---
title: confucianism — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «confucianism» in the school dictionary: A way of thinking and living based on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese teacher who lived about 2,500 years ago; it stresses kindness, honesty, good manners, education and respect for parents, elders and rulers. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependen
---

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# confucianism

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** way, Chinese teacher, schools, Confucianism, children, Confucius · **What happens:** think, live, base, stress, teach, grow · **To what, where:** teachings, kindness, Confucius, others, you, schools · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«confucianism» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [confucianism in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/confucianism.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A way of thinking and living based on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese teacher who lived about 2,500 years ago; it stresses kindness, honesty, good manners, education and respect for parents, elders and rulers.

<!-- fold The tree, 35 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:confucianism:m1:1
# text = A way of thinking and living based on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese teacher who lived about 2,500 years ago; it stresses kindness, honesty, good manners, education and respect for parents, elders and rulers.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
4	thinking	think	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	living	live	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	conj	_	_
7	based	base	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	xcomp	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	teachings	teaching	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	Confucius	Confucius	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	Chinese	Chinese	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	appos	_	_
17	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	18	nsubj	_	_
18	lived	live	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	16	acl:relcl	_	_
19	about	about	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
20	2,500	2500	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	21	nummod	_	_
21	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	obl:unmarked	_	_
22	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	25	punct	_	_
24	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	25	nsubj	_	_
25	stresses	stress	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
26	kindness	kindness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	28	punct	_	_
28	honesty	honesty	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	31	punct	_	_
30	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	31	amod	_	_
31	manners	manners	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	26	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	33	punct	_	_
33	education	education	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	conj	_	_
34	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	35	cc	_	_
35	respect	respect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	conj	_	_
36	for	for	ADP	IN	_	37	case	_	_
37	parents	parent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	35	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
38	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	39	punct	_	_
39	elders	elder	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	37	conj	_	_
40	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	41	cc	_	_
41	rulers	ruler	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	37	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
42	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	25	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | gerund | a way *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **live** | gerund | a way *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **base** | participle | a way *not said here* |  |  | the teachings of Confucius |  |  | vn base-97.1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent on teaching=Source |
| 4 | **live** | past | a Chinese teacher |  |  |  |  | ago *property* | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **stress** | present | a way | kindness and honesty and good manners and education and respect for parents and elders and rulers |  |  |  |  | vn butter-9.9 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent kindness=Destination |
| 6 | **teach** |  |  | Confucius |  |  |  |  | nom teaching «act transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tradition of schools, rituals and books that grew from these teachings in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:confucianism:m2:1
# text = The tradition of schools, rituals and books that grew from these teachings in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tradition	tradition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	schools	school	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	rituals	ritual	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	conj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	books	book	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	conj	_	_
9	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	grew	grow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
11	from	from	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	these	this	DET	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	13	det	_	_
13	teachings	teaching	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obl	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	China	China	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	Korea	Korea	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	Japan	Japan	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	Vietnam	Vietnam	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | past | schools and rituals and books |  |  |  |  | from this teachings in China and Korea and Japan and Vietnam | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP.product V PP.patient»: agent=Product from teaching=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Confucianism teaches that children should respect and care for their parents.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:confucianism:x1:1
# text = Confucianism teaches that children should respect and care for their parents.
1	Confucianism	Confucianism	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	teaches	teach	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
5	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	respect	respect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	care	care	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	conj	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	parents	parent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | present | Confucianism |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **respect** | should | children |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **care** | infinitive | children *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for children's parents | vn caring-75.2-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent for parent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Confucius said, «Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you».

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:confucianism:x2:1
# text = Confucius said, «Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you».
1	Confucius	Confucius	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
6	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
7	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	ccomp	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
10	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	14	obj	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
12	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	want	want	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	acl:relcl	_	_
15	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	_
16	to	to	PART	TO	_	17	mark	_	_
17	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	xcomp	_	_
18	to	to	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Confucius |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **do** *in a quote* | infinitive · do-support |  |  |  |  |  | to others | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **want** *in a quote* | would | you | others |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **do** *not said to happen, in a quote* | to-infinitive | others *not said here* |  | you |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
For centuries, Confucianism shaped schools and government in China.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:confucianism:x3:1
# text = For centuries, Confucianism shaped schools and government in China.
1	For	for	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	centuries	century	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Confucianism	Confucianism	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	shaped	shape	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	schools	school	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	government	government	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	China	China	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shape** | past | Confucianism | schools and government |  | China | century |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent school=Product |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our RE class compared Confucianism and Daoism.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:confucianism:x4:1
# text = Our RE class compared Confucianism and Daoism.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	RE	RE	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	compared	compare	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	Confucianism	Confucianism	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	Daoism	Daoism	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **compare** | past | Our RE class | Confucianism and Daoism |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent confucianism=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Confucianism values learning, so exams were very important in old China.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:confucianism:x5:1
# text = Confucianism values learning, so exams were very important in old China.
1	Confucianism	confucianism	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	values	value	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	learning	learn	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
5	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
6	exams	exam	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
7	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	very	very	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	China	China	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | gerund | Confucianism values |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | exams |  |  | old China |  | important *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many families in East Asia still follow Confucian customs at New Year.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:confucianism:x6:1
# text = Many families in East Asia still follow Confucian customs at New Year.
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	families	family	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	East	East	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	Asia	Asia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	still	still	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	follow	follow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	Confucian	confucian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	customs	custom	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	New	New	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	Year	Year	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | present | Many families in East Asia | Confucian customs |  |  | at New Year; still |  | vn chase-51.6 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent custom=Theme at year=Trajectory |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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