
Confucius subtly distanced a
Junzi
from an academic,
refinement, it would appear raw; when acquired refinement
outmatches native quality, it would appear pedantry. Only
when the two match one another gracefully would it
become
Junzi
-lik5). In this respect it is interesting to
note that academics in the western society were not
regarded as professionals even in 1846, when only divinity,
medicine, and law were recognized as three learned
professions (58).
2. 3
A Junzi is careful about his image of authority and
words
Confucius was extremely careful about his interactions,
especially his words, with others. When he was in his
neighborhood, he was humble and appeared incapable of
articulation; when he was with his peers in the court, he was
eloquent in the absence of the duke; when the duke was
present in the court, he was meticulous and sober (59, 60).
serious, would not be authoritative and his learning would
).
From an earlier perspective of professionalism,
authoritative air of a professional is important to secure
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9
specific realm of knowledge. Confucius and his disciples
had come to the same realization.
disciples Zigong (a.k.a. Duanmu Ci or Tzu-kung) said, A
Junzi
could be judged knowledgeable by a single word he
speaks; he could also be judged uneducated by a single
word he speaks. A Junzi must be careful about what he is
going to sa ). Another disciple Zengzi (a.k.a. Tseng
most in the
Dao:
putting on a serious countenance so to
stay clear from rudeness and slight; setting a proper
expression on face so to invite trust; speaking right words
in right tones so to stay away from anti
Dao
with others.
Such concerns over the potential damages that
inappropriate remarks could do to the service of a
Junzi
led
Confucius to prescribe a very conservative approach. He
Junzi
would like to
be awkward at
Junzi
is ashamed of his wo
(65). He set up a standard against
Junzi
, what is named by a Junzi must be presentable, what
is said by a Junzi must be practicable. A Junzi is not casual
).
2.4
A Junzi maintains appropriate relationship with his
colleagues
The first verse of The Analects of Confucius contains a
have
however, corresponds to two Chinese characters that meant
in modern language. Confucius encouraged interactions
Junzi
relies on the learning to interact with colleagues and
depends on colleagues to support
Ren
).
Such interactions however were carefully managed, not
to get too close and enter into any clique. Confucius said,
Junzi
is gregarious but not factional; a petty man is
). Similarly he remarked,
Junzi
is sober but not contentious, and gregarious but
).
The professional nature of these interactions is also
not
concern yourself with its matters of administration if you
). In this regard, it helps to
be reminded that Confucius ran a school that trained
students for administration and civil services.
2.5
A Junzi follows a formal dress code
Confucius was meticulous with his attire. He carefully
matched the type and color of his dress to the season and
setting (71). Even when he was sick and stayed on bed, in
honor of the Duke who came to visit him, he draped over
him the formal court robe and placed the grand sash across
over it accordingly (72). His disciple Zilu later was killed in a
coup. Before his death, Zilu tied his hat and proclaimed that
Junzi
).
2.6
A Junzi is committed to public good
As callings, early professions typically promoted their
practices as a benevolent concern for the well-being of
others. Being a
Junzi
Junzi
helps others achieve their good endeavors but not
their ev4). He
Ren
, he would
). So what is the
Ren
?
3.
Ren
the ultimate “empathy”
The Analects of Confucius
is organized into 20 chapters, or
Legge in 1861 (3). Each chapter is comprised of many
separate pieces, of which most are short verses uttered by
Confucius or his disciples. A total of 512 verses constitute
the entire book. Of them
Ren
are mentioned in 59 verses
and the Chinese character
Ren
appears 108 times (Table
1), more frequently than any other character that denotes
another attribute of a
Junzi
. In Confucius teaching,
Ren
is
the founding pillar of a
Junzi
.
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10
In his translation, James Legge treated the noun form of
Ren
Ren
and in another two
places he (Table 1). In the
two sentences where
Ren
e of Ren, he
translated it to the good and simply a man,
respectively. In Chinese the
bona fide
counterpart for
virtue is the character
De
. There are two verses
where both
Ren
and
De
appear in the same saying (56, 76).
With Verse 7.6, James Legge compromised the
De
and
Ren
(Table 2). For Verse 14.4, he
De
and, very interestingly,
translated the adjective form of
Ren
Clearly he sensed some subtle nuance of the two Chinese
characters:
Ren
is not just benevolence; there seems to be a
connotation of
Ren
.
