Ren (Confucianism)

Ren (or Rén) (Chinese: 仁; pinyin: rén; Wade–Giles: jen) is that Confucian virtue denoting the good feeling a virtuous human experiences when being altruistic. 仁 is exemplified by a normal adult's protective feelings for children. It is considered the inward expression of Confucian ideals.

Yan Hui, Confucius's most outstanding student, once asked his master to describe the rules of Rén and Confucius replied, "One should see nothing improper, hear nothing improper, say nothing improper, do nothing improper." Confucius believed humanity is good at its very core and considered Rén common to everyone, altnough followers of Hsun Lzu believed human nature is bad. Confucius said, "Rén is not far off; he who seeks it has already found it." Rén is close to man and never leaves him.

Interpretation of the Chinese Character

The single ideogram Rén is a composite of two distinct common Hanzi, 人 (Man, a man, a person ) and 二 (two), with 人 assuming its common form inside another character, to which various interpretations have been assigned. One often hears that Rén means "how two people should treat one another." While such folk etymologies are common in discussions of Chinese characters, they often are as misleading as they are entertaining. In the case of Rén - usually translated as "benevolence" or "humaneness" - Humaneness is Human-ness, the essence of being human. For Confucius the interaction of completely dependent infant and caring parent is the most emotionally charged human interaction, “To love a thing means wanting it to live…” . The Way of humaneness is human interaction and through shared experience knowing one’s family. “Fan Chi asked about humaneness. The Master said it is loving people. Fan Chi asked about wisdom. The Master said it is knowing people”. In other words, human love and interaction is the source of humaneness, the source of the human self. As said by Natanyu Sandli Aotza, the wisest of Confucius's disciples, "He who has found Jen has found himself". Another common interpretation of the graphical elements is Man or a man connecting Heaven and Earth.

Homophones

仁 is homophonic in Modern Standard Chinese with these related characters

• 人 Man, a man, a person
• 任 Responsibility, office, appointment (but with falling instead of rising tone)
• 忍 Tolerate, endure (but with 3rd tone)

The Principles of Li, Rén, and Yi

The principle of Rén is tied directly to the concepts of li and yi. Li is often translated as "ritual" while yi is often translated as "righteousness". These three interrelated terms deal with agency as Confucians conceive it. Li is the action which has been deemed appropriate by society, yi is the action that is indeed correct, while Rén deals with the relationship between the agent and object of the action. Often li and yi are the same; however, that is not always the case. In the Lunyu there is a parable about a man named "Upright" who reported his own father to the authorities after he discovered that his father had been stealing sheep. This would seem to conform with "right" behavior as the obligatory thing to do when you discover a thief is to report them. However, Confucius commented that such an act was in fact not correct. The relationship between a father and a son is more important than the laws or conventions regarding theft of property so the "righteous" thing to do according to Confucius would have been for the son to not report the crime.

Li is the outward expression of Confucian ideals, while Rén is the inward expression of those same ideals. Li, according to Hopfe and Woodward: "Basically, li seems to mean 'the course of life as it is intended to go'. Li also has religious and social connotations. When a society lives by li, it moves smoothly: men and women respect their elders and superiors; the proper rituals and ceremonies are performed; everything and everyone is in its proper place."

Life is subdivided into Five Relationships. Confucius believed that if Li were present in all of these relationships throughout society, the social order would be ideal.

Nature of Rén

Rén relies heavily on the relationships between two people, but at the same time encompasses much more than that. It represents an inner development towards an altruistic goal, while simultaneously realizing that one is never alone, and that everyone has these relationships to fall back on, being a member of a family, the state, and the world.

5 Relations

The Five Relationships are:

• Father to Son - There should be kindness in the father, and filial piety in the son.
• Elder Brother to Younger Brother - There should be gentility (politeness) in the elder brother, and humility in the younger.
• Husband to Wife - The husband should be benevolent, and the wife should listen.
• Elder to Junior - There should be consideration among the elders and deference among the juniors.
• Ruler to Subject - There should be benevolence among the rulers and loyalty among the subjects.

All of these practices are the physical, or outward, expression of Confucian ideals. These are the observable behaviours of the members of society. Confucius; however, believed that in order for society to truly follow li, one must also adhere to and internalize these practices. The mentality involved in performing these rituals in society must not exist only there, it must be a part of the private life of the person. This is known as Rén.

Rén is not a concept that is learned; it is innate, that is to say, everyone is born with the sense of Rén. Confucius believed that the key to long-lasting integrity was to constantly think, since the world is continually changing at a rapid pace.

A figure on par in Confucianism with Confucius, Mencius, believed that "responsibility", or 责, was so critical to Confucianism that he added it to Confucius' concept of Rén. The concept of 责 resembles the duty that an emperor or duke owes to the people of his kingdom, and not to people from other kingdoms.

There have been a variety of definitions for the term Rén. Rén has been translated as "benevolence", "perfect virtue", "goodness" or even "human-heartedness". When asked, Confucius defined it by the ordinary Chinese word for love, ai, saying that it meant to "love others".

Rén also has a political dimension. Confucianism says that if the ruler lacks Rén, it will be difficult if not impossible for his subjects to behave humanely. Rén is the basis of Confucian political theory; it presupposes an autocratic ruler, exhorted to refrain from acting inhumanely towards his subjects. An inhumane ruler runs the risk of losing the Mandate of Heaven or, in other words, the right to rule. A ruler lacking such a mandate need not be obeyed, but a ruler who reigns humanely and takes care of the people is to be obeyed strictly, for the benevolence of his dominion shows that he has been mandated by heaven. Confucius himself had little to say on the will of the people, but his leading follower, Mencius, did state on one occasion that the peoples' opinion on certain weighty matters should be polled.

Rén also includes traits that are a part of being righteous, such as hsin, meaning to make one's words compliment his actions; li, which means to properly participate in everyday rituals; ching, or "seriousness"; and yi, which means right action. When all these qualities are present, then one can truly be identified as a chün tzu (君子), or "superior man," which means both a man of superior rank in a government and a morally superior human being. The fact that this term combines two meanings reveals the view often held by Confucians that government should be run by ethically superior human beings who concentrate solely on the welfare of the people they govern.

Sources

• Chi-Yun, Chang. A Life of Confucius. Hwakang Press, Taipei 171.
• Do-Dinh, Pierre. Confucius and Chinese Humanism. Funk & Wagnalls, New York. 1969.
• Dubs H, Homer. "The Development of Altruism in Confucianism" Apr. 1951: 48-55 JSTOR Oxford University.
• Hopfe M, Lewis and Woodward R. Mark. Religions of the World. Pearson Education Inc: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 07458.
• Kong Qiu, lu. "Lun Yu", AD 400s.

External links

• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, § 6