Confucius Essays - Confucianism, Chinese Philosophy, Free Essays

Confucius Essays - Confucianism, Chinese Philosophy, Free Essays Confucius Confucius The history of Chinese civilization spans thousands of years and encompasses countless ideas, beliefs, and societal and political doctrines. However, from a modern standpoint one distinct perspective prevails above the rest in the manner and degree it has influenced the development of China. For the previous 2,000 years the teachings of Confucius, and the systems of thought and behavior that have evolved from them, have had significant effects on Chinese thought, government institutions, literature and social customs. Confucianism has served a primary role as a social and moral philosophy and as practiced by many, especially in the educated upper classes, Confucianism had definite religious dimensions. The teachings of Confucius served to unite a developing society, binding together various aspects of civilization and culture into one coherent body that functions under common values and attitudes. Confucius sought a type of all encompassing unity for the world and for his people; his wisdom was intended to serve as guide. In the Analects, a compendium of Confucian teachings, Confucius said, Be of unwavering good faith and love learning. Be steadfast unto death in pursuit of the good Way. Do not enter a state which is in peril, nor reside in one in which the people have rebelled. When the Way prevails in the world, then show yourself. When it does not, then hide. When the Way prevails in your own state, to be poor and obscure is a disgrace; but when the Way does not prevail in your own state, to be rich and honored is a disgrace. (Analects 4.5) This lesson serves well as a paradigm for Confucian thought; it shows the direction that Confucius aspired toward, and the proper methods for the journey. Before endeavoring to understand Confucianism and its connection with China, it is necessary to develop and understanding of China in the pre-Confucius era, in which this philosophy evolved. The most ancient evidence of Chinese religious and social civilization dates back to the Shang dynasty, circa 1500 B.C.E. In this early agricultural society, there is evidence of some of the basic fundamentals of most Chinese religious thought; the pursuit, establishment, maintenance and enjoyment of harmony in the earthly world. During the Zhou dynasty (1122 - 771 B.C.E.), the path initiated by the Shang was sustained and expanded upon. The Zhou quest for harmony and order led to the development of some extremely crucial concepts that would directly effect the development of Confucianism. It was in this era that the notion of Tian, the force that can be best understood as heaven, first came to light. This later led to the conception of the idea of the Mandate of Heaven (Tian-ming) from which rulers derived all power and sense of legitimacy, due to the accordance of their behaviors with the norms of morality and ritual correctness. In connection with this, the relatively stable feudal society of Zhou era was responsible for the emergence of the tao. This principal made cosmic order and harmony possible; the tao can be thought of as the road or path from which come perfect unity, harmony and order. This idea played a critical role in the development of Confucianism and dramatically affected the course of Chinese development. In the eighth century B.C.E., the Zhou dynasty began to fall apart as barbarous tribes invaded from the west. This led to the disintegration of Zhou rule and the creation of a number of contending smaller states hoping to re-unify China under a new dynasty. This serious breach in the structure of society and the disharmony that prevailed led to new movements of thought. The sages of this time felt strong aspirations to find solutions to the numerous problems that surrounded them. It probably is for this reason that the six-century B.C.E. was characterized by distinct progress in Chinese thought, and became known as the age of the hundred philosophers. Foremost in this era, Confucius was born. Kung Fu-tzu was the given name of the great moral philosopher and teacher, Confucius is merely a romanized version of this. He is thought to have been born in the principality of Lu, in what is now Shantung Province, in Northeast China. This is the only information about Confucius that is known to be unyielding fact; almost all of the biographical information on this man is derived from the Life of Confucius by the historian Szema Chien. Nearly all the data contained in this book is held to be accurate, being derived from dependable oral traditions. Confucius is said to have embarked on his quest for knowledge, order and harmony

