CONFUCIOUS
THE FOUNDER OF CHINA’S GREATEST TRADITIONS AND BELIEFS
The one man who shaped and changed China wasn’t a famous emperor who fought a war or commanded an army. Instead he was a great philosopher and teacher whose ethics were handed down for centuries.
His name is Confucius and he helped construct Chinas unique family structure and culture. His beliefs, his documents, and his teachings made Confucius to be the most renown influencers and teachers of his time. Confucius was able to shape the families of the ancient world of China in very subtle, yet powerful ways and these beliefs and traditions molded Chinese family’s well into the 20th century.
The first way Confucius influenced China was by creating five relationships of society
Ruler to Subject
Father to Son
Husband and wife
Elder brother and younger brother
These roles set the
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When he spoke to his disciples, they did not understand what this word fiely meant. So they asked him the meaning of it and he then stated that filial piety was “to not be disobedient”
When asked again by another one of his disciples, Confucius goes on to explain fiel piety in greater details:
His disciple “Fan Ch’e said, “What do you mean?” The Master replied, “That parents when alive, should be served according to propriety; that when dead, they should be buried according to propriety; and that they should be sacrificed to according to propriety.”
Essentially this means that even after death, one should respect their parents as if they were still alive. This shows the depth of honor that was shown to the fathers and mothers of the Chinese people in ancient times.
Filey piety was more than just listening to elders and “not being disobedient’. Chinese sons and daughters were also expected to serve their mother and father by working hard and tending to their parents’ daily needs and to also support one’s parents when
So we have to tighten our belts a little so that they can enjoy their old age” (Nguyen 29). According to Nguyen, the importance of family and giving back to your parents is crucial in the Vietnamese culture and tradition. On the other hand, Gonzalo states that, “Hmong men were given higher status because only men were able to carry on the family’s clan name, and it was men who would be responsible for taking care of aged parents” (Gonzalo 60). Alike to Nguyen’s Vietnamese traditions, the Hmong men were expected to care for their aged parents in the future. Unlike the American tradition of leaving the elders in a senior home, these stories show that there is a similar importance in taking care of one’s elders between the
Ming China followed Confucianism during this era. The reason these people were forced to read these four books regarding Confucious before they even knew the characters was so that once they learned them, they would only know of Confusism. Had they been taught before, they may have had the ability to read scriptures of other followings; or foreign culture. During this era, spread of foreign ideas was exactly what China was trying to avoid. The purpose of this document is to point out
The authors purpose is to show that Confucius is the a real teaching in China while Buddhism was not and just an idea. Finally, many people did not believe that Buddha had any affiliation with China and the dynasties. Buddha did not speak Chinese nor wear Chinese cultural clothes and he came from India which leads many scholars to believe he did not have an effect. For example, “...to say that Buddha is no more than a cult… did not exist here in ancient time.(Document 4)” The point of view of the author is against Buddhism and does not believe that Buddhism had any correlation with China.
Buddhism is an ancient religion that originated from India and gradually traveled to China through cultural diffusion . Many of the Chinese people liked Buddhism, which was also referred to as a “barbaric religion” according to the traditionalist. The Chinese saw their society as sophisticated and superior to any of the new ideas coming from the advance trade routes throughout their country known as the Silk roads. Due to the fall of the Han Dynasty and it’s chaos that it created, Buddhism was a peaceful distraction that gave people optimism when their government failed because of corruption and political disunity. Before Buddhism religions such as Daoism and Confucianism were popular in China, because of Buddhism, followers of the traditional
Love for one's ancestor was necessary. This idea is based on the Chinese tradition that associates old age with wisdom. The system of belief had many virtues that fit an ideally kind and gentle world, where each family has its place beneath the ruler, each individual has his or her place in the family, and no force was required. Confucianism influenced Chinese society greatly. Most Chinese officials knew Confucianism and followed it.
Confucius and his disciples believed that people had a natural sense of empathy and that we owed it to one another to be kind to each other. This is a really big belief in modern society as well. We are taught as children that we should be kind to one another and care of one another. This has been a teaching throughout the centuries of human existence, and this isn’t just mentioned in the writings of Confucius and his disciples it’s also in the writing of other literary works as well. The Bible tells it reads to, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you,” (Ephesians 4:32).
