Michael Schuman - Confucius: And the World He Created

CONFUCIUS Copyright2015byMichaelSchuman PublishedbyBasicBooks AMemberofthePerseusBooksGroup All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoeverwithoutwrittenpermissionexceptinthecaseofbriefquotationsembodiedincriticalarticlesandreviews. Forinformation,addressBasicBooks,250West57thStreet,NewYork,NY10107. Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations,institutions,andotherorganizations.Formoreinformation,pleasecontacttheSpecialMarketsDepartment atthePerseusBooksGroup,2300ChestnutStreet,Suite200,Philadelphia,PA19103,orcall(800)810-4145,ext.5000, ore-mail DesignedbyJeffWilliams LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Schuman,Michael. pagescm Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. pagescm Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.

ISBN978-0-465-04057-5(e-book) 1.Confucius.I.Title. B128.C8S382015 181'.112dc23 2014047092 10987654321 TOEUNICE,MYFAVORITECONFUCIAN CONTENTS IneverexpectedaChinesemanwholived2,500yearsagotocrashmywedding. In the spring of 2009, I married my longtime girlfriend, Eunice, who is a Korean American journalist, and although the main ceremony was planned as a standard white dress, Judeo-Christian affair, she also wanted to add a Korean ritual called a paebaek. Eunicewouldchangeintoatraditional,brightlycolored,flowingKoreangownknownas a hanbok,andbothofuswouldbowdownbeforeherparents.Thentheywouldofferusa blessing and toss walnuts and dates into her billowing skirt as an encouragement of fertility. WhenEuniceinformedmeaboutthe paebaekIgotasickfeelinginmystomach.Iwas extremelyuncomfortablewithbowing.Theritualdemandedahighlystylized,obsequious, forehead-to-the-floor kind of bow. Growing up Jewish, I was taught that people should haverespectforthemselvesandnotbowdownbeforeanyone.TheBiblesBookofEsther, read during every Purim celebration, tells of how a vengeful Persian official almost annihilatedthelocalJewsbecauseoneJewishmanrefusedtobowbeforehim.EvenGod rarely merits a full prostration in modern Jewish religious practice.

More commonly, we merelybendourkneesandbrieflydipourheadsasasignofdeferencetotheAlmighty. ButinEastAsia,bowingisaregularfeatureofeverydaylife,aroutinemethodofbeing politetoothers,especiallythoseinauthority.Peoplebowtoolderfamilymembers,bosses in the office, government officials, even seniors at universities. A friend of mine who spentmanyyearsworkinginTokyooncejokedthatyouknowyouvebeeninJapantoo longwhenyoustartbowingwhiletalkingonthephone. Bowing to Eunices parents was not quite the same as these other, run-of-the-mill types,however.Thegesturecarriedgreaterweightandmeaning.InKorea,asintherestof East Asia, parents are often treated with a degree of reverence rarely witnessed in the modernWest.BybowingtoEunicesfather,Iwouldbefulfillingmyproperdutyasthe newson-in-law.IfIrefused,Idbesettingoffacrisisbeforemyweddingandinstigating who-knows-whatwithmyiratebride. IcouldthankConfuciusformypredicament.ThefamousChinesephilosopher,bornin the sixth century BC and better known in China as Master Kong, or Kongzi, considered filial piety the foundation of a peaceful and prosperous society, and the continuing centrality of the concept is one of the most enduring of his legacies. According to Confucius,thereisnomoreimportantrelationshipwithinsocietythanthatbetweenfather and son.

The duty of a son (or in my case, a son-in-law) to show filial respect was paramount and among the most basic tenets of human virtue. The morals and rules of propriety learned within the family are easily transferable to society at large. If children actedwithdeferencetowardtheirparents,theywouldgenerallyinteractappropriatelywith others at school, work, or a dinner party. Confucius believed that if each member of a familyunderstoodandfulfilledhisorherprescribedrole,theentireworldwouldfindits proper order. In other words, by bowing to Eunices parents, I would be reinforcing harmonyinsocietyandcontributingtonothinglessthanthecosmicbalancebetweenman, theworldwelivein,andHeavenitself. Heavystuffindeed.Withsomuchimportanceembeddedinthe paebaek,Ishouldhave just kept my mouth shut and pressed my face to the floor.

