Confucius

Tracy Chan

Darlene O’Cadiz

Dance 301-51: Cultural Diversity in Dance

Section: 19100

“Don’t give a sword to a man who can’t dance” is a saying from a philosopher who lived more than 2000 years ago (Huang, 2013, p.1). This man is Confucius, he lived during the time of both Buddha and Socrates. His teachings have been studied throughout the centuries and has helped educate and guide people through life, even after his death (Chiang, 2004). Confucius stressed the importance of kind-heartedness and respectfulness towards others. He believed through the use of moral guidance and acts of kindness, society would better itself as a whole and the government would function more immaculately (Xu, 1993). He was a man who truly believed that people are born with compassion but a flawed society would corrupt it. Therefore, he lived his entire life trying to teach the younger generation the correct way to treat one another and showed them the true reward of being a gentle and thoughtful person. In the book Analects of Confucius, written by his students, it establishes how to treat one another and how to govern appropriately (Chiang, 2004). If there was a dance dedicated to Confucius, it would be meditation. Through meditation, a person can pray and chant his teachings and thus would hopefully inspire them to act honorably throughout life. With Confucius’s teaching on kindness and benevolence, it has helped shaped my own interpretation of a peaceful society, which might come true in the near future.
Although Confucius was believed to have lived around 500BC, there is not a single person in Asia who have not heard of his name before. Confucius’ real name is Kongqui, Kong being his family name and Qui being his given name; however, in modern terms he will be known as Confucius, which roughly translates to “Master” or “Teacher Kong” (Huang, 2013, p.1). Confucius was believed to be the founding father of Chinese philosophy and thus immensely impacted the growth and education of China. He was born in the State of Lu, which is modern day Shangdon province, China (Tan, 2013, p.19). During Ancient China, there was constant warfare between the different states, unfortunately for Confucius, he was born into that era. He learned many trade skills growing up and was educated, which gave him a significant advantage because most people in the ancient world were illiterate (Chiang, 2004). He was believed to be in the Shi class, which in Chinese is referred to as the middle class, the in-between of aristocrats and common people (Tan, 2013, p.19). These Shi-class people were often educated and sought for employment through court officials. They were usually advisors to the magistrate or tutors for the upper class children. As a youth, Confucius would seek out government posts as advisors but he was turned away due to his views on politics and life (Huang, 2013, p.5). As he spent his time traveling from state to state looking for governments who were willing to practice his teachings, he also picked up many students and followers along the way. These students would later go on to write the Analects of Confucius, which is a book of sayings and conversations with Confucius (Rainey, 2010).
The book, Analects of Confucius, talks about building a better government and society through Confucius’ philosophies. The Analects were composed by his students entailing conversations and sayings by Confucius (Xu, 1993). Because he was born during a time of chaos and warfare, he has seen many deaths caused by covetous and selfishness (Chiang, 2004). Confucius was inspired to change the way people viewed the world. He wanted to teach everyone to be a moral person and how to differentiate between right and wrong. He was a man who stressed on the concepts of morals and integrity. He believed that creating a better society starts with creating a better self (Chiang, 2004). As one individual bettered himself, the person next to him will follow suit. Through all choosing the ethical path, society will in turn become better as a whole. Confucius strongly believes a government and its rulers have to govern with honesty and compassion, otherwise the people will oppose them and overturn the government (Yuhan & Chen, 2013). He believed that a government that oversees people harshly will be destined for failure. He is describing a government who constantly wages warfare and continuously tax their people, making the life of their citizens formidable. A government who has an immensely wealthy aristocracy class and an unfortunate and neglected lower working class are also destined for failure (Yuhan & Chen, 2013). Confucius wanted to change this type of government. His teachings were pragmatic, he did not care about the after-life, just what is going on in the world at present. Therefore, his teachings for people to be honorable individuals came down to how they treated each other, how they treated themselves and most importantly respect for all (Rainey, 2010). He stressed that men have to behave like “Junzi” which translates to a gentleman (Yuhan & Chen, 2013). A gentleman is someone who is humble and respectful, who fulfills his duties and does not do harm to others. To be a Junzi, one must practice “Ren” which is benevolence and “Li” which is etiquette (Tan, 2013, p.75). Confucius’ teachings still rings true after his death because it relates to many societies at different time periods. His teachings inspired others to be a better person and inspired governments to treat their citizens with morality and kindness.
Confucius had a prodigious impact on China, his birthdate is still celebrated 2000 years after his death (Xu, 1993). His book Analects of Confucius is a mandated book studied in many regions of China. Confucius’ teachings are widely accepted by many historians and politicians. However, there will always be contrasting views and contradictory ideas, in this case it is known as legalism (Yuhan & Chen, 2013). Legalists largely opposed Confucius’ teachings. This is due to the fact that Confucianism and Legalism are completely opposing in many ways, from the views on government, society, and individuals. Confucius believed in the good of people, thus the government must treat people with care to ensure their citizen’s freedom. Legalism however, characterized that individuals are greedy and full of hatred (Olberding, 2013). Legalists are certain that one is not allowed to do as he or she wishes because they believed people are selfish in nature and thus society will exist in chaos if the government does not strictly enforce their subjects (Yuhan & Chen, 2013). Without harsh punishment, legalists ensure that a society will remain corrupted and crimes will still fill the streets. Legalists strongly believed that a government must rule with an iron fist, the government must be in control of their citizens and rule with punishment. According to legalists, if a citizen does as they are told, this meant that they are afraid of the government; they believed that people are motivated through fear (Yuhan & Chen, 2013). Although these two views are highly diverse, both are essential to obtaining a peaceful society. Confucius’ benevolence mixed with Legalist’s iron fist ruling will generate a society of law and order but also allow freedom and humanity to flourish.
