The Life and Teachings of Confucius

1579 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The wisdom of confucius summary

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who lived and taught in a period when the unified Chou kingdom had split into a number of feudal states. The subjects that will be talked about is: The philosopher himself, the Analects and what they represent, and lastly the teachings and what a single interpretation of them could be, and what further questions could be asked for further interpretation. Confucianism is the study of the social philosophy through the secular teachings that Confucius taught, what could we learn through analyzing his teachings today?

Confucius, more properly known as K'ung Ch'iu who was born in 551 B.C., in Tsou, a small town in Lu, which is in Eastern China. His father, Shu-Liang H^e, a former magistrate and warrior of some repute, he married the mother of Confucius, Yen Che^ng Tsai. Growing up in comparative poverty as he did, Confucius had resolved to devote his energy to learning, and justice for all. He was three when his father died, and was raised by his mother, which he felt obliged to work at several jobs to help support his family. He Became married at age 19 to a girl named Chi-Kuan. At the age of 22, Confucius initiated what is considered to the first private school.

Confucius left Lu in 497 B.C. And spent the next thirteen years wandering from regional court to regional court, apparently because of conflicts of the political type. This was the time he gathered disciples and unsuccessfully sought after a Prince who would try to carry out his vision of traditional values. After the thirteen year period he returned to his state of nativity, Lu, where he lived out the rest of his life teaching, and gaining a following. Through the Analects the hope was a society whose members behave with a natural...

... middle of paper ...

...passages that come from the Analects, and further questions aimed at better understandings of the text. The Analects of Confucius is translated as “Sayings,” and is a work that can be authentically be said that of Confucius. The Books of the Analects was a marvel in the human mind to highlight the greater good of one's self. The words still apply to life today and will constantly remind us that no matter how advanced we become our thoughts can still be interpreted in few words.

Works Cited

Knox/Clinton. “The Analects of Confucius.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Second Edition. Sarah Lawall, Maynard Mack. New York, London: WW Norton & Company, pages820-823

Knox/Clinton. “Confucius.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Second Edition. Sarah Lawall, Maynard Mack. New York, London: WW Norton & Company, pages 823-831

www.confucius.org/

Show More
Related

  • Antigone And Confucius Essay

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Characters of Lysitrata, Penelope, and Medea

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lawall, Sarah,et al. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Volume A (slipcased). Norton, 2001. W.W. Norton and Company Inc. New York, NY.

    Read More

  • Confucianism, Daoism & Legalism

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kongzi (Confucius, a Latinized name) was born in 551 B.C.E., to a poor family of the lower nobility. Throughout his life, he relentlessly tried to gain an office with a prominent ruler of the time who was willing to adopt his various concepts. Unfortunately, Confucius died in 479 B.C.E., before such a change ever took place. However, he succeeded in winning over a handful of devote followers who continued his legacy and Confucianism later went on to become one of the most influential thought systems of Chinese history. Of his followers, Mencius and Xunzi became the most renown. Since Confucius did not succeed in completing a manual of his views, these followers had to derive their own interpretations of the system which now formulate, the Analects. The Analects portray an idealized gentleman, and his various duties in terms of the society, family and the rituals. Confucius explains about the way (Dao) which he believed, that if the people accepted its terms and were willing to abide, they would succeed in creating a utopian society.

    Read More

  • Confucianism Vs Daoism Essay

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Change of Confucianism over Time

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Aristotle versus Confucius

    1796 Words  | 4 Pages

    The teachings according to Confucius refer to Confucianism. Confucianism is the multifarious classification of ethical, collective, political and pious philosophy developed by Confucius and the old Chinese practices (Bertrand, 1999). Confucianism aim is actually making an individual honorable but also making such an individual the character of learning and of proper manners. The ideal and faultless man has to combine the characters of a saint, an intellectual and gentleman. Confucianism is a religious conviction whose adulation is focused on offerings to the dead. The idea of responsibility is extensive beyond the precincts of morals and holds close to the minutiae of daily living.

    Read More

  • A Historical View of the Expansion and Philosophy of Confucianism and Buddhism

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    Confucius was one of the first men to have different ideas on how rulers should go about their ruling of people during the Zhou Dynasty. “Its career as a prominent tradition in China began with its adoption by the Han dynasty, and virtually every East Asian regime of the past thousand years or more has endorsed Confucianism as its official ideology.” Confucius believed that rulers should rule in a manner that is beneficial to the people being governed and in a way that is morally right and traditionally acceptable (for the time). Confucius spent most of his time with a group of followers, in search of a ruler who would follow his teaching and take his advice. (web.cn.edu)(patheos.org 1)

    Read More

  • Confucianism and Taoism

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Confucius, , and Arthur Waley. The Analects of Confucius. New York: Random House, 1938. Print.

    Read More

  • The Five Relationships’ that are Illustrated in Confucianism

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Analects, a compilation of Confucius’ teachings, is greatly recognized as a work of utmost importance and influence in the Chinese culture. The book conveys Confucius’ beliefs on a wide variety of topics, including propriety, education, family relations, and government in efforts to enhance social order.

    Read More

  • Confucianism

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Key Values Of Confucius's The Analects

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    Written during the Period of Warring States, The Analects consists of what Confucius and his disciples believed to be the key values required for a harmonious society. Through various exchanges between an entity only recognized as “The Master” and people of other backgrounds such as Dukes and students, the disciples define the fundamental Confucian values that everyone in society must conform to such as ren (kindness), yi (altruism), li (everyday norms), and zhi (morality). The discourses evince a very conservative stance when it comes to citizens conforming to these values in that “The Master”, or Confucius, is unrelenting in his criticism of the “small man” or anyone led astray from the traditional Confucian values. Centrally, Confucius argues

    Read More

  • Confucius in the Analects

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Confucius’s counsel and guidance recorded in The Analects instilled wisdom when they were first recorded and continue to provide a thought provoking analysis of life and the checkpoints that guide it. The Master’s commentary on restraint, diligence, decency, and citizenship are well intended and relevant. Politics and the role of government also come under scrutiny as Confucius offers his insights in bettering the organization of power. His proverb-like admonitions use clear examples of everyday life allowing them to be understood and easily digested. Confucius’s own eagerness and willingness to share goodness he experienced makes it easier to apply and practice in one’s own life.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Confucianism on Chinese Culture

    1731 Words  | 4 Pages

    Philip J. Ivanhoe. Confucian moral self cultivation. New York : P. Lang, vol. 3, 1993.

    Read More

  • Confucius's Human Nature

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ed. Bryan W. Van Norden, Ph.D. Chicago and La Salle, IL: Open Court, 1996. Van Norden, Bryan W. “Introduction,” in Confucius and the Analects: New Essays, ed.

    Read More

  • A Critique of Confucian Morality

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...uld like. His teachings where one must obey one’s parents without question, his backward views on the female, and utopian beliefs about hierarchal society greatly contrast modern Western thought as significance is paced on a societal level, rather than the individual. Confucius, as a philosopher, unlike many of his Western counterparts, has

    Read More

More about The Life and Teachings of Confucius

Open Document