Confucius and Humanity

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• Confucius Essay

  ...10/22/12 World Civ 1 Confucius essay Confucius was a philosopher, a teacher and a political figure. Confucius was born in 551 B.C. in Tuo, China. He founded Confucianism, which became a model for the way Chinese society developed over the centuries. Confucius died in 479 B.C. in Qufu, China. Today he is widely considered one of the most influential thinkers in Chinese history. Confucius was a poor descendant of a former ruling family who was kicked off the throne. As a child, he was already gathering people to him by holding make believe temple rituals. As a young adult, he quickly earned a reputation for fairness, politeness and love of learning. He traveled a lot and studied at the imperial capital, in Zhou, where he is said to have met and spoke with Lao Zi, the founder of Daoism. When Confucius returned to Lu, he infamously gained word as a teacher. Although, when Confucius was 35, Duke Zhao of Lu led his country to war. He fled to the neighboring country of Qi. When the Duke fled, Confucius followed. Duke Zhao frequently came to Confucius for advice. When other nobles began plotting against Confucius' position, Duke Zhao refused to intervene, and Confucius returned to Lu. When he did return to Lu, the conditions there were no better than they were before. Confucius, having seen this,...

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• confucius Essay

  ...filial piety, or xiào. Filial piety refers to the virtue of respect for one's parents or ancestors. II. Book II turns its attention to matters of government. Chapters 1,2, and 3 deal with government issues and the importance of te, or character. Confucius compares the moral leader to one whose character is like the North star. Even as the ethical beliefs of those around such a person may shift, one possessing true character remains steadfast. Likewise, the text stresses the absence of evil or swerving thoughts as paramount in maintaining such character. Chapter 3 echoes Chapter 1 in stating that a moral leader does not use punishment to rule but relies again on the strength of moral character. Simply, rule through force or fear will breed resentment, while governance through character will lead by example. These same ideas are echoed in Chapters 19 and 20. Chapters 6, 7, and 8 return to the topic of filial piety. These chapters also serve to illustrate the rationality involved in matters of deference to one's parents or ancestors. There seems to be an effort to differentiate between a blind acceptance of a set of rules and a true understanding of the logic, or even necessity, of such cultural customs. For example, in Chapter 7 Confucius addresses how a filial son can see to it that his parents have enough food to eat. While that behavior is commendable, the text states that even animals can be cared for to that extent. Without respect and...

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• Confucius Essay

  ...ASSIGNMENT Student Name: KAI-MING WANG Student Number: 050-102-987 Course Code: CUL610BA Professor: Ken Sproul Film: Confucius Date: Oct. 29 2012 The life of the Confucius happened in the ancient China during the Spring and Autumn period. His unique ideology of running the state by Ritual, Music and Ren opposes to the strict laws which has been practiced by the other states. Without the fully support from his ruler, Confucius goes on a long journey of traveling among six states for fourteen years. In his era, China consists of many states. Among them, six states are strong enough to influence the future of the kingdom. Military conflicts frequently occurred among them. In order to build up strength to survive, many states adopt Legalism which implies strict laws to its people. In this troubling time, the very first in human history, Confucius proposes his ideology which roots deeply ever in Chinese culture. The reason that makes Confucius one of the most important philosophers in the world is that Confucius understands profoundly human’s nature and implements way of thinking and regulations to achieve the Great Unity. Two of the implementations are Ritual and Music which was prospered in the early Zhou dynasty. It is fading away in Spring and Autumn period. Confucius believes by having its people...

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• Humanities Essay

  ...post-world-war world. Dadaism describes itself as 'anti-art', challenging notions of the sanctity of certain art forms. This deconstruction of what it means to be 'art' created a number of anarchic repurposed art installations, such as Marcel Duchamp's L.H.O.O.Q., which was a copy of the Mona Lisa with a moustache and chin-beard pencilled on. The painting seemed to represent the idea "What makes this art? What makes this not art?" and seemed to attack the notion that art exists independently as a sort of ethereal quality. Dadaism's French and German roots lent itself to being particularly anti-war, in the wake of WW1, and particularly anti-beurgois, with themes of our society's trappings making us into monsters or debilitating our humanity. The movement was from the beginning assosciated with anarchist movements, and paralleled well with the anarchist movement's beliefs about the nature and structure of society- namely that our attempts at social order are a joke, and that people are inherently animals. One particularly peculiar aspect of Dadaist art is its' use of nonaesthetic imagery- most art forms attempt to create a sense of pleasing aesthetics that entice the viewer to consider the work, but Dadaist art often uses jarring, juxtaposed, inaesthetic or "shock" art aspects to force the viewer into feeling a certain way, or change the viewer's perceptions. Collage was often used with success, as at the time newspaper images were omnipresent in...