One of Confucius’ sayings from the Analects states, “Don’t give a sword to a man who can’t dance.” The sword represents one’s understanding of life. To accurately use the sword, one must confide in the strength of the sword (Rainey, 2010). One must be able to understand ones inner strength (represented by the strength of the sword) and the purpose of using the sword before physically holding it. One must also withstand the judgment by others while learning how to use the sword (Rainey, 2010). Some will learn or realize their inner strength sooner and some will never understand the purpose of the sword. This saying relates to Confucius’ philosophies because it is about morals, treating yourself with respect. One must learn to take care of oneself before taking care of others. There are many interpretations to this saying, just like there are many interpretations of Chinese dances. For this particular saying, dance is supposed to be gentle and caring. If a man is not gentle and is bearing the sword, one should not trust him because he is off balanced and would treat others unkindly. Dance in the Chinese culture represents gentleness, a Chinese man would not be dancing during Confucius’ time. Chinese men at the time were perceived to be strong and stoic, therefore when Confucius says this, he means men who are not gentle should not be given power. They will use the sword which is the strength for only their own ambition and not for creating a better society. The sword representing power and ambition while dance represents gentleness and compassion. This is a bold statement for Confucius’ time because he is pointing out that the government and people in power must not be harsh but should provide for its citizens like a mother providing for her child, with kindness and admiration.
Meditation is widely used in China. Confucius was no stranger to meditation and praying to the gods. One dance that strongly correlates to Confucius is meditation: spiritual guidance. This dance is used to discover one’s true essence of life through the practice of meditation. This dance starts off in a temple where the front row consists of traditional monks rhythmically ringing the bell while chanting Confucius’ sayings from the Analects. The next three rows consists of soldiers practicing their army formations with the sword, also chanting Confucius’ sayings. The soldiers practicing are being judged by others and has to overlook these challenges in order to find their inner strength. They must rid themselves of all humility before they are allowed to use the sword. They move their swords left to right in a gentle praying motion. The army formations performed by these soldiers represents strength (handling of the sword) and patience (slow movements of the sword). Because this dance is done in a temple, it represents the sacrifices to the deities, it is performed to ask for forgiveness, pray for good health, or an abundance of crops for the new season. The lighting of the incense is used as a sacrifice, it also serves as an aid in prayers. The Chinese believe that the smoke leaving the incense carries along your prayers as it reaches the gods. Meditation acts as a spiritual guidance from many to help find inner strength, peace, and courage.
In order for a government to be successful, it has to work towards the happiness and satisfaction of its people. In order for a nation to be at peace, the utmost important aspect is the quality of life for its citizens. Confucius stressed this importance, not only happiness for the upper class, but for all classes of people. I believe that in order to achieve such a society, the government must provide an adequate education system. Many crimes and tyrants emerge from influencing people who does not know any better. The best way to stop prejudice and crime is to educate the masses. Education is the answer to many of the world’s problems. When the mass has been educated, they will be more open minded to different cultures and aspects of life. It will open people’s minds to new ideas and allow them to be more accepting towards change. I am not talking about just educating the majority on reading or arithmetic, but educating them on sociology, psychological, art, dance, politics, and science. Dance may seem like just another subject to those that are required to take the class but dance can actually be influential. It can relieve stress, anger, happiness, and anxiety. Dance is a mixture of pure emotions, and sometimes it is better to dance away your feelings rather than take it out on others. I think that dance is a great alternative to physical education for the younger generation. It is a great way to release unwanted feelings. When the majority learns about how society functions, how an individual functions, they will in turn be more open to different cultures and ideas. The only way a society can live in peace is if people learn to coexist with one another. In my life time, I hope for a society that is educated and accepting of others. This will create a foundation for the future generation to be fully accepting of one another. I truly believe that one day there will be gender equality and racism will only be something children learn in history textbooks. There are numerous crimes still going on in the world with nations still having hatred for one another, but with proper education, things will change for the better. The world is moving into a more globalized society, something that was never possible hundreds of years ago. This would not happen in my life time but maybe my grandchildren’s lifetime or further into the future. However, the facts still remains the same, to govern a society in peace, society itself must be in the hands of leaders who are benevolent. I know peace will come one day because I have faith in the future of humanity.

Resources
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