CONFUCIUS’ PLEASURES: DIMENSIONS OF HAPPINESS AND LEISURE IN
THE ANALECTS
Philip Wang, Kent State University
Yulan Yuan, National Dong Hwa University
Wayne Munson, Kent State University
Introduction
Confucian philosophy has influenced people’s lives and thinking in East Asia for
the past two centuries. The study of his Analects has a long tradition as well. The focus of
his work has been on education, virtue, and government. Little is known about his view
of leisure inside or outside of China. Since there is now a solid body of knowledge about
leisure from the Western perspective, it is critical that an Asian perspective be examined
and its implications for today explained. Confucian philosophy, more specifically an
understanding of his Analects, can lead to a greater understanding of leisure.
Kung Chiu, or Kung Fu-tzu (the Master Kung) known in the West by the Jesuit
translation of his name, Confucius, was one of the great moral teachers of all human
history (Durant & Little, 2002). He lived at the end of the fifth century B.C. in China.
The compilation of his ideas, known as the Confucian Classics, is divided into nine basic
works: Five Classics and Four Books. The Classics were those Confucius knew himself
and used in his teaching. The Books are collections of his sayings by students. The Lun
Yu, (“dialogues” or “conversations”) considered the most important of Four Books, were
translated into English “Analects,” meaning ”gleanings” or “selections” and are
considered to be Master Kung’s actual words (Reid, 1999).
The purpose of this study was to identify what was recorded in the Analects
pertaining to leisure and to examine its meanings. Recognizing that leisure may not have
been cited extensively in the Analects, we searched for related terms suggested by
Russell (1996): pleasure and happiness. To that purpose, four research questions were
developed: (a) what words or expressions associated with leisure were recorded in the
Analects? (b) what were the English interpretations for these words or expressions? (c)
could the meanings of leisure be categorized? and (d) what implications could be drawn
for society today?
Methods
The study was limited to the original script (the Analects) and its English
translations. The analysis followed a five-step creative hermeneutic process: (a) what did
the original thinker say? (b) what did the original thinker intend to say? (c) what could
the original thinker’s saying have implied? (d) what should the original thinker have
said? and (e) what must the original thinker say now? (傅偉勳, 1990; Gadamer, 1975)
For example, in step one, one modern and three ancient Chinese dictionaries were
referenced to determine keywords related to leisure. The keywords were then used for a
content analysis of the Analects. Step two included contextual and logical analyses of the
original thinker’s intentions related to leisure without reference to keywords. In step three
we reviewed four authoritative English translations of the Analects, ruled out
passages of keywords with different meanings, and developed a typology of terms
associated with leisure. In step four we attempted to determine what the author should
have said about leisure in order to make the meanings clearer. In step five we interpreted
the findings from modern theoretical perspectives and discussed implications regarding
the relevance of Confucius’ thinking in today’s society.
Results and Discussion
In step 1 (what did the original thinker say?) a review of the Analects showed that
leisure was mentioned once (“in his leisure hours”, Book 7, Chapter 4), however, six
keywords associated with the related term pleasure were discovered in the original
Analects (樂, 好, 說, 喜, 怡, 愉). The frequencies of appearance were, respectively, 42,
6, 6, 3, 2, 2. These words appeared in 26 Chapters over a span of 11 Books.
Step 2 addressed what the original thinker intended to say. Contextual and logical
analyses showed that there were 12 words or phrases in the Analects having meanings
associated with happiness but without one of the six keywords present (申申, 夭夭, 遊,
坦蕩, 容色, 浴, 風, 詠, 笑, 戲, 射, 御).
Step 3 attempted to ascertain what the original thinker’s saying could have
implied. Further examination of the keywords revealed that the Chinese word樂 was
commonly used to mean happiness and music. Of the 42 appearances of this word, 26
were related to happiness, and 18 referred to music. For this study, the music connection
was discarded from further analysis. An examination of the four English translations
showed that the six key words of happiness were interpreted, in various contexts, as
follows: (a) 樂enjoyment, happiness, pleasure, delight, cheerfulness, gratification,
passion, swank, debauchery, comfort and ease, and conviviality; (b) 好love, like,
fondness, etc.; (c) 說pleasure, delight, happiness, satisfaction, etc.; (d) 喜joy, comfort,
etc.; (e) 怡pleasant, satisfied; and (f) 愉pleased, enjoying.
What the original thinker should have said (step 4) involved an examination of the
contexts and revealed four sources of the term pleasure: knowledge and learning,
friendship and sharing, practice of the arts, and extravagant enjoyments. The first three
were intrinsic for which Confucius had high praise. Extravagant enjoyments or
stimulating amusements were said to be harmful. It should be pointed out that
Confucius’s philosophy was centered on “Jen” (pronounced “ren” and included
humanity, virtue, or goodness). Pleasure was experienced in learning, friendship and the
arts which promote the attainment of humanity. Confucius said that “at fifteen I set my
heart upon learning” (Book 2, Chapter 4), and described himself as loving the ancients
(Book 7, Chapter 1) and eager in his pursuit of knowledge (Book 7, Chapters 18, 33). He
taught his disciples that there was pleasure in learning, knowing the truth, and becoming
wise, while learned knowledge must to be exercised and applied in everyday life. The joy
of learning was a passion and energy from inside the person driving toward discoveries
and self-improvement. Such a joy was absolute rather than temporary or conditional.
