The movie the story of Qui Ju depicts the difficult quest of an ordinary provincial woman, who was seeking justice in the little village in China. Despite of the fact that she was pregnant, she persistently and willfully was overcoming all the obstacles on her path. She went from one office to other with a desire of restoring justice. However, she was disappointed again and again: officials were not able to fulfill her demands, even though the only thing she wanted was a mere apology by the village chief, who had severely beaten up her husband, Qinglai. The compensation she was offered with was monetary. However, she did not need money; she wanted an apology, but she could not get it because the chief was so obstinate that he would not apologize. No monetary compensation could retrieve the lost dignity of her husband and of hers, only a simple apology – an explanation could. The chief, being a superior, did not act in accordance with the philosophy of Confucius; his actions and behavior did measure up to the Confucian standards of benevolence and governance. This all caused a lot of troubles and to her and her family. This paper will try to prove it, scrutinizing his behavior closely following the plot of the movie.
According to Confucian philosophy, the most important quality a human being has to have is benevolence. Benevolence is an ability of a person to treat others as one would like to be treated oneself – not to impose on others what oneself do not desire. A benevolent man should possess courage and respect towards others; he should be courteous and effable. He is composed in speech and action; he is tolerant, patient, and self-disciplined. He is not afraid of difficulties and challenges; he tirelessly overcomes every ...
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...s rib had been broken. When Qui Ju found out that the chief had been taken away to prison, she wanted to avert it, but it was too late. The justice, which was enforced by government agitated her even more strongly. The only things it could do in order to enforce justice were the monetary compensation and imprisonment of the perpetrator.
During the whole movie it was shown that the behavior of the chief was discordant with the philosophy of Confucius. He did not correspond to the Confucian standards of benevolence and governance. He was not an exemplary person whom others could emulate. He was ill-tempered, undisciplined, and arrogant. He treated others with disrespect and disdain. He was obstinate and stubborn. Only thing he cared about was the reputation. That’s why he did not measure up the Confucian standards which praise respect, tolerance, and self-discipline.
“The Death of Woman Wang”, written by Chinese historian Jonathan Spence, is a book recounting the harsh realities facing citizens of Tancheng country, Shandong Province, Qing controlled China in the late 17th century. Using various primary sources, Spence describes some of the hardships and sorrow that the people of Tancheng faced. From natural disasters, poor leadership, banditry, and invasions, the citizens of Tancheng struggled to survive in a devastated and changing world around them. On its own, “Woman Wang” is an insightful snapshot of one of the worst-off counties in imperial Qing China, however when taking a step back and weaving in an understanding of long held Chinese traditions, there is a greater understanding what happened in
In by reading the Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, I gained a perspective of the people and culture of China. This book showed the analysis of Chinese saw and the background of Chinese history.
Some of the more fascinating documents of the Han period in ancient China were arguably those written by women. The writings were at once contradictory due to the fact that they appeared to destroy the common perceptions of women as uneducated and subservient creatures while simultaneously delivering messages through the texts that demonstrated a strict adherence to traditional values. Those are the paradoxical characteristics of prominent female scholar Ban Zhou’s work called Lesson for a Woman. Because modern opinions on the roles of women in society likely cloud the clear analysis of Zhou’s work, it is necessary to closely examine the Han’s societal norms and popular beliefs that contributed to establishing the author’s perspective and intent.
Confucius was a philosopher, political intellect and an educator whose philosophies have significantly prejudiced not only the Chinese principles but the entire world evolution. He lived through the “Spring” and “Autumn” epoch of Chinese history, when east central China was separated over a dozen fighting states. The inordinate ailment and grief he saw swayed his political thoughts, which highlighted command, grading and the rule of a compassionate self-governing state.
In this initial chapter, Huang provides an anecdotal history of some of the events that occurred, and includes within it a discussion of the set up of the leadership, the repercussions that occurred in the event of certain actions, including the prospects of an audience with the emperor. Huang reviews these issues as he considers that actions taken by the Wan-li emperor, who was only twenty-four in 1587 and who had been a veteran of ceremonial proceedings, and considers his history as an element of understanding the progression of leadership. Huang outlines the reconstruction of the court under Wan-li who came into power at the death of his father and the seemingly insignificant actions taken by the emperor, from his marriage to the redecorating of the court. Within the scope of this discourse, Huang is able to disclose the excesses of the emperor, and consider the implications of the bureaucratic system that he devised as an extension of this excess (13).
The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan Spence is an educational historical novel of northeastern China during the seventeenth century. The author's focus was to enlighten a reader on the Chinese people, culture, and traditions. Spence's use of the provoking stories of the Chinese county T'an-ch'eng, in the province of Shantung, brings the reader directly into the course of Chinese history. The use of the sources available to Spence, such as the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the scholar-official Huang Liu-hung's handbook and stories of the writer P'u Sung-Ling convey the reader directly into the lives of poor farmers, their workers and wives. The intriguing structure of The Death of Woman Wang consists on observing these people working on the land, their family structure, and their local conflicts.
