The Life and Philosophy of Confucius: A Great Chinese Philosopher and Educator, Lecture notes of Religion

Download The Life and Philosophy of Confucius: A Great Chinese Philosopher and Educator and more Lecture notes Religion in PDF only on Docsity! Confucius Confucius was born in 551 BC in the kingdom of Lou. Confucius Shulyan 's father He was a brave warrior from a noble princely family. In the first marriage, only girls were born to him, nine daughters, and there was no heir. In the second marriage, the long-awaited boy was born, but unfortunately he was crippled. Then, at the age of 63, he decides on a third marriage, and his wife agrees to become a young girl from the Yang clan , who believes that her father’s will must be fulfilled. Visions that visit her after the wedding foreshadow the appearance of a great man. The birth of a child is accompanied by many wonderful circumstances. According to tradition, his body had an axis of 49 signs of future greatness. Thus was born the Kung Fu-tzu, or Master of the genus Coon, known in the West under the name of Confucius. Confucius' father died when the boy was 3 years old, and the young mother devoted her whole life to raising a boy. Her constant leadership, cleanliness of her personal life played a big role in shaping the character of the child. Already in early childhood, Confucius was distinguished by outstanding abilities and talent of the soothsayer. He loved to play, imitating ceremonies, unconsciously repeating ancient sacred rituals. And this could not but amaze others. Little Confucius was far from the games peculiar to his age; His main entertainment was the conversation with the wise and old men. At the age of 7, he was sent to a school where it was imperative to master 6 skills: the ability to perform rituals, the ability to listen to music, the ability to shoot a bow, the ability to control the chariot, the ability to write, the ability to count. Confucius was born with infinite receptivity to the teachings, the awakened mind forced him to read and, most importantly, to assimilate all the knowledge set forth in the classic books of that era, therefore later they said about him: "He had no teachers, but only pupils." At the end of school, Confucius, one of all students, passed the most difficult exams with one hundred percent result. At the age of 17 he already held the position of state official, keeper of barns. "My accounts must be true - that's the only thing I have to take care of," said Confucius. Later, the cattle of the kingdom of Lou also came under his jurisdiction. “Bulls and sheep must be well fed - that’s my concern,” were the words of the sage. “Do not worry about not holding high office. Worry about how well you serve in the place where you are. ” At twenty-five years for his undisputed merits Confucius was marked by the whole cultural society. One of the culminating moments in his life was the invitation of the noble ruler to visit the capital of the Middle Kingdom. This journey allowed Confucius to fully realize himself as the heir and keeper of the ancient tradition (many contemporaries considered it as such). He decided to create a school based on traditional teachings, where a person would learn to learn the laws of the world, people and discover their own opportunities. Confucius wanted his students to be “complete people”, useful to the state and society, therefore he taught them various fields of knowledge based on different canons. With his students, Confucius was simple and firm: “Why does one who does not ask himself the questions“ why? ”Deserve that I ask myself the question with:“ Why should I teach him? ” “Whoever does not desire to know, I do not enlighten him. Who does not burn, that I do not open. And the one who cannot single out the correlation of the three angles in one corner , I for this purpose do not repeat. ” His fame spread far beyond the borders of the neighboring kingdoms. The recognition of his wisdom reached such an extent that he took the post of Minister of Justice - at that time the most responsible position in the state. He did so much for his country that the neighboring states began to fear the kingdom, which was brilliantly developed by the efforts of one person. Slander and slander caused Lord Lu to stop listening to the advice of Confucius. Confucius left his native state and went on a journey around the country, instructing rulers and beggars, princes and plowmen, young and old. Wherever he went, he was begged to stay, but he invariably replied: "My duty extends to all people without distinction, because I consider everyone who inhabits the earth to be members of one family in which I must fulfill the sacred mission of the Mentor." For Confucius, knowledge and virtue were one and inseparable, and therefore life in accordance with its philosophical convictions was an integral part of the teaching itself.“Like Socrates, he did not depart“ working time ”with his philosophy. Nor was he a “worm”, burying into his teaching and sitting on a chair away from life. Philosophy was for him not a model of ideas put forth for human awareness, but a system of commandments inherent in the behavior of the philosopher. ” In the case of Confucius, one can safely equate his philosophy with his human destiny. The sage died in 479 BC; he predicted his death to the disciples beforehand. Despite the outwardly modest biographical data, Confucius remains the greatest figure in the spiritual history of China. One of his contemporaries said: “The Celestial Empire has long been in chaos. But now heaven has desired to make the Master an awakening bell. ” Confucius did not like to talk about himself and described his entire life path in several lines: “At 15, I turned my thoughts to teaching. In 30 years - I gained a solid foundation. At 40 years old - I managed to free myself from doubt.