Continuous exercise and application would in turn keep the passion clear and strong. A
simple life, even in poverty, could be satisfying because it frees one to pursue humanity.
Idleness, loafing and feasting detracted from humanity, so they were harmful.
The final step (5) in the hermeneutical process required the researchers to
determine what the original thinker would say now. Knowledge about contemporary
Western leisure literature was useful for adding insight to Confucius’ ideas about
pleasure and happiness which, in turn, suggested practical implications of our
understanding of leisure today. If Confucius were here today, he would probably say that
leisure is enthusiasm, a labor of love, a state of being, and a political ideal. Reid (1999)
suggested that Confucius’ life could be described in one word: enthusiasm. More
specifically, it was enthusiasm for learning. This is congruent with Adler’s (1988)
interpretation of the Greek term for leisure, “schole,” which is what people should do
with their time: namely, learn and discuss. He indicated that leisure activities include
“such things as thinking or learning, reading or writing, conversation or correspondence,
love and acts of friendship, political activity, domestic activity, artistic and aesthetic
activity” (p. 97). Russell (1968) believed in the possession of “zest,” another term for
enthusiasm. He said that the secret of happiness was to “let your interests be as wide as
possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as
possible friendly rather than hostile” (p. 111). Similarly, Godbey (1980) defined leisure
as internal compelling love. It was clear in the Analects that enthusiasm, zest, and labor
of love were his attitudes toward learning and humanity. He described himself as one
“who is in his eager pursuit forgets his food, who in the joy of its attainment forgets his
sorrows, and who does not perceive that old age is coming on” (7-18). It is easy to
assume that Confucius would agree that zest and love are at the heart of leisure.
We also know that leisure can be understood as state of being. Confucius was not
very successful in his political career, being unable to find a ruler who would appoint him
long enough to make social changes. But he had no regrets because meaning was found
in truth and learning. He said “he who heard the truth in the morning might die content in
the evening” (Book 4, Chapter 8), and “as for unwearying effort to learn and unflagging
patience in teaching others, those are merits that I do not hesitate to claim” (Book 7,
Chapter 33). It would be fair to say that Confucius found pleasure in learning, teaching,
and virtue as his state of being not unlike contemporary scholars (Nash, 1963, Russell,
1996) who suggested that good leisure enriches and improves a person. To that end,
Confucius would have agreed.
Confucius was mindful about good government as much as virtue (“jen”). His
political ideal was giving the aged rest, showing friends sincerity and treating the young
tenderly (Book 5, Chapter 25). He believed that such a benevolent society existed in the
past. His “loving the ancients” (Book 7, Chapter 1), and being “fond of antiquity” (Book
7, Chapter 19) suggested that he took pleasure in the discovery of truth about the old
days. He would probably agree with Thomas Jefferson that the pursuit of happiness (i.e.,
social peace) is inherent to a good government, and he would pursue that with pleasure.
Applications
What applications can be made from analysis of the Analects and how do we
bridge the gap between what we are and what we want to be? Confucius’s teachings
would advise us to live a good life with enthusiasm for learning, humanity, and virtue.
Leisure provides the opportunity for living the good life characterized by happiness and
pleasure in all that we do. Learning, self-improvement and love of humanity can lead to a
more virtuous life and to a more harmonious and peaceful society.
References
Durant, W. & Little, J. R. (2002). The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time. New York:
Simon & Schuster.
Gadamer, G.H. (1975). Truth and Method. London: Sheed and Ward Ltd.
Legge, J. (1970). The Chinese Classics, Volume I. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University
Press.
Pound, E. (1969). Confucius: the Great digest, the Unwobbling pivot, and the Analects.
New York: New Directions Pub. Corp.
Pound, E. (1956). Confucian analects: Translated and introduced by Ezra Pound.
London: Peter Owen Limited.
Reid, T. R. (2000). Confucius Lives Next Door. New York: Random House, Inc.
Soothill, W. E. (1937). The Analects of Confucius, as Translated into English by William
Edward Soothill. London: Oxford University Press.
Waley, A. (1938). The Analects of Confucius: Translated and Annotated by Arthur
Waley. New York: Random House.
ABSTRACTS
of Papers Presented at the
Eleventh Canadian Congress on Leisure Research
May 17 – 20, 2005
Hosted by
Department of Recreation and Tourism Management
Malaspina University-College
Nanaimo, B.C.
Abstracts compiled and edited by
Tom Delamere, Carleigh Randall, David Robinson
CCLR-11 Programme Committee
Tom Delamere
Dan McDonald
Carleigh Randall
Rick Rollins
and
David Robinson
Copyright © 2005 Canadian Association for Leisure Studies
ISBN 1-896886-01-9