My summary of the article “Confucius” 蔡佳容
Confucius was born in a small country and brought up in poor a family. He studied
so hard that he eventually became a learned man. For a while he worked for the
government, but soon he quit the job and dedicated all his life to education. The
primary teaching targets of Confucius on personal conduct were jen and li. Confucius
thought that a man should follow the two principles and endeavor after truth and
virtue rather than wealth. In addition, he had some political insights. For example,
Confucius thought that a leader should not rule by force but by moral example. After
Shih Huang Ti ruled over the whole China, he decided to destroy Confucian teachings
and Confucius’ works. It was not until the next dynasty, the Han, that Confucianism
re-emerged. Confucianism became the most important official state philosophy
throughout the next two millennia. From then on, the government examinations in
China were based on knowledge of Confucian classics. Common people could enter
the government by carefully studying Confucian classics. However, its enormous
influence was challenged in the 19th century when the West caused revolutionary
changes in China. Then, the Communist party sieved power in the 20th century. To
modernize China and to promote economic justice, the communists decided to
eradicate the conservative ideas of Confucius.
*The original article is on page 156 of Mosaic 1 ed. Brenda Wegmann and
Miki knezevic