What do grown children owe their parents?

The search for harmony (he) underlies all ancient Chinese thinking – medicine, philosophy, cooking, and politics.

Confucius (551-479 BCE) = Kung Fu-tzu or Master Kung “Being fond of the truth, I am a admirer of antiquity.”

He was the supreme editor of classic Chinese culture who gave shape to the canon of Chinese education. He was a transmitter and conservator of tradition, not an innovator, or so he claimed.

He idealized the early Shang and Zhou kings as models of virtue and saw early Zhou society as a golden age.

The secrets of this golden age were to be found in the old writings, referred to as the Five Classics (including the I Ching Book of Changes, Shih Ching the Book of Songs, the Book of History, the Book of Rites, Spring and Autumn Annals).

Confucius proposed to reform the education system by grounding it in a rigorous study of these texts and examples from history. This proposal was made as a means for overcoming the chaos and violence that surrounded his society as the Zhou authority disintegrated.

The Confucian Project was to convince rulers to adopt his recommendations as a means to produce social cohesion and harmony.

Read the selection from The Classic of Filial Piety Read the selection from The Classic of Filial Piety. According to Confucius, what do children owe their parents and what effect does he suggest it will produce?

HOMEWORK Read the essay titled, “Why Translation Matters.” Identify the primary arguments made by the author and come prepared to discuss those ideas and ask questions of an actual translator.

HOMEWORK: Read the selection from The Analects. Identify reoccurring ideas or beliefs that you see in the text. Also, what questions do you have about his ideas or thinking?

HOMEWORK: Read the excerpt from Reverence, by Paul Woodruff. Determine what argument(s) he is making about reverence and what do you think about his ideas?