The Absence of Social Harmony

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~What does Confucius mean by disharmony? Why does he consider it the main philosophical problem?

~Why does he identify the root cause of this problem with the absence of the Way in society? What does he mean by such absence?

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‘How changed Zarathustra is! Zarathustra has become - a child, an awakened-one: what do you want to now with the sleepers?’  -Thus Spoke Zarathustra*

‘The Way has not prevailed in the world for a long time. Heaven is going to use your master as a bell with a wooden tongue.’ -Analect 3:24

The old man and the border guard were able to recognise the condition of the people from each of their respective society that then became the bedrock of Confucius and Zarathustra’s pursuit.

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At that point in history, following the Way was something that should be embedded and prioritised to a person with a Chinese identity. Fung Yu-Lan, in his The Spirit of Chinese Philosophy (1947),  stressed the importance of this context with regards to the ideal foundations of a Chinese education.

In line with this, if a person who follows the Way weds into a society with people who also shares the same principle as him will thereby result in a harmonious society, which is one of the goals of the Confucian discipline.

In the setting of Analect 3:24 we find a Confucius in exile because of how he is governed by his strong adherence to the Way. Enter the border guard who was able to detect what was wrong in the picture. He duly noted that “The way has not prevailed in the world for a long time.” The Confucian tradition identifies the problem in this situation: disharmony in the society is caused by those who chose to walk on opposing sides of the “right path” for they do not adhere to the Way (Tao Te Ching, 53, also mentions the same issue). This disharmony can be seen as the inability of a society to function because of the dislocation of the bones that make up its proper structure. “If the Way is cultivated without deviation, then Nature cannot cause misfortune” (Chan, 1963).

However, in Analect 18:6, we are faced with a more challenging matter. “The whole world is swept as thought by a torrential flood,” was the remark of the farmer. During this period, the region of the Zhou dynasty was divided into seven states that were at war with each other. In the end, it was the Qin who emerged victorious from the war. Unfortunately, the Qin rulers were unjust, harsh, and they imposed heavy labor among the people. China was anarchic during this time and the nucleus of the problem lies at the governing faction of each state. Without stability, the demands of the rich are being met by the poor who have, by then, succumbed into their own unescapable fate.

Following the events in the latter Analect, Confucius disagreed with the contempt of the farmers that they displayed through their words. The poor people were then conditioned through learned helplessness and so, this routine existence made them accept their unfavourable position in the society that is also causing an imbalance in nature. Confucius, on the other hand, remained solid in his belief. Albeit lamenting for the loss of hope, he resolved in his heart that this issue would not be if there is hope and if the Way is followed.

The Way had ceased to prevail in he world and as a consequence, the world was swept as though by a torrential flood. If the way was followed, this would not be the case. And so, Confucius asserted his goal and his need to correct the posture of the society.

Thus began Zarathustra’s down-going.

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*The author of this entry decided to mention the similarity of an event/situation in the said Analects and in Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. However, the author did so with caution- is it right to extract something from the West and display it in an Oriental backdrop? The ultimate question of whether or not there is a Chinese Philosophy affected the content of this entry but the author wants to take the side of Zhang Dainian: no matter how distinct and different both sides are, philosophy is but a generic term that encompasses both sides of the coin.