Cao Xueqin’s Story of the Stone is a classic in Chinese literature, showcasing the life and exploits of the wealthy Jia clan during the feudal era. Through Cao’s depiction, the reader is afforded a glimpse into the customs and lifestyle of the time. Chinese mode of thought is depicted as it occurred in daily life, with the coexisting beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism. While the positive aspects of both ideologies are presented, Cao ultimately depicts Taoism as the paramount, essential system of belief that guides the character Bao-yu to his eventual enlightenment.
...Confucius was right on the idea that without learning good manners many idea that started out being acts of kindness would be wasted on bad character. It is important that we hold these truths so that we cannot make the mistake for our acts of kindness to become a waste.
Generosity is also a moral virtue. When you are generous, you are either giving too much, which makes you profligate, or you are giving too little, which would consider you a stingy person. Moral virtues lead you to happiness because of their intermediate state, that is, by reasoning.
Confucianism is a philosophy and way of life formed in China by Confucius, an early Chinese philosopher. It began as a simple concept with ideals of personal virtue, simple filial piety, and basic gender distinctions and social inequalities. But, over time with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism it began to transform into a way of life that was degrading towards women with certain hostilities towards rivaling religions. In its early period, from around 500 B.C.E to the Common Era, Confucianism changed in that it became the leading belief system and a major part of Chinese tradition. From the transition into the Common Era to the end of the Classical time period, Confucianism was altered because of a loss of popularity following the collapse of the Han dynasty and the corruption in the governing political system. In its ending period, the post-classical era, Confucianism underwent perhaps its biggest adjustments with the emergence of Neo-Confucianism. The ideas and virtues presented in the “rebirth of Confucian philosophies” of intolerance of foreign religions and extreme filial piety...
The teachings according to Confucius refer to Confucianism. Confucianism is the multifarious classification of ethical, collective, political and pious philosophy developed by Confucius and the old Chinese practices (Bertrand, 1999). Confucianism aim is actually making an individual honorable but also making such an individual the character of learning and of proper manners. The ideal and faultless man has to combine the characters of a saint, an intellectual and gentleman. Confucianism is a religious conviction whose adulation is focused on offerings to the dead. The idea of responsibility is extensive beyond the precincts of morals and holds close to the minutiae of daily living.
Confucianism is a moral and religious system of China. Its origins go back to the Analects, the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient writings, including that of Mencius. Confucius was born a mandarin under the name Kongzi. It was developed around 550 B.C. In its earliest form Confucianism was primarily a system of ethical concepts for the control of society. It saw man as a social creature that is bound to his fellow men by jen, or “humanity.” Jen is expressed through the five relationships—sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend. Of these, the filial relation is most important.
At the center of Japanese and Chinese politics and gender roles lies the teachings of Confucius. The five relationships (五倫） of Confucius permeated the lives of all within the Heian and Tang societies.4 However, the focus here will be on the lives of the courtesans. The Genji Monogatari provides us with an unrivalled look into the inner-workings of Confucianism and court life in the Heian period. Song Geng, in his discourse on power and masculinity in Ch...
Confucianism is a religion derived from Daoism by the great Chinese sage Confucius (551–478 B.C.E.). It began as philosophical and ethical thought and was conceived in a society undergoing social turmoil. Confucianism is a newer religion that came to be around the same time as Buddhism. Its values and morals have had an enormous impact on the culture of many countries in Eastern Asia. All of Confucius’ teachings are recorded in the Analects, one of the four main texts of Confucianism. China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are only a handful of the countries that have been influenced by Confucianism. Personally, I come from a culture who does not practice Confucianism. However, its concepts, such as being respectful to your elders and mentoring your younger siblings were prevalent in my childhood. Studying this religion more in depth gives me a better understanding of the philosophy that my family embraces. Of the eight elements discussed in Molloy, the two that interest me the most in this context are ethics and the belief system.
Confucius’ social philosophy is greatly directed towards the concept of ren. Ren symbolizes the characteristics of goodness and altruism, and is defined as being “compassionate”. However, displaying concern for others involves disparaging onself. Confucius declared that ‘a clever tongue and fine appearance are rarely signs of Goodness” (1.3) and believed one should avoid clever speech and a flattering manner, characteristics which would ultimately produce a false impression and lead to self-praising. On the contrary, those who have practiced ren are “slow to speak, but quick to act” (4.24) which differentiates ones who acquire genuine virtue from ones who acquire misleading virtue. To Confucius, such virtue is practiced through the Golden Rule: “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.” Confucius believed that human nature is essentially good, and that negative experiences may suppress the good nature of people, but goodwill will ultimately bring about its attainment. Ren initiates from the family through filial piety. Confucius considers loyalty to parents and older siblings as a form of promoting the interests of others before one’s own and stresses that only those who have learned self-discipline can achieve such selflessness. If we can be compassionate to our family, we can do the same to the people around us in our society. We can depict the meaning of ren to portray the importance of the principle in the ‘...