Confucius Would be Hard to Follow Because He’s So “Enlightened”
“Confucius would just be changing his status to weird little sayings all the time. I’d hate that.” Confucius (circa 551-479 BCE) was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius, also known as Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. His ideas have become intrinsically entwined with the national identity of China and the civilization of East Asia. Confucius showed a zeal for academics early on. “At 15, I set my heart on learning,” he later told his disciples. He studied music, mathematics, the classics, history, and more. He was especially entranced by the early years of the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 B.C.), a peaceful period he perceived as a golden age to be emulated.
Confucius believed that education and reflection led to virtue and that those who aspired to command others must cultivate discipline and moral authority in themselves. He strove to rise through the government ranks, but he tended to offend others with his forceful personality, using his position as a bully pulpit for preaching good governance. He eventually was appointed to the influential post of minister of crime in the state of Lu but fell from favor through his aggressive reform efforts. He tried for years to reenter public service in order to improve it from within, but he found far greater success as a teacher instead. Confucius broke with tradition in his belief that all human beings could benefit from education. He espoused lifelong learning “for the sake of the self,” meaning self-knowledge and self-improvement.