The Discourse Of The Confucians

By Author: Mark Gary
Total Articles: 61
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Confucian literati developed a new cluster of concepts to advise the ruler of the empire. First, they recycled Confucius's concepts but used them kairotically, or strategically in a particular rhetorical situation. Second, like the pro-Legalist officials, they unapologetically borrowed resources from other schools to build their rhetorical toolbox. Flexibility and hybridity characterized Confucianism in the Western Han. Let us now take a look at how Western Han Confucians constructed arguments by Juicy Couture Necklaces using Confucius's favorite concepts kairotically and by absorbing resources from other schools.

Rectification of names is probably the best-known concept in Confucius's discourse of language and society. In the Analects, Confucius emphasizes correcting the language to ensure a truthful representation of reality. Xing Lu argues that such a perspective implies that a clear demarcation of individuals' social status and kinship identities will lead to social stability and harmony. In the context where Confucius employs the concept, ...
... he specifically addresses the relation between correct language and effective government. When conversing with his student Zilu, who aspires to enter civil service, the Master instructs: "If language is incorrect, then what is said does not concord with what was meant; if what is said does not concord with what was meant, what is to be done cannot be effected then mutilating punishments and lesser punishment will go astray then the people have nowhere to put hand or foot". For Confucius, the use of correct language regulates not only the relationship between individuals, but also the relationship between the ruler and his subjects; both types of Cheap Juicy Couture relationship are vital to social harmony and stability.

The Confucian debaters widely used this concept to advance their arguments, attaching new significance to it. On one occasion, they quoted Confucius's rectification of names verbatim to clarify the appropriate way to enter officialdom. Daifu suggested that, as officialdom aspirants, the literati should not always cling to fundamental Confucian values. Instead, they should be flexible and adaptable like the renowned advisors Yi Yi and Baili Xi. In order to approach their rulers, Yi Yi cooked meat for King Tang and Baili Xi fed oxen for King Mo of Qin. Daifu commented on these two advisors: "They compromised their values in the beginning. Once they had gained the ruler's trust, they actualized their aspirations by assisting the ruler to become a great king." In response, Wenxue accused Daifu of misrepresenting Yi Yi and Baili Xi as compromising their values. He argued that the two advisors approached the rulers successfully because they had long developed their administrative wisdom, which highly appealed to the rulers. Then he said, "The Master says, 'If language is incorrect, then what is said does not concord with what was meant; if what is said does not concord with what was meant, what is to be done cannot be effected.'