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Confucius
551 BCE – 479 BCE
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Confucius’ portrait
done by Wu Daozi
or Wu Daozi (680740) 吴道子 who
was a Chinese artist
of the Tang
Dynasty.
The Analects
http://ctext.org/confucianism
A Brief Bio
551 to 479 BCE
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Known as Kong Qiu (孔丘), courtesy name, Zhongni (仲尼). Confucius
was born in 551 BCE in the State of Lu (the south of modern-day
Shandong Province). His father Shu lianghe (叔梁紇) was a famous
warrior who was appointed as a senior government official at the City
of Zou (Shandong Province).
After having nine daughters, he finally got a son. However, the boy
Mengpi fell off a tree at 7 and limped around ever since. When his
wife passed away, it was very hard for him to take care of his children.
He proposed to Family Yan, hoping to marry one of the five daughters.
Father Yan let his daughters make a decision on their own. Zheng Zai,
the youngest, expressed her love. By the time Confucius was born, his
father was about 70 years old.
Confucius lost his father when he was three years old and grew up in
poverty.
Temple of Confucius
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The largest and oldest Temple
of Confucius is found in
Confucius's hometown, presentday Qufu in Shandong Province.
It was established in 478 BC,
one year after Confucius's
death, at the order of the Duke
Ai of the State of Lu, who
commanded that the Confucian
residence should be used to
worship and offer sacrifice to
Confucius. The temple was
expanded repeatedly over a
period of more than 2,000 years
until it became the huge
complex currently standing.
the Cult of Confucius
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The construction of state temples devoted to
the cult of Confucius was an outcome of his
gradual canonization. In 195 BC, Han Gao Zu,
founder of the Han Dynasty (r. 206–195
BCE), offered a sacrifice to the spirit of
Confucius at his tomb in Qufu. Sacrifices to
the spirit of Confucius and that of Yan Hui,
his most prominent disciple, began in the
Imperial University (Biyong) as early as 241.
Nine Courtyards at Qufu
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Temple and
Cemetery of
Confucius and the
Kong Family
Mansion in Qufu
Was listed on the
World Heritage List
in 1994 sponsored
by UNESCO
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Most Confucianist temples
were built in Confucian
schools, either to the front of
or on one side of the school.
The front portal of the
temple was called the
Lingxing Gate 棂星门.
Inside there were normally
three courtyards, although
sometimes there were only
two. However, the complex
in Qufu has nine courtyards.
Apricot Pavilion in the
Confucian Temple at Qufu.
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The first private Chinese
academy where
Confucius taught his
students
Peripatetic school
"peripatetic" is often
used to mean itinerant,
wandering, meandering,
or walking about.
亚里士多德学派的人；
逍遥学派的人
Peripatetic school
Aristotle's School, a painting from the 1880s
by Gustav Adolph Spangenberg
The ‘Peripa’tetics
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The Peripatetics were members of a school
of philosophy in ancient Greece. Their
teachings derived from their founder, the
Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384 BC – 322
BC) , and Peripatetic (Greek: περιπατητικός)
is a name given to his followers. The name
refers to the act of walking, and as an
adjective, "peripatetic" is often used to mean
itinerant, wandering, meandering, or walking
about.
Aristotle's School, a painting from the
1880s by Gustav Adolph Spangenberg
Confucius’ Contributions
Father of Education
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Frederick W. Mote credited Confucius with three
contributions to Chinese education:
1. the creation of the role of the private teacher;
2. the creation and establishment of the content of
education, its methods and ideals.
3. the most important is Confucius made education
possible to students from all walks of life, including
those who were very poor;
Intellectual Foundations of China—essential reading
Book XV.39
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“In instruction there
is no grading into
categories” (159).
Before Confucius,
only sons of nobles
and a’ristocrats
could be educated.
3,000 disciples, 72
worthies or notables
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有教无类
【yǒujiàowúlèi】
in education,
there is no
distinction
between classes
of men.
学问【xuéwen】 learning;
knowledge; scholarship.
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How knowledge is
accumulated?
Two ways:
To study
To ask
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不耻下问
【bùchǐxiàwèn】 not
feel ashamed to ask
and learn from one's
subordinates.
Frederick W. Mote
Alma mater: University of Nanjing
University of Washington (1954, PhD)
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Fredrick W. Mote (June 2,
1922–February 10, 2005)
was an American Sinologist
and a professor of History at
Princeton University for
nearly 50 years. His research
and teaching interests
focused on China during the
Ming Dynasty and the Yuan
Dynasty. In collaboration
with Professor Twitchett and
Professor Fairbank he helped
create The Cambridge
History of China, a
monumental (though still
incomplete) history of China.
The Content
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Although education was quite specifically for one kind
of career--that of public service--Confucius believed
in the broad liberal arts learning. It included study of
venerated books, especially The Odes (The Book of
Songs—see Arthur Waley), the Book of Documents
(See Bernard Karlgren), and the ritual texts.
These texts were studied as both theoretical
philosophy and applied philosophy—In the west, the
division of philosophy into a practical and a
theoretical discipline has its origin in Aristotle's moral
philosophy and natural philosophy categories.
Content of Confucius’ Teaching
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Four branches & best
students:
Moral conduct: Yan
Yuan/Min Ziqian/Ran
Boniu/Zhong Gong;
Speech: Zai Wo/Zi
Gong;
Government affairs:
Ran You/Ji Lu;
Literature (Culture and
Learning): Zi You/Zi Xia
page 97 in the Analects
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Confucius’ teachings are
related to the Six
Branches of Learning in
ancient times (since the
Zhou Dynasty):
Rites/Rituals
Music
Archery
Chariot Driving
Literature
Arithmetic
Confucius’ Teaching Methods
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因材施教
【yīncáishījiào】
teach students in
accordance with
their aptitude.
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温故知新
【wēngùzhīxīn】
gain new insights
through restudying
old material;
reviewing past helps
one to understand
the present.
Confucius’ Teaching Methods
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举一反三
【jǔyīfǎnsān】
draw inferences
about other cases
from one instance.
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Indirect
By analogy
students were a cut above
common job seekers
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Overall, his students were a cut above
common job seekers. Most of them got
employed at different levels in government
affairs.
The content of Confucian education is
somewhat related to the so-called
六艺– the six arts/skills or branches of
learning in ancient China since the Zhou
Dynasty.
三纲五常 sāngāng wǔcháng
summarized by Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒 (179–104 BC)
in his book 《春秋繁露》
The Luxuriant Gems/Dews of the Spring and Autumn Annals
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The three cardinal
guides
ruler guides
subject,
father guides son
husband guides
wife
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The five constant
virtues:
benevolence;
righteousness,
propriety,
wisdom and
fidelity
as specified in the
feudal ethical code
A Web of Human Relationships
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The key to the teaching
of Confucius is the idea
of relationships
between or among
people.
Confucius believed that
people could live
together peacefully by
recognizing their roles
in networks of
relationships;
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The family was
seen as a
‘microcosm of
how relationships
linked people
together
Five-Fold Relationships Featured
with Hierarchy & Reciprocity
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Confucius used a model of
Five Relationships to suggest
how society might work;
The Five Relationships are
those between
ruler and subject;
father and son;
husband and wife;
elder brother and younger
brother;
friend to friend;
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Each of these involved both
hierarchy and
reci’procity;
In each pair, one role was
superior and one, inferior;
one role led and the other
followed;
Yet each involved mutual
obligations and
responsibilities;
Failure to properly fulfill
one’s role could lead to the
abrogation of the
relationship;
Individual’s role
in Government
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Inward, self
examination three
times a day to
become a
gentleman
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Confucius cited The
Book of Documents,
“…Simply by being a
good son and
friendly to his
brothers a man can
exert an influence
upon government”
(The Analects 17).
论语【Lúnyǔ】 The Analects of
Confucius; The Analects.
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The Lun yu is the first example of what is called yu lu
语录 or record of conversations. It purports to be a
record of the conversations Confucius had with his
disciples. Although it probably was compiled after
Confucius’ death, much of the material probably is
based on actual sayings and speeches made by the
master himself. There also are a number of
passages that describe Confucius’ actions and
conduct in various situations.
Chapter titles: the first two or three characters
Notes
1.1 stands for Book 1 Verse 1
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1.2 the way differs from Taoism that
favors something natural;
The core in Confucianism is morality,
rule by virtue/benevolence
The way refers to the web of human
relationships that is featured with
hierarchy and reciprocity
The Gentleman Junzi 君子
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Junzi, the gentleman, is the ideal figure for
Confucius.
The gentleman understands the workings of
relationships;
He observes proper ritual;
He engages in learning both to develop his personal
moral character and to gain knowledge that is useful
in serving others;
He seeks to promote the Way of living appropriate to
a well-ordered society through both personal
example and service in government;
The Number of Chariots
Symbolic of Power (1.5)
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One chariot includes 4 horses;
A light chariot for offence: 75 foot
soldiers or infantryman;
A heavy chariot for defense: 25 soldiers
+ provisions
Every 100 residents had been provided
with a light chariot and a heavy chariot
Flexibility & Five Virtues
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1.8 A gentleman
who studies is
unlikely to be
inflexible.
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1.10
温/良/恭/俭/让
Cordial
Well-behaved;
Respectful;
Frugal
deferential
hé wéi guì
和 为 贵
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1.12 Harmony is the most valuable;
1.16 It is not the failure of others to
appreciate your abilities that should
trouble you, but rather your failure to
appreciate theirs;
On Government
Rule by Virtue
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2.3 Guide them by edicts, keep them in
line with punishments, and the common
people will stay out of trouble but will
have no sense of shame. Guide them
by virtue, keep them in line with the
rites, and they will, besides having a
sense of shame, reform themselves.
The Golden Mean
3.20 Translated by Arthur Waley
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Shih-ching (Shijing) the first anthology of
Chinese poetry, around 600 BC. It was compiled
by the ancient sage Confucius (551–479 BC)
and cited by him as a model of literary
expression, for, despite its numerous themes, the
subject matter was always “expressive of
pleasure without being licentious, and of grief
without being hurtfully excessive” (Lunyu or
The Analects).