Good Confucianism book (pdf) - Department of Physics

Teachings II: The Foundation of a Good Society 57relations between man and wife. … In the home, there is a division betweenoutside and inside; the man lives in the outer, the woman in the inner ” ;and “ men should not speak about what belongs to the inside of the house,nor women to what is outside. ” 27Women were to provide a harmonious household, while the man ’ s rolewas outside the home. Men dealt with the public issues and everythingoutside of the household, while women were to deal with the domesticand the private. 28Rules for domestic rituals, such as ancestral veneration, included women.When a woman married, she left her parents ’ house and went to live withher husband ’ s family. In the ancestral veneration ceremonies, the first wifeof the primary descendent of the ancestors (the eldest son) led the otherwomen of the household, just as her husband led the other men. Bothparticipated in the rituals. This has led some commentators to argue thatwomen and men had complementary responsibilities. They point out thatwomen are not labeled as the source of all evil, as they are in other traditions.They quote from the Book of Rites to argue that women were asvalued as men: “ The emperor and empress are necessary to one another,and through their interdependence they are able to complete all things. ” 29Others point out that however balanced the ritual of ancestral venerationmay be between the actions of men and women, the ancestors beingvenerated are the man ’ s ancestors and the children who carry on the familyare his sons. 30Given this background and later Confucian texts, it is not at all clearthat Confucius meant to extend education to women or to lower - classmen. While the scope of his beliefs about education is not clear, it is clearthat he believed that one should be educated, and not just educated to geta good job. Education was important because it had moral, social, andpolitical goals.The Gods, the Spirits of the Dead, and the AfterlifeThe Annals of the Warring States tells the story of the widow of the Dukeof Qin who wanted her lover, a man from Wei, to be buried alive with herwhen she died. Her lover argued against her plan, pointing out to her thatshe did not believe in an afterlife and so his accompanying her to the gravewould do her no good. If, however, it should turn out to be true that thereis an afterlife, the Duke, her husband, would not be at all pleased with herarriving with her lover. 31Most of what we hear from Confucius is teachings about morality, socialand political behavior, and the reform of both the individual and the