...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...
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...Ethics and the Rituals: Examining the Esthetic Culture within Li Ye In Christopher Kwon A&I: Confucius and His Critics Professor Seungjoo Yoon November 21, 2014 Confucius remarks, “In referring time and again to observing ritual propriety (li), how could I just be talking about gifts of jade and silk? In referring time and again to making music (yue), how could I just be talking about bells and drums?” There is an implied intersection between arts and ethical morality in Confucian thoughts. The arts allow one, a particular student, to enrichment of self-cultivation, observance of the esthetic aspect of the ritual propriety, and the development of an artistic expression of the self- that is subject to ethical and moral questions; therefore, artistic work such as the traditional Chinese calligraphy (though not music) is an exhibition of Confucian moral quintessence that embody one’s character and the corporeality. The Analects place a great deal of importance on ritual propriety and the practice thereof. More specifically implicated within this context is the appreciation of arts such as music, poetry, and archery. To the extent to which Michael Nylan and Thomas Wilson elevate Confucius as the “Exalted King of Culture,” the cultural and artistic aspect of the rituals is significant in Confucianism. In defense of his fervent advocacy of the esthetic culture, Confucius refers to the Zhou Dynasty that “looked back to the Xia and Shang Dynasties,” and appraises it as “Such...
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...What is human nature for Confucius? What evidence does he give to show that his views about human nature are correct? Student’s name Instructor’s name Unit name Date Confucius is known for stressing that human nature is intrinsically good. He stresses that humans being are born with the ability for differentiating between wrong and right and wrong. A person may not be aware from infancy which acts are tolerable and which acts are not, but all offspring feel shame, and once the children learn which deeds are bad or good, they have a normal tendency to consent of the former and criticize of the latter (Van and Bryan 27). At times Confucius has been nicknamed the Socrates of the east because there are countless comparisons in their lessons. Both stressed the value of education and the function which it plays in the shaping the character of an individual. This shaping of personality may be viewed as the development of good feature upon the environment of human nature (Legge, James and Trans 47). This description essay will discuss the evidence that Confucius gives to ascertain that human nature are correct. Confucius said that by personality, near together; by perform far apart. Human beings are born with comparatively the same faculties and needs. Apparently there are exemptions at either tremendous and of the continuum, but in common human beings are all very comparable at birth. Based upon the actions of human beings, the feedback that humans...
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...Living up to the expectations of the Master in Confucius’ Analects demands extraordinary self-discipline. Throughout the Analects of Confucius it is apparent that morals and ethical behaviors plays a major role. Through the various Analects the master expresses to his readers the importance of Confucius’s philosophical wisdom. It is important to note that these very books still play a major role in our society today. It is said that Confucius’s vision of self efficiency has been influenced, and has profoundly been practiced all around the world. Now, with that said one would think that to follow the order of the Master would be fairly difficult, but in actuality it is very simple and easy to understand. Confucius believed that everything we do in life is a ritual. From the way we shake each others hand, to the way we mark ones life's important moments such as birth, death and so on. It is the actions, and decisions that we make in our every day lives that dictate our pathways, so to say. Now, those pathways include the following, to continue on a path towards self efficiency or stray from our path of enlightenment. It is said that one who can preform Confucius’s exemplary actions is known as the “Junzi” or the “superior person”. One of the best ways to exemplify these actions can be shown throughout the Jataka tales, more specifically the tale of the Golden Goose and The Monkey’s Heroic Self Sacrifice. As I mentioned before, the expectations of the Master in Confucius’s...
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...To compare and contrast Jesus Christ and Confucius Two different men, living half of century apart on different continents, representatives of distinctly unlike cultures, and yet their influence on world is so similar. Both men set the beginnings of new religions and new eras in their countries. The religions they founded, survived for two millenniums shaping ideologies not of a single country but of half of the world. Their names are very well known and influential even in modern world. These names belong to a Chinese philosopher Confucius and Jewish religious leader Jesus Christ. The two religions they founded are Confucianism and Christianity. Even though these religions dominated in very distant from each other parts of the World, many concepts of these religions may seem strangely alike. Both Confucius’ and Christ’s teachings pursue transcendence within humans and peace with other people, however their ideas of what it is to be human and how to achieve perfection differ drastically. Two great works of literature Analects and Bible express analogous ideas of Confucius and Christ about perfection of the self and treating others peacefully. Analects describe all the Confucius’ sayings as well as his actions communicating his idea of a perfect “gentleman” the ideal, each man should make his goal to be. New Testament is a collection of short stories describing short episodes from the life of Christ with morale lesson communicating the ideal behavior in each of them. We can...
