Caroline Zapert
History fair rough draft – paper
January 11, 2015
Kong Fuzi, more commonly known as Confucius, left behind a legacy that has globally influenced moral wisdom, philosophy, and spiritual harmony. A man with a way with words. In the chapter thirteen of the Analects, Confucius states, “Modesty is next to virtue.” Yet, as Confucius very diligently lived according to his proverbs, various temples known as Kong Miao were constructed in his honor shortly following his death. Even today, followers of Confucius from each corner of the globe travel to temples like these to worship him. Confucius once said,
The original and most notable Kong Miao is the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, China. This particular temple, being one of thousands,
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Qufu is one-third of a larger Confucian site in China known collectively as the "Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu." There are approximately 100,000 descendants of Confucius who live in Qufu alone.
In some ways, those who are unaware of the mere existence of Confucius are influenced by his proverbs. Classrooms, homes, and public places worldwide display posters and art relating to Confucian text. Some literally live with his proverbs for a lifetime by tattooing his words on their bodies.
Even today, ancient Confucian principles are still relevant. In times of uncertainty or hardship, it is not uncommon for people to turn to their family and traditions in search for comfort and guidance. However, in China, people are now finding that the teachings of Confucius are helping them deal with today’s materialistic and highly competitive society. China has the world’s fastest growing economy.
Confucius spoke of principles such as freedom, morality, sincerity, and justice. These virtues are timeless, and are a certain continuity that will never
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It takes into account the Confucian emphasis of collective good over individual good. Confucius emphasized ruling by morality, filial piety, and discipline, which certainly has proved itself to be far more effective than choosing a ruler based on military strength. A modern core country could not exist as we know it under a violent, dictator-like head of state. Today, it is believed that if one worships Confucius, it will have a positive impact on their life. However, Confucianism was not always as popular in China. During the cultural revolution in the 1960s, Confucian principles came under attack for their alleged links to the former ruling class. But, as people march into an uncertain future, plagued by a global financial crisis, turning to ancient principles has become a prominent practice. The Confucian revival is painstakingly evident at the imperial college that neighbors Beijing’s Confucius Temple. Confucianism is not only a chief principle in students’ textbooks, but also in the hearts of the Chinese
Confucius was a philosopher, political intellect and an educator whose philosophies have significantly prejudiced not only the Chinese principles but the entire world evolution. He lived through the “Spring” and “Autumn” epoch of Chinese history, when east central China was separated over a dozen fighting states. The inordinate ailment and grief he saw swayed his political thoughts, which highlighted command, grading and the rule of a compassionate self-governing state.
INTRODUCTION Confucianism is regarded as one of the primary religions that have profoundly influenced Chinese beliefs and ideologies. While Kongzi, or Confucius, is the founder of Confucianism, he is not the only philosopher who has contributed to such a significant impact on China. Similarly, the Analects of Confucius is not the single text that represents Confucianism. In fact, during different time periods throughout the history, there are a number of eminent representatives of Confucian thoughts, such as Mengzi and Xunzi. Because Confucianism aims at eliminating chaos and maintaining order in a harmonious society, they all agree that the guidance and education of virtuous Confucian pioneers are of extreme importance to achieve this goal.
Where will America be in a few thousand years; will we retain our current culture or continue to grow, thrive, and adapt to our surroundings? While these are important questions for our country’s future, many of the answers can already be found in one of the oldest civilizations on the planet, China. Chinese culture has been formed and reformed many times throughout its expansive history, and with changes in rule and structure, there have also been changes in philosophy and culture. Confucius emerged as a prominent figure in Chinese philosophy and managed to grow in popularity through time with his famous teachings, including those in his Analects. The philosophies of Daoism emerged later through many writings including the prominent Daodejing, written by philosopher Laozi. Although Confucius’ Analects and Laozi’s the Daodejing have both influenced Chinese culture, their primary goals for society differ in many ways.
The phrase “the way” means a method by which one can achieve a goal, but is ambiguous and insignificant without proper context. In warring states China “The Way” or the “Dao” became extremely popular as a philosophy of governance as rulers began struggling to maintain order and peace within their respective states. In this paper I will analyze different interpretations of the “Way”. As products of subjective human thought, these “Ways” incited debate between philosophers and rulers as to who’s “Way” was correct. This created what I would call a trail of influence, where in, the early Chinese thinkers I evaluate formulate their own thoughts but are also influenced by the thoughts of those that preceded them. I will examine and compare the Confucian Analects, The Mozi, the Mengzi and the Daodejing of Laozi. By tracing the trail of influence from Confucius to Laozi, the ideas that provide context for Laozi’s influential treatise on “The Way” and it’s respective differences will become apparent. I will utilize this evidence to prove why we should be interpreting “The Ways” of Laozi and other texts as tools for dealing with the context of their environment.
Confucianism became popular during the Han Dynasty as it was the state religion and had a great impact on East Asia (Confucianism 1, pg. 7). Born in 551 BCE in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Confucius himself absorbed the teachings of Mahavira and the Buddha (Confucianism 1, pg. 2) He had a set of virtues that he believed a functioning society should stand by such as benevolence, love and rites. Confucius wanted China to return to the old days when people were loyal to their rulers and rulers were polite and caring towards their people. He believed rulers s...
