The Worship of Confucius in Japan. By James McMullen.

Confucius’s reluctance to discuss spirits (shén) and other such topics is well known. One passage in the Analects (Lúnyǔ 6.22) presents him as suggesting that wisdom consists in revering (jìng) ghosts and spirits (guǐshén), but keeping one’s distance (yuǎn) from them. In another (3.12), Confucius states that when offering ceremonial sacrifices (zhài) to spirits, he behaved as if the spirits were actually there (rú shén zài), implying that he was not certain, one way or another, but meant to behave respectfully. In another passage (11.12), Confucius asked why people should be concerned with serving the deceased (sǐ) when they had yet to master serving those still alive (shēng). Confucius is also described as one who did not talk about, among other things, spirits (7.21). These passages have led some to conclude that Confucius...