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...论语 论语序说 史记世家曰：“孔子名丘，字仲尼。其先宋人。父叔梁纥，母颜氏。以 鲁襄公二十二年，庚戌之岁，十一月庚子，生孔子于鲁昌平乡陬邑。为儿嬉 戏，常陈俎豆，设礼容。及长，为委吏，料量平；为司职吏，畜蕃息。适周， 问礼于老子，既反，而弟子益进。昭公二十五年甲申，孔子年三十五，而昭 公奔齐，鲁乱。于是适齐，为高昭子家臣，以通乎景公。 公欲封以尼溪之田，晏婴不可，公惑之。孔子遂行，反乎鲁。定公元 年壬辰，孔子年四十三，而季氏强僭，其臣阳虎作乱专政。故孔子不仕，而 退修诗、书、礼、乐，弟子弥众。九年庚子，孔子年五十一。公山不狃以费 畔季氏，召，孔子欲往，而卒不行。定公以孔子为中都宰，一年，四方则之， 遂为司空，又为大司寇。十年辛丑，相定公会齐侯于夹谷，齐人归鲁侵地。 十二年癸卯，使仲由为季氏宰，堕三都，收其甲兵。孟氏不肯堕成，围之不 克。十四年乙巳，孔子年五十六，摄行相事，诛少正卯，与闻国政。三月， 鲁国大治。齐人归女乐以沮之，季桓子受之。郊又不致膰俎于大夫，孔子行。 适卫，主于子路妻兄颜浊邹家。适陈，过匡，匡人以为阳虎而拘之。既解， 还卫，主蘧伯玉家，见南子。去适宋，司马桓魋欲杀之。又去，适陈，主司 城贞子家。居三岁而反于卫，灵公不能用。晋赵氏家臣佛肸以中牟畔，召孔 子，孔子欲往，亦不果。将西见赵简子，至河而反，又主蘧伯玉家。灵公问 陈，不对而行，复如陈。季桓子卒，遗言谓康子必召孔子，其臣止之，康子 乃召冉求。孔子如蔡及叶。楚昭王将以书社地封孔子，令尹子西不可，乃止。 又反乎卫，时灵公已卒，卫君辄欲得孔子为政。而冉求为季氏将，与齐战有 功，康子乃召孔子，而孔子归鲁，实哀公之十一年丁巳，而孔子年六十八矣。 然鲁终不能用孔子，孔子亦不求仕，乃叙书传礼记。删诗正乐，序易彖、系、 象、说卦、文言。弟子盖三千焉，身通六艺者七十二人。十四年庚申，鲁西 狩获麟，孔子作春秋。明年辛酉，子路死于卫。十六年壬戌、四月己丑，孔 子卒，年七十三，葬鲁城北泗上。弟子皆服心丧三年而去，惟子贡庐于冢上， 凡六年，孔子生鲤，字伯鱼，先卒。伯鱼生急，字子思，作中庸。”何氏曰： “鲁论语二十篇。齐论语别有问王、知道，凡二十二篇，其二十篇中章句， 颇多于鲁论。古论出孔氏壁中，分尧曰下章子张问以为一篇，有两子张，凡 二十一篇，篇次不与齐鲁论同。”程子曰：“论语之书，成于有子曾子之门人， 故其书独二子以子称。”程子曰：“读论语：有读了全然无事者；有读了后其 中得一两句喜者；有读了后知好之者；有读了后直有不知手之舞之足之蹈之 者。”程子曰：“今人不会读书。如读论语，未读时是此等人，读了后又只是 此等人，便是不曾读。”程子曰：“颐自十七八读论语，当时已晓文义。读之 愈久，但觉意味深长。” 读论语孟子法 程子曰：“学者当以论语孟子为本。论语孟子既治，则六经可不治而明 矣。读书者当观圣人所以作经之意，与圣人所以用心，圣人之所以至于圣人， 而吾之所以未至者，所以未得者。句句而求之，昼诵而味之，中夜而思之， 平其心，易其气，阙其疑，则圣人之意可见矣。”程子曰：“凡看文字，须先 晓其文义，然后可以求其意。未有不晓文义而见意者也。”程子曰：“学者须 将论语中诸弟子问处便作自己问，圣人答处便作今日耳闻，自然有得。虽孔 孟复生，不过以此教人。若能于语孟中深求玩味，将来涵养成甚生气质！” 程子曰：“凡看语孟，且须熟读玩味。须将圣人言语切己，不可只作一场话 说。人只看得二书切己，终身尽多也。”程子曰：“论孟只剩读着，便自意足。 ...