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• Confucius Essay

  ...Confucius: The Concept of Jen Confucius was not a religious teacher but rather an ethical thinker whose aim was to improve moral and social order. He believed all aspects of life flow from an ethical core and to achieve moral and social order, one must look within oneself. Some of the key concepts emphasized in Confucianism are: the concepts of Good (jen), Ritual (li), Virtue (te, or moral power), and the Gentleman or “superior man” (chun-tzu). All of these concepts are vitally important but for the purpose of this paper, I will focus on the concept of jen and how it works in Confucian philosophy. What is Jen? The concept of jen (Goodness) is the fundamental virtue of Confucius’ teachings although a concrete definition of jen was not given in the Analects. Waley wrote, “it is only once… that anything approaching a definition of goodness is given” (p. 29). This definition was given in Book XVII 6. Master K’ung said “goodness includes the following traits: courtesy, breadth, good faith, diligence and clemency. He who could put all five into practice under heaven would be Good”. Although not clearly defined in the text, jen is referred to throughout the Analects as goodness, love and humanity. “Jen can be described as the display of human qualities at their finest” (Waley, p. 28). Human qualities that render someone to be Good include loyalty to friends, truthfulness, and obedience to precepts (I 4). Caution,...

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• Confucius Essay

  ...serene society through their emperor and government. They have distinctly different beliefs. Confucianism was developed by a Chinese philosopher named Kǒng Fūzǐ (551- 479 BCE), also known as Confucius. He was a knowledgeable man who thought about how people should live, how righteousness (Li) can be achieved and how the society or government should be structured. The Analects of Confucius explains how men can become a gentlemen. If a man follows the rules of Confucius and completes all his duties of his status, he could influence others in society to be honorable, hardworking, honest, and just. A gentleman said, “Feels bad when his capabilities fall short of the task. He does not feel bad when people fail to recognize him” (15.18). A gentlemen is different because he does not care about personal gains; his integrity is more important. He never stated whether humans were born evil or good, he did however say that humanity shared the same qualities. They all have the ability to be conditioned through studying and practicing. During the warring states period, Han Feizi (280–233 BC) and Shang Yang (390–338 BC) wanted people to follow a philosophy that could strengthen the government and to create laws that are firmer. Legalism may have originated from Xunzi (312–230 BC), a student of Confucius. He believed that all men were born evil and their natural self-interest dominates them the moment they are born,...

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• Confucius Essay

  ...Public University System Confucius’ Life ? In today’s society family values are much different than what they were several centuries ago. One person who is part responsible for transmitting beliefs and thoughts on family values and the idea that “loving others” should be fundamentals of everyday life was Confucius. Kong Qui or better known as Confucius was an educator and political figure that now everyone was used to. According to historians Confucius was born on 551 BCE; it is believed that Confucius was a strange baby with a big head. Throughout the school years of Confucius he had little to no friends because of the choice of game that were played. Confucius is described as having a very poor family as a child and being forced to take care of livestock. At the time China was ruled by the rich and evil which had China separated with many emperors who controlled the land. As Confucius continued to grow up he had several noble jobs such as overseeing a granary field which at the time was treated as money. At the age of 19 Confucius married a young woman which no name has been found in any books. It’s believed the marriage was a turbulent one. Confucius did have a son ______ who would later become Confucius’ helper in delivering his teachings to the rest of China. Around the age of 30...

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• Essay on confucius

  ...Confucius was legendary. According to Chinese tradition, when Confucius was born there were forty-nine marks of his future greatness on the his body, and on his chest were the visible words, “he will point out, he will act, he will decide, he will accomplish the times”. Confucius, whose actual name was Kong Qiu and courtesy name, was Zhongni, lived between 551 and 479 BC during the late years of China's Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). He was born in the city of Qufu, which was located in the ancient Chinese state of Lu. A great thinker, educator and statesman as well as one of the most learned people of his time; Confucius was also the founder of a school of moral doctrine that encourages "justice" and "peace," known today as Confucianism. The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and government morality, correctness, of social relationships, justice and security. Confucianism has a decisive influence on the traditional Chinese culture. Later generations honored Confucius as "the sage of sages" and "the teacher of all ages." Confucius exposed the well-known principle “do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself”, an early version of the golden rule. Confucius taught more than 3,000 disciples, regardless if they were rich or poor. Those who really wanted to learn were all accepted by Confucius as his disciples and had...

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