the way of confucius Essay -- essays research papers

Confucius is one of the most famed of the ancient Chinese philosophers. Confucius lived from 551 to 479 BC. He believed that Chinese culture had peaked during the spinning top of the Zhou dynasty. During their reign, the Zhou rulers adhered to a delimitate of practices referred to as the li, alike called rites or rituals. These rites goerned all aspects of Chinese culture. The rites told everything, from the expression huge political ceremonies should be conducted, to what is the proper way to respond to the receiving of a gift.During Confucius life, the role of the Zhou kings was cut back to mere figureheads and populacey of the rites had been lost, forgotten, or reduced to a lesser role. Confucius resolved that he was to revive the practice of the rites and show others back to the way of the dao, or the way of heaven. In an effort to accomplish this, Confucius would not exactly strive to strictly follow the rites himself, he would dedicate his life to education and sprea ding them to others as well.The teachings of Confucius cover a wide variety of topics, as they were meant to govern all aspects of ones life. Some of the most burning(prenominal) aspects of the rites taught by Confucius regard family relations, desir adapted traits of character, proper ways of governing, and aspects of ren or genuine humaneness or humanity. date some of his teachings be ideas specific to his sentence and culture, such as the proper colors to be worn by nobility, other teachings such as family relations and virtue of character are just as valuable to todays society as it was for his own. One of the most important aspects of life for Confucius was family life and relationships. Many of his teachings are therefore related to such topics. The main points of Confucius teaching regarding family life nurture to do with filial obligations and respect among the family. He had become disheartened by the current state of family affairs as can be seen in Book 2.4 where h e states nowadays, filial is used to refer to anyone who is merely able to provide their parents with nourishment. But even dogs and horses are provided with nourishment. If you do not trade your parents with reverence, wherein lies the difference (Ivanhoe, 5). Confucius believed that respect and reverence were the foundation of the family bonds and what separated people from the animals.Confucius believed the just now cor... ...ims with the proper corresponding actions.Confucius also makes clear the distinction between a gentleman and a slight man. He gives examples such as in Book 4.16 when he states that a gentleman acts a certain way because he understands what the right thing to do is, where as a petty man acts a certain way only because it is to his advantage to do so. In Book 15.2 Confucius states that in times of hardship, such as a shortage of food or water, the gentleman remains firm and levelheaded, small-arm the petty man becomes overwhelmed by the situation and act s improperly. He also states that in terms of everyday affairs, the gentleman is relaxed and at ease, while the petty man is anxious and full of worry (Ivanhoe, 23).As can be seen, Confucius was an exceedingly wise man. His appreciation for the past spurred the development of his teachings that have stood the test of time. While his work was intended to guide the masses of his day back to the air that was once the Zhou dynasty, he instead managed to create a set of rites and teachings about the importance of family relations and strength of character that can be applied and appreciated as much today as they were over 2000 years ago.