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...Confucius on Government Analysis Amel Al-kilany Confucius (551-479 BCE) is the Chinese philosopher who founded the system of philosophical and ethical teachings known as Confucianism. While he was best known as a philosopher, he was also an educator and a political figure. His goal was to form a society that returned to its roots by participating in old customs and traditions such as filial piety and ancestral worship to succeed. Confucius also recommended to several leaders that good government was only possible through good leaders, and harmony and justice were not possible without virtuous government. Although Confucius never wrote down his own philosophy, a majority of his teachings were preserved in the Analects by his followers who recorded...
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...Confucius and Aristotle on Virtue Lisa Wilson Dr. Malone Date 12/5/2015 Confucius and Aristotle are some of the greatest thinkers in the history of mankind. While Confucius was born in China and spearheaded a new way of perceiving morality, Aristotle was born in Macedon/Greece and also immersed his philosophical work to addressing moral thinking.Both philosophers have addressed similar subjects with major points of divergence and convergence. On virtue, these two authors have almost similar opinions. However, it is their points of convergence or agreement that have had a huge impact on the modern world’s thinking and understanding of virtue and moral behavior. By the Standard English dictionary, virtue is defined as behavior showing high moral standards. This definition is borrowed from both philosophers who tend to agree by laying emphasis on character or behavior as opposed to the actions themselves. Thus Aristotle and Confucius agree that virtue is entrenched in one’s character and thus should be visible in all kind of situations and in specific situations (Yu, 1998). The twophilosophersalso agree chiefly on some components of virtue but disagree on others. One of the chief virtues that the two agree on is piety. According to Aristotle, humans serve the gods by improving the moral state of the human state. To him, being virtuous is a form reverence to the gods. Confucius has a similar take on piety noting that...
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...The Ideal Person According To Confucius REL/133 The Ideal Person According To Confucius Confucianism is a belief system developed by Confucius and Chinese tradition. It encompasses the importance of educational and moral development in individuals. The perfect human being must have the qualities of saint, scholar, and gentleman. To accomplish this, one must adhere to the guidelines of the ‘Five Great Relationships and the Five Virtues. The ideal person, according to Confucius, would be the junzi. This is the definitive noble human being. The junzi would have been taught virtue from a young age, thus these ideals are completely innate. Some of these virtues are faithfulness, modesty, compassion and diligence. He is a critical thinker and impartial witness. Although educated, the junzi never uses his knowledge to insult or offend and holds himself accountable for his mistakes. He would follow a special set of etiquette rules, ensuring proper relationships. The junzi behaves in a simple yet dignified manner. He is a natural leader. The junzi is also reverent in worship. He respects the relationship hierarchy set forth by Confucius referred to as the Five Great Relationships. In addition to the appreciation of the Five Great Relationships, it is necessary to live by five distinct virtues. The first virtue is represented by Ren. Ren can be described to the West as empathy; feeling for another human being. It is the consciousness of human relationships. The simple...
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...Not a lot is known about the early life of Kong Qui, better known as Confucius directly translated as Master Kong. There is a thought that says Confucius descended from royalty in the Shang dynasty, but his family lost their power. He was born in 551 B.C. in a city called Chufu, during the Zhou Dynasty when China was not united as one, but separated in three other dynasties. Those kings would fight in order to gain and rule over the land, there was no peace after the kings took over the land. Confucius either wrote a collection of writings called The Analects, or his students wrote them after his passing, which contains his sayings. These writings do not contain anything based on religion because he just wanted to tell people how to be a...
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...Confucian Humanism Magdalena A. Villaba If one word could characterize Chinese civilization, it would be Humanisn. Humanism is taken to generally mean- that man and his activities are given great importance. Thus, it is said that one of the characteristics of Chinese thought is this- worldliness- in other words, greater attention to life in this world. Humanism’s emphasis is on man’s self- dependence rather than dependence in heaven or the ancestors. In fact, it was a humanism that professes the utility of man and heaven. It is in this sense that humanism has dominated Chinese thought from the dawn of history. Humanism is an outgrowth of historical and social change. To understand Confucius, it is necessary to realize what sort of a world he lived in. He is criticized as having been too much interested in the orderly arrangement of affairs, but it must be remembered that he was trying to bring order out of something close to chaos. To hold his revolutionary ideas and to talk to them as he freely did in a world where these were extremely dangerous gave life adventure enough. Chinese history starts with the Shang dynasty. This civilization suffered a setback when in 1122 B.C., according to traditional chronology, the Shang were conquered by a coalition of relatively rude tribesmen. The conquerors were led by the Chou people who established the Chou dynasty. The invaders pushed their conquest to cover a considerable portion of North China, but it was impossible for them to administer...
