Beijing's Confucius (Kongfuzi) Temple was built in 1306 and is the largest Confucian shrine other than that in the philosopher's home town of Qu Fu.



Confucius' (551-479 BC) moral doctrine became--long after his death--the official moral and political doctrine of Chinese State during the Han Dynasty. (It is never too late to begin studying The Analects or the many comments about Confucius and his writings. Consider for example, Chapter 1, verse 4)




R�n, "benevolence, charity, humanity, love," kindness. The fundamental virtue of Confucianism...


...Confucius defines it as "A� r�n," "love others." [Analects XII:22]


Y�, "right conduct, morality, duty to one's neighbor," righteousness.


Y� may be broken down [Analects IV:15] into: zhong, doing one's best, conscientiousness, "loyalty"...


...and sh�, "reciprocity," altruism, consideration for others, "what you don't want yourself, don't do to others" [Analects XV:24 or 23].


L�, "profit, gain, advantage": Not a proper motive for actions affecting others. The idea that profit is the source of temptation to do wrong is the Confucian ground of the later official disparagment of commerce and industry. (The Master said, "The gentleman (ch�n tzu) understands y�. The small man understands l�." [Analects IV:16])


Li, "propriety, good manners, politeness, ceremony, worship."


Xi�o, "to honor one's parents," filial piety.

During the T'ang Dynasty, the canon of Confucian Classics became the basis for the great civil service examinations that henceforth provided the magistrates and bureaucrats (the "Mandarins") for the Chinese government.

For a very long time, this structure was part of the Imperial College (Guozi Jian) and the temple's coutryards contain many carved stone tablets with the names of scholars who passed the national literary examinations. (If you've read Robert van Gulick's stories about Judge Dee then you know just how difficult this examination was.)