Table 2 compares the translations of
De
and
Ren
in the
two verses by different translators. Most treated
De
and
Ren
essentially indistinguishable, as some good trait of
humanity (3-12, 77). However, Roger T. Ames and Henry
Rosemont had a different insight (5); they specified
Ren
as
intuition. E. Bruce Brooks and A. Taeko Brooks took a more
reserved approach, simply using the pronunciation for
Ren
and leaving the character unmatched in English (12). Tao
Liang, a scholar in mainland China, also saw an element of
rationality in the notion Ren (78).
In a separate paper (79), this author reviewed the
literature and examined early versions of the Chinese
character
Ren
. Of particular interest was the earliest
preserved Chinese character
Ren
that was identified in 1981
on a bronze vessel (80). This character can be traced back
to a time window about 300 years before the birth of
Confucius. It is composed of two characters
Shi
(meaning
a dead boy) and
Er
(meaning two) (Fig. 4) and
used exchangeable with the character
Shi
, indicating that
the original notion of
Ren
was associated with death. The
author concluded that
Ren
originally denoted a practice in
ancient China where a man with respectable social rank
sacrificed himself to defend the codes of honor. Such a
practice was a common expectation for people on a retinue,
such as a
Shi
.
In his interactions with his students, Confucius however
reshaped the notion
Ren
. The notion went through a
semantic evolution and attained the following features:
3.1
Ren is a quality of benevolence
This is a well-recognized denotation of the concept. In
response to the question from his disciple Fan Chi (a.k.a.
), Confucius said that
Ren
2
origin of
Ren
to the interactions and affections among
as a younger brother is where the
Ren
roots3).
3.2
Ren is invoked by the giver, who has the full
autonomy to summon and deliver Ren
Figure 4. Original association of the notion
Ren
仁 with death. A)
The earliest version of Chinese characters for “人 (a man, left)”
and “尸 (a dead boy, right)” in inscriptions on oracle shell from
Shang Dynasty. The anatomical details in each character are
indicated. Note deliberate twisting and bending in the part
corresponding to the leg in the character 尸, to identify knee and
ankle in a flaccid state. The C numbers designate the numbers
assigned to the inscription collections where the characters are
cropped (81). B) The Chinese character
Ren
仁 on a bronze vessel,
showing the character is composed of the characters “尸” and
“二 (two, composed of two parallel short strokes). C) The “尸”
component in the character
Ren
on the bronze vessel shows a
drooping leg, characteristic of a dead body.
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11
Table 1. Translations of
Ren
in Different Verses by James Legge
* Some verses in James Legge’s work are numbered differently from the current consensus; they are indicated in the
parentheses following the current designations.
** Occurrence: the number of appearance of the character
Ren
in the verse.
*** The translation for the character
Ren
, corresponding to the noun form of the word. In case that multiple
Ren
appear in
the same verse and they are translated differently, the translation of each
Ren
is listed in the order of its appearance in
the context. Translations different from “virtue” are shown in blue.
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12
Table 2. Translations of
De
and
Ren
That Appear in the Same Verse
Ren
that faraway?
Whenever I desire it, here comes
Ren
4). In another
oneself; ho5)?
3.3 Ren is manifested in different forms
The last king of the Shang Dynasty is said to be a tyrant,
indulged in a licentious lifestyle and neglecting his
administration duties. His brother left him. One of his
uncles gave up on him and pretended insanity, being
degraded to a slave. Another uncle continued to
remonstrate with him and ended up being killed by him.
Confucius commended all three for being men of
Ren
,
despite their different ways of dealing with the capricious
king (86).
3.4 Ren is a measure more for job performance than for
private life
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Guan Zhong (a.k.a. Kuan Chung or Kwan Chung, c. 720645
B.C.) was a prime minister of the State of Qi. Before his
appointment, he was a retainer of Prince Jiu. Prince Jiu
competed with his brother for the title of the State. He
failed in the contest and was killed. Instead of sacrificing for
Ren
survived and served the rival of his killed master as the
prime minister (87). During his tenure, he successfully
devised tax policies and applied economic incentives
domestically (88-91), making the State of Qi a prosperous
state. In working with other rival states, he preferred trade
wars to military operations (92), making the State of Qi the
leader among different states of the Zhou Kingdom. He was
also instrumental in defending other states against
invasions by barbarian tribes. In spite of his achievements,
Guan Zhong was a controversial character at the time: He
had deserted from his unit three times in his military
services during wars; he had treated his business partner
unfairly in his early life as a businessman; he had not
sacrificed himself for his first master Prince Jiu; and he had
lived a luxurious life of regal splendor. In refuting those
complaints (93, 94), Confucius said: It was to the credit of
Guan Zhong that the State of Qi was able to assemble all
other states nine times as the hegemon, without resorting
to any war; if it were not for Guan Zhong, Confucius and his
disciples would have lived a barbaric life. He praised Guan
Zhong as a man of great Ren and dismissed the complaints
On the other hand, Confucius did not have a good
opinion of Guan Zhong as a person. He regarded Guan
Zhong as a shallow mind and a coarse and conspicuous
personality (95, 96).
