|
|
|
Known as the Virtuous Teacher Kong and Venerable Master Kong, the profound thinking of Kong Fuzi (Kongzi, Kong Zi, Confucius); as well as, the centuries of commentary that it inspired were both central and integral to the cultural system of the Chinese. Confucius was a name given to Philsopher Kong Fuzi by a western missionary and has no meaning to the Chinese who call him Kong Fuzi (Kongzi, Kong Zi, Virtuous Teacher Kong, Venerable Master Kong). Seasoned for more than 2,000 years, the Philosophy of Kong Fuzi has been fully integrated into Chinese culture. Kong Fuzi taught philosophy, the classics, poetry, music, and his views on governmental reform to about three thousand young male students during his lifetime. Of these, he chose the seventy-two best and brightest to become known as his disciples. During the Qin dynasty most of the writings and teachings of Kong Fuzi were destroyed. After they were overthrown by the Han dynasty, the surviving scholars reconstructed New Script texts from their memory of the destroyed texts. Later on people discovered burnt fragments of the original books and compiled the Old Script texts.
The Han Dynasty approved
and supported the Five Major Classics of Kong Fuzi which became known as
the Wu Jing. They were the Analects of Confucius, the
Book of Songs, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Great Learning,
and the Mencius. The Wu Jing shaped the foundation of Chinese education. Besides China, the works of Kong
Fuzi have also been an inspirational influence on the cultures of several other
countries in the area.
Kong Fuzi, (who believed there was a pervasive thread of universal unity connecting everything), used analogy, examples from his daily life experiences, short sayings, adages, aphorism, maxims, and tautology to answer the questions of his students. Central themes of his teachings were written down in the Analects of Confucius over a thirty to fifty year period some time after his passing. Over the centuries, there have been various versions of the Analects of Confucius including the Lu Analects, the Qi Analects, the Ancient Text Analects (which had two additional chapters titled "Question the King" and "Know"); and, the Marquis Zhang Analects, (the most widely known version). Kong Fuzi described himself as a transmitter of existing knowledge and prevailing wisdom. Claiming that he himself had originated nothing, Kong Fuzi urged his students to continually pursue their studies, to think profoundly for themselves, to philosophically examine past politcal events, to consider the expressed feelings of the common people from sources like the Book of Odes, to delve deeply into the wisdom wells of knowledge, and to continue to expand their knowledge of the ancient scriptures. The Book of Odes (Book of Songs, Shi Jing, Classic of Poetry) was a compilation of 305 Chinese poems dating from as long ago as 1000 BCE. After studying three thousand poems, Kong Fuzi structured a revised compilation of songs, which became known as the Book of Odes.
In the Book of Odes, there were 160 Folk Songs (airs), 40 Hymns (deities and ancestral songs), 31
Major Festal Songs (solemn court ceremonies songs), and 74 Minor Festal Songs
(traditional court festival odes)... Continue on Go back
|
|
|
Explore 
Visit 
Daoism
Taoism Daoist Taoist Confucianism Confucian 
