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Human beings are considered to be fundamentally good in Confucianism, a "heavenly principle" (C: ''tiānlǐ'') possessed by all people since birth. However, while the cosmic principle ''[[li (principle)|lǐ]]'' is eternal, perfect, and incorruptible, the "material nature" of human beings, the ''[[qi]]'' from which our bodies are composed, can become imbalanced or turbid, thus causing anger, violence, and other negative emotions and behavior. Confucius taught that one must continually aspire (立志, C: ''lìzhì'', J: ''risshi'') towards becoming a better person, and must actively work to pursue that goal, through personal cultivation (修養, C: ''xiūyǎng'', J: ''shûyô'') and study (学問, C: ''xuéwèn'', J: ''gakumon'').<ref>Watanabe Hiroshi, ''A History of Japanese Political Thought, 1600-1901'', International House of Japan (2012), 111-112. </ref>

Human beings are considered to be fundamentally good in Confucianism, a "heavenly principle" (C: ''tiānlǐ'') possessed by all people since birth. However, while the cosmic principle ''[[li (principle)|lǐ]]'' is eternal, perfect, and incorruptible, the "material nature" of human beings, the ''[[qi]]'' from which our bodies are composed, can become imbalanced or turbid, thus causing anger, violence, and other negative emotions and behavior. Confucius taught that one must continually aspire (立志, C: ''lìzhì'', J: ''risshi'') towards becoming a better person, and must actively work to pursue that goal, through personal cultivation (修養, C: ''xiūyǎng'', J: ''shûyô'') and study (学問, C: ''xuéwèn'', J: ''gakumon'').<ref>Watanabe Hiroshi, ''A History of Japanese Political Thought, 1600-1901'', International House of Japan (2012), 111-112. </ref>

Zhu Xi articulated two key ways of pursuing personal cultivation, study, and the effort of being a proper gentleman: ''Jūjìng'' (居敬, J: ''kyokei'', "abiding in reverence"), and ''géwù zhìzhī'' (格物致知, J: ''kakubutsu chichi'', "extending knowledge through the investigation of things."<ref>Watanabe, 112-113.</ref>

Zhu Xi articulated two key ways of pursuing personal cultivation, study, and the effort of being a proper gentleman: ''Jūjìng'' (居敬, J: ''kyokei'', "abiding in reverence"), and ''géwù zhìzhī'' (格物致知, J: ''kakubutsu chichi'', "extending knowledge through the investigation of things"). ''Jūjìng'', or "abiding in reverence," refers to a concept of self-control. It advocates that one should be constantly conscious of the state of one's mind, that it be clear of distractions and dominated by a quiet composure, and further that one should similarly ensure that one's body - clothing, manner of movement, manner of interacting with others, etc. - is similarly composed and dignified. Zhu Xi advises "quiet sitting" (靜坐, C: ''jìngzuò'', J: ''seiza''<ref>Not to be confused with the Japanese style of sitting known as ''seiza'' (正座, lit. "correct sitting").</ref>) as a means of clearing the mind. As for ''géwù zhìzhī'', or "the investigation of things," this refers to a notion of seeking to understand things (especially their underlying principles, or ''lǐ'') as well as possible, with the intention being that proper understanding will allow one to more fully, more correctly, work to rectify oneself and all other things in one's life. In elucidating this idea, Zhu Xi drew upon a quote from ''[[Great Learning|The Great Learning]]'' (''Dà xué'') which says essentially that, and tied it in to a concept from the [[I Ching]] known as ''qiónglǐ'' (窮理, “plumbing of principle”).<ref>The modern Japanese word for "physics" (''butsurigaku'', lit. "the study of the principle of things") derives from this concept.</ref> Essentially, Zhu Xi advocates that the core of self-cultivation is the application of one's intelligence and the expansion of one's knowledge to the greatest extent possible. Since all things follow the same universal principle (''lǐ''),<ref>An idea expressed by the phrase ''Wù wǒ yī lǐ'' (物我一理, J: ''butsuga ichiri'').</ref>, to understand the outside world is to understand oneself, and to work towards achieving a self-realization of one's place and purpose in the world. Eighteenth-century shogunal advisor [[Arai Hakuseki]] was a particularly avid advocate of this expansion of knowledge through the investigation of things, and questioned numerous traditions and ritual protocols in order to suggest revisions or reforms he felt were more in keeping with logic and Neo-Confucian ideology.<ref>Watanabe, 112-114.</ref>

 

While Confucianism is often derided as being too conservative, defensive of the status quo, and indeed Confucianism places heavy emphasis on tradition and precedent, even so, at its core Confucianism is about doing what is seen as being right, or righteous (義, C: ''yì'', J: ''gi'') over what is in anyone's self-interest (利, C: ''lì'', J: ''ri''). In this respect, while Confucianism can often stand in defense of a status quo that it sees as being just and proper, Confucianism has, throughout history, also stood up against policies or developments seen as being unjust, or opposed to righteousness.<ref>Watanabe, 118.</ref>

==Confucianism in China Today==

==Confucianism in China Today==

King [[Sosurim]] of [[Koguryo]] established a National Confucian Academy (太学, K: ''taehak'') in [[372]], and several centuries later, King [[Gwangjong]] of [[Goryeo]] (r. [[925]]-[[975]]) established a system of Confucian examinations for selecting scholar-officials to be appointed to government posts.<ref name=pam/> [[Buddhism]] remained dominant, however, over Confucianism in Korea for over a thousand years, with Confucianism only first becoming dominant in the 15th century. At that time, the [[Joseon]] Court adopted Neo-Confucianism (K: ''seongrihak'') in the vein of Zhu Xi (K: Joo Hui) as the chief guiding political philosophy of the court.<ref name=pam/> Some scholars argue that the Confucianization of Korean society was not complete until the 17th century, and the 17th-18th centuries saw considerable ritual controversies.<ref>Evelyn Rawski, ''Early Modern China and Northeast Asia: Cross-Border Perspectives'', Cambridge University Press (2015), 125.</ref>

King [[Sosurim]] of [[Koguryo]] established a National Confucian Academy (太学, K: ''taehak'') in [[372]], and several centuries later, King [[Gwangjong]] of [[Goryeo]] (r. [[925]]-[[975]]) established a system of Confucian examinations for selecting scholar-officials to be appointed to government posts.<ref name=pam/> [[Buddhism]] remained dominant, however, over Confucianism in Korea for over a thousand years, with Confucianism only first becoming dominant in the 15th century. At that time, the [[Joseon]] Court adopted Neo-Confucianism (K: ''seongrihak'') in the vein of Zhu Xi (K: Joo Hui) as the chief guiding political philosophy of the court.<ref name=pam/> Some scholars argue that the Confucianization of Korean society was not complete until the 17th century, and the 17th-18th centuries saw considerable ritual controversies.<ref>Evelyn Rawski, ''Early Modern China and Northeast Asia: Cross-Border Perspectives'', Cambridge University Press (2015), 125.</ref>

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