Human Nature for Confucius

Human Nature for Confucius

Introduction

Of all the Chinese sage, the best known outside China is Confucius undoubtedly. Confucius belonged to Zhou. He was born in a small provincial town of the county in the state of Lu Ch'angping. His mother prayed on Mount Ni Kiu and then received in the 22nd Confucius Year of the Earl of Lu Hsiang (551 BC). Although his father died young and his mother was poor, she provided him with good education. Confucius developed a keen interest at an early age in history, poetry and music. According to the Analects, one of the "Four Books", he devoted himself at the age of 15 to scientific studies. At age 17 he got a job, a position of a manager with the government of his native state of Lu. At nineteen he was financially strong to such an extent that he could marry. After a year of his marriage, his son was born.

Discussion

He was hit hard by the loss of his mother. She died when she was in mid-20s. Confucius retired from public life, and mourned by strict tradition for 27 months at her grave. Then he left his family and began as a travelling teacher poetry, literature, civics, science and ethics to teach. Lin Yutang (1895-1976) explains why Confucianism was more successful than other schools of thought. According to him, the Confucian teacher had something special, what they could teach, and the Confucian school had something in particular, could learn what they are, that historical knowledge (Waley, 1989). While other schools that offered education, had nothing else than their own opinions.

Confucius regarded the teaching, despite its success, not as a life's work. He believed his ethical and moral ideas could save the then-troubled world only if governments put them into action. He therefore left his home state of Lu with a few of his closest pupils moved from state to state, to find the ruler of his ideology, and put him through. His efforts failed, as Shih-chi said: "In Ch'i he was let down from Sung and Wei, he was expelled, and then moved of Chen Tsai after he was exposed to hardship. Disappointed, but not broken Confucius returned after 14 years of wandering back to Lu. The rest of his life was spent in literary work and teaching (Van, 2001).

In Confucianism, the concept of "li" is known, and it refers to decency, civility, order, ...