Custers Last Stand essays

Custers Last Stand essays Americans often pride themselves for living in the land of the free. This is rather ironic considering that we stole our beloved country from its original inhabitants, the Native Americans. Not many people are aware of the severity of the numerous hardships the American Indians have faced over the years. Perhaps one of the most famous Native American conflicts is the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as General Custers Last Stand. The end of the civil war marked the beginning of a large-scale westward movement of American Settlers. The area surrounding the Black hills proved to be especially popular due to the discovery of gold. This proved to be a problem however, because this land already had occupants; the Sioux Indians. Tensions between the settlers and the Indians had been mounting as more and more miners and settlers ignored the Treaty of Fort Laramie, which had designated the area a reservation exclusively for the Indians. Many Indians were unsatisfied by the treaty and left the reservation, and the tensions continued to rise. In 1875 United States Government issued an ultimatum to all Sioux Indians. The Ultimatum ordered the all Indians, even those who didnt have anything to do with the treaty, to proceed to the Great Sioux Reservation. This outraged the Indians because their sacred Black Hills were not part of the Reservation and many did not follow the order. In response to there unwillingness to co mply with the ultimatum General Phillip Sheridan, commander of the armed forces of the plains, decided that this mixture of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were a threat and needed to be forced onto their reservation. Sheridan devised a three-prong invasion plan and mobilized forces in the Montana, Dakota, and Wyoming territories. In May of 1876 three groups of soldiers set off from the Wyoming, Montana and Dakota Territories on a mission to round up Native Americans and place them on the Gr...

Corporate Responsibility for Childhood Obesity Essay - 3

Corporate Responsibility for Childhood Obesity - Essay Example Unlike Zinczenko,Linn and Novosat deem the main reason for rise in children obesity is due ro fast food firms spending millions of dollars on product marketing but little consideration of their customers’ health. These companies normally target children because they are their main clients (Linn & Novosat 133 Apart from comparing the two articles, the essay will also state both their central and supporting arguments. Zinczenko says the reason he grew fat was because of his lunch and dinner always, which came from food shops such as McDonalds, Pizza hut or Taco bell. He says that this has never changed and in fact the stores have doubled (Zinczenko). He further says child obesity is the main contributor of the large amount of money being spent on diabetes treatment. According to him, lack of alternatives is the reason behind increased child obesity (Zinczenko). He states that while driving through America, one will spot thousands of McDonald’s stores but hardly will he see fruit stores or other alternatives where one can get dirrent and health food. Apart from lack of alternatives, Zinczenko also identifies lack of proper information about the food being consumed as another cause of children obesity(Zinczenko).He says that unlike grocery stores which include information charts on their packages, fast food stores hardly offer calory information charts neither do they have health warning lab els. Based on his argument, child obesity can be controlled if fast food companies minimize the level of calories and sugar in their products.These companies should also consider their customer’s safety by providing nutrition information charts for makes people be in a position to make more informed decisions. Another reason behind children obesity is because food companies are ever using various techniques to lure children into purchasing their products which are full of calories and little nutritional benefits (Linn & Novosat

UNB 50th Anniversary Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

UNB 50th Anniversary - Term Paper Example It should be noted that the tones that are to be used here should be welcoming and celebratory in nature and excited with respect to future achievements. Languages that are to be used should display the University’s desire to have a progressive growth platform, creativity and innovation. The idea of holding the university’s fiftieth anniversary to celebrate the excellent performance of the Brunswick university over the last few decades came to see the light of dawn when the university president and vice- chancellor, professor, Dr. H.E.A (Eddy) Campbell selected a group of experts headed by the university chairman of the council Dr. Edward Young and a couple of other dignitaries from the university and her two daughter campuses to verse the best way through which the university would celebrate her years of god academic performance in he region and the best way to celebrate her being the longest serving center for academic performance in the northern parts of the American sub- continent. Among these were the Executive Director of the UWI School of Business and Applied Studies (ROYTEC), Mr. Earl Browne, Ms. Anthea Clarke, Subject Head for Management Science and Mathematics, ROYTEC, the principals from all the two campuses and constituent colleges and other learning centers (Belluz, 2008). The meeting passed that the university should an anniversary celebration in remembrance of the good days of academics and social endeavors in the region. The Brunswick University has been an outstanding center of excellence in the northern American continent having contributed tremendously in almost all areas of knowledge in the region and beyond. He boasts of the largest number of ex- students in the region who have graduated from the university and are doing excellently well in their areas of employment. Graduates from this university since time immemorial are found in almost all sectors of the economic