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The passage discusses Confucius and the Confucian system. It states that while Confucius believed ancient societies were better than modern ones, this was a delusion. However, his teachings helped create a stable Chinese society. The Confucian system survived invasions and chaos through many dynasties, bringing art and culture, and deserves respect for its endurance. It is considered an ethical philosophy rather than a religion as it does not involve supernatural beliefs.
The passage discusses Confucius and the Confucian system. It states that while Confucius believed ancient societies were better than modern ones, this was a delusion. However, his teachings helped create a stable Chinese society. The Confucian system survived invasions and chaos through many dynasties, bringing art and culture, and deserves respect for its endurance. It is considered an ethical philosophy rather than a religion as it does not involve supernatural beliefs.
The passage discusses Confucius and the Confucian system. It states that while Confucius believed ancient societies were better than modern ones, this was a delusion. However, his teachings helped create a stable Chinese society. The Confucian system survived invasions and chaos through many dynasties, bringing art and culture, and deserves respect for its endurance. It is considered an ethical philosophy rather than a religion as it does not involve supernatural beliefs.
Asif Nawaz • Understanding a given passage and answering the given questions in simple and clear English. Rules for comprehension • Read the given passage once or twice, grasping its central idea.
• Read the questions one by one, understand what is
being asked, and find the answers of the questions in the given passage with more focused reading. Underline if needed.
• Take up each question, and answer it with the
material given in the passage. • Usually, the questions follow a chronological order with regards to the passage.
• Use the same tense as that used in the questions.
• Answer the questions in complete, clear,
comprehensive sentences. Use your own expression.
• The length of the answers vary, depending upon
the given material in the passage. Practice The civilization of China, as everyone knows, is based upon the teaching of Confucius, who flourished five hundred years before Christ. Like the Greeks and Romans, he did not think of human society as naturally progressive; on the contrary, he believed that in remote antiquity rulers had been wise, and the people had been happy to a degree which the degenerate present could admire but hardly achieve. This, of course, was a delusion. But the practical result was that Confucius, like other teachers of antiquity, aimed at creating a stable society, maintaining a certain level of excellence, but not always striving after new successes. In this he was more successful than any other men who ever lived. His personality has been stamped on Chinese civilization from his day to our own. During his lifetime the Chinese occupied only a small part of present-day China, and were divided into a number of warring states. During the next three hundred years they established themselves throughout what is now China proper, and founded an empire exceeding in territory and population any other that existed until the last fifty years. In spite of barbarian invasions, Mongol and Manchu dynasties, and occasional longer or shorter periods of chaos and civil war, the Confucian system survived, bringing with it art and literature and a civilized way of life. A system which has had this extra ordinary power of survival must have great merits, and certainly deserves our respect and consideration. It is not a religion, as we understand the word,because it is not associated with the supernatural or with mystical beliefs. It is a purely ethical system, but its ethics, unlike those of Christianity, are not too exalted for ordinary men to practice. In essence, what Confucius teaches is something very like the old- fashioned ideal of a ‘gentleman’ as it existed in the eighteenth century. One of his sayings will illustrate this: 'The true gentleman is never contentious ... he courteously salutes his opponents before taking up his position ... so that even when competing he remains a true gentleman'. Questions:
Why do you think the author calls Confucius' belief about the progress of human society as a delusion?
How did Confucius' though affect China to develop into a stable
and 'Proper' China?
Why does the author think that Confucian system deserves
respect and admiration?
Why does the author call Confucian system a purely ethical
system and not a religion?
Briefly argue whether you agree or disagree to Confucius' ideal of
a gentleman? 1) The author believes Confucius’ beliefs as delusions because of his estimation of human society being non- progressive naturally, and his conviction of modern man’s inability to achieve the level of happiness enjoyed by those in antiquity. Another reason about the author’s belief can be Confucius’ claim about the ancient rulers being wise.
2) Confucius’ thoughts affected China to develop into a
stable country by aiming for the formation of a stable society. A certain level of excellence was always called for in Confucius’ teachings, and this helped China survive through adverse times to emerge into a ‘Proper’ China. 3) The author thinks that Confucian system deserves respect and admiration because not only has it survived various invasions and wars, but has also nurtured a civilised way of life, replete with art and literature. The author is of the view that a system with such incredible power of survival is never without inherent merits, and deserves reverence.
4) The author calls Confucian system an ethical
system and not a religion because it doesn’t comprise the defining features of organised religion. It doesn’t associate itself with any mythological and supernatural beliefs, and rather focuses only on the ethical aspects.