s religion, stressed the improvement of the moral self as the basic duty of the individual as well as the statesman. In order to rule the world, one must rule one's country; in order to rule the country, one must rule one's family; and in order to rule the family, one must have control of oneself. Consequently, the improvement of the moral self is the cornerstone of Confucianism. Confucius believed that man is born with an essentially good nature which becomes corrupted in his contact with society. In order to improve his moral self and regain that original good nature with which he was born, man must practice the five cardinal virtues of benevolence, propriety, loyalty, intellect, and trustworthiness. In order to keep harmony in the nation and happiness in the family, man must observe the three basic relationships between sovereign and subject, father and son, and husband and wife. On the national level the basic virtue is loyalty to the sovereign, and on the family level, the basic virtue is filial piety. The ritual expression of filial piety is ancestor worship.Confucius, who is at one and the same time the Socrates, the Solon, and the Lycurgus of the oriental city, speaks often of the spirits and the souls of the dead. It is true that in his philosophical conversations with his disciples, he declines sometimes to give his own views as to their compositions. One knows the response that he made to one of them who queried him on the subject: "You do not know how to serve the living, why should I teach you to serve the dead? You who understand nothings of life, why should I speak to you about death?" In another connection, that in this matter, the master remained faithful to the beliefs of ancient China, traces of which are notably kept for us in The Book of Rites. According to these beliefs, man is made up of the living soul and the spiritual soul. After death, the living soul turns to dust with the body. The spiritual soul rises, wan...
