A Class About Confucius

In Search of Confucius

Let's rediscover Confucius' life

Did you know that there is a movie about Confucius?

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Merit System

Although Confucius claimed that he never invented anything but was only transmitting ancient knowledge, he did produce a number of new ideas. Many European and American admirers such as Voltaire and H. G. Creel point to the revolutionary idea of replacing nobility of blood with nobility of virtue. Jūnzǐ (君子, lit. "lord's child"), which originally signified the younger, non-inheriting, offspring of a noble, became, in Confucius' work, an epithet having much the same meaning and evolution as the English "gentleman". A virtuous plebeian who cultivates his qualities can be a "gentleman", while a shameless son of the king is only a "small man". That he admitted students of different classes as disciples is a clear demonstration that he fought against the feudal structures that defined pre-imperial Chinese society.
Another new idea, that of meritocracy, led to the introduction of the Imperial examination system in China. This system allowed anyone who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position which would bring wealth and honour to the whole family. The Chinese Imperial examination system seems to have been started in 165 BC, when certain candidates for public office were called to the Chinese capital for examination of their moral excellence by the emperor. Over the following centuries the system grew until finally almost anyone who wished to become an official had to prove his worth by passing written government examinations.

Confucius Golden Rule

Confucius believed that people must practice goodness and
extend respect to others. This concept is best signified
by what is called the silver rule of Confucianism: "Do
not do to others, what you do not want them to do to
you." It is called the silver rule in comparison to the
golden rule of Christianity: "Do unto others as you
would want them to do to you".

Did you know there is a movie about Confucious?

Check the trailer!

Confucius Life

Confucius' main interest was to figure out ways for the government to do a better job of taking care of the people. He lived in China during the 500's BC, under the Eastern Chou dynasty. Confucius (conn-FYU-shuss) is what English speakers call him now, but when he was a child his name was Kong Qiu. In Chinese, Confucius is Kung Fu Tzu. He was born in 551 BC, and his parents were poor, although his family had once been rich. They had gotten into trouble with the emperor, and he had taken away their money and their land.

Confucius, people say, was a smart and hard-working child, and when he grew up people said he was fair, and polite, and loved to learn things, and so his family sent him to the big city, to Zhou, where the Chou emperor lived, to go to school. While he was in Zhou, Confucius may have gotten to know Lao Zu, who was later on the creator of the philosophy of Taoism.

When Confucius finished school, he went back to his home in Lu and became a teacher there. When he was 35 years old, he tried to get involved in politics, and maybe get the Duke of Lu to give him some land and money, but when this idea didn't work out Confucius went back to being a teacher. He did work for a while as a city magistrate and then as a chief minister of his city, Lu, when he was about fifty, but when he saw that the Duke of Lu was not doing a good job, Confucius quit and left his city.

Confucius spent the rest of his life travelling from town to town around China with his students and friends, giving advice to different rulers wherever he went. Often they didn't like his advice: once he was thrown in jail for five days! When he was 67, Confucius went back to Lu and settled down there, and he died there when he was 72 years old.

What did Confucius teach people?

Confucius taught people five basic ideas about behavior:

Always be considerate to others.
Respect your ancestors.
Try for harmony and balance in all things.
Avoid extremes in behavior and emotion.
If you live in peace and harmony, then you will be in contact with the spiritual forces of the universe, including nature.
Confucius taught five basic virtues:

1) kindness
2) righteousness
3) sobriety
4) wisdom
5) trustworthiness

Confucius also taught that your well-being depends directly on the well-being of others. This principle is called Jen. Jen stresses the importance of showing courtesy and loyalty to other people.

Those who practice Confucianism also believe the family and family values are very important. Children are taught to be very respectful of their parents and are taught to obey their parents.

Confucius

This video is about Confucius...........

Confucius

This video is about Confucius...........