The basic construct of Confucius’ doctrine is ren. i. e. . humanity. while humanity is at the same clip the leitmotif of our era. This histories for why the Confucian thought is so close to modern-day readers and why his instruction rules and methods have maintained verve throughout history. Confucius explained humanity as ‘to love the people. ’ or ‘to love the multitudes extensively. ’ This led him to supply equal chances in instruction and to transport out learning activities in duologue with his adherents. The overall development of everyone’s possible ability constitutes the most of import portion of Confucius’ impression of humanity.
He practiced moral instruction. rational instruction. physical instruction and aesthetic instruction through his ‘six art crafts’ : ‘The wise have no perplexities. the humanists have no concerns. and the brave have no frights. His doctrine was originated from his political pattern and instruction activity. Based on experience. its rules and methods are matter-of-fact instead than bad. Confucius has been honored as a idol of virtuousness and acquisition by Chinese people for 1000s of old ages. The chief paperss of Confucian doctrine consist in recorded duologues and discourses with his adherents: The Analects. Thus it may be seen that his talks sent Forth an good-humored familiarity. and his philosophic discourses were characterized distinctively by an component of feeling.
Having acted as shepherd. cornetist and shopkeeper in his early yearss. Confucius finally turned out to be the most celebrated and learned bookman in his clip by steadfast analyzing independently. From his thirtieth down to his decease. there were 1000s of pupils following around him. Even after his decease. his grave had been guarded by tonss of adherents and supporters. and the topographic point turned to be a small town at last. With his accomplishments and prestigiousness. Confucius had been honored for a idol of virtuousness and acquisition by Chinese people for 1000s of old ages.
The chief paperss of Confucian doctrine consist in the recorded duologues and discourses between him and his adherents. Thus it may be seen that his talks sent Forth an good-humored familiarity. and his doctrine in that clip could merely be a naif empiricist philosophy brought Forth by the particular state of affairs instead than a great set of bad metaphysics.
I. Humanity Principle
The cardinal thought of Confucian doctrine is REN. i. e. humanity. he explained that REN is to love the people. ” one could non love merely his parents. brothers. sisters and boies. ” but ought to love the multitudes extensively. Here the “masses” did non mean specially certain sort of people. Its basic significance is like what Buddha said of salvaging all the life animals and Christ said of loving all the people including your enemy.
When his stallss were burned down. on returning from tribunal. Confucius said. “Was anyone hurt? ” He did non inquire about the Equus caballuss. those he asked about might be his place slaves to whom he had ne’er discriminated. on the contrary. he showed extraordinary concern and love to them. Therefore. his humanity rule is both the foundation of his doctrine and standards of his behaviour.
This humanity rule was carried frontward continuously by his adherents. One of his adherents Zixia said. “all people on the Earth are brothers. why should a gentleman concern about deficit of brothers? ” Mencius subsequently related this loving -heart spirit as ” regard my ain seniors and widen this regard to the other’s seniors. love my ain childs and widen this love to the other’s childs. ” During the past 1000s of old ages. this cosmopolitan love spirit has permeated into the cultural tradition of the state. go life-maxims known to everybody. These axioms went down through history. and eventually came to be Dr. Sun Yet-Sen’s motto UNIVERSAL LOVE. In modern life. it is this motto that acts as an thought span taking to exchange with the universe.
The theoretical footing of this humanity doctrine was stated in a negative manner as” ne’er do to others what you would non wish them to make to you. ” that is. what to state. how to state. what to make. how to make. all must be examined from other people’s angle. and in a positive manner as “You yourself want to stand up in the universe. than aid others to make the same. You yourself want success. so help others to make the same. ” These activities attesting witting humanity should be practiced and endeavor for consciously. In the presence of humanity. one demand non avoid viing with his instructor. ” Merely by uninterrupted attempt in pattern without slack can one attack the ideal personality of humanitarianism gentleman. Once you face the trial of life and decease. ” individuals devoted to humanity will non seek to populate at the disbursal of wounding humanity. and will even give their lives to continue humanity. ” With the encouragement of Confucian words. countless Chinese boies and girls advance wave upon wave to give for the state. thereby strengthen the curdling of the state. which kept an old and powerful one in get the better ofing countless adversities and dangers.
Confucius’s wide head besides enable him to exist the difficult yearss calmly during the blockade in Chen and Cai. subsequently he said. “With harsh nutrient to eat. cold H2O to imbibe. and the blended arm as a pillow. felicity may still be. ” These words were merely the existent description to the ardent bosom in the difficult life at the clip. Confucius has an history in his ain words on his behaving. “He is a adult male whose ardor for work is such that he frequently forgets to eat. whose felicity in his chase of cognition is so great that he frequently forgets his problems and does non perceive old age stealing upon him. ” Here “his felicity is so great that he forgets his troubles” is merely the graphic manifestation of his words” the humanists have no concerns. ” This optimistic and enterprising spirit supports him to be apart from terror. despair. regretting and retreating.
