HISTORY 3EC3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Confucius, Junzi, War Brides Act
19 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
SeungJoon SUNG
East Asian Cultures (Chin)
TuTh 12:30-1:45pm
Sept/13/2012
#4 Reading & Class Notes for Sept 13
Mencius
4th Century BCE (more than a century after Confucius)
Warring States Period: larger states began swallowing smaller states; warfare more brutal
Beliefs
Was against war (war interferes with basic human needs (food, clothing, shelter, education))
Criticized rulers for war
Humaneness + Rightness (yi) (drew on ideas of Confucius and Xia)
Mandate of Heaven = powerful heaven oversees an overarching moral order
Morality
Qi: Energy or vitality directly related to moral effort
Four beginnings: Humaneness, Rightness, Propriety, and Wisdom = natural human tendencies
Many discounted his optimism, but emerged as most influential contributor in China and E.Asia.
New Ideas
Man is inherently good
Conservation of resources
Renunciation & overthrow of kings
CONFUCIUS MENCIUS
Idealistic & General Practical & Detailed
Talked to disciples Talked to rulers
Lived in spring/autumn period Lived in warring states period
(more desperate)
Individual bears responsibility
“archer misses mark, only himself to blame”
Rulers bear responsibility
“right to rebel”
Both lost father at an early age
Confucius
551-479 BCE
Born in Lu (eastern China)
Kong Qiu Kong Fuzi (our master kong) Confucius
Ru = Confucianism (soft, gentle, enduring, weak … followers were identified as ru)
Travelled across many states, looking for someone who shared his vision (ru)
Eventually failed became a teacher (after his death, his ideas survived)
Confucius’s ideas were too abstract for politicians to use Mencius (later) was more practical
Moral Nobility (junzi)
“gentleman” or “son of a lord”
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Document Summary
#4 reading & class notes for sept 13. 4th century bce (more than a century after confucius) Warring states period: larger states began swallowing smaller states; warfare more brutal. Was against war (war interferes with basic human needs (food, clothing, shelter, education)) Humaneness + rightness (yi) (drew on ideas of confucius and xia) Mandate of heaven = powerful heaven oversees an overarching moral order. Qi: energy or vitality directly related to moral effort. Four beginnings: humaneness, rightness, propriety, and wisdom = natural human tendencies. Many discounted his optimism, but emerged as most influential contributor in china and e. asia. Archer misses mark, only himself to blame (more desperate) Kong qiu kong fuzi (our master kong) confucius. Ru = confucianism (soft, gentle, enduring, weak followers were identified as ru) Travelled across many states, looking for someone who shared his vision (ru) Eventually failed became a teacher (after his death, his ideas survived)
