“If a man lack the human virtues, what has he to do with ritual? If a man lacks the human virtues, what has he to do with music ?”
Six arts of ancient China are etiquette, music, archery, horsemanship, humanities and mathematics. All these six subjects are compulsory for a noble at that time. Confucius was proficient in all of them. Confucius was fond of music, he could sing and play the lute.
Confucius believed music would impact on people’s mind, even on society as a whole. He also believed music could reflect people’s internal world,
“When you see a nation’s dance or listen ot its music, you will find out the character of the nation.”
ancient Chinese six arts, Confucius, Six arts of ancient China
- Is confucianism out-of-date?
It is widely agreed that confucianism is not out of date, but still valuable today. The study of confucianism is growing rapidly, Confucian schools have been set up in China as well as some other countries. For instance, the Confucius Institute at at the Ateneo de Manila University, The London Confucius Institute, Confucius Institute at The University of Melbourne, Confucius Institute in Paris etc.
Confucius, or K’ung-fu-tzu, was the first educator in China. It is said that he had more than three thousand students. Some of them became very famous in the history, like Yan Hui, Min Sun, Zhong Yu etc.
- Confucius teachings and status
Confucius held that all men are entitled to receive education, each one is educable, by nature men are quite alike, pople make them different through learning and practice; He stressed instructions according to students’ peculiarities; He also stressed the importance of moral values such as peaceful, egalitarian interactions, respect and concern for others, and dignity. His teaching is to guide people to pursue ethical self-improvement. Confucius to Chinese is not a deity or religion but set of principles to become “Zunzi” with human excellence.
Confucius, Confucius teaching, Confucius theory
