The Reflection of Confucianism in the Movie: MULAN

Mulan .

Confucius(Kong Fuzi 孔夫子) was born during the

Spring and Autumn

era of the Dong Zhou

dynasty.

Those were t imes

of rupture and

drastic changes

for the ancient

k ingdom of China.

Warlords battled

aga inst each other

with armies of

hundreds of

thousand men,

…seeking to over throw

loca l rulers , take over

their lands, and their

pos it ion of royal

sovereigns.

But, in the midst

of war and

chaos…

war and chaos,

searched for

peace and order.

Confucius

He studied how wise

kings of the past

ruled peaceful

dynasties.

Also, how China’s

f irst ancestors

l ived in harmony

with the order of

Heaven (Tian 天).

He wanted to rev ive

the va lues and

tradit ions of ancient

dynasties.

So, he became an

educator and an

adv isor to loca l rulers .

Future dynasties

adopted

teachings as their

pr inciples and were able

to restore the peace.

Confucius’

Many books were

wr itten conta ining

and preser v ing

these pr inciples:

Ren 仁

Humanity, k indness, gentleness.

“Ifonesets one’sheart on ren,therewillbenonehehates”(Analects 4.4).

Li禮

Right behav ior: Ritua ls .

“Todelight inli andmusic improves you”(Analects 16.5).

Li禮

Ritual : Worship the Ancestors.

“Hewhooffendsagainst Tian hasnonetowhomhecanpray”(Analects 3.13).

Li禮

Ritual : Government obl igations.

“Providealeading example toyourofficers”(Analects 13.2).

Li禮

Ritual : Discipl ines at home.

“When abroadserve superiors andministers, whenathome serve elders”(Analects 9.16).

Li 禮

Ritual : Ceremonies.

“Fulfill youroffice eagerly,performyourduties with loyalty”(Analects 12.14).

Yong 勇

Valor.

“Thewise arenotconfused, the valorousarenotfearful”(Analects 9.29).

Yi 義

Moral intention.

“Ifapersonhasvalorbut lacks yi,hebecomes abandit”(Analects 17.23).

Zhong 忠

Loyalty.

“Ifthe lorddirects hisminister with li,theminister willservehis lordwithzhong”

(Analects 3.19).

Xin信

Trustwor thy: promise keeper.

“Take zhong andxin asthepivotandhavenofriendswhoarenot like yourself inthis”

(Analects 1.8).

Xiao孝

Fil ia l Piety.

“Onepupilasked about xiao andConfucius said, Neverdisobey”(Analects 2.5).

Jing 敬

Respect.

“Confucius said, xiao andjing,arethe rootsofren”(Analects 1.2).

Shu恕

Reciprocity: The Golden Rule.

“Thatwhichyoudonotdesire, donotdotoothers”(Analects 15.24).

De德

Vir tue, power, character.

“Hewhoexercises government bymeans ofhisde maybecompared totheNorthStar,whichkeeps its place andall the starsturntowards it”

(Analects 2.1).

Junzi 君子

Gentleman: man of perfect v ir tue.

“The junzi takes yi ashisbasic substance; heputs itintopractice with li,uses zhong toenact itandren tocomplete it”

(Analects 15.18).

Dao 道

Way, method, pr inciple, message.

“Inthemorning hearthedao, intheevening diecontent”(Analects 4.8).

Wu lun 五倫

Five Cardina ls :

1 . Subject to Ruler.

Wu lun 五倫

2. Son to Father.

Wu lun 五倫

3. Younger brother to Older brother.

Wu lun 五倫

4. Wife to Husband.

“Women andsmallmen aredifficult tonurture. Ifyougettooclose tothem,theybecome stubborn, andifyoustaytoodistant, theybecome resentful”

(Analects 17.25).

Wu lun 五倫

5. Friend to Friend.

Wu lun 五倫

These principles

about socia l behav ior

and mora l th inking

are known as the

centra l dogma of the

rel ig ion:

T he “p en dan t for bal an ce”.. .

i s t he Yin Yang s y mbol :

O p p os i t es i n l i fe comp lemen t an d dep en d on each ot her for

bal an ce an d harmon y .

FemalePassive

NegativeNightCold

Yin

MaleActive

PositiveDay

Warmth

Yang

A ls o s hown i n Mulan an d Shang’s hors es .

Shangor

S han g S hui s t he n ame of

on e of t he book s i n t he Fi v e Cl as s i cs

of Con f uci an i s m.

Limeans: Ri tu al .

Zhoui s t he n ame

of t he dy n as t y duri n g whi ch

Con f uci us l i ved.

If y ou i n t erchan g e t he

s y l l abl es of Con f uci us 's mi ddl e n ame i n Chi n es e:

Fuz iy ou g et t he

homop hon e:

Chi Fu.

Yaowas a k i n g

duri n g an ci en t

dy n as t i es , who

Con f uci us reg arded as

wi s e an d v i r t uous .

Shan mean s “t o us urp ”.

Yu was t he l eg en dary emp eror who foun ded t he X i a dy n as t y .

Wu was t he emp eror who foun ded t he Zhou dy n as t y .

Zhong mean s l oy al t y .

Wu

References

Elsten, David. “Beyond The Five Relationships: Teachers And Worthies In Early Chinese Thought.” Philosophy East & West 62.3 (2012): 375-91. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

Eno, R. “The Analects of Confucius: An online teaching translation.” Indiana University. N.p., 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

Moyers, Bill. “Confucianism.” Films On Demand Digital Educational Video. Films Media Group, 6 Jan. 2007. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Perf. Ming-Na Wen and Eddie Murphy. Walt Disney Feature Animation, 1998. Netflix. Netflix. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

Richter, Kent, Eva Räpple, John Modschiedler, and R. Peterson. Understanding Religion in a Global Society. 1st ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2005. Print.

Taylor, Rodney L. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. Print.

Theobald, Ulrich. “Chinese Thought and Philosophy: Confucius and Confucianism.” Chinaknowledge. N.p., 27 July 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

VEA. “Confucius in Ancient China.” Films On Demand Digital Educational Video. Films Media Group, 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

Cindy Marquina

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