Preview

Confucius Goes on and on About ‘Humanity’ and ‘Filial Piety.’ Why?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
498 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Confucius Goes on and on About ‘Humanity’ and ‘Filial Piety.’ Why?
‘Humanity’ and ‘filial piety’ are probably the most important believes that Confucius had; he uses these two words more than any other words in ‘The Analects of Confucius’. Among many other things Confucius had mentioned, ‘humanity’ is the central thought of Confucianism that Confucius had believed everything starts from the ‘humanity’. ‘Humanity’ in a Chinese character means a combination of human and number two, which means how you should treat others when there are two or more people. It can be a relationship between husband and wife, sisters, brothers, and friends. Confucius basically wanted people to treat others with a love and treat others like you want others to treat you. Although, the most important thing is how you treat your parents. Confucius points out the importance of ‘filial piety’ by saying the root of ‘humanity’ is ‘filial piety’. “A man who respects his parents and his elders would hardly be inclined to defy his superiors. … To respect parents and elders is the root of humanity”. (1.2) In Confucianism, ‘filial piety’ is a fundamental moral standard and furthermore the most important teaching from Confucius. However, the definition of ‘filial piety’ is not just how you take care of your parents such as feeding them but you have to show your parents a respect and also show them a good attitudes. (2.7, 2.8) To practice ‘filial piety’ towards one’s parents, you also do not want to give any anxiety to your parents. It also means that you do not want to harm your body even including your hair (this is why people at the time did not cut their hairs for their whole life) because your body is what your parents had given to you. ‘Filial piety’ is not only important when parents are alive but also important after their parents had passed away that they have to do the memorial ceremony for their ancestors with a respect like ancestors are still alive. Confucius mentions about the elders whenever he mentions about ‘Filial piety’, he believes that you do not

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    A sense of propriety, courtesy, respect, deference to elders c. Xiao: Filial piety, familial obligation d. Develop personal ethics and Junzi for bringing order to China 4. Mencius (372-289 B.C.E.), spokesman for the Confucian school a. Believed in the goodness of human nature (Ren) b. Supported government by generosity and humanity 5. Xunzi (298-238 B.C.E.) had a less positive view of human nature a. Believed that humans selfishly pursue own interests b. Preferred harsh social discipline to bring order to society c. Supported moral education and good public behavior B Daoism Featured Prominent Critics of Confucian Activism 1.…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ch 5 Responses

    • 2469 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Confucianism argued that social harmony could only be restored through the moral example of superiors. Confucius emphasized that, because human society (both within the family and in public life) consisted primarily of unequal relationships, social harmony relied on the superior party in these relationships behaving with sincerity, benevolence, and genuine concern for others. Only then would the inferior party be motivated to respond with deference and obedience.…

    • 2469 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Confucianism, developed by the philosopher Confucius, during times of conflict in early B.C, soon became the dominating belief system in China. Confucianism was based on mutual relationships; husband to wife, father to son, leader to subjects. Social harmony could be achieved through respect for the elders, as well as respect and kindness for those people lower in social rank. This applied to the politics of China because it set the basis for the belief of obedience to the emperor, as long as the emperor treated his subjects kindly, and with respect. The idea of Filial Piety was humility towards one superior. Because of this, in China, leaders and elders were in the highest regard.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Assignment 5 Price

    • 1866 Words
    • 6 Pages

    To Confucius, good people lived good lives, which in turn caused good societies to be formed from the deeds of these individuals. He believed that education should focus on shaping individuals into good people; people with “virtue and excellence”. One of his ideas, called ren, is directly translated into “human excellence”, “benevolence” and “love”. According to Confucius ren is not something that is inherent in every individual, however, humans are able obtain ren through cognitive thinking and effort. Confucius believes that every person has certain qualities inside of them that can make them good. For instance he believed that every individual possessed wisdom, kindness, respect and piety.…

    • 1866 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Confucianism vs Daosim

    • 355 Words
    • 1 Page

    Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, started off teaching his ideals to only a few students of his, but after he died these beliefs became more popular and even became the framework of some government in china, mainly the Han Dynasty. Confucius believed that keeping family and government parallel to each other and keeping social order was the way to peace. Loyalty and the five relationships; ruler-subject, husband-wife, parent-child, older sibling-younger sibling, and friend-friend, were used to maintain social order. Confucianism stressed the importance of relationships, while Daoism was more about self-worth and finding peace with yourself. People needed to follow their own Dao (way of life) and oath through nature, and not think about hierarchy and obedience to rulers. In Confucianism everyone has their own place, but in Daoism you ignore what society says and find your own way.…

    • 355 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    13. Daoism- is the belief of finding the “way” or the dao of the Universe.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Haha