Confucius is normally mistaken about the of import job of love in unrecorded. Peoples frequently take his celebrated comment that “I’ve ne’er seen person who would wish virtuousness as liked a charming lady” as his basic attitude towards love. thereby think that his pan-loving bosom was envying with the love between work forces and adult females. that it was but a pan-loving of a pedant towards the same sexes. True. we’ve ne’er seen any paperss about him had left any romantic loving anecdote or some ardent advocation. but we all know that the first Chinese collected verse forms was edited and used as text edition by him. The first verse form in the aggregation revealed the author’s innermost feeling. “There is a pretty quiet miss. I’ve missed her in the dream running after her but attain nil. I long for her in the dream. losing and yearning. and bend over and over in bed and couldn’t autumn asleep. ” It may be conceived that how much deep understanding and mental sponse of the editor have permeated into the first piece of the aggregation.
There is a verse form missed in the aggregation. “The flowery subdivision of the wild cherry. how fleetly it flies back. It’s non that I do non lose you. but your house is far off. ” Confucius remarked. ” He did non truly lose her. Had he done so. he would non hold worried about the distance. ” There is no path of holier-than-thou instruct but friendly arrows and smiling sarcasm. by the smiling he criticized that his love was deficiency of sincere feelings and adequate febrility.
II. Equality Idea
Confucius’ private school provided for everyone to be educated every bit. It occurred for the first clip in mankind history. He said. “I ne’er refused to teach those who are willing to convey me a package of dried meat as payment. ” “Instruction recognizes no castes” In his 3000 adherents there were over 70 outstanding 1s including Memyiz from blue beginning and Zhonggong from average household. This led to many reproaches at the clip. “What a muss is the adherents to and fro in the old teacher’s tribunal. ” A adherent said in defence of his instructor. ” Merely as there were assorted patients in a good doctor’s clinic. our instructor admitted everybody’s petition from all quarters. “However. the relation between good physician and patients is frequently that the physician looks after the patients and the patient has merely the duty to obey the doctor’s advice without any pick. while it was a common regard and equality relation between Confucius and his pupils. The instructor may inquire the pupils their aspirations at any clip. and the pupil in bend may besides inquire the teacher’s. so Confucius answered honestly. “My aspiration is that the aged live an easy life. friend have faith in me. and the young person care for the memory of me. ”
Confucius said. ” When you know a thing. say that you know it. when you do non cognize a thing. admit that you do non cognize it. that is true cognition. ” This opinion provided a standard before which the instructor and the adherents are in the equal place. On the other manus. the pupil’s uncertainty could merely enable the instructor to intensify his idea. If the adherent yielded to his instructor infinitely without any feedback. Confucius was non satisfied and said. “Yan Hui was non any aid to me. for he ever accepted everything I said. ”
As a philosopher. Confucius’ positions and words were far superior to that of the ordinary people. whereas as a adult male with blood and flesh and normal feelings. he was full of parents’ love and friendly emotion towards the pupil in populating together from forenoon to dark. This provided equal dirt for his humanity idea. It might every bit good say. it was in the uninterrupted feedback and inspiration of adherents with active thought and supple head that made Confucius extraordinary accomplishment of thought.
III. Matter-of-fact Attitude
Hegel said in his talk on the history of doctrine. ” Confucius is merely a adult male who has a certain sum of practical and secular wisdom-one with whom there is no bad doctrine. ” The bad doctrine proposed here is but one regard of western doctrine. i. e. metaphysics. It is the feature of Germany authoritative doctrine that has been rejected already by modern-day empiricist philosophy doctrine. Bypass the differences sing era and civilization background. if we try to look for a scholar relation in the western doctrine tendencies for the philosophical method and attitude of Confucius. and made a pick between Hegel’s metaphysics and James’ pragmatism. people would prefer James to Hegel.
James said in his talk on pragmatism. “A pragmatist turned his dorsum resolutely and one time for all upon a batch of chronic wonts dear to professional philosophers. He turns off from abstraction and inadequacy. from verbal solution. from bad a priori grounds. from fixed rules. closed systems and assumed absolutes and beginnings. He turns towards concreteness and adequate. towards facts. towards action and towards power. ”
Numerous Confucian expressions are summed up from plentifulness of observations on experience. that is. they turn towards the concrete and the adequate. towards facts and actions. For illustration. through infinite observations he noticed that pulsation has different effects upon individuals in different age. so he said. ” There are three things against which a gentleman should be on his guard. In young person. before his pulsation has settled down. he should be on his guard against lecherousness. Having reached his prime. when his pulsation has become strong. he should be on his guard against discord. Having reached old age. when his pulsation diminutions. he should be on his guard against greed. ” Here he supposed a pulse factor in physiology and medical field to explicate the alterations of behaviour inclination in three footing stages of life. This guess had subsequently been approved universally as equal theory by Chinese people and even became the common sense among the whole society.
