Bulletin Summer 1979

A. Basic and abstract principles of philosophy, especially moral philosophy, are not too much affected by the passage of times. The more abstract a principle is, the more universal it is and the longer it will endure. For example, the principle of never harming others to benefit oneself is good for all times. Conversely, the more concrete a moral rule is, the more specific its functions and, as soon as the society in which it functions changes, it has to be amended. For instance, in the old days or in certain societies ， rules of etiquette required that a hat be worn —but now practically no one wears a hat any more. According to the Confucian school of thought, yi is the general principle and li the concrete rules. The relationship between li and yi deserves thorough study. Principles are abstract by nature and are ineffective by themselves unless they are embodied in concrete rules. Rules, on the other hand, are concrete by nature and are thus restricted in their application. Their relationship is a dialectic one: rules reflect the spirit of principles, but once times change, they have to be amended in accordance with the spirit. Therefore we should inherit the spirit and not merely follow the rules. Q. Is there any unreasonable element in the moral teachings of the Confucian school? A. The Confucian school's views on morality are basically sound. By and large, it is for this reason that the teachings in Confucius' Analects have not become obsolete and have been passed on from generation to generation. The unreasonable elements in Confucianism are, in the main, not found in the works of Confucius and Mencius, the founders of the school, but were introduced in subsequent ages. Confucianism has always been subjected to distortion. Emperors, who were intent on consolidating their power, did all they could to bring the most popular school of thought of the time under their control. Because of the great popularity enjoyed by Confucianism among the Chinese people in all periods, those in power exerted immense pressure to make it serve their purposes and it suffered most at the hands of those in authority. In the past many intellectuals failed to uphold their principles and yielded to the intimidation or inducement of those in power, bending principles to suit their interests. For example, 'blind filial piety' would be an ideal basis for the ‘blind loyalty' demanded by emperors, therefore many stories exemplifying blindly obedient sons were concocted, distorting the relationship between father and son. Another example is the chastity demanded over centuries of women, who were supposed to prefer death to remarriage. But was this inherent in early Confucian teachings? The answer is no, as the words of Tseng Tzu quoted in thePai Hu Tong (白虎通） have it: 'In severing relations with a man, do not make it impossible for him to make friends; in divorcing a wife, do not make it impossible for her to marry again'. In other words, the man should only cite some trifling misdeed in divorcing his wife in order not to make it difficult for her to marry again. It is therefore clear that women in Tseng Tzu's time could, in fact, remarry. There are still many instances of distorted Confucianism today. For example, it is still believed that the words of emperors, fathers and teachers are infallible and that their authoriy cannot be challenged. But Confucius rebuked Yen Y ü an, saying, ‘Hui is no help to me at all. He is pleased with everything I say'. However, as anything short of complete compliance would run counter to the interests of rulers, it is only natural for them to instil in their subjects an attitude that would best serve their interests. It would be worth our while to study how Confucian teachings were distorted through the ages but so far nothing systematic has been done in this direction. Q. The relation between human nature and the way of heaven is an important issue in Chinese philosophy. Why is it that this was seldom discussed in the Analects but was thoroughly studied in the Mencius? A. Confucius discussed with his disciples morality as well as the decree of heaven, i.e. what heaven enjoins man to do. As for human nature, he had referred to it only once, but his observation that ‘Close to one another by nature, they diverge as a result of repeated practice' is not necessarily connected with human nature, as 'man’ is not explicitly mentioned. In the day of Confucius, M o Tzu and Lao Tzu, human nature was not a prominent issue. It only became a hotly debated topic in the day of Mencius, when various 9