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages

    With the many customs of the Chinese Empire, the practices of Confucianism came along. The teachings of Confucius preached behavior based upon the five relationships (doc.1). The values of the five relationships were respect, obedience and care taking. The teachings of Confucius included a huge belief in education (doc.2). The teachings of Confucius created the bases for the Chinese value of Respect because they were taught to respect their superiors. The teachings of Confucius created the value of education in china. For example, Chinese boys studied from age 7 until they took the civil service exam to attain a government position which brought wealth and power to their families (doc.4).…

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    At the core of its beliefs was Confucianism. The philosopher Confucius (551-479 BCE) came from a noble but poor family, and as he grew older he developed strong beliefs about society (Darlington, Smithies and Wood, 2012). He taught that family was the basic building block of society and that it was the duty of the ruler to behave like a father to his people. He also believed each person should adopt and live by certain moral values, such as that people should respect and obey their parents, and rulers should be chosen because of…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    father to son, elder brother to younger brother, husband to wife, ruler to subject, and friend to…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Confucianism is a religion based on peace and equality. It centers on worshipping ancestors, it is the respect of deceased ancestors whose spirits are believed to control the opulence of others. Filial piety is also another trait that Confucianism centers on, which is the faithfulness to respect the elders of the family by the younger members. Confucianism has 6 main primary principles which is the golden rule, the gentlemanly man of virtue, the proper playing of society’s role, the power of virtue, the ideal standards of conduct, and peaceful arts. Confucius founded Confucianism. Confucius referred to himself as an examiner who deliberately tried to claim the meaning of the past by breathing vitality into seemingly outmoded…

    • 117 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He thought of many rules and even a version of the golden rule saying, "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others." (The World Book Encyclopedia – 2004 – World book, Inc. – Chicago IL. – Volume 4) Many consider Confucianism as a religion, but it has no clergy and doesn't involve any type of worship. It is more of a guide to mortality and good government. Confucianism originated about 500 BC, and from 100's BC to the 1900's AD Confucianism was the most important single force in Chinese life. This religion influenced education, government, personal behavior, and the individuals' duty to society. Confucianism started because of a philosopher named Confucius, born about 551BC. He believed his society could be saved if it emphasized sincerity in personal and public conduct. The Confucian's believed the key to orderly social life was gentlemen. Confucius believed they were rulers. He wasn't very well known when he came to his death. It was his followers that spread his ideas, Mencius, (390?-305? BC) and there was Xunzi (mid 200s BC). Mencius believed that you were to be born good and he stressed the need to preserve "the natural compassion of the heart" that makes people human. He also emphasized the past as an ideal age and a model for examining present problems. And Xunzi believed "people could be good and live together peacefully only if their minds were shaped by education and clear rules of conduct". (The World Book Encyclopedia – 2004 – World book, Inc. – Chicago IL. – Volume…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Confucian Virtue Ethics

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Finally I argue that the evidence produced and discussed at length within the thesis provides abundant evidence for strong similarities in Aristotle and Confucius’s outlooks concerning ethics. Emerging from the point that both of their works can be classified as examples of virtue ethics and building upon the numerous areas of convergence between them too it is clear that both Aristotelian and Confucian virtue ethics can be discussed in terms with each other and are not exclusionary of the ideas or concepts, nor the internal workings, of the other. With this, then, two very different cultural and historical contexts are shown to be able to give rise to ethical systems which are in no way mutually unintelligible despite not having all the same…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Confucian Homework 1.) Explain Filial Piety Confucianism believes that relationships are the foundation that supports society. All relationships have to start at home, that is where Filial Piety comes into play. Filial Piety is the basis of a relationship between a child and their family. Under the umbrella of Filial Piety, children are expected to show dedication and devotion to their parents.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Confucius was one of the most influential people on East Asian culture. Born in the sixth century, Confucius committed himself to spreading morality and inspiring people to do good (Ebrey, 42). Confucius linked moral behaviour to traditional roles and hierarchies in both social and political life. One of his main teachings was filial piety, the reverent respect for people in higher standing than you, such as parents and older people. His ideal world was one where hierarchy created harmony and conventions governed actions (Ebery, 42). The highest virtue for Confucius is called Ren, or “perfect goodness, benevolence, humanity, co-humanity, human heartedness, and nobility” (Ebery, 43).…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Filial piety developed from Confucianism, it is an elements that affects Chinese culture and tradition. Filial piety also established a family system, which has influences on most Chinese families. Because from the cultural concept, most families has the social value for each family numbers, such as, man should be the center of the family, the children of the family should be always obey their parents. Women’s social status and family status was lower than men, because from the Confucianism ideology, women should stay in the family and support the families’ daily life.…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays