Confucius was one of my favorite people to meet, ever. He was born in northwest China during the Chou Dynasty in 551 BCE before China was unified. And, at the age of three, is when I first looked at this boy. His father past away, and he was left to live with his mom in poverty. This is much like Muhammad, I remembered. As he grew, and as I fast forwarded through his life, the Chou Dynasty ended. Many rival warlords would fight, there was many wars, and people fighting all the time. This fighting would continue from his child hood into his teenage years. And somehow, out of all this madness, Confucius develops this idea of goodness. This is where I press play on my little remote. How could someone who had been through so much end up with goodness on their mind? Especially when people had done them so much wrong...
So, I went up to him, and I asked him, what does this goodness mean? And he responded with, well, it would hold society together. Society would find its harmony if everyone preformed their duties. If rulers are good, the people will follow their example. Goodness means humanity is the center of Haven and Earth. Family, which is very important, is the foundation of society. That is what goodness is.
Wow. So goodness isn't just being good, but so much more. Well, to continue with the story of his life, Confucius got a government job, and tried to put his ideas of goodness into practice. This resulted in him being dismissed from his job, and spent as the worst thing ever, a wandering teacher. He died in 479 BCE. It wasn't until 200 years later that the Han Dynasty would make Confucianism the official state Philosophy. So, to someone who met Confucius during his life wouldn't think him of much, being a wandering teacher and all. But this man influenced not only the Han Dynasty, but also the Tang and Sung Dynasty's, which were the two golden ages of China.
So, I went up to him, and I asked him, what does this goodness mean? And he responded with, well, it would hold society together. Society would find its harmony if everyone preformed their duties. If rulers are good, the people will follow their example. Goodness means humanity is the center of Haven and Earth. Family, which is very important, is the foundation of society. That is what goodness is.
Wow. So goodness isn't just being good, but so much more. Well, to continue with the story of his life, Confucius got a government job, and tried to put his ideas of goodness into practice. This resulted in him being dismissed from his job, and spent as the worst thing ever, a wandering teacher. He died in 479 BCE. It wasn't until 200 years later that the Han Dynasty would make Confucianism the official state Philosophy. So, to someone who met Confucius during his life wouldn't think him of much, being a wandering teacher and all. But this man influenced not only the Han Dynasty, but also the Tang and Sung Dynasty's, which were the two golden ages of China.
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