Confucianism is a philosophy and way of life formed in China by Confucius, an early Chinese philosopher. It began as a simple concept with ideals of personal virtue, simple filial piety, and basic gender distinctions and social inequalities. But, over time with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism it began to transform into a way of life that was degrading towards women with certain hostilities towards rivaling religions. In its early period, from around 500 B.C.E to the Common Era, Confucianism changed in that it became the leading belief system and a major part of Chinese tradition. From the transition into the Common Era to the end of the Classical time period, Confucianism was altered because of a loss of popularity following the collapse of the Han dynasty and the corruption in the governing political system. In its ending period, the post-classical era, Confucianism underwent perhaps its biggest adjustments with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism. The ideas and virtues presented in the “rebirth of Confucian philosophies” of intolerance of foreign religions and extreme filial piety...
For those individuals that choose to look into the philosophy of Confucius, Confucianism recognizes that the quest for virtue is ordinary and providential. However, in this quest of moral aptness Confucius tried to offer other people the fervent self love that he had greatly embodied. To actually make oneself as perfect as possible was the central concern of life. Al...
According to the "Power and Leadership" essay written by Paula Braynion, "the first thing one encounters when trying to understand power is a difficulty in arriving at a concise definition, as there are many and varied definitions and perspectives seeking to explore and explain the concept." (Braynion, para 1) There are two main kinds of power to look at when figuring out how power and leadership relate. The first kind of power is formal power which is obtain by an individual from having a formal or privileged position in an organization's hierarchy, for example a VP or a CEO would have formal power over his or her employees. The second kind of power is known as informal power or influential power, this power is based on the ability to influence others rather than the ability to control rewards and punishment. Informal power is the result of peers and other employees choosing to follow an
Confucianism is a moral and religious system of China. Its origins go back to the Analects, the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient writings, including that of Mencius. Confucius was born a mandarin under the name Kongzi. It was developed around 550 B.C. In its earliest form Confucianism was primarily a system of ethical concepts for the control of society. It saw man as a social creature that is bound to his fellow men by jen, or “humanity.” Jen is expressed through the five relationships—sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend. Of these, the filial relation is most important.
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” (qtd. in "Quotes by Confucius"). Confucius was an exceptionally prominent character around 551 BCE until his death in 479 BCE, although records are unclear. He was greatly influential back in that time, and still remains so to this day; especially in Eastern countries such as China. Through his teachings and ideologies, he founded the Ru School of Chinese Thought, which today has been given the name of Confucianism. Confucius impacted political and sociological standpoints; much of which still helps to shape the Chinese thought.
Philip J. Ivanhoe. Confucian moral self cultivation. New York : P. Lang, vol. 3, 1993.
Confucius (551–479 B.C.) was a Chinese philosopher and founder of the Confucian school of thought, which greatly influenced political and social life in China. His teachings are known primarily through the Analects of Confucius, a collection of "brief aphoristic fragments", which was compiled many years after his death. Although he didn’t write any books, his students did the writing based on his teachings and millions of people still rely on Confucius's philosophy as a guide to live. Until the twentieth century, Confucianism was the state religion of China. Confucius (Master K'ung Ch'iu), His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism or Daoism. Legalism was a third Chinese philosophy, a Classical Chinese philosophy that emphasizes the need for order above all other human concerns. At the other extreme was the philosophy known as Legalism. Proponents of Legalism did not concern themselves with Confucian values of ethical and mor...
What is human nature for Confucius? What evidence does he give to show that his views about human nature are correct?
For many centuries, Confucianism has been widely revered by the Chinese for its emphasis on morality. Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BCE, is different to most philosophers in that he showed no interest questioning his existence, the possibility of a God, or the reality that he seemed to live in; instead he focused on the human relations side of philosophy as it was his belief that people should “give (themselves) earnestly to the duties due to men … (and) keep aloof from (spiritual beings)” (Confucius 195). By negating the metaphysical side of philosophy, he was able to devote himself to mold his disciples into ideal gentleman who were morally righteous, and were able to benefit society. He believed in the importance of individuals who knew their roles in an well-structured society, that was a feudal system. In his opinion, the ideal gentleman should be obedient to his elders, have humanness and be morally righteous. Through his teachings, he was able to reform an entire country; the Chinese found Confucianism to embody practices of humaneness that they could apply in their daily lives through his religion.
Confucianism has had a major influence on Chinese social, political and economic life for more than 2000 years. Confucius was the most innovative and respected philosopher in Chinese history. His ideas have been the strongest influence on China and its society. Confucius taught the value of practical ethics and social morality in order to obtain his decadent view of society. He presented the idea of perfecting the human personality by incorporating the five virtues of Jen, Li, Hsiao Ti, Chung-Su and I (Smith 1973, p 66) until the ideal of a perfect man and true gentleman is reached. Confucianism changed everything about China including the way the government ran the country and how young people were being educated. This essay will examine Confucianism as a philosophy, rather than a religion, and how it acted as a moral guide to a way of living in Chinese society in order to create cultural unification and social harmony.