| Confucius' teachings include both considerations of politics and statecraft, and of ideals for personal behavior, etiquette, refinement and cultivation. Scholar-bureaucrats and [[literati]] throughout East Asia cultivated an identity informed by the latter, and by Confucius' concept of the ideal "gentleman" (士, C: ''shì'', J: ''shi'', or 君子, C: ''jūnzi'', J: ''kunshi''), who epitomized the values of humanity or humaneness (仁, C: ''rén'', J: ''nin''), justice or righteousness (義, C: ''yì'', J: ''gi''), and [[filial piety]] (孝, C: ''xiào'', J: ''kô''). | | Confucius' teachings include both considerations of politics and statecraft, and of ideals for personal behavior, etiquette, refinement and cultivation. Scholar-bureaucrats and [[literati]] throughout East Asia cultivated an identity informed by the latter, and by Confucius' concept of the ideal "gentleman" (士, C: ''shì'', J: ''shi'', or 君子, C: ''jūnzi'', J: ''kunshi''), who epitomized the values of humanity or humaneness (仁, C: ''rén'', J: ''nin''), justice or righteousness (義, C: ''yì'', J: ''gi''), and [[filial piety]] (孝, C: ''xiào'', J: ''kô''). |
− | However, the character of the figures commonly described in English as "Confucian scholars" in fact developed out of a combination of philosophies and other cultural elements and influences, including [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]]. The disconnect between this tradition and the core, original, Confucian philosophy is evident in the fact that the standard Japanese terms for "Confucianism" do not incorporate the name Confucius (孔子) itself, but rather employ the term ''ju'' (C: ''rú''). The most common Japanese term for "Confucianism" is thus not ''Kôshigaku'' (孔子学), "the teachings of Confucius," but rather ''jugaku'' (儒学, "the study of ''rú''"), ''jukyô'' (儒教, "the teachings of ''rú''"), or ''judô'' (儒道, "the way of ''rú'')<ref>Not to be confused, of course, with the martial art [[judo|jûdô]] 柔道.</ref>. ''Ju'', or ''rú'' in Chinese, literally meaning "gentle," was used as early as Confucius' own time to refer to his followers, and has come to refer to the broad set of concepts associated with this tradition of the refined "Confucian" gentleman, and the various teachings such a gentleman-scholar is said to follow and espouse. | + | However, the character of the figures commonly described in English as "Confucian scholars" in fact developed out of a combination of philosophies and other cultural elements and influences, including [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]]. The disconnect between this tradition and the core, original, Confucian philosophy is evident in the fact that the standard Japanese terms for "Confucianism" do not incorporate the name Confucius (孔子) itself, but rather employ the term ''ju'' (C: ''rú''). The most common Japanese term for "Confucianism" is thus not ''Kôshigaku'' (孔子学), "the teachings of Confucius," but rather ''jugaku'' (儒学, "the study of ''rú''"), ''jukyô'' (儒教, "the teachings of ''rú''"), or ''judô'' (儒道, "the way of ''rú'')<ref>Not to be confused, of course, with the martial art [[judo|jûdô]] 柔道.</ref>. ''Ju'', or ''rú'' in Chinese, literally meaning "gentle," was used as early as Confucius' own time to refer to his followers, and has come to refer to the broad set of concepts associated with this tradition of the refined "Confucian" gentleman, and the various teachings such a gentleman-scholar is said to follow and espouse. Some historians have also pointed out that in the [[Han Dynasty]], the classical canon was not yet set, and ''rú'' included a wide range of classical works which did not between them present a coherent attitude or worldview.<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 57.</ref> |