Inside the Asylum

Time for another piece of Confucianism too.

When in Confucius' presence anyone sang a song that he liked, he did not join in at once, but asked for it to be repeated and then joined in. Analects VII.31

It's not one of the more popular nor oft quoted lines from Confucius, but looking through the Analects it stuck in my mind. We could do with more of this attitude ... to listen carefully, to pay close attention, to make sure you properly understand a situation before you attempt to join in ... that is part of learning true wisdom, anywhere in the world.

The Master said, "If a gentleman is kind to his relatives, the common people will be inspired toward goodness; if he does not neglect his old acquaintances, the people will honor their obligations to others." Analects VIII.2

interpretation: relationships between people are of utmost importance in Confucianism. (I will put another quote from the Analects in a future post that makes this point even more strongly.) In previous Wisdom that Confucius Taught posts I've already stressed the importance of correct behavior on the part of rulers. Here we have a specific example of a particular type of correct behavior. Thus we have situations like this:

June 6, 2008: A draft law in Liaoning province makes it an obligation for adult children to contact or visit their parents regularly.

and this:

In several Chinese cities, officials have to prove they are model sons and daughters to have any chance of promotion. The city government of Jinchang, northwest China's Gansu Province, interviews the family, friends and neighbors of officials up for promotion to test their respect for parents. The same requirement is applicable in Hejin city in Shanxi Province and Daming county in Hebei Province.

Elsewhere, in regions where Confucianism has less influence, several relatives of Obama have done less well. On the other hand, a Confucian would have no doubt that the president should intervene to help his aunt and prevent her from being deported from the US.

In response to my previous Confucius post where I highlighted that an ideal Confucian state will have no laws at all, one reader commented:

So, um, officials are supposed to guess the will of the Ruler instead of following law and procedure?

So I thought this issue could do with clarification.

Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about governing.
Confucius responded, "To 'govern' means to be 'correct'. If you set an example by being correct yourself, who will dare to be incorrect?" Analects XII.17

Interpretation: in response to the comment, we can now see that the officials are not supposed to have to guess, because they are guided by simply watching the conduct of those above them. Far from being a system that leaves autocrats in charge to do whatever they will, Confucianism is a system that puts a great deal of responsibility on rulers to act in the most upright possible manner. When the rulers behave correctly, then those below them will follow their example. When rulers misbehave, then so will the people. Lastly, it's worth stating that of course there has never been, nor will there ever be, an ideal Confucian state with no laws at all, just as there will never be an ideal communist, Christian, capitalist society, etc. The aim is to get as close to the ideal as possible, with as few laws as possible.

Even the ancient Chinese knew what it meant to Go John Galt.

Confucius said, "When the ruler is correct, his will is put into effect without the need for official orders. When the ruler's person is not correct, he will not be obeyed no matter how many orders he issues." Analects XIII.6

Interpretation: Confucianism, amongst other things, is extremely averse to having too many laws. In fact, an ideal state will have no laws at all. The ideal ruler will lead by example, and others will be guided by this. There is plenty of criticism of Confucianism in the west, but we would be a lot better off if this concept was widely applied. When treasury officials don't pay their taxes, isn't it inevitable that the common people will do whatever they can to avoid it too?
[Another Instalink!] Welcome ... and don't forget to have a look around. You could, for example, use the categories to explore things like: further posts on "Wisdom that Confucius Taught" or "Wisdom of Heinlein" or just check out the "Weird" category for some head scratching material.
[Further clarification] Wisdom that Confucius Taught Part 3 further clarifies the Confucian attitude towards good governance.

Daniel Bell, who teaches at Tsinghua University in Beijing, wrote the following Op-Ed in the New York times a few days ago:

Jiang Qing, a leading exponent of the new Confucianism, explicitly criticizes the idea of state sovereignty, saying that sovereignty lies with “heaven” rather than the state. He argues for a democratic institution that would offer more opportunities for political participation, while criticizing democracy for being too narrowly focused on the interests of the current generation of voters. Jiang proposes another political institution designed to represent non-voters whose interests are typically neglected in democratic states, such as foreigners, future generations and ancestors... Communism is dead as a unifying myth that can sustain the Chinese people, they argue, so what does China stand for now? Here’s where Confucian values become relevant.

It should be noted that Bell himself is a member of the "Left" himself, and it's informative to see how he operates in this Chinese environment. While I like Confucianism a lot, I don't see it in the same terms as Bell. Bell is ideologically aligned the China's "New Left" which is seeking to create a new socialist paradise only this time basing it on a Confucian model. The contempt for democracy that is felt amongst the liberal elite in USA comes out in full unshackled form from this academic when he finds himself in a place where he doesn't even need to pretend that the will of the people matters. Still, the questions that are raised are interesting: what happens when you deny state sovereignty and replace it with the Will of Heaven? How do we cope with the interests of non-voters?

Question put to Confucius: "If the ruler of Wei asked you to administer the government, what would you do first?"
Confucius replied, “What is necessary is to rectify names."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
The Master replied, “How uncultivated you are! A superior man keeps his mouth shut when he doesn't understand. If names are not correct, then language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language is not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly inflicted. When punishments are not properly inflicted, the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses must be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks must be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect.”Analects XIII.3

This Confucius series will probably require more interpretation than my Heinlein one. What is this little conversation all about? "Rectification of Names" is fundamental to Confucianism, and it may best be summed up in the English saying, "to call a spade a spade." Why would rectification of names fix a state? Let's take an example: if you have a tax cheat and you call him Secretary of the Treasury then you are violating a fundamental rule of Confucianism, because his true name is "tax cheat". You must always call someone what he is in reality, not what you would like him to be. Once you have correctly named someone, then you may apply the correct behavior towards that person (disgrace, fines, prison, etc). When tax cheats are not called tax cheats, then disorder is an inevitable result.

Let's consider another important aspect of the Rectification of Names. It is essentially an ancient doctrine of freedom of speech. If a ruler is acting badly, then you must be allowed to accurately describe his behavior. The only basis upon which it should not be permitted is where the accusation is untrue. Show me a doctrine of freedom of speech from the ancient west.

A previous thread (and a comment insulting my praise for Confucianism) got me thinking that I should start a new "Wisdom of ..." series to go alongside from "Wisdom of Heinlein". Stay tuned for more on that. In the meantime, let's start off with a song I first discovered when I was living in the east, and which I used to hum to keep myself sane while riding on crowded public transport. Thanks Monty Python!

The world today seems absolutely crackers,
With nuclear bombs to blow us all sky high.
There's fools and idiots sitting on the trigger.
It's depressing and it's senseless, and that's why...
I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
There's nine hundred million of them in the world today.
You'd better learn to like them; that's what I say.

I like Chinese thought,
The wisdom that Confucius taught.
If Darwin is anything to shout about,
The Chinese will survive us all without any doubt.