An Understanding of the Confucian Ethics from the Perspective of the Relationship of Ti and Yong and the Core Value of the Contemporary Confucianism.

In the history of Chinese philosophy, the concept of "Tao" is a philosophical category that full of the rich rational and ontological meaning. So were the Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism and Legalism. However, the concept of "Tao" is interpreted differently by different schools. For example, Taoism sees " Tao" as an absolute conceptual entity that is omnipresent, self--being and self--operating; whereas, the " Tao" in Confucianism is an ontological concept which has political, ethical and moral functions all in one. Among the many meanings of "Tao" in Confucianism, the most important and fundamental is the morality which is based on "Tao", and is the basic principle of life, and is the ideal in politics and the policy to run a country and provide stability to its people. The " De"(morality) described in Confucianism is the understanding and the practice, as well as the reflection of " Tao". In the logic of Confucianism, the relationship of "Tao" and "De" in essence is the relationship of "Ti" (foundation or base) and "Yong" (practice), which means "Tao" is the fundamental moral that serves as "Ti", and "De" is the reflection of "Dao", which is the practice. The most important core value in Confucianism, among many other values, is "Ren" (goodness), which is also the fundamental "Tao" in Confucianism. The relationships of "Ren" and other virtues (such as "Yi","Li","Zhi","Xin","He" and "Jing" etc) are not parallel; rather, it is the relationship of "Ti" and "Yong". The "Ren" is the entity of the "Tao", and the other virtues are the practice of the "Tao". The general understanding of the fundamental core value in Confucianism refers to " Ren", however, there are different interpretations of the virtues to reflect the "Ren", such as "si wei" (four virtues: I.i, Yi, Lian, Chi),"wu xing" (five practices: Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin), "liu de" (six virtues: Zhi, Ren, Sheng, Yi, Zhong) and "ba de" (eight virtues: Xiao, Ti, Zhong, Xin, Li, Yi, Lian, Chi) etc. This article believes the core value of Confucianism as "one goodness (Ren Tao) and five virtues (Yi, Li, Xin, He, Jing)", which is the understanding based on the spiritual needs of contemporary society and a universal perspective on values. The spiritual crisis in the society and the lost of morality are calling the core values of Confucianism to assist all the Confucians to take on the responsibility towards building a democratic and harmonious future world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]