Culture
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Stories from Ancient China: Wang Shouren's Wise Words
2006-06-27
Wang Shouren was a prominent Neo-Confucianist and educator during the Ming Dynasty of ancient China. One time, a father and a son sued each other, and asked Wang Shouren to judge their case. Wang Shouren merely had a few words with them, and the father and the son hugged each other and wept. Then they went home. Someone asked Wang Shouren: "What did you say to them that prompted them to repent so quickly?" -
A Chinese Philosopher's Words on Filial Piety
2006-06-24"Filial piety is fundamental in educating the public. It is demonstrated through providing food and money for the parents. It may be easy to provide food and money for the parents, but difficult to do so with respect. Even if it can be done with respect, it is difficult to do it naturally. Even if it can be done naturally, it is difficult to do it throughout one's life." -
Stories from Ancient China: Broadmindedness and Modesty
2006-06-17Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu 5 BC-57AD), was highly respected by his ministers and people because of his broadmindedness, modesty, respectfulness, and approachability. Unlike despotic rulers, he was never opinionated, conceited, arrogant, or patronising. Even people who had a bias against him would swear allegiance to him after they got to know him better. -
A Hundred Schools of Thought
2006-06-10The "Tao" of Lao Zi would spread in the world. Hundreds of schools of thought bloomed. Different theories, thoughts and opinions mushroomed. This age was the Golden Age of Chinese thinking. It was comparable to the ancient Greek times. During this period, the Chinese culture, ideas and wisdom saw significant developments. It was a grand age comparable to the Renaissance. -
The Ancient Chinese People's View of the Importance of a Harmonious Family Life
2006-06-08The Classic of Rites says: "Regulated families bring about well-governed states." A father is kind and a son is filial, brothers are amicable and a wife is her husband's echo. These have been family guidelines upheld by Chinese people for thousands of years. They are principles of morality and justice which people should believe and obey. -
The Ancient Chinese People's Concepts of Having a Sense of Shame
2006-06-06Confucius once praised those learnt men of stature who knew shame in everything they did. A man with a sense of shame will not be overcome with the temptation of money and will not compromise his integrity in the face of a threat or danger. He is modest and good-natured. He yields to others and he takes only what he needs. Whether it is his personal ethics, pursuits or patriotism, a man's sense of shame is a prerequisite to his moral conscience. -
The Ancient Chinese People's View of the Importance of a Harmonious Family Life
2006-06-05Promoting affection within the family is, in the narrow sense, to take care of one's parents. In the broad sense, it includes affection between siblings, harmony between husband and wife, as well as harmony between other family members. Confucianism believed that "regulated families" is the prerequisite to "well-governed states." It was said in Zhouyi (The Book of Changes): "[When the] Family is rectified, the state is stable." -
Stories from Ancient China: Discussion on Upholding Moral Discipline
2006-06-04Upholding moral discipline is maintaining moral courage. Moral courage refers to one's ambition and moral integrity. It is a kind of noble personality quality, manifesting as perseverance and persistence in upholding justice without submitting to fear. Confucius' saying "Only when it is winter, does one realise that pine and cypress wither late" praises the pine and cypress for withstanding the cold and frost in winter while being distinctly independent and proud. -
Stories from Ancient China: Emperor Taizong Conversing with His High-Ranking Officials
2006-06-02Emperor Taizong disagreed. He said, "After the Zhou dynasty replaced the Shang dynasty, Emperor Zhou Wuwang made great efforts to promote benevolence and righteousness; but when Qin Shihuang reached his goal, he used violence. They differed not only in how they obtained the throne of the country but also how they maintained the country. That's why the throne fell." -
Stories from Ancient China: When Confucius Was Without Food
2006-05-28Confucius (BC 551- 479) is regarded as one of the greatest teachers and philosophers in Chinese history and has had a very significant influence on Chinese morality and arts. In his latter years, he travelled with his students to various states (ruled by warlords) to spread his teachings but was not very well received at the time. -
Stories from Ancient China: The Eight Virtues
2006-05-24When a wild goose or a mallard duck loses its mate, it would never seek a new mate. This is called "loyalty." When a deer comes across good grass, it will call the entire group to share, and when an ant comes across food, it will gather the whole colony. This is called "justice." Please remember these four virtues, as even a beast is capable of maintaining this virtue. If a human being has no virtue at all, he is considered as "worse than a beast." -
Ancient Cultivation Stories: Avoid Quoting Out Of Context
2006-05-20Youzi said, "That is not what teacher said." Zenzi replied, "I indeed heard this from teacher." Youzi said again, "This is not the remark teacher made." Zenzi said, "I heard this remark together with Ziyou." Youzi then said, "Teacher possibly did say this, but teacher must have said these words aiming at a specific matter." -
Stories from Ancient China: Forbearing Hardships
2006-05-19Upon seeing this, Zhao Cishan scolded the grandson, saying, "You are such a young scholar, so you should be diligent and persevere. How come you cannot endure a little cold? You must know that an official in the court, even on a snowy day, has to line up in a group before dawn waiting for the emperor to show up. You will unavoidably have to endure the cold weather. If a person enjoys the comfort of old age while he is young, he certainly will not live to be old." -
Confucius Believed in Heaven
2006-05-17Confucius travelled to many kingdoms to spread his views. One time he left the Kingdom of Wei for the Kingdom of Chen via Kuang City. The people in Kuang City mistook Confucius as Yang Hu from Lu. Indeed, Confucius looked like Yang Hu. Yang Hu had invaded Kuang City before, and the people in Kuang City resented Yang Hu very much, so they encircled Confucius and his followers. The situation became very tense, and his followers were afraid. -
Stories from Ancient China: Good Actions are Rewarded with Good Returns
2006-05-16The lady said, "If I am gone, there would be no one to nurse my baby, and he will surely die." Mr. Shu said, "People who travel with me are all private school teachers from Jiangxi Province. As long as everyone donates one ounce of silver, your trouble will be solved." So Mr. Shu went back on the ship and told the others what was happening. However, nobody really cared about it. So Mr. Shu gave all his savings of the past two years to the woman.
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