\tThere were "Confucians before Confucius" (Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee, Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation). The corresponding Chinese term is ru \u5112, which is interpreted by ancient philologists as "soft" or "peaceful" (rou \u67d4: Shuowen jiezi \u8aaa\u6587\u89e3\u5b57, Zheng Xuan's \u912d\u7384 commentary to the Liji \u79ae\u8a18) , meaning someone who is able to appease and becalm others by a certain decent behaviour. Other commentators use the word "smoothener" (ru \u6fe1: Zheng Xuan, Huang Kan's \u7687\u4f83 commentary to the Shuowen jiezi) for such a mediating position. The ru are mediators not only between man and man, but especially between Heaven, Earth and Man (Fayan \u6cd5\u8a00). For this task, they need constancy (buyi \u4e0d\u6613: Hanshi waizhuan \u97d3\u6c0f\u5916\u50b3) as well as the right expertise (shu \u8853, ji \u4f0e) to discern (Fengsu tongyi \u98a8\u4fd7\u901a\u7fa9) what is proper and what not. Seen from the inscriptions on oracle bones, it seems that the word ru \u6fe1 was a kind of ritual washing performed before sacrifices were performed.<\/p>\n
\tIt is not known from which time on there were ru experts, but they might have originated very early. It can be seen in the burials of the neolithic period, as well as the tomb furnishings of the Erlitou culture \u4e8c\u91cc\u982d (1900-1350 BC) of the early Shang period \u5546 (17th-11th cent. BCE) that rituals played an important role in religious and social life. During Confucius' time the rituals of the Xia \u590f (17th-15th cent. BCE) were still performed in the state of Qi \u675e, those of Shang in the state of Song \u5b8b. Scholars of the early 20th century tried to find out the real origin of the ru experts. Some identified them as a class of professionals of the Shang dynasty, some as experts in the state of Lu \u9b6f, the home state of Confucius. It is for sure that the term ru only came up during the late Spring and Autumn period \u6625\u79cb (770-5th cent. BCE). The ru were specialists in rituals and music, with an extraordinary focus on funeral rites and ancestor veneration. These rituals were so complex that all courts of the various states, as well as members of the wealthy class, were in need of such experts. Such a professional knowledge continued playing an important part of Confucian teaching and was crucial for the establishment of Confucianism as a state doctrine during the Former Han period. Besides pure rituals (type, arrangement and number of sacrificial tools; music to be played; actions to be performed), etiquette played an important part in the teachings of the ru. The term for rituals is li \u79ae, that for etiquette yi \u5100. The first character includes the radical "spritual matters" (\u793a) and an offering vessel (\u8c4a), the second character the radical "man" (\u4ebb) and the term "to make oneself beautiful" (\u7fa9). The latter became one of the core concepts of Confucianism. At the time of Confucius, social comportment like trustworthiness, seriousness or loyalty had ceased to be observed by the ru experts, and they had become simple-minded practicioners of rituals without caring much for the social context of etiquette. For Confucius, a ritual expert had to live as an example for others, with high moral standards. For him, the living were as important as the death.<\/p>\n
\tAfter Confucius' death many other philosophical schools came up (the "hundred contending schools") offering different concepts for the ordering of society. Daoists, with their soft attitude, can be called the originary ru, especially because they do not adhere to the collar of rituals. The Mohists also discarded the rituals, especially the expensive mourning rituals, and advocated going back to a basic etiquette in an equally leveled society. This was, by the way, also an aspect stressed by Confucius: that a small man with the right behaviour was more valid than a depraved noble. The ru were thus the fathers of many different philosophical schools and only became more rigorous after they had to distinguish themselves from the new schools. The late Warring States period \u6230\u570b (5th cent.-221 BCE) Confucian Xunzi \u8340\u5b50 (Xun Kuang \u8340\u6cc1 or Xun Qing \u8340\u537f) connected the quality of being a ru with the ability to govern a state. From a class of professionals (like physicians or teachers), the ru, now as adherents of the school of Confucians (rujia \u5112\u5bb6), had entered the realm of politics and participated in government. Their usefulness for government was doubted by contemporarians because they still were experts in the rituals and knew the many ritual writings by heart, yet this seemed to be a thankless and very impractical work in regard to politics. At the beginning of the Han period, the ru professed in the six writings (liuyi \u516d\u85dd; what later became the "Six Classics" liujing \u516d\u7d93) and adhered to the social hierarchies taught by Confucius. The Confucians also venerated the ancient sages of the past, like the mythological emperors Yao \u582f and Shun \u821c or the founders of the Zhou dynasty \u5468 (11th cent.-221 BCE), King Wen \u5468\u6587\u738b and King Wu \u5468\u6b66\u738b, as well as the brother of the latter, the Duke of Zhou \u5468\u516c. The Duke of Zhou was, according to Han period historiography, characterised by a benevolent and righteous behaviour, loyally assisted his brother in the war against the Shang dynasty and later ruled for his nephew, the young King Cheng \u5468\u6210\u738b. He performed the rituals for the king, drafted all proclamations necessary to firmly establish the rule of the dynasty and cultivated himself to bring peace to the kingdom and the people. The Duke also created the rituals necessary for the correct performance of the state sacrifices, the audiences at the court and the interaction between state officials of different layers of administration. Later Confucians therefore saw him as "the first Confucian" and often mentioned him together with Confucius (with the joint term Zhou-Kong \u5468\u5b54). The Duke of Zhou had occupied a position for which all Confucians later envied him, namely that of the sage philosopher acting as a regent for a king. Confucius himself was never so happy to be given such a function. The Duke of Zhou was highly venerated by Confucius. In his later years Confucius was worried about his spiritual potential when he ceased dreaming of the Duke.<\/p>\n