Confucius was an influential Chinese philosopher that was responsible for the official ideology, Confucianism, of China. He wrote many books and one of them is called The Analects, which is believed to be written by his students. The Analects contains a collection of Confucius’ sayings and ideas. In this book, his teachings focused on creating ethical models of family and public interaction, and setting educational standards. In this book, readers can realize that Confucius had a good relationship with his students and interact with them consistently. Given the exchange with his students, one can conclude that Confucius was actually a radical person, contrary to popular belief, and this is reflected through his actions and ways of thinking.
…show more content…
Confucius may be deemed, to most people, as a conservative figure during some interactions with his students. By focusing on these interactions, he can be seen as someone who was averse to changes and preferred to carry out things that he was familiar with. This can be seen when Ji Kang Zi sent him some medicine and even though Confucius appreciated and thanked him, he also said “I do not understand it at all so I do not dare taste it” (p. 37). Ji Kang Zi probably had heard about how beneficial the medicine was and had good intentions by sending it to Confucius. Unfortunately, Confucius rejected it due to its novelty. While some may argue that Confucius was being conservative, I feel that he was simply being cautious. It is common sense to not consume something you are unsure of as it may not be as beneficial to others …show more content…
To be conservative would mean being subtle and unwilling to accept new things. However, Confucius did not portray this image in two situations in particular. Firstly, when Ran You increased the Ji family’s wealth by collecting revenues on their behalf even though they were wealthier than the Duke of Zhou, Confucius proclaimed “He is not a discipline of mine. It is alright for you, my friends, to sound the drums and attack him” (p. 40). If Confucius was conservative, he would be discreet and not “dry dirty laundry” to the public. However, by doing so, it showed that he had a clear-sighted sense of what is appropriate and was unafraid of the possibly of public embarrassment because of his unethical student. Secondly, when a youth from Hu Village came over to see Confucius, Confucius did not turn him down even though it was difficult to hold conversations with people from Hu Village (p. 26). This surprised his students and he said “...If a man purifies himself in order to be admitted into my presence, I am associating with the fact that he had been purified, and I am not vouching for his past” (p. 26). Based on this action of Confucius, he can be seen as an open-minded person and did not harp on people’s past. He was willing to let go of the past to accept something new. Hence, through such actions of Confucius, it can be seen that he was a person who was not
Confucius may be deemed, to most people, as a conservative figure during some interactions with his students. By focusing on these interactions, he can be seen as someone who was averse to changes and preferred to carry out things that he was familiar with. This can be seen when Ji Kang Zi sent him some medicine and even though Confucius appreciated and thanked him, he also said “I do not understand it at all so I do not dare taste it” (p. 37). Ji Kang Zi probably had heard about how beneficial the medicine was and had good intentions by sending it to Confucius. Unfortunately, Confucius rejected it due to its novelty. While some may argue that Confucius was being conservative, I feel that he was simply being cautious. It is common sense to not consume something you are unsure of as it may not be as beneficial to others …show more content…
To be conservative would mean being subtle and unwilling to accept new things. However, Confucius did not portray this image in two situations in particular. Firstly, when Ran You increased the Ji family’s wealth by collecting revenues on their behalf even though they were wealthier than the Duke of Zhou, Confucius proclaimed “He is not a discipline of mine. It is alright for you, my friends, to sound the drums and attack him” (p. 40). If Confucius was conservative, he would be discreet and not “dry dirty laundry” to the public. However, by doing so, it showed that he had a clear-sighted sense of what is appropriate and was unafraid of the possibly of public embarrassment because of his unethical student. Secondly, when a youth from Hu Village came over to see Confucius, Confucius did not turn him down even though it was difficult to hold conversations with people from Hu Village (p. 26). This surprised his students and he said “...If a man purifies himself in order to be admitted into my presence, I am associating with the fact that he had been purified, and I am not vouching for his past” (p. 26). Based on this action of Confucius, he can be seen as an open-minded person and did not harp on people’s past. He was willing to let go of the past to accept something new. Hence, through such actions of Confucius, it can be seen that he was a person who was not