Confucius always expected people to comply with such social rituals, because he thought they formed the basis for peaceful, respectful interaction between different members of a community. But I guess Im not a very good Confucian. I decided to take a chance and express to Eunice my discomfortwiththedeferentialceremony.MaybeIdcatchabreak. I should have known better. Although Eunice is far from being a traditional Korean girlshewasbornandraisedinthemidwesternUnitedStatesshecansuddenlybecome very Confucian, especially when it comes to her parents, for whom she cares deeply. WhenItoldherofmymisgivingsaboutthe paebaek,herConfucianheritagethosecore family values that Korean parents instill in their children all over the worldcame bubblingtothesurfacefromsomerarelytappedcisternburiedwithinher.Sheconsidered the paebaeksoimportantthattheissuewasnonnegotiable.Getoverit,sheshotback.I couldpracticallyheartheoldsagerappinghiscaneonthefloorandscoldingmefromthe grave.

So,withdifficulty,Isetasidemyreservations.Themorningofthewedding,Iasked her younger brother James for bowing lessons. I couldnt just bowanywayIwanted;it hadtobetherightkindofbow.Wefoundanisolatedhallwayatourhotel,andJamesgave meanemergencytutorial.Whilestillstanding,placeyourhandsattheforehead,withthe thumbs and forefingers forming a triangle between them. Then, with your hands in that positionratherthanhelpingyoutobalanceloweryourselfontoyourknees.Next,bend overuntilyourhandsandforeheadareplasteredtothefloorboards.Maintainthatposition forafewseconds,liftupyourhead,againwithoutusingyourhands,andremainonyour kneesuntiltheparentshavefinishedspeaking. As the paebaek began, my heart was racing. It was easily the most nerve-wracking momentofmywedding.Thefactthatmyclosestfriendswerewatchingprobablydidnt help. But I got through the ceremony without embarrassing myself or insulting anyone, anditpleasedEunicesfatherimmensely.Itookadeepbreathofreliefuntileventstook an unexpected turn.

Eunices parents insisted that we repeat the paebaek with my own mother. Although my mother was well aware of my discomfort with the ceremony, she readilyacceptedand,muchtomydismay,reveledinwatchinghersonbowbeforeher.I guesswereallConfuciansatheart. CONFUCIUSSATTENDANCEATmyweddingceremonyisjustoneveryminorexampleofthe influencethegreatsagestillwieldstoday.Twenty-fivehundredyearsafterConfuciusfirst expounded his ideas, they remain ensconced within the societies of East Asia, having survived endless political upheavals, economic metamorphoses, and a torrent of foreign doctrines, religions, and cultural influences. Although in recent decades East Asia has undergonefantasticallyacceleratedmodernization,thereisstillsimplynowaytointeract withaChinese,Korean,orJapanesepersonwithoutunderstanding,andcontendingwith, theancientidealsofConfucius.Histeachingscanbediscoveredinministerialofficesand parliament houses, governing how officials craft policy and relate to their citizens; in corporate boardrooms and on factory floors, guiding CEOs on business strategy and human resources; in schoolrooms, dictating how teachers educate their students; and in bedrooms,intrudingonrelationsbetweenhusbandsandwives.Confuciusinfluenceshow EastAsiansthinkaboutdemocracy,raisechildren,choosecareers,socializeattheoffice, and understand their own identities. You cant successfully conduct business, negotiate with a government official, make sense of the issues that arise when dating, or comprehendwhatmotivatesEastAsianstodaywithoutanappreciationofConfucius. That, without question, makes Confucius one of the most important men who ever lived.