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
1998DisneyAllRightsReserved