The paradox suggests that Confucius had distinguished
the notion
Ren
from
De
, i.e. virtue, a general mark on
personal character: Although Ren was a quality that anyone
could exercise anytime, it was not the same as virtue; a
person who was regarded morally imperfect could still be a
man of
Ren
in his public duty. When there were conflicting
judgments involving the same person, Confucius
preferentially employed
Ren
as a measure for job
performance.
3.5
Ren is discretion but not unconditional benevolence
A
lively personality, witty and naughty, enjoying testing his
lemma question for
Confucius (97
Ren
was told that another man
of
Ren
had fallen into a well. Would he jump into the well
do that? A
Junzi
can go there to check out but shall not be
trapped in the well. He could be deceived but shall not be
set
with the conception that, to live up to his reputation of
being a man of
Ren
, one must be willing to sacrifice himself
to save his fellow. Confucius was uncomfortable with the
idea and advised discretion. This conversation is interesting
that the notion
Ren
was perceived as a practice of sacrifice
at the time (79). Second, it shows how Confucius developed
his ideas from interactions with his students. Third, it marks
a transition in the definition of
Ren
, as Confucius did not
endorse unnecessary sacrifice; instead, he suggested
weighing the outcomes of different options and
incorporating a sense of discretion in practicing
Ren
.
3.6 Certain manners are expected in connection with
practicing Ren
As an attribute of a
Junzi, Ren
is applied in connection with
rit,
simplicity and reticence are next to
Ren
). Fan Chi was
a disciple of a simple mind. Confucius inclined to instruct
to behave in accordance with
Ren
humble when staying home, be scrupulous when holding
an office, and be fai).
3.7 Ren is the ability or action to vicariously feel the
needs of another and act accordingly
Perhaps one of the best known quotes from Confucius, if
not THE best known, is his comment on
Ren
0).
He advocated putting oneself in other's shoes. In a separate
occasion, he defined a man of
Ren
as someone who was
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Ren
helps others
become established if he desires to establish himself, and
helps others reach their goals if he desires to reach his.
Being able to make analogies between his own situations
and those of others around him could be called the
approach to
Ren
).
With all such characteristics,
Ren
matches the English
As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, empathy
tion (or the capacity for this action) of
understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and
vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and
experience of another of either the past or present without
having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully
feel or understand another person's experiences and
emotions, although the word meant quite abstrusely and
some differently when it was first introduced in 1909 (102).
Empathy derives its definition from
em-
+
pathos
. The
prefix
em-
pathos
make an analogy. In the past decades, the word has evolved
into a cornerstone of professional behaviors; it constitutes a
normative expectation for any professional in his
interactions with a client.
However, the word also has a connotation that most
profess
explicitly. In this regard, the prefix
em-
may well represent a
doublet that embeds another prefix
e-
denotes a process or capability of en
feeling and then coming out, to maintain certain
professional distance. Such detachment would help uphold
professional discretion from emotional disturbance when
performing a service. The application of empathy places
importance on rationality equally as on compassion.
Accordingly, a professional is expected to assume certain
manners or posture to ensure his control in his interactions
with a client, such as avoiding unnecessary talks or jokes
that could bring people closer in a private setting but not
desirable during a procedure.
is seemingly not well received by the public, many of whom
have taken empathy equal to sympathy, the latter
designating more on emotion sharing and compassion.
However empathy has seen its more and more popular use;
it is likely that the word would eventually evolve into a term
that incorporates more humane and benevolent
consideration while reserving its specific inference to
professionalism.
