Human nature is one of the most core concerns of every Chinese philosopher we have studied this semester. Each one holds a particular stance when they address human’s natural state, and this very much contributes to their philosophy overall. For example, Confucius, Mencius and Han Fei Tzu all differ in their ideas of human nature, and this shaped each one’s particular philosophy. Confucius, the founding philosopher of Confucianism, never explicitly details what he believes to be the inherent nature
Li, or rites, has played an integral part in shaping early Chinese philosophy, though not all philosophers have agreed on its meaning or reason for application. Some will argue that human nature requires us to us Li to be ethical beings, while others believe that Li will teach and mold us into beings that will follow the norms of our society. The three major Confucian philosophers whom used the idea of Li to shape their theories were Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. All three of these philosophers
The essence of humanity is laid out in the words of Thomas Hobbes, “The state of humanity is war” (94). Although it is not a perfect theory, it is, by far, the strongest theory proposed. After all, from the beginning of humanity, we have been in a state of war. It is not necessarily a war where conflicting parties bear arms, but it is a war where conflicting parties struggle for survival. Even before our infantile bodies exit the womb of our mothers, we are at war. As tiny embryos, we struggle
Compare and Contrast of Human Idealism Between two readings, Analects and the Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsün Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. Both have a different perspective, but both strive to make humankind the best as they can. Forming a personality that we as human needs to shape ourselves to develop the ideal person. The Analects contain fragment and random sequence of Confucius sayings that reflects upon notes that contains discipline from collective teachings. Han Feizi was part of the Han royal
Following the master's passing, first and second generation disciples kept Confucianism alive (Wertz 3). Two prominent disciples, Xun Zi and Mencius struggled against existing modes of thought in order to capture the attention of China's rulers, wishing to be able to administer their philosophy through government (Wertz 3). Xun Zi and Menicius had opposing beliefs as Xun Zi, through the use of the confucian pattern of thought, came to the conclusion of people's nature being evil while Menicius believed
The impact (or lack thereof) of the Chinese Revolution of 1911 is seen throughout Lu Xun’s stories. In particular the works “Diary of a Madman”, “A New Year’s Sacrifice” and “The True Story of Ah Q” provided evidence of changes (or lack thereof) the revolution brought to China. Focus in particular was paid to the topics of filial piety, female chasteness and Chinese conservatism, respectively in each story. “Diary of a Madman” was a condemnation of the overbearing authoritarian nature of the Confucian
Marcel was on his way to the banquet when he saw something that caught his eye. He was trained to look for these things, and as he walked over he saw it was a horse. The horse was small,brown, and shaggy. It looked like it was very hungry. “Are you okay girl” Marcel said. The horse obviously said nothing, but she turned to look at him and as she did, he saw a big cut on its back. “Don’t worry,” He said, “I’ll fix that.” The wound very large and hard to clean, but after a long few hours Marcel had
“The True Story of Ah Q” was written by Lu Xun. It is a form of historical fiction, which “is a literary genre that takes place in the past. The setting is drawn from history.” The historical events and social phenomena will be presented in the story though it is a historical fiction. It can impress deeply historical frames in people’s mind and plays a significant role in history. It is another way to record history. Additionally, the author, “Lu Xun (1881-1936) is widely regarded as one of modern
Zhou Shuren, better known by the pen name Lu Xun is generally regarded as the father of modern Chinese literature and was thought by many to have his finger on the pulse of the nation’s conscience. His early notoriety was achieved as a result of his short works of fiction which were often satirical, sometimes humorous, and at times very gloomy (“Lu Xun”). Lu Xun was a mindful of his art and labored over his stories to eliminate unnecessary detail, yet they are filled with rich characters, interesting
The meager image depicted by Lu Xun's 'Diary of a Madman' projects an illustration of society that stresses submission to authority, and the ultimate compliance to tradition. Lu Xun battles the idea that society is constantly being manipulated and controlled by the masses of people who know no better than to follow tradition. His story 'Diary of a Madman' gives the representation of a culture that has not only failed, but failed by the cannibalistic nature of humans corrupting them-selves over
meaning of his articles. “A Madman’s Diary” was the first vernacular fiction Lu Xun published, as well as the first Chinese vernacular story. The article includes preface and main body. The preface mainly uses classical Chinese to introduce background and cause of the story. The main body has thirteen pieces of Madman’s diary written in vernacular. The main character and the writer of diary both were “Madman”. Lu Xun used his poignant pen to reveal a variety of deep-seated social contradictions,
exploitation/rape Traditional Chinese-English Version. trans. Howard Goldblatt (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 2005), p. 8. Xiao Hong’s literary mentor Lu Xun was fascinated by Edgar Allen Poe’s writing and he and his brother Zhou Zuoren both translated some of Poe’s short stories into Chinese, as did Mao Dun (Sheng 149). Lu Xun also shared an attraction to the grotesque and especially admired the woodcuts of German Socialist artist Käthe Kollwitz, in whose works death, poverty, sickness
explanation of proper order as being fragile and paradoxical. Confucius, Mencius and Xun-Zi give us a great in-depth understanding to analyze a possible answer to “why” and “how” in proper order as ‘life’. Understanding Proper Order Scholars for the past decades have been digging for an answer to Proper Order. One scholar, Xun-Zi examines, what I would argue, one of the best explanations to this puzzling question. Xun-Zi is regarded as one of the founders and frames it as “Heaven has its proper season
complicity with evil if they are not attentive to what they do or with whom they throw their lot.” Human trafficking is an issue where peo... ... middle of paper ... ... Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity. ~ Xun Zi. What Xun Zi is saying is that, it is in our blood to be evil. The goodness in the world comes from intentional actions that we take, that we might not even know that we do. Humans are made with evil in mind, it all started with Adam and Eve in the Garden
middle of paper ... ...hey are not truly evil. To define people as good or evil from birth is nonsensical, because newborns do not have any conscious thought, and any actions that happen have meaning placed upon them by other philosophers, such as Xun-Zi. When people realize that good and evil are just points of view that are placed on other people and actions, it is possible to transcend these superficial roles. Since it is people who create the meaning of evil, it cannot be said that people are
Art within an art Essay on consumption experience of commercial art BMK5006 Achala Sathyanarayana - 5 March 2017 “I imagine a masterpiece trapped within the clutches of my empty canvas, i paint to liberate it.” -Zi Peng. “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”- Pablo Picasso. Art to me has always been something that is used to make a place beautiful or just fill up spaces on a blank wall. Looking at a piece of artwork, always made me wonder the Artist’s
The Good and Evil of Humans A famous philosopher Socrates once said, 'the unexamined life is not worth living.' With that idea, the question 'Are Human Beings Intrinsically Evil?' has been asked by philosophers for many years. It is known as one of the unanswerable questions. Determinists have come to the conclusion that we are governed by the laws of science, that there is nothing we can do about ourselves being evil because we naturally are. Evil is simply the act of causing pain. In this
The Overpowering Strength of Evil in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and “Young Goodman Brown” Xun Zi, one of the most influential philosophers of China in the old time, states that, “Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity”. Indeed, it can be clearly seen in the figures of the protagonists in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by James Carol Oates and “Young Goodman Brown” by Natalie Hawthorne. Though written two eras apart in the past by two different