Confucius and Chinese Thought

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Summary

China, 497 BC. The country is divided into independent, warring kingdoms. The struggle for power has rendered the situation unstable, and the ancient Zhou dynasty has lost its role as unifier and p...

China, 497 BC. The country is divided into independent, warring kingdoms. The struggle for power has rendered the situation unstable, and the ancient Zhou dynasty has lost its role as unifier and peace-broker. In one of these kingdoms, the province of Lu, Confucius becomes the Great Minister of Justice at the age of 53. The neighboring province, jealous of the progress made in Lu province because of Confucius, offers its sovereign 80 of the country’s prettiest girls. The sovereign of Lu completely ignores his duties and spends entire days in a brothel surrounded by these young women. Disappointed by such behavior, Confucius resigns his post as minister and begins a long march of meditation that will last for 14 years. The number of Confucius’ disciples never stops growing as his journey progresses to culminate in the creation of a new art of political and social living: Confucianism. Confucius’ impact on China is such that his legacy becomes a state religion that will not be abandoned until the 20th century. Confucius marked Chinese society forever. He is considered to be the country’s first “educator.” By interpreting ancient institutions in his own way, he sowed the seeds of “Chinese Humanism”. The debauchery of the sovereign of Lu provoked China’s greatest-ever spiritual upheaval.

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