ABSTRACT
Three factors to be considered :—
Life of Confucius : Biographies not reliable—His ancestry and his early life—His love for learning—His administration in the State of Lu—Anti-Confucius movements and the resignation of Confucius—Travelling and teaching —His death and postmortem honours.
Political and Social Conditions of the Confucian Era : Disintegration of the feudal empire—Political tyranny and economic exploitation, social unrest—The Observations of Confucius and his disciples—Domination of militarism, mercantilism, and legalism, and their influence on Confucianism, Anarchism, and political transcendentalism. —Taoist influence on Confucianism—Attitude of Confucius toward irresponsible hermits.
Basic literature of Confucianism : The Orthodox interpretation—Various groupings of the Classics—The attitude of the higher critics in the Sung and Ch ‘ing dynasties—The discoveries of modern researches in ancient Chinese history—Conclusions of Professor Ch‘ien.
Summary.
