The Ren of the Analects
Confucius was a renowned teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. Living from 551 to 497 BC, Confucius’ philosophy emphasized on morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, as well as sincerity. He authored many Chinese classical texts such as that of the Five Classics. However, he was credited most for his work on “The Analects” (also known as the Analects of Confucius), a series of 20 books that present not only his own life, but also that of his disciples. Its main goal was to cultivate well-educated and civilised men who would carry themselves well and demonstrate the right behaviours. Despite it being written by his disciples after his death, it …show more content…
A point was brought up that maybe Ren was so hard to define that even exemplary men have to ponder about it, hence the hesitancy in speaking about it. Another idea was that that these exemplary men were extremely humble and knew that Ren is too vague and encompassing; they did not know enough to speak about it. This is with reference to Book XII verse 12.3, where Sima Niu asked about the meaning of ren. “Confucius said, “The ren man is hesitant to speak.” Niu replied, “Are you saying that ren is mere hesitancy in speaking?” Confucius said, “Actualizing it is so difficult, how can you not be hesitant to speak about it?”” As quoted above, even Confucius was not able to speak freely and confidently about Ren, showing that the Ren men are not to blame for their hesitancy to further Confucian teachings. As there are many possible meanings to define Ren, some may find it tough to understand, hence finding it hard to put it into practice. As such, Confucius summarised it into the phrase we conveniently overuse today, “don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you”. If one follows this rule, he or she will be on the right path of attaining and maximizing
Confucius was a renowned teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. Living from 551 to 497 BC, Confucius’ philosophy emphasized on morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, as well as sincerity. He authored many Chinese classical texts such as that of the Five Classics. However, he was credited most for his work on “The Analects” (also known as the Analects of Confucius), a series of 20 books that present not only his own life, but also that of his disciples. Its main goal was to cultivate well-educated and civilised men who would carry themselves well and demonstrate the right behaviours. Despite it being written by his disciples after his death, it …show more content…
A point was brought up that maybe Ren was so hard to define that even exemplary men have to ponder about it, hence the hesitancy in speaking about it. Another idea was that that these exemplary men were extremely humble and knew that Ren is too vague and encompassing; they did not know enough to speak about it. This is with reference to Book XII verse 12.3, where Sima Niu asked about the meaning of ren. “Confucius said, “The ren man is hesitant to speak.” Niu replied, “Are you saying that ren is mere hesitancy in speaking?” Confucius said, “Actualizing it is so difficult, how can you not be hesitant to speak about it?”” As quoted above, even Confucius was not able to speak freely and confidently about Ren, showing that the Ren men are not to blame for their hesitancy to further Confucian teachings. As there are many possible meanings to define Ren, some may find it tough to understand, hence finding it hard to put it into practice. As such, Confucius summarised it into the phrase we conveniently overuse today, “don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you”. If one follows this rule, he or she will be on the right path of attaining and maximizing