1、,Unit 1Confucian Thought on Heaven and Humanity,Lead-in,Text study,Exercises,Content,“To learn and then have occasion to practice what you have learnedis this not satisfying? To have friends arrive from afaris this not a joy? To be patient even when others do not understandis this not the mark of th
2、e gentlemen?”,Lead-in,Whats the Chinese version of these lines? Where are they selected from? Whose words are they?,人不知而不愠 不亦君子乎,Lead-in,Introduction,Confucius on Heaven: the Source of Everything,Confucius on People: ren and li,Text study,Confucius on the State of Life,Introduction,Confucius (551-47
3、9 BC), known in China as Kongzi, given name Qiu and alias Zhongni.,He was a native of Zouyi (present-day Qufu in Shandong Province) of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).,Why does our Kongzi become Confucius in the west?,Confucius is a Latinized name bestowed upon Kongz
4、i by Jesuit missionaries in the 18th century, which is a critical time when missionaries introduced Chinese culture to the West.,Introduction,The Analects, or Lunyu, purports to be a record of the teaching of Confucius and his disciples.,Introduction,It is an enduring classic of Chinese culture and
5、has influenced all thinkers, writers and politicians in the over-2,000-year-long history of China after Confucius.,No scholar could truly understand the long-standing culture or the inner world of the ancient Chinese without this book.,Introduction,Additional Info,The Analects is not a “book” in the
6、 sense that most modern Westerners usually understand a bookthat is, a coherent argument or story presented by a single author, to be digested alone in the quiet of study.,It is instead a recordsomewhat haphazardly collected and edited together at an unknown point in historyof a dynamic process of t
7、eaching, and most likely was only committed to writing many years after the Master Confucius had passed away.,Introduction,Confucius on Heaven: the Source of Everything,“Heaven does not speak in words. It speaks through the rotation of the four seasons and the growth of all living things (天何言哉？四时行焉，
8、百物生焉，天何言哉？) .” Selected from The Analects,What is Confucius view on Heaven according to these lines?,Confucius regarded “Heaven” as nature.,Confucius believes that nature is not a lifeless mechanism separate from human; instead, it is a great world full of life and the process of creating life. Huma
9、n is part of nature.,Confucius on Heaven: the Source of Everything,The natural process of life creation was the “way of Heaven”.,This idea was later developed in The Book of Changes (Yijing).,Confucius equation of Heaven with the creation of life was an innovative idea in his time.,“Continuous creat
10、ion of life is change (生生之谓易。).” Selected from The Book of Changes,Confucius on Heaven: the Source of Everything,The “way of Heaven”,The “virtue of Heaven”,As the natural process of creation of life, Heaven was the source of all living things and the source of all values. This was the “virtue of Hea
11、ven”.,“The great virtue of Heaven and Earth is creating life (天地之大德曰生。).” Selected from The Book of Changes,Confucius on Heaven: the Source of Everything,“Heavenly mission”,In the natural process of creation of life, Heaven had its inner purpose in creating all things as well as protecting and impro
12、ving life.,Heaven had originated humanity, and humans were obliged to accomplish this purpose.,In other words, humans are born with a sense of “heavenly mission”, and this is the meaning of human life.,Confucius on Heaven: the Source of Everything,The sense of awe and belief in Heaven,Confucius requ
13、ired people to hold Heaven in awe and claimed that a person of virtue must “respect his heavenly mission”, listen to and live out the purpose of Heaven by caring for and improving life.,Under the influence of Confucius, the ancient Chinese developed a sense of awe and belief in Heaven.,Confucius on
14、Heaven: the Source of Everything,“He who offends against Heaven has none to whom he can pray (获罪于天，无所祷也。).” Selected from The Analects,How do you understand this line?,Heaven, as the world of ever-generating life, was the highest sacred being, with its profound mystery never to be fully understood b
15、y mortals. Human beings should take to heart the purpose of Heaven by cherishing life. If one remained “ignorant and disrespectful of ones heavenly mission” by killing or maiming life, one would be punished by Heaven.,Confucius on Heaven: the Source of Everything,How is Confucian concept of Heaven r
16、elated to the modern ecological civilization?,Confucius on Heaven: the Source of Everything,Confucius regarded “Heaven” as nature and the source of life, and required people to hold Heaven in awe. This is the source of the modern ecological civilization.,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),Ren (
17、仁) and li (礼) are the two core concepts of Confucius doctrine about people.,Ren,Confucius interpreted ren in various ways, and the most important interpretation is “love people”.,Love for the people is universal love. This kind of love should “begin with the love for ones parents”.,The essence of re
