Book Review: Hourly History's "Confucius"

Confucius: A Life from Beginning to End by Henry Freeman

(Kindle Edition, locations 244-246)
“By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” —Confucius

(Kindle Ed., locs. 247-249)
...Confucius essentially believed in the perfectibility of humans. He felt that humans were subject to a destiny preordained by a supreme being and the fixed cycles of nature, but he also firmly believed that people are responsible for their behavior and their treatment of others...

(Kindle Ed., locs. 249-250)
...While they might not be able to change the fate that Heaven has for them, they could affect what they are able to accomplish with their lives, and therefore, how they are remembered.

It was the same as the Protestant Christianity.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 255-260)
Confucius also claimed that he had a special, privileged relationship with Heaven and that by the age of 50, he understood what it was that Heaven had preordained for his life as well as for mankind. For this reason, Confucius carefully instructed his followers that they should never neglect the offerings they were required to give to Heaven. The Analects reveal that Confucius had a deep reverence and respect for the spirits that resided in Heaven. For this reason, he believed they should be worshipped with sincerity. He taught his disciples that serving these spirits was far more complicated than serving mortals. His philosophy, therefore, stressed the importance of paying homage to the supreme being.

Just like the early figures of Judaism and Christianity did.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 306-310)
According to the Mandate of Heaven, the ruler received a mandate to rule from Heaven, which encompassed the natural order and will of the universe. Given this, if a ruler was ousted, it meant that the ruler had somehow become unworthy, thereby losing the mandate. Additionally, natural disasters that occurred during the ruler’s reign signaled Heaven’s displeasure. In Chinese history, there were often revolts following a major disaster since the citizens believed that the ruler had lost Heaven’s mandate to rule.

No matter how wise the man must have been for his time, he was still one of the “innocent” ancient figures with lack of knowledge in our modern natural science, duh.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 221-223)
While the Qin Dynasty abandoned Confucianism, the succeeding Han and Tang Dynasties not only adopted the philosophy but under the rule of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (141-87 BCE), Confucianism was made the official imperial philosophy. The texts were required reading for civil service applicants in 140 BCE, and this requirement continued until the nineteenth century...

Not only in China, but also in the whole "Confvci'vs World" including my homeland Korea. Later in the early-4th century CE, Constantin'vs the Great would become like Han Wu-dæ (Wu-emeperor) of the West.

(Kindle Ed., loc. 139)
It was this familial model that Confucius applied to his political philosophy. Confucius conceived of the ruler as the son of heaven and the father of the people.

Confucius was the man whose idea became the very base of the societies in “so-called” the East Asia, just like the author[ity]s of Bible (Baeb-ur: Words-collection) in the West.

The man and his philosophy, despite his many flaws as he was one of us, an "imperfect" Human Being after all, at least had good intentions for all "mankind under the Heaven (Tianxia)," which was in his world (mind'/ ment'ality) all the warring states of the "whole kingdom" of Zhou.

This is a fine read with a lot of lessons to learn, and I can see that the author did his research homework, but unfortunately the work still exhibits many flaws.

Location 10 on Kindle edition is like the 1st page of a paperback, and that’s where the first error’s found. The book starts with an error, but all-in-all NOT that many errors are found throughout the pages compared to other books of the same author I’ve recently read, and so I will quickly share them here first.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 10-11)
...how did he come to be viewed the world over as a sage whose maxims are still commonly quoted over 2,000 years after his death?

Correction: ...how did he come to be viewed by the world as a sage whose maxims are still commonly quoted over 2,000 years after his death?

(Kindle Ed., loc. 262)
...He also felt that to cultivate compassion for others; one had to be self-deprecating...

Why a semi-colon there?

(Kindle Ed., locs. 18-19)
...These include the Classic of Poetry, theBook of Documents, the Book of Rites, theI Ching or Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals mentioned before.

A space please, each one required between the definite article “the” and the following book titles “Book of Documents” and “I Ching.”

