Mystified asked:

Confucianism in the past have had immense impact on not just the religious but also in issues such
as politics. What elements does Confucianism possess that allows it to impact on its followers and the
wider community?

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Religions always had, as you put it, an "immense impact on not just the religious but also in issues
such as politics".Which great religion had not an immense impact on politics and on every day life
issues. Christianity had in the past such an impact. Still today in various countries Christians influence
political life through Christian lobbies or political parties. In Germany, the Christian Democratic Union
(CDU — today the second political party) had been for years the first and ruling party of that country.
All religions seem to have similar, and sometimes stronger, influence. Imagine the influence that
religion has today in some Islamic countries.

Confucianism is generally considered in the West as a religion. However,it seems to be firstly a
traditional philosophy — some would say a tradition.

The Confucian Canon (comprising the Five Classics and the Four Books — not all actually written by
Confucius (551-479 BC) himself) has many elements which allow to influence the ruling of a country.
For instance, the "Ch un Ch' iu" (Spring and Autumn Annals — said to have been compiled by
Confucius himself) are extracts from the history of the state of Lu (the Chinese state — now Shantung
Province — of which Confucius it is said to have been the prime minister) from 722 to 484 BC,
accompanied by commentaries (dated from before 200 BC).

The characteristic of Confucianism is that it records precise rules of conduct, regulating social
relations. Thus it is not surprising that it had a great impact on the Chinese society.

Jean Nakos