Junzi
Junzi
Junzi is Confusius’ Utopian idea of a noble person. Junzi literally and originally means the son (zi) of a lord (jun), who is raised with the best education and is supposed to have a better ethical and moral standard than ordinary people. Later on, the term junzi is altered by Confucius to mean a person with high virtue and moral achievement. Despite junzi’s literal meaning, Confucius believed that any righteous man willing to practice virtue can become a junzi and an exemplary man. However, this Utopian idea of a noble person is not very realistic to become, in nowadays society. This essay will define Confucius’ standards of junzi, and reveal both strengths and weaknesses of junzi in the context of the modern world.
How to become a junzi? Confucius’ standard of junzi is revealed in Analects: Junzi is a person who does not flatter the powerful, does not depend on the strong, does not flatter the beauty, does not hate the ugly, does not fear the strong, does not bully the weak, be friendly to the kind, away from the wicked, respect the elder, protect the child; Be a law-abiding citizen, be a responsible official, does not forget to practice ritual even if you are poor, does not disobey morality even if you are rich, this is the standard of junzi. To Confucius, not everyone is born equally, some are born in a rich family, and some are born in poor family; some are born to be a junzi, the son of a lord, and some are born to be a xiaoren, a petty person; some will have the chance to become an official, and some will never have the chance to put one’s talent to use. However, no matter what you were born to be, if you meet all the standards, you will still become a junzi.
The standard of junzi were set by Confucius in about 2500 years ago, however, the idea of junzi still affect the society positively even today. Back in the dynasty of Zhou, as the son of the lord of a country, junzis’ usually receives high education, and result in they tend to have high level of
Junzi is Confusius’ Utopian idea of a noble person. Junzi literally and originally means the son (zi) of a lord (jun), who is raised with the best education and is supposed to have a better ethical and moral standard than ordinary people. Later on, the term junzi is altered by Confucius to mean a person with high virtue and moral achievement. Despite junzi’s literal meaning, Confucius believed that any righteous man willing to practice virtue can become a junzi and an exemplary man. However, this Utopian idea of a noble person is not very realistic to become, in nowadays society. This essay will define Confucius’ standards of junzi, and reveal both strengths and weaknesses of junzi in the context of the modern world.
How to become a junzi? Confucius’ standard of junzi is revealed in Analects: Junzi is a person who does not flatter the powerful, does not depend on the strong, does not flatter the beauty, does not hate the ugly, does not fear the strong, does not bully the weak, be friendly to the kind, away from the wicked, respect the elder, protect the child; Be a law-abiding citizen, be a responsible official, does not forget to practice ritual even if you are poor, does not disobey morality even if you are rich, this is the standard of junzi. To Confucius, not everyone is born equally, some are born in a rich family, and some are born in poor family; some are born to be a junzi, the son of a lord, and some are born to be a xiaoren, a petty person; some will have the chance to become an official, and some will never have the chance to put one’s talent to use. However, no matter what you were born to be, if you meet all the standards, you will still become a junzi.
The standard of junzi were set by Confucius in about 2500 years ago, however, the idea of junzi still affect the society positively even today. Back in the dynasty of Zhou, as the son of the lord of a country, junzis’ usually receives high education, and result in they tend to have high level of