And why only the Book of Changes got its title “I Ching” (also spelled “Yi Jing”) in Chinese mentioned in the list? One last editing work would have caught this issue.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 22-23)
...He advocated for a government that rules by rites and the natural morality of humans, rather than bribery and coercion...

Correction: ...He was an advocate for a government...

(or)

...He advocated a government...

(Kindle Ed., locs. 23-28)
...Because of his growing reputation due to his role in teaching these philosophies, Confucius was appointed to a minor position of governor of a town, where he sought to restore the legitimate rule of the state to the duke of Lu, from whom power had been seized in 505 BCE. He was ultimately unsuccessful in these efforts, and after the duke had misbehaved, he made the decision to leave his homeland. Confucius’ philosophy, however, would not allow him to bring public humiliation to the duke, and so he waited for the ruler to make a lesser mistake which he then used as an excuse for his self-exile.

Wait, what? So, the Duke of Lu was a victim of a political conflict or a civil war? And Confucius was ultimately “unsuccessful” in reinstituting his legitimate rule, c’est ça? And then Confucius decided to leave his homeland, the Dukedom of Lu, when the Duke (reinstituted?) had misbehaved? Pretty con-fus’ing, isn’t it?

(Kindle Ed., locs. 69-71)
...Confucius was raised in poverty despite being the descendant of Shang dynasty kings. Those kings, however, like Confucius and his family, were also poverty stricken by that time.

Why does the writer think the Dukes, while practically independent with total autonomy in their hands, couldn't dethrone the Zhou Ro'y-al Family? What "Shang" Kings under Zhou Dynasty with the Mandate of Heaven in the hands of the King of Zhou (the Son of Heaven (Tian-zi))? I don't think the writer really knows what Shang Dynasty was.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 218-221)
...The disagreement between the two philosophies came to a head when the Qin state conquered China in 223 BCE. Qin Shi Huang decided to abandon Confucian philosophy in favor of Legalism, and when Confucian advisors argued their point, Li Si, the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty, had many of them killed and their books burned. This marked a major setback for Confucianism.

The country's known as China or Qina because of Chin (Qin) Empire of China's-first-emperor (Chin-xi-ho'ang[jae] or Qin-shi-huang[di]).

(Kindle Ed., locs. 226-227)
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE), ideas from Daoism and Buddhism were added to Confucianism by the scholar Zhu Xi who lived during the twelfth century CE...

Yeah, this guy reiterated the philosophy of the world order to fight the humiliation under Jin invasion of Song. It was a shame that a Chinese nation (Song Empire at the time) lost its capital and two Emperors to the "barb'aric" riders from the Steppes, who founded the Jin Empire, known as the Northen Chinese Empire; the writer calls and spells the country "Chin" and claims in his “books (not one book)” that it was the source of the modern national title "China."

Ask the “Han-majority” Chinese who General YUE Fei of Song Empire was. He was a Chinese hero who fought against the people the Han-Chinese did NOT consider as one of them until the Boxer Rebellion in 1899.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 227-228)
...During his life, his writings were largely ignored, but after his death, they were adopted as valid interpretations of what the Confucian texts meant...

ZHU Xi's Neo-confucianism: Yeah, because in the 13th century South Song needed that philosophy of the "proud" Chinese nation as the center of the world order more than ever before under the Mongol invasion (so embarrassing "after" the Jin (Kim) invasion) and a total collapse of the empire, while having promised the people that the ruling Song dyansty would restore its lost territory around the significant Yellow Riverbank.

It was just like the very first Old Testament written under the humiliating Neo-babylonian invasion of Israel.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 92-94)
...His efforts toward that end were fruitful; he established a humanities program for potential leaders and eventually opened the doors of education to all.

Define "all."

(Kindle Ed., locs. 250-251)
Because Confucius looked to antiquity for lessons, he claimed that he was merely a transmitter rather than an inventor of his teachings...