Ren
would be a perfect word for such evolution. On the
one hand, it is a vicarious quality associated with a
Junzi
, or
a professional; it is inherently tinged with a tone of
authority, as perceived by Roger T. Ames and Henry
Rosemont (5). On the other hand, in the sphere of
administration and civil services,
Ren
would direct a
Junzi
to
understand the common people in his decision making and
help promote social wellbeing and harmony, as contrary to
merely entertaining a tyrant in a totalitarian regime. In such
a specific context,
Ren
is endowed with a strong sense of
humanity that may not be as evident in other professions.
The author proposes to designate
Ren
as the ultimate
empathy: while it denotes an essential trait of
professionalism in everyday practice, it also signifies a sense
of mission: to feel the suffering of people and to rise up to
the call when the time comes.
It is worth noting that Confucius and his disciples had
ascribed the origination of
Ren
to a family value: the
respect for parents and siblings (83). The idea offers an
interesting direction for future research on the relationship
between early family education and workplace job training.
The hypothesis might find itself well-founded. A human
being is born self-centered, demanding attentions and
cares from his surroundings. However an infant would soon
learn to read his parents and siblings. Once he starts to
show respect and appreciation for his family members, he
would have developed the primitive capability of feeling his
parents and siblings
entry to the empathy.
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15
4.
Junzi, Ren,
and Professionalism: still a Chinese
Dream
Confucius is one of the most influential people in human
history. In the past century, Confucius in China however has
gone through the transitions from a holy man to a
reactionary devil, to a role model for disadvantaged youth,
and now to an international ambassador for China. As
China is exploiting Confucius as a cloak to cover its
ambition and calculations worldwide, Confucius and
Confucianism understandably start to meet resistance from
international communities.
Part of the reason that Confucius is so vulnerable to
political remodeling is the lack of sufficient information,
historical truth was rarely a tradition of China. Often,
narratives of historical events and figures in China were
built on claims and assertions, rather than on propositions,
debates and evidence; and often, people of bureaucratic
prominence had the final say on important topics if there
was ever a debate.
With such awareness, the author in his study has relied
heavily on the archaeological discoveries in recent decades,
on the evolution of early Chinese characters in particular.
The author is also cautious to distinguish the hallowed
image of Confucius from his secular life, his thoughts and
teachings in his later years from his early remarks, and his
words, as compiled in
The Analects of Confucius
, from the
interpretations and elaborations of his sayings by his
successors, which are collectively known as Confucianism
but which may deviate sharply from the original intentions
of Confucius.
For example, conventional perception has imputed the
authoritarian nature of Chinese society to Confucius, for he
the father ). Confucius
made this comment when he was 35 years old (13), in
response to a question on government by Duke Jing of Qi,
essentially in a job interview. His answer tactfully left the
offered with the job in the end, as the Qi premier Yan Ying
hinted to Duke Jing that Confucius could not be trusted
and counted on (37). Chinese rulers often cited this saying
to justify their repression and exploitation of people. The
fact of matter is that Confucius consistently advocated
benevolent and responsible government. At age 69, when
his disciple Ran Qiu (a.k.a. Ziyou or Ran You), who had
served him at the very personal level, worked for a
statesman to increase tax, Confucius was so annoyed that
he declared to expel Ran Qiu from his disciple list and
mobilized his students to wage a public campaign to
disgrace Ran Qiu (104).
In this approach, when his life is examined, Confucius
first and foremost was a private education provider and a
business owner. After he was married and had his son,
Confucius started an education business to support his
attainable, I would go for it even if I have to be a hostler
with a whip in hand. If it is not doable, I would follow my
(105, 106). His remark shows that he had quite a
mundane desire for fortune as well, and his business was a
result of pragmatic assessment. In his business operation,
he accepted every student as long as the latter could afford
his minimal tuition (41).
But Confucius did not turn his business into an assembly
line or a diploma mill. He was serious with his work. A few
factors might underpin his attitude and future
achievements. First, he was a descendant of a royal family in
the previous Shang Dynasty. His ancestors were known for
serving the new Kingdom scrupulously and humbly (18). It
would be consistent for Confucius to assume the same
work ethics to defend his sense of pride and nobility. In his
earlier careers as a bookkeeper and a manager of animal
husbandry, Confucius had proven himself a competent
employee (20). Second, he was a
Ru
.