Regardless of social class or wealth, rich or poor, women in the 1930’s China were always inferior to men. Women were treated more like objects and possessions rather than humans, when it came to marriage. Women had no say in almost anything, they couldn’t object or disapprove a marriage they were matched in, most were treated with little or no respect from their husbands, the ones that were treated with respect were a rare bunch. Even women from the highest class, had once been treated as mere servants to their needy husbands, only to do nothing but obey, in the name of honor, luck, wealth, and reputation for their families.
Confucianism enforced harmony, between people while legalism enforced strict following of rules. For confucianism was built on the belief that harmony results when people in society accepted their place in their lives. However, Legalism was built on the fact that all humans are more inclined to do the wrong thing instead of the right thing due to the motivation of self-interest. Confucianism is described through the five key relationships: father to son, elder brother to younger brother, husband to wife, elder friend to younger friend, and ruler to subject. But legalism was described
Taylor Burke Mrs.Schweighardt World History, Period 6 8 February 2023 In what ways did the Han Dynasty improve government and daily life in China? The Han Dynasty was one of the first Dynasties that brought back the idea of Confucianism into their government and ruling system. After many years of following Legalism, the Han Dynasty decided to Soften the harsh rules that the Quinn Dynasty left behind and introduce Confucianism which helped influence the people to have moral standards that they show to elders, friends, and family.
Buddhism is a religion that has been under pressure for hundreds of years. Specifically in China, the acceptance of the religion was a hard, long battle that formed demise and refute amongst the society. Emperors, Scholars, and even anonymous Chinese writers voiced their opinions for and against Buddhism. Many controversial arguments are held today. Emperor Wu of the Tang Dynasty (845 C.E.), did not respect Buddhism as a religion.
Family by Pa Chin is a captivating novel that describes what life in China was like in the twentieth century. Confucianism, a big religion in China at the time, was heavily focused on filial piety. Filial piety is the relationship of obedience, in which the elders are to be respected by the younger generation (Wu, lecture notes, 2015). This religion was one of the main structures on how the society was ran. Chin represents how the younger generation was upset with how the old traditions of the Confucian system were ran and that they were ready to change it.
The third is younger and older siblings, older sibling were supposed to be considerate toward their younger siblings and in turn the younger sibling are supposed to be respectful to their older siblings. The fourth is friend and friend, the confucianism categorize this the same as the older and younger sibling relationship. The last relationship is father and son, fathers are taught to be kind to their sons and sons are taught to be obedient and listen to their fathers. Confucius also called Kongzi or Kongfuzi in chinese is the founder of Confucianism in 770B.C to 476B.C. He devoted his whole life to education and he had around 3,000 disciples.
Although both Confucius and Mencius have a lot in common with regards to governance, the two do have varying opinions on certain matters such as the legitimacy when rulers are overthrown, and the relationship between the ruler and his people. In precedence to coming up with policies and administrative measures, one has to first consider the issue of human nature as it plays an essential role in the development of a state 's political system. In the Confucian philosophy, the belief is that goodness is innate in humans and that everyone shares this same trait [子曰:“性相近也,习相远也。”] (Analects, 17.2). Mencius further elaborated on this doctrine by stating that it is mankind’s natural tendency to be kind to others, just as water would naturally flow downwards (Mencius, 6A2).
There are two giants in the Axial Age of human history, Confucius and Plato, who are considered as the landmark in the oriental and western world. They are great philosophers, ideologists as well as excellent educators, whose thought have profound influence to the oriental and western world. Confucius’s ideas maintain authority for more than two thousand years, which have intimate connections with development of Chinese federal society. Even to this day, it still remains practical significance and reflects the glorious radiant. Plato’s doctrine is a source of Western political thought.
Regarding Confucian ideology in Vietnam and Singapore’s education, two outstanding believes are the importance of family and society, and the value of knowledge and self-cultivation. However, the expression of these two Confucian basic concepts in each country is not completely