Yes, he did learn his lessons from antiquities like the writer says, but this book never mentions the legendary King You or Shun way before Zhou and Shang dynasties, and so the book is missing the very base and background of the man's philosophy.

(Kindle Ed., loc. 64)
...Confucius was born Qiu, but throughout Chinese history, he has been referred to as Kongzi or Kongfuzi (Master Kong)...

(Kindle Ed., locs. 60-61)
...In fact, his given name, Kong, translates as an utterance of thankfulness when prayers have been answered.

In fact? Lol!!! Kong (or Cong) was his family name while his nick name was Fuzhi (and the man was called Cong-[fu]zi (or Kong-[fu]ztu/ -[fu]qiu, meaning "Cong-teacher/ -master" in Chinese), while Con-fuci'us (in Latin)). Like I already said in other books of the same writer he is NOT qualified to write any research book on so-called "East Asian" history "yet." He's causing even more Truth Decay among his "innocent" readers...sigh.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 57-59)
Confucius is believed to have been born on September 28, in the year 551 BCE. His birthplace is near the modern city of Qufu, China, located on the eastern coast in the Shandong Province. Confucius is believed to have been born near Mount Ni, a hill located approximately 19 miles (30 km) to the southeast of the city itself...

These are important info, and it'd be really great if the author edited the “second” Confucius is believed to have been born.

Again, ex-cept/ -sauf/ -save some misleading info, most of the in-form'at-i'on delivered by the author in this book is good, and what I like the most about the book is that it makes the serious readers think and ponder, which is the very first purpose of reading.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 397-421)
On the subject of the things that are worthwhile in life, he said, “It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.” ... On the subject of dedication, he said, “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”... On the subject of shame and behavior, he said, “A gentleman would be ashamed should his deeds not match his words.” On the subject of expectations in life, he said, “The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.” On the subject of government integrity, he said, “In a country well-governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” ...the importance of ethical behavior, personal integrity, service to others, and lifelong learning—the key tenets that Confucius believed created good people, responsible citizens, and stable societies. It is a concept that is difficult to refute. In the words of the Master himself, “Instead of being concerned that you are not known, seek to be worthy of being known...”

(Kindle Ed., locs. 291-293)
...Confucius argued that to act virtuously without knowledge would make one susceptible to corruption and to act in a virtuous manner without sincerity was not true righteousness. To be truly righteous, the superior individual must cultivate knowledge and sincerity for its own sake...

Admiral LEE was one of the few who act'ually made it.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 284-286)
...Confucius argued that the rituals and traditions should not just be blindly practiced. It was important that they be completed with devotion and sincerity. If one did not possess a deep understanding and appreciation for the interests and well-being of others, then any ceremonies that he or she practiced would mean nothing...

His philosophy was perfect for people like “Admiral LEE Sunshin (also spelled YI Soonshin),” who could live without the law like a true Human Being, but not for the ordinary people who might turn out to be just like other anim'als without law enforcement. What am I, a person with conscience who can live without the law or one who can't?

(Kindle Ed., locs. 223-226)
...Confucian ideals somewhat absorbed Legalism. Other philosophical contenders, such as Laozi, and Buddhism, contained spiritual ideals that did not directly conflict with the ideals of Confucius, and so, their emergence as doctrine had little impact on Confucianism.

Correction:
...Confucian ideals somewhat absorbed Legalism. Other doctrines of different philosophical contenders, such as Laozi, and Buddhism, contained spiritual ideals that did not directly conflict with the ideals of Confucius, and so, their emergence as doctrine had little impact on Confucianism.