Ru
had their origin
from religious practitioners shamans in the Shang tribes. It
has been proposed that shamans represented the first
profession in early human societies (107). Indeed, Ru at
would characterize a practitioner of an early profession,
such as authoritative air, meticulous attention to procedural
details, and specific attire and hat that identified their
occupation (31, 37). Private teaching was among
Ru
fields of specialty practice. It would come naturally to
Confucius to perform his job with a sense of seriousness
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16
and formality typical of
Ru
. Third, Confucius was financially
dependent on the business. Although Confucius held
various positions in administration and private
management, none of them lasted long or was rewarding
enough, financially.
in administration and consulting. In running his business,
Confucius was sensitive to market expectations and good at
incorporating his reflections into his teachings. As discussed
earlier, Confucius had one of his major career setbacks at
the age of 37: he was denied the offer from Duke Jing of Qi,
apparently because he was a
Ru
and perceived as doing the
Duke a lip service (37). In The Analects of Confucius, it was
recorded repeatedly that Confucius advised his students to
speak less, speak credibly and focus on the delivery (64-66).
While it is not clear when Confucius offered those advices,
it was definitely after his misfortune at the State of Qi when
-
like
Ru
, not a petty man-like
Ru
). Bu Shang was born
in or about 508 B.C., the year when Confucius was already
later years (43).
For his students, Confucius adopted and refined a set of
values. Among his efforts, of unparalleled humanitarian
magnitude is his redefinition of the notion
Ren
.
In a separate paper, the author submitted that
Ren
initially designated a practice of sacrifice and martyrdom in
which a man sacrificed himself to defend the code of honor
in a time of crisis (79). Such a practice was common among
Shi
in the antiquity of China and could be easily abused
(108). As such,
Ren
would expectedly be a frequent concern
Ren
many times in
The Analects of Confucius
. Clearly Confucius
did not endorse sacrifice for something insignificant or
unnecessary. Occasionally he seemingly tried to divert the
questions on
Ren
and pointed to something elusive.
Through elaboration and exchange with his students (93, 94,
97), Confucius transformed the notion
Ren
into a concept
of empathy. He rejected the unwarranted sacrificial
implication from the original meaning of
Ren
. This
transformation marked a transition in political ethics in
China and conceptually stopped the brutality that had been
imposed on staff in state administrations and private
entourages. Just on this account alone, Confucius is a great
humanitarian.
In his last few years when Bu Shang was among his
disciples, Confucius apparently had developed his ethics
into quite a mature set. When articulating the notion Ren,
Bu Shang summarized it as follows (109):
Learning broadly and holding fast to your aspiration,
asking pertinently and reflecting from the surrounding,
throughout this resides the Ren.
In this verse,
situations and those of others around him verse 6.30,
uttered by Confucius in a conversation with his another
disciple (101). In a few phrases, Bu Shang essentially
recapitulated the major attributes that characterize a
continued learning that constitute the foundation of a
sense of commitment to a calli
different trades stay in their workshops to finish their jobs; a
Junzi
relies on learning ),
unambiguously differentiating a
Junzi
from a skilled worker
or craftsmen and defining
Junzi
as a learned career. Overall,
Confucius and his disciples had shaped an occupation that
was distinguished by a set of normative values which, in
modern terms, is professionalism. They had developed a
whole set of theory of professionalism around the notions
Junzi
and
Ren
. For his pioneering role in defining the critical
concepts of professionalism
Junzi
and
Ren
, corresponding
his lifelong pursuit of professionalism, Confucius deserves a
position as the father of professionalism.
Yet Confucius and his followers had never been able to
make their target occupationstate administration and
consultinginto a true lasting profession in China.
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Confucius lived his life in a time when China was a loose
coalition of many different states, each typically operated
by a ducal house and a few prominent families. In this
feudal system, these prominent families were often related
to the duke by blood (Figure-1). They lived on their fiefs as
statesmen and local lords. They retained an entourage of
various functions, including warriors and civilian staff, and
looked for people of desired quality to join or replenish
their retinues. They and the state bureaucracy constituted
the employers for those interested in administration and
services. In this job market, a prospective employee, such as
a
Shi
, also had choices with respect to who he would like to
work for. An established
Shi
might choose to work as a
freelance consultant, commuting to different states and
meeting with different dukes and local lords, to offer
advices, pass on messages, and mediate conflicts. Because
of intricate political interplays among statesmen either
within a state or across the Zhou Kingdom, there were
demands for people with certain particular set of skills or
training to fill entourages or to act as political advisors or
middlemen. As such, there seemed to be a good market
base to support the genesis of a profession in state
administration and political consulting. Confucius was
prescient in capturing the trend. Within two centuries after
his demise, one statesman kept a retinue consisting of as
many as 3,000 people (110) and a lobbyist became the
prime minister for six states (111). His own disciple Bu
Shang gained the status of being a mentor to the ruler of a
state (43). There was a conflict, however, intrinsically
followers to integrate into bureaucracies or retinues, they
would have to surrender much of their independence and
discretion, which is a benchmark of any profession. This was
especially true after Qin Shi Huang established the first
centralized Chinese empire in 221 B.C. From a traditional
view of social structure, even though Confucianism was
designated as the official ideology of China around 134 B.C.
