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Related articles: China > Culture

儒 (rú) is part of the character for “Confucianism”, and is also used for “Confucian scholar”. The meaning becomes apparent by looking at its composition. 亻, on the left, symbolizes man or person, while 需 (xū) is the character for “need” or “desire”.  When one connects these two characters then, 儒 means “the need of a human being.”

According to ancient Chinese beliefs, people first and foremost need nutrition, and immediately after that, education. This was a belief connected to their understanding of nature. For example, newborns need nutrients from the mother’s milk: (母乳 mŭrŭ), and education must start while the child is still very young (孺子 rúzi).  儒 therefore reflects not only the needs of a person, but is also pronounced similarly to 乳 (rŭ) – “mother’s milk.” In this context, Chinese saw education as vital to young life as milk from the mother.

儒 also refers to the teachings of Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC), who is said to be one of the most famous and influential philosophers of ancient China. Confucianism contains in essence the thoughts of: 仁 (rén) humanity; 禮 (lĭ) ritual; 中庸 (zhōngyōng) the middle way; and 教 (jiào) and 學 (xué), which refer to teaching and learning, embracing topics like politics, ethics, morality, and education. 仁, or “humanity” is the core teaching of Confucianism, and is present throughout all Confucian doctrine. Confucius said: “仁 is simply to love people.”

Specifically, 仁 contains five attributes, namely: “respect, tolerance, dependability, sensibility, generosity.”  禮 (lĭ) ritual, according to Confucius, is the code of conduct everyone should follow, from emperor to farmer. It consists of inner spiritual alignment, as well as outer form. 中庸 (zhōngyōng) middle way, means to recognize that in relating to the world and the things in it, one should not go to extremes. Confucius said: “Learning without reluctance, teaching incessantly.”