18、n: “filial piety and fraternal duty”.,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),“The greatest love for people is the love for ones parents (仁者，人也，亲亲为大。).” Confucius, The Doctrine of the Mean (中庸),Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),“Children should not travel far while their parents are alive. If
19、they have no choice but to do so, they must retain some restraint (父母在，不远游，游必有方。).” Selected from The Analects,How do you understand this line?,Confucius did not mean that children should not leave their parents at all. What he meant was that children should not make their parents anxious about them
20、 while away from home.,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),“Children should think often of the age of their parents. They should feel happy for the health and longevity of their parents. They should also feel concern for the aging of their parents (父母之年，不可不知也。一则以喜，一则以惧。).” Selected from The Anal
21、ects,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),How do you feel about the aging of your parents? Do you know their age and their birthdays?,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),How should people love one another?,“One should be aware that other people may have similar desire as oneself. While fulfil
22、ling ones desire, allow others to fulfill their desires as well (己欲立而立人，己欲达而达人。).” Selected from The Analects,More sample ,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),How should people love one another?,“Do not do toward others anything you would not want to be done to you (己所不欲，勿施于人。).” Selected from T
23、he Analects“Loving ones parents, loving the people, loving everything in the world (亲亲而仁民，仁民而爱物。).” (words of Mencius, a great Confucian scholar, selected from Mencius),Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),Li,Li refers to rituals, traditions and norms in social life.,Burial rituals and ancestral
24、worship rituals are the most important li, because they arose from human feelings.,The ritual of wearing mourning for a deceased parent for three years was an expression of the childs love and remembrance.,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),“A child should not leave his parents bosom until he i
25、s three years old (子生三年，然后免于父母之怀。).” Selected from The Analects,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),Confucius placed emphasis on li with the aim of preserving social order, stability and harmony.,“The role of li is to maintain harmony among people (礼之用，和为贵。).” Selected from The Analects,Confuciu
26、s on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),Philosophical implications of li: the meaning of burial rituals,While individuals have a limited lifespan, life in nature is everlasting. Life is given by ones parents and extended through ones children. A limited, individual li
27、fe becomes merged with the limitless life of nature; the individual dream of eternal life can thus come true.,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),Through burial rituals and ancestral worship rituals, people are able to experience the everlasting continuity of life, appreciating the value and mea
28、ning of life.,Confucius on People: ren (仁) and li (礼),Confucius influence on educationConfucius was the first figure in Chinese history to initiate private education. Before that, education was the privilege of the nobility.,As a great educator, Confucius has been admired by later generations as the
29、 “sage of sages (至圣)”.,Confucius on the State of life,Confucius education practiceConfucius taught for many years and trained 3,000 disciple, of whom 72 excelled in the “six arts (六艺)”, i.e., ritual, music, archery, (carriage) driving, calligraphy, and mathematics.,Confucius on the State of life,Con
30、fucius ideology on educationThe basic goal of educationto cultivate “persons of virtue” with sound character and uplifted minds, able to shoulder important social responsibilities and to make contributions to society.,The general principles of educationlofty ideals, great virtue (the most important)
31、, love of people, and the “six arts”.,Confucius on the State of life,Confucius emphasis on aesthetic education,“Studying The Book of Songs (Shijing) inspires the spirit and helps one appreciate beauty. Studying The Book of Rites (Zhouli) enables one to behave properly as a person of enlightenment. S
32、tudying music lifts the spirit and helps one to enjoy life (兴于诗，立于礼，成于乐。).” Selected from The Analects,Confucius on the State of life,“知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者。”,Translated by James Legge: They who know the truth are no equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in
33、lit.,Translation in the text book: Simply knowing the highest standard of virtue (i.e., love for people) is not as good as setting it as ones goal. Setting it as ones goal is not as good as enjoying the practice of it.,Translated by Edward Slingerland: One who knows it is not the equal of one who lo
