Pre-Qin Confucian Ethical Thought

The conscientious moral conceptions in remote ages and three dynasties (The Hsia, Shang and Chou dynasties) make the fundation of pre ?Ch?in Confucian ethical thought, and especially, the system of Li YUeh and the tradition of government by Te in the Western Chou Dynasty make the historical background of this ethical thought. In the Spring and Autumn period, categories of ethics were various and meticulous, which symbolized the gradual maturation of ethical conceptions. In the late stage of this period, Confucius established his ethical system with len as its basic category and moral norm with Hsiao as its core, thus laying the fundation of pre ?Ch?in Confucian ethical system. Confucian scholars of younger generations developed Confucius?system from different angles, such as Mencius?political ethics of government by len and Hs ?tzu?s ethics of government by Li.Pre ?Ch?in Confucian ethical thought is a -theoretical form produced in the social structure of isostructuralism of family and state. Therefore, it is basically characterized with the combination of ethics and patriarch system and the combination of ethics and politics. Besides, since morality in human relationship is the origin of philosophical studies, the integration of ethics and philosophy is also a basic feature of the ethical thought. Moreover, pre ?Ch?in Confucian ethical thought has its peculiarity and it is characterized with strong humane rationality.Pre ?Ch?in Confucian ethical thought regards morality as human s intrinsic quality, and advocates building up the basic order of human society with it. It also advocates adjusting and maintaining interpersonal relationship with four basic moral norms including len, I, Li and Chih.Pre ?Ch?in Confucian ethical thought make.s ethics as its standard, and thus forms the peculiarity of Chinese thought history. In a word, this ethical thought has, to a great extent, determined the direction of traditional Chinese culture.