(112) and students of Confucianism had been placed on the
bureaucratic -
ment was not regarded as a profession; rather it was an
occupational sector parallel to business and profession (47).
Even today, when government administrators in the U.S. are
often referred to as professionals, Chinese officialdom
rarely lives up to the implication of such reference, which
means the best public services independent of political
views or partisanship.
In a broader scope, nor had China seen much evolution
of other professions and, as such, nor has professionalism
ever become a social norm in China, for China for most of
its past history discouraged its people from pursuing self-
interest and individual rights; professions and
professionalism lost their base of support.
Irrespective of how the connotation of professionalism
would continue to evolve, professionalism is the
characterization of professions and a profession is built on
four conceptual components at bottom: 1) it is a service
that often requires long and intensive preparation; 2) It is
an individualized commitment to the best; 3) it is a practice
trusted with autonomy; 4) it is a full-time job that is
financially and socially rewarding in terms of self-interest,
such as salary, status and power. Although early professions
emphasized the social significance of their work and often
presented their members as altruistic practitioners, self-
interest is a motivation for most individuals in pursuing and
practicing a profession; some even asserts that
professionalism serves to promote and protect self-interest
(45, 113, and 114). Regarding the last claim, Adam Smith's
invisible hand might be the guide, as Ian Maitland
self-interest and morality. Notably the principal force that
checks self-interest is self-interest itself. Consequently, self-
interest often coincides with and reinforces the commands
of morality and promotes civility and consideration for
others. Therefore it provides us with resources for
constructing a mor).
As an educator, Confucius certainly had a rewarding
career, even judged only financially. Confucius rarely talked
about profit and gain (116). But he ran a business and by
default he sought financial interest. He charged a minimal
fee of a bundle of dried meat in teaching or advising a
student (41). In his time, meat was a precious commodity.
When his son was born, the Duke of Lu sent him a carp to
congratulate (15). When he was in a job interview with Duke
Jing o The
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ruler acts like a ruler ..
e ruler is not like a ruler ..., even if there is
millet, how c ) Apparently
even a duke in those days mainly lived on high-
carbohydrate diets. More than a hundred and fifty years
well-governed ideal society in which the most respectable
elderly could have meat to eat (117), indicating that meat
was a symbol of prosperity for an average family at the time.
It is claimed that Confucius had taught or advised a total of
3,000 students. Divulging his financial well-offness,
Confucius lived a quite comfortable and long life (118): he
enjoyed fine foodsonly well prepared and presented
and drunk quite capably; he passed away at the age of 73,
rare in his time.
self-interests. In the last chapter of
The Analects of
Confucius
, it is advocated, in the name of King Wu of Zhou,
not as good as people of
Ren
. If common people commit a
fault, I am the single person to assi
(119). This chapter is quite different from the rest of the
book in terms of language style; it is more like an
early followers to Chinese rulers: to be rich but to be
released from fault liability, which should be borne by the
decision-making rulers. This expectation, or more
appropriately, soft lobbying, is commensurate with the self-
pe followers had for
themselves: consultants and good people of
Ren
.
Such awareness of self-interests would expectedly lead
to more specific assertions of various rights.
The Analects of
Confucius
recorded a conversation between Confucius and
one of his favorite disciples Zigong (120), i.e. Duanmu Ci:
Junzi
(Here Confucius was addressed respectively as
Junzi
.)
good what is evil side of human nature; he abhors those
who are subordinates but defame their supervisors; he
abhors those who are bold and uncivil; he abhors those
Zigong
work and claim they are smart and knowledgeable; I
abhor those who are not humble but claim valor; I abhor
In this conversation, Zigong clearly touched on the topics of
intellectual property right and the right to privacy,
apparently pertinent to his background and experience as a
successful merchant and politician. His picture of an ideal
world was not much different from a healthy modern
society. Had and students of other
thought schools as wellbeen allowed to continue to
explore, discourse and assert their self-interests and
individual rights, China would have developed a social
segment of various professions very early.
