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Thread: Ancient vendetta in Confucianism

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    AqD's Avatar 。◕‿◕。
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    Icon11 Ancient vendetta in Confucianism

    Spotted this interesting topic, perfect for this lovely Christmas eve, cold and red everywhere



    To start, in the Book of Rites: Sandalwood, a student asked Confucius how should one respond if his parents have been wronged, and he replied: He should sleep on straw with spear as pillow. He should cease all duties and seek revenge until the enemy is sent to afterlife. If the enemy is found, whether in a marketplace or court, he is to attack immediately, with a weapon if available. If not, just beat him to death with bare hands.

    A more clear definition is in Book of Rites: Qu Li: If the father is wronged, he must pursue and never rest until the perpetrator lies dead. If a bother is wronged, he could kill the perpetrator when it's convenient. If a friend is wronged, it's good enough to pursue the perpetrator out of this country.

    There are some key problems in modern translations. For instance, the "crime" is not limited to murder. It could be a petty insult, or if someone is accused and it was thought as unjust - in that case it would be right to just kill the king, and this was in line with the social norms as late as Han dynasty.



    Of course, it's not just talking - people actually did it and from the records seem quite popular, some of the notables are:

    In the "Biographies of Exemplary Women", a girl named Zhao-Eh beheaded a rich fellow who killed her father, and surrendered herself to local government for murder. Townspeople flooded the office to support her and the magistrate ran away. Eventually, governors and high officials teamed up together to demand the emperor judging her innocent and publicly awarded. Her hometown became a tourist site.

    Another is some angry dude named "Yang-Qiu" in later Han, who after his mother was vocally insulted by a government official, butchered his entire family. He was thus nominated a honorary title "filial and incorrupt" and given a government position.

    Then there is a famous general Huo Qubing, who shot another general Li publicly in royal hunt for beating his uncle, also his legal guardian. The emperor didn't reward him however, possibly because it was done right under his nose. Officially, that unlucky general Li was claimed to have been hit by a deer and died.



    Are you shocked now? I wonder what those modern Confucianism students would think when they read this

    Apparently this aspect of early Confucianism has been deliberately covered up in later centuries and conveniently forgotten, only be put together by some unknown guy. I translated a few parts where verifiable sources exist - any clarification or more details would be welcome.

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    AqD's Avatar 。◕‿◕。
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    Default Re: Ancient vendetta in Confucianism

    Uhm, I just recalled the tragedy of Coriolanus and oddly it would have been perfectly fine in Confucianism, as happened to a general named Wu Zixu, who joined the enemy country right after, help them to invade his own and pulled the king's corpse out from graveyard for flogging. Of course he didn't have a crying mother or wife but it's doubtful anyone would stop him, for his action was widely praised.

    On the other hand, the widely social acceptance of vendetta could be one of the reasons that treason was codified to have entire extended family put to death, and vendetta to end entire families was neither uncommon or condemned. After all, sparing a baby could have been disastrous to oneself.

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