英语-Confucian-Thought-on-Heaven-and-Humanity

Unit1ConfucianThoughtonHeavenandHumanity国学12道：1、孔子：为人之道；2、老子：处事之道；3、庄子：养性之道；4、孟子：君臣之道；5、荀子：学习之道；6、孙子：韬略之道；7、管子：教练之道；8、韩非子：统驭之道；9、鬼谷子：权谋之道；10、大学：修身之道；11、易经：天地之道；12、禅宗：死生之道。为人之道：与人平等，不强求别人，包容别人的错误，人无完人，不能太过于完美的去要求别人处事之道：以人为本，让别人感到受益，你才会有益受养性之道：是前两个的结合君臣之道：上下级关系，如何处理“Tolearnandthenhaveoccasiontopracticewhatyouhavelearned—isthisnotsatisfying?Tohavefriendsarrivefromafar—isthisnotajoy?Tobepatientevenwhenothersdonotunderstand—isthisnotthemarkofthegentlemen?”学而时习之，不亦乐乎？有朋至远方来，不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？孔子简介：Confucius(551-479BC),knowninChinaasKongzi,givennameQiuandaliasZhongni.HewasanativeofZouyi(present-dayQufuinShandongProvince)oftheStateofLuduringtheSpringandAutumnPeriod(770-476BC).WhydoesourKongzibecomeConfuciusinthewest?ConfuciusisaLatinizednamebestoweduponKongzibyJesuitmissionariesinthe18thcentury,whichisacriticaltimewhenmissionariesintroducedChineseculturetotheWest.论语：TheAnalects,orLunyu,purportstobearecordoftheteachingofConfuciusandhisdisciples.ItisanenduringclassicofChinesecultureandhasinfluencedallthinkers,writersandpoliticiansintheover-2,000-year-longhistoryofChinaafterConfucius.Noscholarcouldtrulyunderstandthelong-standingcultureortheinnerworldoftheancientChinesewithoutthisbook.TheAnalectsisnota“book”inthesensethatmostmodernWesternersusuallyunderstandabook—thatis,acoherentargumentorstorypresentedbyasingleauthor,tobedigestedaloneinthequietofstudy.Itisinsteadarecord—somewhathaphazardlycollectedandeditedtogetheratanunknownpointinhistory—ofadynamicprocessofteaching,andmostlikelywasonlycommittedtowritingmanyyearsaftertheMasterConfuciushadpassedaway.WhatisConfucius’viewonHeavenaccordingtotheselines?“Heavendoesnotspeakinwords.Itspeaksthroughtherotationofthefourseasonsandthegrowthofalllivingthings(天何言哉？四时行焉，百物生焉，天何言哉？).”—SelectedfromTheAnalectsConfuciusregarded“Heaven”asnature。Confuciusbelievesthatnatureisnotalifelessmechanismseparatefromhuman;instead,itisagreatworldfulloflifeandtheprocessofcreatinglife.Humanispartofnature.The“wayofHeaven”Confucius’equationofHeavenwiththecreationoflifewasaninnovativeideainhistime.Thenaturalprocessoflifecreationwasthe“wayofHeaven”.ThisideawaslaterdevelopedinTheBookofChanges(Yijing).The“virtueofHeaven”Asthenaturalprocessofcreationoflife,Heavenwasthesourceofalllivingthingsandthesourceofallvalues.Thiswasthe“virtueofHeaven”.“Heavenlymission”天命Inthenaturalprocessofcreationoflife,Heavenhaditsinnerpurposeincreatingallthingsaswellasprotectingandimprovinglife。Heavenhadoriginatedhumanity,andhumanswereobligedtoaccomplishthispurpose.Inotherwords,humansarebornwithasenseof“heavenlymission”,andthisisthemeaningofhumanlife.子曰:吾,十有五,而志于学,三十而立,四十而不惑,五十而知天命,六十而耳顺,七十而从心所欲不逾矩。TheMastersaid,AtfifteenIsetmyheartuponlearning.Atthirty,Ihadplantedmyfeetfirmupontheground.Atforty,Inolongersufferedfromperplexities.Atfifty,IknewwhatwerethebiddingsofHeaven.Atsixty,Iheardthemwithdocileear.Atseventy,Icouldfollowthedictatesofmyownheart;forwhatIdesirednolongeroversteppedtheboundariesofright.ThesenseofaweandbeliefinHeavenConfuciusrequiredpeopletoholdHeaveninaweandclaimedthatapersonofvirtuemust“respecthisheavenlymission”,listentoandliveoutthepurposeofHeavenbycaringforandimprovinglife.UndertheinfluenceofConfucius,theancientChinesedevelopedasenseofaweandbeliefinHeaven.Howdoyouunderstandthisline?“HewhooffendsagainstHeavenhasnonetowhomhecanpray(获罪于天，无所祷也。).”—SelectedfromTheAnalectsHeaven,astheworldofever-generatinglife,wasthehighestsacredbeing,withitsprofoundmysterynevertobefullyunderstoodbymortals.HumanbeingsshouldtaketoheartthepurposeofHeavenbycherishinglife.Ifoneremained“ignorantanddisrespectfulofone’sheavenlymission”bykillingormaiminglife,onewouldbepunishedbyHeaven。HowisConfucianconceptofHeavenrelatedtothemodernecologicalcivilization?Confuciusregarded“Heaven”asnatureandthesourceoflife,andrequiredpeopletoholdHeaveninawe.Thisisthesourceofthemodernecologicalcivilization.Ren(仁)andli(礼)arethetwocoreconceptsofConfucius’doctrineaboutpeople.Ren(仁)Confuciusinterpretedreninvariousways,andthemostimportantinterpretationis“lovepeople”.Loveforthepeopleisuniversallove.Thiskindofloveshould“beginwiththeloveforone’sparents”.Theessenceofren:“filialpietyandfraternalduty”.Confuciustaughtformanyyearsandtrained3,000disciple,ofwhom72excelledinthe“sixarts(六艺)”,i.e.,ritual,music,archery,(carriage)driving,calligraphy,andmathematics.l.SkimmingandScanning（Gothroughthepassagequicklyandanswerthefollowingquestionsbriefly.）1)WhatisTheAnalectsmainlyabout?TheAnalectsismainlyaboutConfucius’wordsandlifestory.2)WhatisConfucius’viewonHeaven?ConfuciusregardedHeavenasnature.3)WhatisConfucius’innovativeideaaboutHeaven?Confucius’innovativeideaaboutHeavenisthatHeaven(ornature)istheprocessoflifecreation.4)Whatdoesthe“heavenlymission”inParagraph7referto?The“heavenlymission”inParagraph7referstoaccomplishingHeaven’spurposeofprotectingandimprovinglife.5)HowisConfucius’conceptofHeavenrelatedtothemodernecologicalcivilization?Confuciusadvocated“standinginaweoftheordinancesofHeaven”andwarnedagainstoffendingHeaven.Thisis,inessence,equivalenttothemodernideaofstayinginharmonywithn