Author Bio: Confucius, known as Master K'ung in Chinese, was born in what is present-day China in 551 BCE. He was a Chinese teacher and philosopher. One of Confucius' most notable contributions was his creation of Confucianism, which was a philosophy that revolved around personal and governmental morality, social relationships, justice, and honesty. It has been the most influential philosophy in world history. Furthermore, Confucius is credited with having written or partially written each of the Five Classics, which are historical Chinese texts. Perhaps his most well-known quote is "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself," a quote that has been dubbed the "Golden Rule." Evidently, Confucius is a credible source due to his various accomplishments as a historical figure in philosophy.
Data/Context: The exact date on which "Analects" was written is not known, but is believed to have been published somewhere near the year 500 BCE. It was written during the Warring States period (475-221 BCE), but was completed during the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). The title of the book, "Analects," roughly translates to "selected sayings," which was also the origination of the term, "Confucius says." Throughout the past two millennia, "Analects" has become one of the most read books in China, and continues to have a strong influence on East Asian thoughts and values. It is widely regarded as the most important work of Confucianism, and serves as a foundation for China's moral values.
Summary: This excerpt from "Analects" details various Confucian ideals. A number of these principles deal with morality. In an analogy from the reading, Confucius compares a leader who rules by moral force to a pole-star that all of the dimmer stars pay their respects to. In another section of the excerpt, Confucius' beliefs deal with parental treatment. Although their are many specific values stated within this portion, all revolve around the idea that parents should be respected by their children, regardless of circumstance. As the text progresses, the subject of Confucius' beliefs changes to knowledge. Confucius states that people must not be biased, and must view a situation from all sides. In continuation, he emphasizes that people must both think and learn at the same time. Confucius then delves into the topic of governance, where he stresses that only if a leader respects his people, will the people respect the leader. Confucius concludes this excerpt by stating that a true gentleman never deviates from the Way of Goodness, but then clarifies that it is nearly impossible for one to be completely Good.
This is a great summary that accurately put the "Analects" into context. I really liked how you explained the background information about Confucius. You gave your reader a clear idea on his contributions to history and philosophy. Furthermore, it was good how you explained what the title "Analects" means. With the translation meaning "Confucius says", it gives us insight that his teachings were all in the form of sayings rather than extensive lectures. To continue, I thought that the ideas that you highlighted in your summary were spot on. You succinctly gave us a short but insightful synopsis that helped me pick out the main ideas.
ReplyDeleteI would have liked to see you include a key quotation in your PDP. A quote that I thought demonstrates the author's goal was, "The Master said, He who sets to work upon a different strand destroys the whole fabric." Also, I think that it would have been helpful to include that this excerpt contains sections from books II and IV of the Analects. Then it would've been good to point out that book II is centered around the relationship between children and their parents, while book IV takes about the character that a man should uphold. Although you talked about ideas from both of these sections, it would've helped improve your organization. To wrap it up, I think that you could've expanded more upon the government, noting that Confucius was known as "Mater", and that their governmental system allows the people to make their own decisions.