How does Confucianism play a crucial role in everyday Chinese life?

Résumé du document

Nowadays, China is known throughout the world as one of the major global economies, the most populous state in the world with over 1.3 billion inhabitants, the second largest country if we take into consideration the land surface area; China is also well known for its amazing landscapes, and its unbelievable culture. As a French student, this is almost the only knowledge we have about China, excluding maybe the fact that China hosted the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

However, by living in a foreign country, people are able to establish a better understanding of the host country. One of the main effects would be learning how to deal with another type of society, and learn more about the different customs and traditions.

To this end, it is important to underline that China is also one of the world's oldest civilizations. Indeed, China has about five thousand years history which is a very long period of time in comparison to other nations.

Throughout China's encased history, it has developed much differently than the western parts of the world. Perhaps, it is because China was very influenced by traditions. In our Chinese culture lessons, we learnt that one of the main influences of traditional Chinese culture could be taken from Confucianism.

But, how has Confucianism influenced Chinese culture? And how does it continue to play a crucial role in the daily life of the Chinese?

In order to understand better the Chinese culture, and according to my own experience in China during the last three months, we will dedicate the first section of this paper to the origins of Confucianism, then we will devote our second part to family life in China, and in our final part, we will deal with the importance of relationships in Chinese life.

Extraits

[...] Chinese children are learning that at school or at home. The traditions gave one a feeling of not the individual but the whole as a group. Conclusion Confucianism influences every part of the daily life, from the veneration of the ancestors to the way of acting. As a matter of fact, the strong traditions and customs play probably the greatest factor in the life of a Chinese person. This philosophy influences education, work, children, families, and also the relationships in China. [...]

[...] We could think that this is the reason why, Chinese people are working so hard to succeed, even if they come from an underprivileged family. At that time, only the children of nobles had the opportunity to access education, but Confucius took the lead in Chinese history to bring education to all the people. Confucius made great contributions to education in ancient China. His idea of teaching according to the student's aptitude is still regarded as an important educational principle in China today. Confucius is not only venerated as the Highest Saint, he is also and mainly venerated as the Primary Teacher. [...]

[...] Chinese are venerating ancestors but also their own parents and grandparents. The religions or philosophic thoughts have influences on people. IV/ Relationships and the concept of One of the most important concepts of Confucian ideals is “guanxi”. In China, "Guanxi" is a complicated field, it is one of the terms or concepts which are really difficult to understand for foreigners and which are hard to translate into English. Indeed, Guanxi can mean relationship, but it is much more complicated than the English word "relationship". [...]

[...] Courtesy can be seen in every aspect in the daily life in China. Being courteous at school to the teachers, being courteous to their parents, and also being courteous in the business world is thus essential. By the way, according to the Chinese beliefs and the Confucian doctrines, if someone achieves all the states of the seven keys Confucian ideals, such as that is to say to be a cultured person, completing knowledge or in other terms to keep studying, that could permit to your family to be harmonious. [...]

[...] This phenomenon is once again associated with one of the Confucius' concepts: “face-saving”. Moreover, we can say that the group is a very important item in China. Whenever, I ask someone at a hotel desk a question, at the restaurant, or even in the road when I am looking for a road. Immediately, there are three or four people who have a discussion about my question before they answer it. So I've noticed that Chinese form communities whenever they have to make a decision. One person never makes a decision by himself. [...]