StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Confucius and Chinese Culture - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This paper 'Confucius and Chinese Culture' tells us that the historical literature, which accounts for the life of Chinese women, associates them with miserable incidents, behaviors, and conditions. The literature provides ample information on how women were treated in the past; for instance, they were chained to their feet…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.5% of users find it useful
Confucius and Chinese Culture
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Confucius and Chinese Culture"

Confucius and Chinese culture  The historical literature, which accounts for the life of Chinese women, associates them with miserable incidents, behaviors and conditions. The literature provides ample information on how women were treated in the past; for instance, they were chained to their feet, compelled to forced marriages and abundant accounts of suicidal incidents of widows are found in the Chinese women history. The miserable life of women is often related to Confucianism. With many of the best traditions of Confucianism, Confucius was not able to keep the right of the women. According to him, the women were obedient to their father in the first place, then to their husband and then to their elder son; the family’s elder son was the head of the house. According to Confucius, every relationship has a dual nature of responsibility, and accordingly the obligation. The mother is responsible for her son, Father for children, Teacher for students. However, men are superior, more powerful and intellectual as compared to women. He was not able to give a proper place to women in the society in his teachings and Confucius culture. According to Confucius, society could become stable only when the five basic relationships are being fulfilled which are, the relation of Love (among father and son), relationship of righteousness (among emperor and minister), relationship of virtuous demeanor (among husband and wife), relationship of order (among elder and younger) and relationship of faithfulness (among friends).If we closely administer these virtues, we see that out of the five, three occur in the family system. He was the great devotee of the family system and it is also the basis of today’s family system in China. The family system has an extended impact on the whole town, city and society of China. The order is strictly followed as, for instance, younger has to obey the elder whether the elder is from his family or from outside the family. Even today, Chinese people pay special respect to their elders. Confucius is also of the opinion that men should link themselves to others by humanity (Keng, 473-518). They should not select anything which they cannot select for themselves. Confucius was of the opinion that individuals need to mend their lives and acts rather than criticizing others. This idea is mutually accepted and practiced in the Chinese society. This, to a great extent, has helped in providing a level of security to Chinese women who are not criticized for working, having relationships and moving around freely today. There is a mutual acceptability and widespread use of this norm. The only person to judge and review his acts, within the social and legal boundaries, is the person himself. This point of Confucius has also become the point of measure to judge the behavior of others (Keng, 473-518). Interaction with others, as stated by Confucius, has become a lesson of personal development. When interacting with others, one keeps judging his own behavior which helps himself to devise his behavioral norms. Individuals keep correcting their behavior that strengthens the relationships they hold. Confucius is of the strong opinion that everyone should keep harmony in their relationship and it would be their greatest accomplishment in their life (Keng, 473-518). Women are privileged with greater satisfaction having a good status, loveable family environment and rights to enter the professional working environment in China. The underlying concept of putting oneself in the place of other to judge the situation and actions provide a vivid image of the true instances that affect others’ choices and behaviors. This, hence, has improved the condition of women and the behavior of men with them. The rule of the emperor is to be judged by the virtue and it is not hereditary. According to Confucius, the ruler must rule wisely and with moral attitudes. The ruler should be just in his working and virtue must be his core conduct. If the society is being ruled by a wise and just leader and ruler, the society is harmonized, stable and flourishing and it cultivates moral and ethical values. Conscious considered woman as morally and intellectually defective. He was the strong opponent of women subordination. Regardless of this fact, the principles he provided were significantly influential in maintaining harmony, peace and stability in an economy. Filial Piety is yet another value of Confucius. Confucius is also heard of saying “Filial Piety is root value of all virtues”. Filial Piety says that son should live with their parents after marriage under one roof. Respect is provided to father and parents as long as they are alive. The will and power of parents is supreme in the house. If the wife is not obedient to parents, the son could divorce her. In recent Chinese culture also, the first son born is obliged to provide shelter, food and medicine to father in their old age. Confucius is strong supporter of family system and in the recent Chinese society; parents are a supreme power in the family. In traditional Chinese culture, the greatest regret the son could have is to lose the opportunity to serve his parents in their death-bed. That is why; there are no old age homes in China contrary to the Eastern countries. Traditional Chinese culture is male – centered. More power is given to the male as compared to females. Females are less intellectual as proposed by Confucius. According to old pictographs (ancient Chinese characters), the women are showed sitting in their homes. On the other hand, the males are pictured with labor and fields. There were also cases where female infants and children were infanticide and daughters were even sold to brothels. Even today, Chinese women are mostly responsible for the educational success of their children. They are also bearing most of the share of domestic work. In contemporary Chinese culture, women not only have to share the entire domestic work load but also have to manage the educational level of their children. In recent Chinese culture, women are committing suicide in their old age as they cannot bear the workload at their old age. Women with 65+ of age have the most suicide rate in today’s China. Confucius ideas are still remembered and followed in most of the China at different levels throughout the society. Although many of his teachings are highly applauded like in strongly supporting the family system, the role of ruler and kinship of the ruler to wise men instead of passing on to next of kin, taking care of one another, giving respect to each other and respect to elder but when it comes to the role of women in Chinese culture, his teachings are dilapidated. Gender balance is not supported by Confucius at all. Women increased work load and liabilities to their natal family has been more desiring by him. Even in today’s China, women are not freed of their obligation. Their duties and hardships are not recognized at all. In the Confucius teachings, the women always have to be obedient either it would be father, husband or the elder son of the family. References Keng, L-C. "Li, order, and blood relations: The order of human relationships in traditional Chinese culture." New essays in Chinese culture: religion and ritual (1982): 473-518. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Based on your reading of The Death of Woman Wang,describle and analyze Essay - 1”, n.d.)
Based on your reading of The Death of Woman Wang,describle and analyze Essay - 1. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1615660-based-on-your-reading-of-the-death-of-woman-wangdescrible-and-analyze-how-confucian-ideals-are-ever-present-to-all-levels-of-chinese-societyand-how-they-affect-social-relations
(Based on Your Reading of The Death of Woman Wang,describle and Analyze Essay - 1)
Based on Your Reading of The Death of Woman Wang,describle and Analyze Essay - 1. https://studentshare.org/history/1615660-based-on-your-reading-of-the-death-of-woman-wangdescrible-and-analyze-how-confucian-ideals-are-ever-present-to-all-levels-of-chinese-societyand-how-they-affect-social-relations.
“Based on Your Reading of The Death of Woman Wang,describle and Analyze Essay - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1615660-based-on-your-reading-of-the-death-of-woman-wangdescrible-and-analyze-how-confucian-ideals-are-ever-present-to-all-levels-of-chinese-societyand-how-they-affect-social-relations.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Confucius and Chinese Culture

