英语 Confucian Thought on Heaven and Humanity

2021年1月25日发(作者：神秘嘉宾)
Unit 1
Confucian Thought on Heaven and Humanity
国学
12
道：
1
、孔子：为人之道；
2
、老子：处事之道；
3
、庄子：养性之道；
4
、孟子：
君臣 之道；
5
、荀子：学习之道；
6
、孙子：韬略之道；
7
、管 子：教练之道；
8
、韩非子：统
驭之道；
9
、鬼谷子：权谋之道；< br>10
、大学：修身之道；
11
、易经：天地之道；
12
、禅宗 ：
死生之道。

为人之道：与人平等，不强求别人，包容别人的错误，人无完人， 不能太过
于完美的去要求别人

处事之道：
以人为本，
让别人感到受益，
你才会有益受

养性之道：
是前两个的结合

君臣之道：上下级关系，如何处理

“
To learn and then have occasion to practice what you have learned
—
is this
not satisfying? To have friends arrive from afar
—
is this not a joy? To be patient
even when others do not understand
—is this not the mark of the gentlemen?”

学而时习之，不亦乐乎？有朋至远方来，不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？

孔子
简介
：
Confucius (551-479 BC), known in China as Kongzi, given name Qiu and
alias Zhongni. He was
a
native
of Zouyi (present-day Qufu in
Shandong
Province) of
the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

Why
does our Kongzi become Confucius in the west?

Confucius is a Latinized name bestowed upon Kongzi by Jesuit missionaries in
the 18th century, which is a critical time when missionaries introduced Chinese
culture to the West.
论
语：
The Analects, or Lunyu, purports to be a record of the teaching of
Confucius and hisdisciples. It is an enduring classic of Chinese culture and has
influenced all thinkers, writers and politicians in the over-2,000-year-long
history of China after Confucius. No scholar could truly understand the
long-standing
culture
or
the
inner
world
of
the
ancient
Chinese
without
this
book.
The
Analects
is
not
a
“book”
in
the
sense
that
most
modern
Westerners
usual
ly
understand
a
book
—
that
is,
a
coherent
argument
or
story
presented
by
a
single
author,
to be digested alone in the quiet of study. It is instead a record
—
somewhat
haphazardly collected and edited together at an unknown point in history
—
of a
dynamic
process
of
teaching,
and
most
likely
was
only
committed
to
writing
many
years
after the Master Confucius had passed away.
What is Confucius’ view on Heaven according to these lines?

“
Heaven does not speak in words. It speaks through the rotation of the four
seasons and the growth of all living things (
天何言哉？四时行焉，百物生焉，天何
言哉？
) .
”—
Selected from The Analects
Confucius
regarded
“Heaven”
as
nature。
Confucius
believes
that
nature
is
not
a
lifeless
mechanism
separate
from
human;
instead,
it
is
a
great
world
full
of
life
and the process of creating life. Human is part of nature.
The “way of Heaven”

Confucius’
equation
of
Heaven
with
the
creation
of
life
was
an
innovative
idea
in
his

natural
process
of
life
creation
was
the
“way
of
Heaven”.This
idea
was later developed in The Book of Changes (Yijing).
The “virtue of Heaven”

As
the
natural
process
of
creation
of
life,
Heaven
was
the
source
of
all
living
things and the source of all values. This was the “virtue of Heaven”.

“
Heavenly mission
”天命

In the natural process of creation of life, Heaven had its inner purpose in
creating
all
things
as
well
as
protecting
and
improving
life
。
Heaven
had
originated
humanity,
and
humans
were
obliged
to
accomplish
this

other
words,
humans
are
born
with
a
sense
of
“heavenly
mission”,
and
this
is
the
meaning
of
human
life.

子曰
:
吾
,
十 有五
,
而志于学
,
三十而立
,
四十而不惑
,
五十而知天命
,
六十而耳顺
,
七十而
从心所欲不逾矩。

The Master said, At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I had
planted
my
feet
firm
upon
the
ground.
At
forty,
I
no
longer
suffered
from
perplexities.
At
fifty,
I
knew
what
were
the
biddings
of
Heaven.
At
sixty,
I
heard
them
with
docile
ear. At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired
no longer overstepped the boundaries of right.
The sense of awe and belief in Heaven
Confucius required people to hold Heaven in awe and claimed that a person of
virtue must “respect his heavenly mission”, listen to and live out the purpose
of Heaven by caring for and improving the influence of Confucius, the
ancient Chinese developed a sense of awe and belief in Heaven.
How do you understand this line?
“
He who offends against Heaven has none to whom he can pray (
获罪于天，无所
祷也。
).
”—
Selected from The Analects
Heaven,
as
the
world
of
ever-generating
life,
was
the
highest
sacred
being,
with
its profound mystery never to be fully understood by mortals. Human beings should
take to
heart the
purpose of Heaven by cherishing life.
If one remained
“ignorant
and
disrespectful
of
one’s
heavenly
mission”
by
killing
or
maiming
life,
one
would
be punished by Heaven
。

How is Confucian concept of Heaven related to the modern
ecological civilization?
Confucius regarded “Heaven” as nature and the source of life, and required
people to hold Heaven in awe. This is the source of the modern ecological
civilization.
Ren
(
仁
)
and
li
(
礼
)
are the two core concepts of Confucius
’
doctrine
about people.
Ren (
仁
)
Confucius
interpreted
ren
in
various
ways,
and
the
most
important
interpretation
is “love people”.Love
for the
people is
universal love. This kind of
love
should
“begin with the love for one’s parents”.The essence of ren: “filial piety and
fraternal duty”.

Confucius
taught
for
many
years
and
trained
3,000
disciple,
of
whom
72
excelled
in the
“
six arts (
六艺
)
”
, i.e., ritual, music, archery, (carriage) driving,
calligraphy, and mathematics.
l. Skimming and Scanning
（
Go through the passage quickly and answer the
following questions briefly.
）

1) What is The Analects mainly about?
The Analects is mainly about Confucius’ words and life story.

2) What is Confucius’
view on Heaven?
Confucius regarded Heaven as nature.
3) What is Confucius’ innovative idea about Heaven?

Confucius’ innovative idea about Heaven is that Heaven (or nature) is the
process of life creation.
4)
What
does
the
“heavenly
mission”
in
Paragraph
7
refer
to?
The “heavenly mission” in Paragraph 7 refers to accomplishing Heaven’s
purpose of protecting and improving life.
5) How is Confucius’ concept of Heaven related to the
modern ecological civilization?
Confucius
advocated
“standing
in
awe
of
the
ordinances
of
Heaven”
and
warned
against offending Heaven. This is, in essence, equivalent to the modern idea of
staying in harmony with nature. So in this way Confucius’ concept of Heaven is
similar to the modern ecological civilization.
6) What is Confuc
ius’ interpretation of ren?

Confucius interpreted ren as “love of people”, which begins with the “love
for one’s parents”.

7)
According
to
Confucius,
what
is
the
most
important
part
of li?