The aureate mean is one of the basic class of Confucian doctrine. It is the method and norm of his humanity rule. There are both similarity and difference between Confucian aureate mean and that of Aristotle. The later said in ‘ Nicomachean Ethics’ . ” It may go evident besides if we view the sort of nature possessed by virtuousness. Now in everything that is uninterrupted and divisible it is possible to take an sum which is greater than or less than or equal to the sum required. and the sum taken may be so related either with regard to the thing itself or in relation to us. and the equal is a mean between surplus and lack. By’ the mean’ in the instance of the thing itself. I mean that which lies at equal intervals from the extremes. and this mean is merely one thing and is the same for everyone… For illustration. if ten is many and two is few. so six is taken as the mean with regard to the thing itself. for six exceeds two and is exceeded by 10s by equal sum. and this is the average harmonizing to an arithmetic proportion.
“Both Confucius and Aristotle emphasized the defects of surplus and the lack. A disciple one time asked Confucius. ’ Who is better. Shi or Shang? ’ ‘Shi goes excessively far and Shang does non travel far plenty. ’ ‘ In that instance. Shi must be the better. ’ Confucius said. “to travel excessively far is every bit bad as non to travel far plenty. ” When the aureate mean extends from the personal comment to the right handling of the interpersonal relation. down to the chance-grasping of an of import action. the criterion by which 1 may judge the surplus or lack is altering with the clip. infinite and conditions. that is. “A gentleman keeps the aureate mean in due clip. ” This shows that what Confucius means is absolutely a matter-of-fact rule and method based on experience. whereas that of Aristotle had its clear nonnatural character. it is inferred by simple rationalistic tax write-off. The virtuousness brought away in this manner is a production of bad head.
IV. All Round Development
2400 old ages ago. both Confucius ( 551-479. bc ) and Socrates ( 469-399. bc ) arose in the universe as great philosopher-teacher in turn. Both held that one could better his nature by survey and both brought up a group of bookmans and minds who constituted a cultural tradition act uponing ulterior coevalss. Both practising ask-answer instruction method. Socrates was good at intensifying the argument measure by measure to separate the similarity and difference. whereas Confucius preferred giving systematic counsel to rectify the nonreversible cognition. The learning topographic point of Socrates was frequently in the secondary school. on the street or in the lane. Confucius taught chiefly in the schoolroom. but the classs of hiting and carriage-driving were on-the-scene instruction. It indicated that both thought extremely of the physical instruction. Analyzing their instruction rules. Socrates attached importance to seek truth by argument. while Confucius stressed the overall development of the disciple’s possible endowment. It is the all round development of human ability that composed the cardinal content of his humanity instruction.
Confucian classs may be divided approximately into basic class ( six artcrafts ) and specialised class ( six books ) . Six artcrafts involved Rite. Music. Shooting. Carriage-driving. History and Arithmetic. Rite represented moral instruction. History and Arithmetic represented rational instruction. Shooting and Carriage-driving represented physical instruction and Music represented aesthetic instruction. The students were required to accept overall perusal and preparation in six artcrafts so that “the wise have no perplexities. the humanists have no concerns. the brave have no frights. ”
V. Power of Personality
Confucius’ great appeal of personality attracted a great figure of adherents from all waies and bookmans of ulterior coevalss. This is the wisdom appeal of a philosopher. the loving-heart appeal of a humanist. the brave appeal of a exalted individual. Confucius attached great importance to the self-education in moral instruction. In his legion mundane demands he proposed JUNZI ( gentleman ) as a societal moral criterion. and he told his favourite student Zixia “ought to be a gentleman bookman. non a junior-grade adult male rational ‘ . The contrast between gentleman and junior-grade adult male is non that between the more or less of cognition and acquisition. but difference between the grades of humanity spirit manifested in the manner of words and workss.
How did Confucius separate gentleman and the junior-grade adult male? When anything comes up. ’ The gentleman understands what is right. junior-grade adult male understands what is profitable. ’ When in quandary. ’ the gentleman keeps his virtuousness in want. the junior-grade adult male commits all sort of out-rages at one time. ’ In the regard of temperateness. ’ a gentleman is dignified but ne’er haughty. junior-grade adult male is disdainful but ne’er dignified. ’ In the regard of interpersonal relation’ . The demands that gentleman makes are upon himself. those that junior-grade adult male makes are upon others. ’ In short. the junior-grade adult male considered everything centered on his selfish involvement. while gentleman takes attention of the involvement of everybody including that of the junior-grade adult male.
In the long tally of societal development. Confucian humanity instruction and equality spirit had permeated into the cultural tradition and national character of China. and go the moral criterion among societal members. Since’ The Analectss of Confucius ‘ had been moving as children’s primer for 100s of old ages. about everyone could declaim the first sentence in the book. ’ to hold friends come to you from afar. is that non after all delicious? ’ Since the gap of the Silk Road. China was known as ‘ the state of humanity and justice’ for showing small aggressive political orientation and occupying action. It thereby strengthens the economic contacts and cultural exchanges between China and other states.
