Confucianism appeals to "practical" men. It lauds the present world; rather doubts, than otherwise, the existence of a future one; and calls upon all to cultivate such virtues as are seemly in citizens—industry, modesty, sobriety, gravity, decorum, and thoughtfulness. It also counsels men to take part in whatever services have been established from of old. "There may be some meaning in them, and they may affect your welfare in a way you do not know of. As for the genii and spirits, sacrifice to them: I have nothing to tell regarding them, whether they exist or not; but their worship is part of an august and awful ceremonial, which a wise man will not neglect or despise." Confucianism, in consequence, almost immediately after the death of its author, became the religion of the state, to which it has proved an admirable ally; its theory of government being nothing less than a paternal despotism. The entire literary class in China are also followers of and, in fact, for many ages the literature of China has consisted exclusively of commentaries on the five canonical books which C. professed to merely abridge, and of four others, which were composed partly by himself and partly by his disciples, and which, together with the former, constitute the nine Chinese classics.
The five canonical books are the rift-king—originally a cosmological essay, now, curi ously enough, regarded as a treatise on ethics; the Shu-king—a history of the delibera tions between the emperors Yaou and Shun, and other personages, called by C. the ancient kings, and for whose maxims and actions he had the highest veneration; the Shi-king—a book of sacred songs, consisting of 311 poems, the best of which every well-educated Chinaman gets by heart; the '1,e-king—the book of rites, the foundation of Chinese manners, prescribing, as it does, the ceremonies to be observed in all the relationships of life, and the great cause of the unchangeableness and artificiality of Chinese habits; and the Chun-Wen—a history by C. of his own times, and those which
immediately preceded him. The first of the " Four Books" is the Ta-hen, or "Great Study," a political work, in which every kind of government, from the domestic to the imperial, is shown to be essentially the same—viz., parental; the second is Chung-yang, or "the Invariable in the Mean," a book devoted to teaching men what is "the due medium," or the golden mean, to observe in their conduct; the third is the lun-yu, or " Philosophical Dialogues," containing the recorded conversations of C., and the best book for obtaining a correct knowledge of his character; and the fourth is the written by Meng-tse, or Mencius, who died 317 n.c., and who was by far the greatest of the early Confucians. The main object of this work is to inculcate philanthropic gov ernment.
It is proper to observe, in conclusion, that in the course of centuries the defects of the system of C. made themselves felt even to the unspiritual Chinese mind; and the necessity of "speaking out far more plainly, not on matters of finance, economy, and etiquette, but on the nature of the world and its inhabitants, and the true relation of the seen and temporal to the absolute and the all-embraciug, was recognized. The philosopher who guided this great movement to a prosperous close was Tehu-he (d. 1200 A.D.), is termed by European scholars the Chinese Aristotle, and regarded by all the class in China as " the prince of science." His innumerable works are laboriously studied by the higher literary class, and are considered the standard of metaphysical or religious orthodoxy, but the mass of ordinary Confucians never pass beyond the ceremonial ethics of their master.
For further information regarding Confucius and his system, see article CUIxESE