34、ves it, and one who loves it is not the equal of one who takes joy in lit.,Additional Info,Confucius on the State of life,Confucius on the State of life,Confucius influence on later generations view on the state of life,Under the influence of Confucius, Chinese thinkers of later generations all beli
35、eved that students and scholars should not only increase their knowledge, but also and more importantly, broaden their minds and enhance their spiritual ethos.,Confucius on the State of life,In other words, they should continually seek the greater meaning and value of life.,Modern scholars think the
36、 theory on the perspective on life is the most valuable feature of Chinese philosophy. It all began with Confucius.,Confucius on the State of life,Confucius on the State of life,Exercises,Comprehension,Communication,Application,Comprehension,l. Skimming and Scanning,1) What is The Analects mainly ab
37、out?,2) What is Confucius view on Heaven?,3) What is Confucius innovative idea about Heaven?,The Analects is mainly about Confucius words and life story.,Confucius regarded Heaven as nature.,Confucius innovative idea about Heaven is that Heaven (or nature) is the process of life creation.,Go through
38、 the passage quickly and answer the following questions briefly.,4) What does the “heavenly mission” in Paragraph 7 refer to?,The “heavenly mission” in Paragraph 7 refers to accomplishing Heavens purpose of protecting and improving life.,5) How is Confucius concept of Heaven related to the modern ec
39、ological civilization?,Confucius advocated “standing in awe of the ordinances of Heaven” and warned against offending Heaven. This is, in essence, equivalent to the modern idea of staying in harmony with nature. So in this way Confucius concept of Heaven is similar to the modern ecological civilizat
40、ion.,Comprehension,6) What is Confucius interpretation of ren?,Confucius interpreted ren as “love of people”, which begins with the “love for ones parents”.,7) According to Confucius, what is the most important part of li?,According to Confucius, the most important part of li is the burial and ances
41、tral worship rituals.,Comprehension,8) What qualities are “persons of virtue” supposed to have?,“Persons of virtue” are supposed to have sound character and uplifted minds and they can shoulder important social responsibilities and make contributions to society.,Comprehension,9) Why do people need t
42、o study music according to Confucius?,According to Confucius, studying music can lift ones spirit and help one appreciate beauty.,10) What did Confucius think of Zeng Dians aspiration?,Confucius thought highly of Zeng Dians aspiration and regarded harmony among people and harmony between people and
43、nature as the highest state of life.,Comprehension,II. Careful Reading,1. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each of the following questions.,1) All the following are the titles of Confucius EXCEPT _? an educator B. a biologist C. a scholar D. a philosopher2) The expression “fi
44、lial piety” most probably means being _.A. loyal to the state B. obedient to sister(s)C. responsible for the family D. dutiful to parents,B,D,Comprehension,3) Which of the following can best describe Confucius view on the relationship between man and nature/Heaven? A. Brothers B. Husband and wifeC.
45、Doctor and patient D. Mother and son4) Through burial and ancestral worship rituals, people can learn that _.A. nature is lifeless so it will never dieB. individuals life can be everlasting by joining natureC. they should be grateful to their parents for giving them livesD. individuals lifespan is s
46、hort, so they should enjoy life as much as possible,D,B,Comprehension,5) Which of the following is the most important part of Confucius curriculum? Music B. Calligraphy C. Virtue D. Mathematics6) Zi Lu, Ran You and Gongxi Chis aspirations represent _,while Zeng Dians reflectsA. personal ambition; se
47、lfishnessB. lofty ideals; meaningless pursuitC. personal struggle; generous contributionD. individual contribution to society; harmony,C,D,Comprehension,2. Put each of the following into English and then compare your translation with that in the passage,1) 天何言哉？四时行焉，百物生焉，天何言哉？,2) 生生之谓易。,3) 天地之大德日生。,
48、Heaven does not speak in words. It speaks through the rotation of the four seasons and the growth of all living things.,Continuous creation of life is change.,The great virtue of Heaven and Earth is creating life.,Comprehension,5) 仁者，人也，亲亲为大。,4) 获罪于天，无所祷也。,He who offends against Heaven has none to w
49、hom he can pray.,The greatest love for people is the love for ones parents.,Comprehension,6) 父母在，不远游，游必有方。,Children should not travel far while their parents are alive. If they have no choice but to do so, they must retain some restraint.,7) 父母之年，不可不知也。一则以喜，一则以惧。,8) 己欲立而立人，己欲达而达人。,9) 己所不欲，勿施于人。,Children should think often of the age of their parents. They should feel happy for the health and longevity of their parents. They should also feel concern for the aging of their parents.,