However, China took a totally different course after the
State of Qin conquered other states and set up China into a
centralized empire in 221 B.C. Earlier,
Shi
as a social stratum
had already lost many of their privileges in the State of Qin
during its rise, which was built largely on the initiative
launched by a statesman Shang Yang (c.390338 B.C.), who
enforced a policy that converted the State essentially into a
wartime production line where self-interest must be
surrendered to the State and the only jobs permissible to
most people were farmer and soldier. Noble families and
their entourages were targeted by Shang Yang; many of
them were forced to either join the army or cultivate the
land (121-124). In the State, learning was discouraged and
educating common people was disallowed (125, 126).
People occupied with commerce but living in poverty would
risk being degraded to slaves (127
undermined a very social component and mechanism that
could have served as an incubator for evolution of various
professions. After Qin claimed its reign over the entire
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19
China, the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang seemed to
experiment with a peacetime attitude towards scholars and
Ru
in the first eight years. He consulted with
Ru
on a grand
ceremony to worship the Heaven and the Earth in 219 B.C.
(128) His court was apparently quite accessible to scholars
and
Ru
, as revealed in an argument made by his prime
minister Li Si in 213 B.C. (129) In the argument, which was
aimed at responding to the question about the setup of the
new government, Li Si accused scholars and
Ru
of speaking
empty rhetoric in front of the emperor for fames, valuing
liberal interpretation as brilliant, criticizing current
government based on what they had learned from the past,
and spreading rumors and causing confusion among
people; such situation, if not forbidden, he concluded,
would weaken the power of the ruler and brew various
cliques. Li Si articulated that times had changed from the
old days when scholars had been treated generously for
their lobbying and ideas by different states, as those states
were competing with each other then. As the nation had
been unified under one single emperor,
Shi
should learn
government policies and laws only, and from government
officials only. He submitted to the emperor that all the
books that pertained to no pragmatic application should be
collected and burned and those who dared to discuss the
classics should be executed in public. He received the
assent from Qin Shi Huang.
The next year, two alchemists vanished. Earlier, they had
claimed that they were able to communicate with natural
spirits and promised to search for longevity and anti-aging
medicines for the emperor. They had received generous
support, trust and largess from the emperor. Apparently
out of the fear that they would get the death penalty if they
failed to deliver the medicines, they disappeared. Before
they ran, they spread rumors to excuse themselves and
blame the emperor. When the emperor learned that, he was
infuriated. He ordered an investigation and identified 460
odd people implicated in spreading rumors. He ordered the
execution of them by burying alive (130).
Within the same period, there were two other alchemists
who had also disappeared, after swindling a tremendous
amount of money out of the emperor (130).
first clashes between a Chinese emperor and the educated
minds and specialty practitioners. They are the topic of
countless discussions and discourses. One popular
interpretation of the events is that they show the
Relevant to this article, the author would like to point out
the following observations: 1) at least in the first eight years
of the empire, the first emperor appeared quite tolerant of
scholars and
Ru
; 2) there were many other thought schools
that were active at
the time, in addition to Confucianism; 3) the Premier Li Si
wanted to ban all the classics from the past, not just those
related to Confucius; 4) Li Si specifically targeted those who
were interested in government and law, integrating them
into the bureaucracy and thus stifling the evolution of an
independent early profession, i.e. the practice of law; 5) the
acts of those few alchemists, who were clearly a type of
Ru
scholars echoed the stereotypic portrayal that Yan Ying had
made three hundred years ago (37
cited earlier, those stereotypes were exactly what Confucius
had tried to correct among his students. For example,
Confucius had cautioned his students against lip services
and formation of any clique (64-66, 68, 69). The author
wonders what Confucius might have advised if he were still
alive at the onset of the first Chinese empire. Would he
have been able to avert the clashes and win the room for
professions and professionalism to evolve further? These
incidents illustrate one observation of this author: over
Chinese history, again and again, Confucius is mistakenly
identified in or assigned blame for things or ideas that he
would disapprove.
Qin was a very short-lived dynasty. It was replaced by
the Han Dynasty in 202 B.C. Soon Confucianism won the
endorsement from the imperial house, becoming the state
doctrine (112). Since their lobby for the official status of
Confucianism, students of Confucianism had aligned
themselves with the expectations of the Chinese rulers.
