Confucius lived during the Chou Dynasty (1100 B.C. to 256 B.C.), fl. 500 B.C.. While his life was not influential in his own day, and his writings were so far in the past, the Confucian system became the norm of China until the 20th Century. Confucianism engendered respectful relationships. These help to keep peace in everyday life and in a cosmic sense too.

       These relationships are hierarchical: Aristocracy means education, wisdom, wide experience and self-control.  (Their power goes without saying.) Confucius taught that leaders should be good, wise, consistent, virtuous -- carrying out the duty of benevolence and caring for subordinates. Lower classes are bound to obedience and respect, beginning with the family. These relationships were contingent upon keeping to the rule. Unlike Karma which requires a wife to remain loyal and faithful to an abusive, lazy drunk of a husband, Chinese wives were not required to obey such a man, although it would be difficult (but possible) for her to make her way in society after leaving him. Confucius also taught that highest goal is to do what is right within the relationship(s) one is born into. This is the key:

The Relationships

1. Kindness in the father and obedient devotion in offspring.
2. Right behavior in the husband and obedience in the wife.
3. Courtesy/kindness in the eldest brother and humility/ respect in the younger
4. Humane consideration in elders and deference in juniors.
5. Benevolence in rulers and loyalty of ministers and obedience of subjects

What is the parent's responsibility to a child? What is the child's responsibility to a parent? The answers to these two questions set the pattern for the other relationships. It all begins with filial piety. 
 

Confucius believed that if everyone followed these patterns properly, then the world would be perfect and there would be no need for government, police, jails, judges. Lower classes would imitate the examples of the upper classes and all would live in harmony. 

    In the cases of Judge Dee, a famous Chinese judge in the 700's A.D., it was normal for the judge to do much of the detective work before deciding a case -- he was police, judge, jury. He hired out the execution, but often watched if not participated in it. As local magistrates who represented the Emperor, judges often resorted to torture of suspects in order to get a public confession and a sense that the guilty party was really guilty.

    Here are some examples from Judge Dee's court cases:

         An elderly woman comes into Judge Dee's court, kneels and bows her head to the ground three times before addressing the judge. Relationship?

             Judge Dee responded to her with respect because she is elderly and because it is his duty as a judge to listen to the people's pleadings. On the other hand, in another case Dee suspected a woman of a crime and had her limbs crushed, slowly, by a wooden geared device so that the townspeople could hear her confession publicly and so know that Dee had actually caught the criminal! Actually, this case exhibits a number of relationships to apply Confucian behavior to.

       A respected teacher is preparing scholars studying for their civil service exams. They spend all day studying and then all evening discussing their lessons. One of the students uses a secret tunnel to sneak into another house to meet a married woman for sexual exploits, and then becomes involved in the murder of her husband. The Judge blames the teacher for the behavior of his student. Relationship(s)?

          The married woman who fell in love with this student realized that her husband's shop would never be able to provide her with the fine life that the student could. So she enticed and seduced the student and together they murdered her husband.

      Judge Dee suspects her. She denies all, blaming the Judge for persecuting her. Dee tortures her horribly, but she does not confess.  Dee believes he made a mistake. The widow tells all who will listen that Judge Dee is corrupt and he should be punished. Relationship?

            Judge Dee confesses to his superiors that he has mistakenly accused and tortured this woman. He expects the same torture, and then execution for his mis-deed (now that would reduce corruption in our own system!).  

       However, this woman is finally proven guilty by a false dream, of all things. The Judge and his associates make her think she is at the last judgment and she then confesses, explaining the mysterious methods she used.

      How many relationships are here? How have they been violated, or not violated?

 Is the Mandate of Heaven similar to these 5 relationships? Different?

        Note: the Judge Dee stories were translated and published by Dutch diplomat and scholar, Robert van Gulik (1910-1967), who also made up a few of the stories and some details in the genuine stories. Judge Dee lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-906) about 700 A.D. He really was an judge and local magistrate named, Ti Jen-chieh. Some of Dee's cases were re-written during the Ming Dynasty, and of course, re-worked again by Van Gulik. Very interesting reading, and probably the earliest examples of the mystery novel genre.

        About the time these stories are set in, the Empress Wu had come to power, and gone. Kagan mentions (p.226) her interesting reign -- a one of a kind. Does that example argue for a high status of women, powerful in government, or does it argue the opposite?