Confucian perspective and critique Qin rule

This was a blatant mistake, as the governors had no capacity to accumulate power in one place through different generations as sought in chinese culture.... Nevertheless, the Confucian scholars who were victims of legalism had detailed information on Chinese history including the Qin Dynasty and had great impact on other cultures like the Korean culture.... However, this form of governing faced immense criticism from many chinese philosophers and political thinkers who were against a totalitarian society....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Fall of Qin: A Confucian Perspective

In the paper 'The Fall of Qin: A Confucian Perspective' the author analyzes the reasons and the final codification of Confucianism, rather than Qin's Legalism, as the official ideology of the chinese ruling elites.... While the traditional Ancient chinese society that developed under Shang and Zhou placed great importance on the concepts of noble birth and nobility in general, the Legalists either ignored or even mocked such ideas, viewing all the subjects of the State, irrespective of their descent, education, etc....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Confucius and Zhuangzi Issues

The author of the essay "confucius and Zhuangzi Issues" points out that Kong Fu-Zi, the great Chinese thinker and master of philosophical thought, known to the world as Confucius, by the Latinized version of his name, gave to the world invaluable treatises on conduct, individual morality, etc.... Confucius also paved the way for the proper codification of the culture prevalent during his time.... Confucius took the teachings of ancient chinese and molded them in such a way, so as to address the needs of his time....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Ritualism in Confucian Thought

The paper "Ritualism in Confucian Thought" probes ritualism functioning as a support system to chinese culture.... Translating the Book Seventeen from the Analects of Confucius, Slingerland (209) notes that in one of the accounts from the Record of Rituals, Confucius used to give ritual instructions to guide his disciples and emphasize the antiquity of chinese culture.... In contemporary chinese society, there were different powerful countries and tribes who wished to identify themselves distinctly from each other....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Confucian Thought/ Philosophy

Confucius was the founder of the Confucianism beliefs which came to have a large impact on chinese culture.... This signifies that the chinese dynasty could not be ruled by two rulers at the same time.... confucius developed a philosophy based on ethical values that were used to guide daily life, and how rulers interacted with their people....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Understanding Taoism and Confucianism

This essay 'Understanding Taoism and Confucianism' will study Taoism and Confucianism, their mysterious origins, their differences and similarities, and the chinese practices influenced by the teachings of those religions.... While it is widely held that Lao Tzu (or Laozi) is the founder of Taoism, some experts contend that this Lao Tzu is no more than part of a chinese myth4 while others say that he is a historical figure, only that he did not found Taoism.... Lindemans claims that the real founder of Taoism is Huang-di, a chinese emperor who lived around 2,600 to 2,500 B....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

A Concise Note on the Concepts of Ideal Societies

hold that Confucianism is the savior of chinese culture.... Also, Confucius did not take the risk of altering the pre-existing social strata; Confucius preferred to say that he was not giving anything new; he was just conveying what already existed in the sphere of chinese culture and legacy.... This work "A Concise Note on the Concepts of Ideal Societies" describes a comparative analysis of the concepts of an ideal society as professed by confucius and Mozi....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Cross-Cultural Similarities Between Chinese Confucian and African American Culture

Today, Confucian affects every element of China, including education, private and public attitudes, government, and etiquette with the aim of involving an audience that was tired of rampant political corruption and the loss of moral grounding in the society as evidenced through emperors, and ordinary citizens, and ended up being a principle culture within the chinese culture.... Like any other collectivist culture, Wong (2001) highlights that chinese culture influences child growth to the extent that children grow to respect the group that they belong to and not individuals....
15 Pages (3750 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us