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The profound thinking of Kong Fuzi, known as the "Virtuous Teacher Kong", as well as, the centuries of commentary that it inspired are both central and integral to the cultural system of the Chinese. 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. For centuries, his four major classics, the Analects of Confucius, the Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean, shaped the foundation of Chinese education. Only fragments of the Classical of Music remain extant. Besides China, the works of Kong Fuzi have also been an inspirational influence on the cultures of several other countries in the area.
In The Analects of Confucius, Kong Fuzi, (who
believed there was a pervasive thread of universal unity connecting everything),
used analogy, examples from his daily life experiences, short sayings, and
tautology to answer the questions of his students.
The image of the book Classic of Rites above was one of the Five Classics of Confucianism. Recorded by Confucian scholars, the book explained ancient rites, court ceremonies, and social forms. Laozi founded Daoism (Taoism) in an effort to end the constant feudal warfare. His writings describe the way to peace and how a ruler should led his life. According to legend, Kongzi visited with Laozi and was very impressed with his superior intellect, comparing him to a mysterious dragon. The keeper of the imperial library, Laozi, disappeared to the west through the gate of the Great Wall in his old age, leaving behind the Book of the "Way of Virtue", the "Dao De Jing". The Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) mainly emphasized Yin (female) values like the fluidity of water, softness, and seeking knowledge about the unseen mystifying aspects of life.
During the Qin dynasty most
of the writings and teachings of Kong Fuzi were destroyed. The surviving scholars
reconstructed New Script texts from their memory of the destroyed texts after
the Qin dynasty was overthrown... Continue on
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