Wisdom of Confucius

Author: Lin Yutang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Confucius's thought represents a rational social order, with ethics as the law, personal cultivation as the foundation, morality as the basis of governance, and personal rectification and self-cultivation as the root of political enlightenment. From this perspective, one thought-provoking feature lies in the elimination of the difference between politics and ethics. Its method is an ethical approach, which is entirely different from the Legalist school's emphasis on strict laws and harsh punishments as the means to enrich the state and strengthen the military. Confucius's teachings are also resolutely affirmative, demanding that people take responsibility for humanity and society, as expressed in the phrase "taking the world and the nation as one's own burden." This point differs greatly from the Taoist attitude of indulging in the world or playing with the world.