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...Confucius’s beliefs have definitely left a mark on the modern world today and influenced several traditions as well. Confucianism has strongly changed from the days Confucius taught it himself, till today in the modern world. Confucius’s beliefs and teachings focused on the ideal person. Confucianism has clearly been westernized in today’s day of age. Many of the beliefs and virtues are not followed as an importance anymore as it used to be. Confucius key beliefs focused on the virtues and relationships between mankind. The virtues include benevolence, propriety, loyalty, intellect, and trust. Benevolence is being able to do good to others with acts of kindness and charitableness. Benevolence is practiced today with donating and helping with charities all over the world to the smallest gesture of helping a friend. Propriety is the act of having good manners. Good manners are important for the ideal person according to Confucius. It is not that common when going out people are out of control, although in today’s society it is slowly becoming “socially acceptable”. Loyalty is another important virtue in the ideal person. One should be loyal to everyone. Sadly today, although there are loyal people, not many people are which can cause several setbacks in relationships, or work environments. The fourth important virtue is intellect. To be intellect one studies and learns with an open mind. Today people make the mistake of acting intellect without actually being intellect. For example...
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...Junbing Chen Word Count 2012 100247094 Oct 18 2014 The Contradiction between Determinism and Free Will: To What Extent Are Humans Free? Recently, the issue of free will is much concerned to a point where a wide discussion has been sparked. Free will, on any layer, has been considered as the ability of agents to make choices unimpeded by certain factors. It is obvious that humans have a strong sense of freedom, which leads people to believe that they have free will (Caruso 8). On the other hand, there is a scientific view assumes that physical world can be predicted by physical law including human consciousness, which is also known as determinism. Following those debates there comes a moral dilemma: How are we to assign responsibility for our actions if they are caused totally by external environment and passed events (Baer 128)? The underlying problem is, do humans actually have free will? If so, to what extent are humans able to control themselves? The fundamental controversy of free will and determinism, which represents the question of whether freedom of human mind exists, has been debated by numerous scientists and philosophers. This essay will firstly have a brief review on the arguments and viewpoints of free will and determinism of several philosophers, including Blatchford, Hospers and Taylor. Following this, it will compare those assumptions to each other. Finally, the essay will give the author’s own thoughts and debates on this...
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...When analyzing ideals of Confucius and his followers, one might think of the relationship between a ruler and their subjects to be of the upmost importance. However, when we analyze Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi we see that familial relationships are more crucial to a successful society. The relationship between parents and their children is the most important aspect of building a state, and must be done so properly. Once a proper familial relationship is reached, it paves the road for the relationship between ruler and ruled. This is important because improper relations between ruler and ruled lead to a weak state. In their various texts, Mencius, Confucius, and Xunzi emphasize the importance of familial relationships in the state building...
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...Comparison between the Analects and Confessions Both St. Augustine’s Confessions and Confucius’s Analects are important teachings that have great influence on people around the world in the ancient time and nowadays. Both doctrines discuss ethical values of the society back in the time as we can find some similarities between the two. However, there are significant differences between Confucius and St. Augustine’s experiences and believes since they are living in different environment at time period. Their profound differences are the factors that contributed to shape the distinct cultures between the West and the East today. Confucius taught us to love others from the within the family to everyone else in the society. A man’s character was fostered from his role as a son in the family (Analects I, 2). He should be obedient to his parent, and to be respectful to his father’s way when he is living and even after death (I, 11). One of the differences between St. Augustine’s Confessions and Confucius’s Analects is the treatment of one within the family. A good son, according to Confucius, should always obey his parents, not complain, and stay reverent in any situations (IV, 18). His “never fail to comply” teachings was opposite to St. Augustine’s belief. In Confessions, St. Augustine admitted his parents expected in him a lot, and sacrificed for his future. Although his father was praised for providing St. Augustine financial support for his education even more than richer men...
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