That is to let go and follow the Tao and do only what is absolutely needed so that the people can learn and make their own rules. Lao-Tzu believes that when a governing body complicates itself with laws and be involved in the livelihood of its people too much, it would have adverse effects. This is because their actions draw the people’s attention to disheartening conditions like crime, war, and poverty. Therefore, Lao-Tzu says the Master should leads with humility by understanding that they are no different from the ones they govern and act from below the people, as to not appear overbearing while being sensitive to the people’s interest. The people follow the Master because they do not feel constricted and feels free to choose their way (Verse
The teachings of Confucianism focused heavily of respecting and being kind to one another. 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.
Many of the points of Confucianism are applicable to life today while a plethora of them are inexcusable. One major gripe with Confucianism is the idea of harmony and filial piety and how it silences natural want and need to question the status quo. The relationship between father and son is supposed to be one in which the son lives his life to satisfy the wants and needs of his father even after death. In the Book of Analects it is that “When a person’s father is alive, observe his intentions, after his father is no more, observe his actions. If... he does then he is worthy to be called filial.” Dissent is not accepted and not believing what ones mentor may say prohibits someone for being a junzi.
Confucius wrote about his ideas during a period in which states were at war and there was a lot of confusion, it can be inferred from the continuous mention of “virtue” that Confucius was trying to instill good morals in his citizens and he tries to inspire them to do good. In a way he wants to spread calmness righteousness inside the state at this time as the state is already at war with others, support and love is required from the citizens for its state so if the government puts strict laws and punishments there may be backlash from the citizens causing more problems for the government to deal with at a time where they need to be focused on warring other states. In the case of Han Fei, he wrote his article at the very end of the warring states period, meaning that the government had more or less dealt with the wars already meaning that they had more time and resources on their hands to focus elsewhere at that time. They focused their time and resources (e.g. soldiers/police) to solve problems inside their own state now to set up laws and enforce them in order to improve their state and make it stronger from the inside.
He believed that the key to running a good society was to show respect for ones elders. It was a concept or aspect of life that was really important to the Chinese that a Chinese emperor turned that practice of filial piety into a law. Therefore, if you were being disrespectful towards your elders, you would be punishable by law. The idea of filial piety has been ingrained in children and teenagers for many years. Filial piety is mainly about children caring for their parents in order to pay them back for taking care of them when they were kids.
Filial Piety Filial piety generally means respect for one's parents. In the Chinese culture, obeying one's parents is held as one the most important virtues. Confucianism particularly gives a high value for this. Relating the meaning of filial piety to Martin Luther King Jr. time would have been an endless cycle of mistakes. Martin Luther King Jr.’s role during his era was to change the mindsets of all parent figures and children to better the future of African Americans in the United States.
Sun Tzu had an wholistic philosophy that if you studied thoroughly and followed correctly, you will be victorious in any conflict. For example, Sun Tzu says, “Avoid what is strong and strike at what is weak.” – Sun
The importance of grandchildren/offspring can be linked to a contextual element that is crucial to the film, this is Confucianism. Confucius emphasised the fulfilment of duties , ‘Filial piety’ can be anything from simple chores or expectations but for first sons or only sons such as Wai-Tung he has a duty to continue on the family name by producing offspring. It is one of Confucius’ beliefs that your life is unfulfilled if you do not have children and this is a sentiment that is still apparent in China
In ancient Chinese culture there is the principle which states that everything exists as a contradiction. Darkness and light; old and young; hot and cold; each could not exist without their counterpart. Equity is key. A leader must learn how to balance both truth and deceit, their light and darkness, to establish a substantial reign; even if the acts that they commit do not follow their own or other’s normal ethical standards. Marcus Aurelius wrote in his work Meditations that “Injustice is a king of blasphemy.
There is a traditional Chinese proverb “百善孝为先” meaning that “filial piety is the most important among hundreds of virtues”. Filial piety is one of the fundamental virtue and primary duty in Asian culture, which means that being good to one’s parents. This idea is often used to guide how children should treat their parents in terms of comforts and welfare. Further, filial piety is a culturally embedded social norm, which allows parents to shape their children’s value, attitudes and behavior (Wang et al. 2010, 22).