The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-16
RELIGION OF GOOD MANNERS.
confucianism-Its History and It's 5pe.
cial Doctrines.
From Lad New York sun.

tHot OF george W aShlngton Is 10 the SIX
ty-eight millions of Americans
On the banks of the river SEE. &c the
north Of the capital city of Loo. at the end
of a fine avenue Of old cypress trees. and
in the midst of shady forest of oak, is
the burial place and tomb of Confucius.
1t is huge mound, overgrown with trees
and shrubs, an> at the end stands tablet
twenty-five feet high by six broad. on
which are engraved the name and the
doings Of Confucius the Sage.
No historian has ever ventured to doubt
the genuineness of this tomb The burial
places of Virgil, or Homer. and even of
Alexander the Great are still unknown.
But such is not the case with that OF one
whose name and teachings have influ-
enced the great world of China for TWEEN
ty-three centuries or more.
Confucius houished at the very time
when Pythagoras established his school
of philosophy at Crotona, when Cyrus the
king permitted the Jews to rebuild their
temple, and when Haggai the prophet ut
tered those words which now form a part
OF our sacred scriptures. He was born
sol before Christ, when the prophet Dan
lei received his visions. and he died at
the advanced age of 49, just about the
time when the Athenians were rebuilding
the walls of their city, and becoming
great among the nations of the earth
He was poor and at an early age became
a storekeeper. Having committed the
indiscretion Of contracting marriage when
he was only 10, and the marriage proving
unhappy, he finally divorced his wife
after she had borne him a son. At the
age of p we find him released from the
tolls of Office, and devoting his time to
the more congenial task of imparting in
struction to band of admiring students
With idle and stupid scholars he had no
patience. Il open the truth" he would
say, ito those who thirst after knowledge.
| help only those who want to help them
selves. My teaching is in a solid square,
but l present only one corner of sub
ject, and 1 expect my pupils to find out
the other corners"
The people fiocked to him for informa-
ton upon every conceivable topic, and
when he was but 80 years of age ne was
surrounded by a company of 5000 disci-
pies.
The times in which he lived were cor
rupt. History does but repeat itself. The
corrupt condition CT the government of
some of our modern cities find parallel
in the condition of that of the great city
of Loo in the sixth century before Christ.
1t was the effort of Confuscius to reform
the government of has own city, and then
TO reform the government Of the province.
He maintained that the very basis of all
authority and government is discipline,
and that the reformation must begin in
the home you must purify the home first
before you can rcctify the politics of the
state" In other words this old-fashioned
sage of China would have said you must
trace the bad government of a city. not
to the municipality or to the commission
ers of police or even to the grand jury it
self but you must trace 1t to the confused
q -
the tenement houses, and to the want of
discipline and government in the resi-
dences of the wealthy.
A prophet has no honor in his own
country or among his own people. This
was proverb in the ancient Oriental
world, and just as the man Of Nazareth
was rejected by the people of Judea, and
Mohammed had to fee from the people Of
Mecca, and Socrates was poisoned by
his fellow citizens, so was Confucius the
Sage compelled to flee from the people OF
his own city.
And yet, during his lifetime he had for
short period the satisfaction Of seeing
the beneflcent results of his principles.
Crime ceased we are told "dissolute-
ness and dishonesty hid their heads 10y
atty and good faith became the character
istics of the men; chastity and docility
those of the women. He was the idol Of
the people, and found a place in the pop
ular ballads Of the day" But 1t did not
last. The other provinces grew jealous of
the prosperity of Loo. The sage of China
went down to his grave convinced that
his teachings had been rejected and the
mission of his life had failed. The career
of Confucius was a failure because he
was not a man who could shamelessIy
trim his sails to the passing breeze. He
never appealed to popularity for con-
firmation of his teachings. The verdict of
hag II
great name of Confucius. Now, after the
lapse of 1900 years, his teachings are
recognized by all the regionists OF
China and Japan. Whethr we speak of
Taoism, the ancient religion of China;
Of Shintoism, the national religion of
Japan, or of Buddhism-no matter what
the religion of the people may be, the
teachings of Confucius still remain an
influence in the customs, manners and
morals of the people.
If the whole of China and Japan were
converted to Christianity tomorrow the
teachings of Confucius must still stand
as the basis of individual, domestic and
national life.
Confucius taught nothing about God He
believed in God. He believed in a great
ruler of the universe. but when asked for
his opinion about DEATH he answered:
while can tell you so little about life,
what can / tell you about death?"
The Christian apostle tells us that life
and immortality have been brought to
light through the Gospel" and therefore
In the religious future of Japan and
China there is no reason why the teach
ings Of Christ should not stand side by
side with those of Confucius.
Life, then, was the study Of Confucius;
life as represented by man as he exists.
The questions whence man came and
whittier he Is going never troubled him.
He simply looked on man as a member of
a society.
All the teachings Of Confucius were in
tended to construct an IDEAL or as we
translate the expression from the Chi
nese language. "the superior man"
He separated mankind into two great
classes the wise and knowing. and the
duh and stupid. To attain the ideal.
therefore, education is necessary. Not
merely education IN reading, writing, and
arithmetic; not merely the education OF
the schools, but a study of everything
which constitutes life.
He said there were four things neces-
sary to enable an ordinary human being
10 reach the level Of the superior man:
""O serve my father as ] would require
my son to serve me; to serve my elder
brother as / would require my younger
ff mo IN hob 20. F,fo 4