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Who was Confucius? - Bryan W. Van Norden

  • 0:09 - 0:11
    Most people recognize his name
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    and know that he is famous
    for having said something,
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    but considering the long-lasting impact
    his teachings have had on the world,
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    very few people know
    who Confucius really was,
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    what he really said,
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    and why.
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    Amid the chaos of 6th Century BCE China,
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    where warring states fought
    endlessly among themselves for supremacy,
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    and rulers were frequently assassinated,
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    sometimes by their own relatives,
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    Confucius exemplified benevolence
    and integrity,
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    and through his teaching,
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    became one of China's
    greatest philosophers.
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    Born to a nobleman but raised in poverty
    from a very young age
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    following the untimely
    death of his father,
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    Confucius developed what would become
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    a lifelong sympathy
    for the suffering of the common people.
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    Barely supporting his mother
    and disabled brother
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    as a herder
    and account keeper at a granary,
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    and with other odd jobs,
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    it was only with
    the help of a wealthy friend
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    that Confucius was able
    to study at the Royal Archives,
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    where his worldview would be formed.
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    Though the ancient texts there
    were regarded by some
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    as irrelevant relics of the past,
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    Confucius was inspired by them.
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    Through study and reflection,
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    Confucius came to believe that
    human character is formed in the family
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    and by education in ritual,
    literature and history.
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    A person cultivated in this way
    works to help others,
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    guiding them by moral inspiration
    rather than brute force.
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    To put his philosophy into practice,
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    Confucius became an advisor to the ruler
    of his home state of Lu.
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    But after another state sent Lu's ruler
    a troop of dancing girls as a present
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    and the ruler ignored his duties
    while enjoying the girls in private,
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    Confucius resigned in disgust.
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    He then spent the next few years
    traveling from state to state,
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    trying to find a worthy ruler to serve,
    while holding fast to his principles.
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    It wasn't easy.
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    In accordance with his philosophy,
    and contrary to the practice of the time,
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    Confucius dissuaded rulers from relying
    on harsh punishments and military power
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    to govern their lands
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    because he believed that a good ruler
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    inspires others
    to spontaneously follow him
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    by virtue of his ethical charisma.
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    Confucius also believed
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    that because the love and respect
    we learn in the family
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    are fundamental to all other virtues,
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    personal duties to family sometimes
    supersede obligations to the state.
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    So when one Duke bragged
    that his subjects were so upright
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    that a son testified
    against his own father
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    when his father stole a sheep,
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    Confucius informed the Duke
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    that genuinely upright fathers
    and sons protected one another.
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    During his travels,
    Confucius almost starved,
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    he was briefly imprisoned,
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    and his life was threatened
    at several points.
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    But he was not bitter.
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    Confucius had faith that heaven
    had a plan for the world,
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    and he taught that a virtuous person
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    could always find joy
    in learning and music.
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    Failing to find the ruler he sought,
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    Confucius returned to Lu
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    and became a teacher and philosopher
    so influential,
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    that he helped shaped Chinese culture
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    and we recognize his name worldwide,
    even today.
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    For the disciples of Confucius,
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    he was the living embodiment of a sage
    who leads other through his virtue,
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    and they recorded his sayings,
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    which eventually were edited into a book
    we know in English as The Analects.
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    Today, millions of people worldwide adhere
    to the principles of Confucianism,
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    and though the precise meaning of
    his words has been debated for millennia,
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    when asked to summerize
    his teachings in a single phrase,
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    Confucius himself said,
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    "Do not inflict upon others
    that which you yourself would not want."
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    2,500 years later, it's still sage advice.
Title:
Who was Confucius? - Bryan W. Van Norden
Description:

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Video Language:
English
Team:
closed TED
Project:
TED-Ed
Duration:
04:30

English subtitles

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