Establishing order in society

These are the 5 cardinal relationships that will establish order in society. 

I will eventually type them here but for now here is the pdf I got it from.

The Five Great Relationships of Confucianism

According to Confucius, the smooth functioning of government and society rested on five key relationships:

1. Between ruler and subject;
2. Between father and son;
3. Between husband and wife;
4. Between older borther and younger brother;
5. Between friend and friend.

These five relationships were considered the building blocks of the socieal order.

To ensure harmony in society, Confucius prescribed certain "proper attitudes," or Yi, that the Chinese people were expected to adopt in these relationships. The ruler, for example, was expected to be kind and generous to his subjects, while his subjects, in return, were expected to to be loyal to the ruler. Likewise, fathers were taught to be kind to their sons, while sons were taught to be obedient and dutiful to their fathers. In marriage, a husband was expected to be good to his wife, while a wife was supposed to be obedient to her husband. Elders, whether brothers or friends, were expected to be considerate toward their juniors, who in turn were expected to be respectful of their elders.

The most important of these relationships, and the one on which all others depended, was the bond between parents and children. For Confucius, a smoothly funcitoning family--one in which children show proper respect for their parents, relatives, and ancestors--was a model for Chinese society as a while. In effect, the nation was like a gigantic family. Just as a son was expected to be loyal to his father, so a citizen was expected to be loyal to the emperor. If families were in harmony, society and government would also function poroperly. As an ancient Chinese poem, quoted in the Confucian book the Doctrine of the Mean, put it:

When wives and children and their sires [fathers] are one,
'tis like the harp and lute in unison.
When brothers live in concord and at peace
The strain [sound] of harmony shall never cease.
The lamp of happy union lights the home,
And bright days follow when the children come. 

Reverence for one's ancestors was an important part of Confucianism since the dead were considered just as much a part of the family as the living. The Chinese were expected to honor their ancestors by worshipping them at home altars and by remembering them on special family occasions. The Chinese believed that paying this kind of respect to ancestors would allow them to rest peacefully in the afterworld and to become kindly spirits. Failing to do so might make them demons instead. As Confucius to his followers: "To serve those now dead as if they were living is the highest achievement of true filial piety [family devotion]."