Facing the spread and influence of Buddhism in China,
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20
which promoted austerity, they later surrendered more of
their self-interest claims. For example, China in Song
Dynasty (9601276) was a wealthy and pragmatic society;
there emerged some signs of professionalism in state
administration. Even in such a dynasty, when annotating
verse 7.7 of
The Analects of Confucius
(41), Zhu Xi (1130
1200), a scholar of the so-called Neo-Confucianism, spent
quite some words trying to come up with an interpretation
to trivialize the financial significance of the fee that
Confucius charged each of his students: a bundle of dried
meat (131).
On another aspect, Chinese rulers since Qin Dynasty had
-agriculture and anti-
policy (with Song dynasty as an exception), ideologically
discriminating against commerce and officially designating
merchants in the lowest social rank. This directed a culture
that was antagonistic to pursuing direct financial interest,
which in turn discouraged people from investing in lengthy
learning and training to gain their expertise and perfect
their services. Without a market support, professions were
difficult to grow and professionalism hardly able to become
a significant social norm.
Such a culture orientated some Chinese into an
alternative to seek self-interest, which often turned out to
be more lucrative. Instead of committing themselves to
long-term learning and practice to offer the best products
or services possible, Chinese elites sought to occupy or
connect to higher offices in the pecking order of a
bureaucracy to gain more control of public resources. Such
an approach inevitably led to corruptions and frauds, and
eventually to revolution and dynasty changes, or dynasty
cycle (132), each time at the cost of the public good in
terms of countless lives and fortunes destroyed in civil strife.
On a different note, Confucianism does potentiate
Chinese with the quality and aspiration for a professional
life. Such a predisposition is evident among Chinese
immigrants and their descendants in western society where
many of them unleash their potentials and flourish in
professional fields. Their success suggests a common
ground for China to merge with the rest of world:
professionalism and empathy, as experimented and
promoted by Confucius two and a half millennia ago.
Notes
1. !
2.
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6. Chin, A. (Trans.). (2014).
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8. Lau, D.C. (Trans.). (1979).
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November 26]. (Comment: This series is used as the
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14.
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21
16. Theobald, U. (2018, October 6). Zhou Period Political
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22
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51. Confucius .
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52. Confucius .
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53. Confucius .
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54. Confucius .
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23
60. Confucius .
The Analects of Confucius
, 10.2
61. Confucius .
The Analects of Confucius
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62. Confucius .
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63. Confucius .
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...
64. Confucius . The Analects of Confucius, 4.24
65. Confucius . The Analects of Confucius, 14.27
66. Confucius .
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...
67. Confucius .
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68. Confucius .
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69. Confucius .
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70. Confucius .
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71. Confucius .
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72. Confucius .
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73. Sima Qian . Records of the Grand Historian
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75. Confucius .
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76. Confucius . The Analects of Confucius, 14.4
77. Tu, C, and Chen, J. (Trans.) (2016).
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78. Liang, T. . (2004).
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83. Confucius .
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84. Confucius .
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85. Confucius .
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...
86. Confucius .
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24
88. Sima Qian . Records of the Grand Historian
89. Sima Qian . Records of the Grand Historian
90. :
91. :
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. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
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93. Confucius .
The Analects of Confucius
, 14.16
94. Confucius .
The Analects of Confucius
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95. Confucius .
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96. Sima Qian .
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98. Confucius .
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99. Confucius .
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100. Confucius .
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101. Confucius .
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...
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105. Confucius .
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106. Sima Qian .
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likely refers to a hostler, as Confucius was
experienced in tending and managing horses as a
charioteer. )
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26
''
109. Confucius .
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110. Sima Qian .
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120. Confucius .
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125. Shang Yang .
126. Shang Yang .
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129. Sima Qian . Records of the Grand Historian
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27
130. Sima Qian . Records of the Grand Historian
131. Zhu Xi .
132. Reischauer, E. O. (1965). The Dynastic Cycle. In J.
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, Abstract in simplified Chinese on the next page
, Abstract in traditional Chinese on the next page
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28
Defining
Junzi
and
Ren:
Confucius as the Father of Professionalism
定义“君子”和 “仁”: 孔子系专业精神之父
摘要:(552 479 )
empathy empathy 221
关键词:, , , , , , , , , , empathy,
Defining
Junzi
and
Ren:
Confucius as the Father of Professionalism
定義“君子”和 “仁”: 孔子系專業精神之父
摘要:(552 479 )
empathy empathy 221
關鍵詞:, , , , , , , , , , , empathy,