Essay 1: The Idea of Heaven in Confucianism
Starting in the early period of Chinese history, “ Heaven ” had already become one of the core ideas of Chinese culture. Not only is it a physical location, but also a symbol of regulating. People believe that whatever happens on earth, Heaven will always be watching over and evaluating. In this way, people have fate. For Confucius, Heaven is more about ethical assets. If people follow the appropriate moral order, then they would be on their way (Dao) of being better men. As long as everything is on its on correct way and never crosses the bottom line, there would no longer be any need for governing. This is exactly what Confucius in Analects wanted to say. “ Does Heaven speak? Yet …show more content…
Confucius thought that society had already begun to behave in the appropriate way and that people were in harmony with the atmosphere. It would be cumbrous if he continued to teach people how to be a gentlemen and how to scrupulously abide by one’s duty since people had already absorbed the ideas. But what kind of relationship do people have with Heaven? In order to answer this question, I would like to separate people in three groups: the uneducated, the normal people who have some education but were still far away from the gentlemen and the gentlemen who were high-educated and brilliant. In Analects, Confucius had separated people based on the similar standards. For people who belonged to the first group (uneducated), he stated, “When nature prevails over culture, you get a savage”. The uneducated have no understanding of Heaven and how the world regulates itself. “ A vulgar man does not fear the will of Heaven, for he does not know it. He despises greatness and he mocks the words of the saints.” This corresponds with a very famous Chinese saying, “ Fear nothing always spring from ignorance”. They are completely driven by nature and desire, and have no care in finding the “correct way”. According to Confucius’s ideas, the uneducated are at the bottom of society, they do not behave properly, and are the causes for many societal
Starting in the early period of Chinese history, “ Heaven ” had already become one of the core ideas of Chinese culture. Not only is it a physical location, but also a symbol of regulating. People believe that whatever happens on earth, Heaven will always be watching over and evaluating. In this way, people have fate. For Confucius, Heaven is more about ethical assets. If people follow the appropriate moral order, then they would be on their way (Dao) of being better men. As long as everything is on its on correct way and never crosses the bottom line, there would no longer be any need for governing. This is exactly what Confucius in Analects wanted to say. “ Does Heaven speak? Yet …show more content…
Confucius thought that society had already begun to behave in the appropriate way and that people were in harmony with the atmosphere. It would be cumbrous if he continued to teach people how to be a gentlemen and how to scrupulously abide by one’s duty since people had already absorbed the ideas. But what kind of relationship do people have with Heaven? In order to answer this question, I would like to separate people in three groups: the uneducated, the normal people who have some education but were still far away from the gentlemen and the gentlemen who were high-educated and brilliant. In Analects, Confucius had separated people based on the similar standards. For people who belonged to the first group (uneducated), he stated, “When nature prevails over culture, you get a savage”. The uneducated have no understanding of Heaven and how the world regulates itself. “ A vulgar man does not fear the will of Heaven, for he does not know it. He despises greatness and he mocks the words of the saints.” This corresponds with a very famous Chinese saying, “ Fear nothing always spring from ignorance”. They are completely driven by nature and desire, and have no care in finding the “correct way”. According to Confucius’s ideas, the uneducated are at the bottom of society, they do not behave properly, and are the causes for many societal