Confucianism+in+Literature

﻿**Confucianism in Literature**

** __Examples of Confucianism Ideas in Chinese Literature__ **--- Relationships between people are a big part of Confucianism. Below is some text from //The Analects// by Confucius. // "The Master said, A young man's duty is to behave well to his parents at home and to his elders abroad, to be cautious in giving promises and punctual in keeping them, to have kindly feelings towards everyone, but seek the intimacy of the Good. If, when all that is done, he has any energy to spar, then let him study the polite arts." // __How do these words reflect Confucianism?__ ---As it says above, "A young man's duty is to behave well to his parents at home and to his elders abroad" it can be seen that a child's relationship with his/her's parents has a lot of importance. The very last statement solidifies this when it is said, "If, when all that is done, he has any energy to spare, then let him study the polite arts" This statement implies that a young man/women's relationship to their parents and elders is of first priority.

** __Examples of Confucianism Ideas in Chinese Literature__ ** ﻿---As stated before, Confucianism deals a lot with the relationships between people. Below is some text from the poems "I Beg of You, Chung Tzu" and "Thick Grow the Rush Leaves" both from the // The Book of Songs. //  **Excerpts from "I Beg of You, Chung Tzu"** // Chung Tzu I dearly love; //// But of what my father and mother say ////Indeed I am afraid. //

// Chung Tzu I dearly love; //// But of what my brothers say ////Indeed I am afraid. //

// Chung Tzu I dearly love; ////But of all that people will say ////Indeed I am afraid. //  **Excerpts from "Thick Grow the Rush Leaves"** //He whom I love ////Must be somewhere along this stream //// I went up the river to look for him, ////<span style="color: #00106a; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">But the way was difficult and long. //

//<span style="color: #00106a; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> He whom I love ////<span style="color: #00106a; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> Is at the water's side. ////<span style="color: #00106a; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">Upstream I sought him; ////<span style="color: #00106a; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">But the way was difficult and steep. //

//<span style="color: #00106a; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> He whom I love ////<span style="color: #00106a; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> Is at the water's edge. ////<span style="color: #00106a; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> Upstream I followed him; // //<span style="color: #00106a; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">but the way was hard and long. //

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> __How do these words reflect Confucianism?__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> One of the main aspects of Confucianism deals with the relationships between different people. Some of the main ideas of Confucianism deal with the relationships between the parent and the child, the husband and the wife, friends, and siblings. It can be seen in the poem, "I Beg of You, Chung Tzu" that the author of the poem cares about his/her relationship with his brothers, parents, and the people; however, at the same time the author also is wanting to have a relationship with Chung Tzu. Overall, Confucianism is reflected in this poem because this poem deals with the relationships between different people. Similarly, the poem, “Thick Grow the Rush Leaves” deals with the relationship between people. If you want to read more about Confucianism in literature visit @http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Classics/classics.html