The Worship of Confucius in Japan. By James McMullen.
Confucius’s reluctance to discuss spirits (shén) and other such topics is well known. One passage in the Analects (Lúnyǔ 6.22) presents him as suggesting that wisdom consists in revering (jìng) ghosts and spirits (guǐshén), but keeping one’s distance (yuǎn) from them. In another (3.12), Confucius st...
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| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2021
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| In: |
Journal of the American Academy of Religion
Year: 2021, Volume: 89, Issue: 2, Pages: 760-763 |
| Further subjects: | B
Book review
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Confucius’s reluctance to discuss spirits (shén) and other such topics is well known. One passage in the Analects (Lúnyǔ 6.22) presents him as suggesting that wisdom consists in revering (jìng) ghosts and spirits (guǐshén), but keeping one’s distance (yuǎn) from them. In another (3.12), Confucius states that when offering ceremonial sacrifices (zhài) to spirits, he behaved as if the spirits were actually there (rú shén zài), implying that he was not certain, one way or another, but meant to behave respectfully. In another passage (11.12), Confucius asked why people should be concerned with serving the deceased (sǐ) when they had yet to master serving those still alive (shēng). Confucius is also described as one who did not talk about, among other things, spirits (7.21). These passages have led some to conclude that Confucius was an agnostic if not an atheist. More positively, he is commonly described as a humanist, meaning that his concern philosophically was with the world of humanity and how best to organize and perhaps even perfect society. His most characteristic teaching, that of “compassion” (rén), emphasizes overcoming selfish inclinations, being well-mannered, and not behaving towards others in ways that one would not want visited upon oneself. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4585 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American Academy of Religion, Journal of the American Academy of Religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jaarel/lfab037 |