Of course. Confucianism had become the the wourldview and soc'ial mentality (way and justice) itself because the "reason" his philosophy was adopted by the politics in the first place was for the social order and stability just like Christianity in the West. Anyways, the One Heaven and the Son of Heaven notions were all branched out of the good-old Eurasian Shamanism after all.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 109-128)
...Confucius believed that the government was responsible for the moral well-being of the citizens, but the citizens must also take responsibility for their roles in the system. Their role is to look to government for leadership and to respect that leadership. For this to succeed, the government cannot lose the faith of the people...Those who believed in the rule of law emphasized punishment as a means of ensuring individual conformity to society’s rules. Confucius argued that in such a system, people would seek to avoid punishment, but this would not ensure that they developed a sense of shame. Without the sense of shame, they would not become truly good. If on the other hand, the focus of leadership was virtue, which creates uniformity by practicing ritual propriety, then the subjects of such rule would develop a sense of shame, and they would become genuinely good. Confucius also believed that the rulers of his time were not worthy of their titles and that this had resulted in the complete breakdown of political institutions. He claimed that proper government could only result if the rulers laid claim only to those titles which were legitimately theirs. He stated, “I should claim for myself only a title that is legitimately mine and when I possess such a title and participate in the various hierarchical relationships signified by that title, then I should live up to the meaning of the title that I claim for myself.” This theory of the relation between a ruler and his title is referred to as “zhengming.” Confucius believed that for the society to return to good moral behavior, the ruler of that society had to lead the way. If the ruler corrected his behavior, the subjects he ruled would follow suit. Confucius stated on this topic, “If your desire is for good, the people will be good. The moral character of the ruler is the wind; the moral character of those beneath him is the grass. When the wind blows, the grass bends.” Superior leadership, therefore, consisted of virtue. This virtue was the kind by which a ruler could maintain order without resorting to physical force.

Ironically, most of the future rulers have been bad while they claimed they'd been the institutional followers of Confucius' doc-t'r-ine including the fam'ous King "Sonjoe" Yeon (r. 1567-1608), while Admiral Lee (under King Yeon the Immature) was the one who was act'ually and pr'actically virtuous by rewarding and punishing his men "fairly" with disregard for his personal connections to them. And he was the one who "really" lived up to his titles pr'acticing what he learned from the man's philosophy while most of the others at the time lived under their "empty" titles.

Yes, the book is right about the core philosophy of the man. Unfortunately, Confucius didn't see that even the seemingly perfect philosophy of his would present quite a side effect: Fake faces & empty words. The ultimate goal our Human societies need or want is always the same while we have to pretend that we don't want it as this “denying” has been considered "virtuous" in all our Humam societies. So, we've become to show our fake faces with empty virtue on them, and this "fake" face of ours has become the most disgusting and creepy thing we can possibly develop as Humans. Apparently, the man didn't see this coming.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 267-269)
The family is the primary social unit that was central to Confucian philosophy. Confucius believed that the devotion a child has for their parents and siblings is the first and most basic form of putting the interests of others ahead of self-interest...

And that has caused the wide-spread corruption among the government officials who put their family interests before the peopl'/ publ'ic.

Yeah, thus only for people like Lee: Admiral Lee and his personal sacrifice with his losses (mother and son) during the 1st Global War of Powershift and Hegemony (Mother to his own country’s insecure politicians and the youngest son to the insecure invaders).

(Kindle Ed., locs. 81-100)
Because of his belief in a moral education, Confucius argued that the proper way to train an exemplary person is a process that incorporates self-improvement and continuous social interaction. He emphasized that learning should be “for the sake of the self,” that is to say, self-knowledge and self-realization. Additionally, he believed that public service was integral to the process of achieving a true, moral education. Unlike many of his learned contemporaries, Confucius, therefore, resisted the desire to live apart from the human community, believing instead that transforming the world had to occur from within. Given his wish to promote a more widely available moral education, with its intimate connection to public service, it is no surprise that Confucius became actively involved in politics. He believed he could put his ideas more broadly into practice using government channels…Prior to the efforts of Confucius to establish teaching as a vocation and a way of life, families would hire tutors to educate their sons in the various arts. Government officials would instruct subordinates in the techniques for teaching. Confucius, by contrast, had devoted his whole life to education specifically for the purpose of positively transforming society. He believed that the acquisition of knowledge was an important part of building character, and as such, should be available to everyone to help them become good people and responsible citizens...

(Kindle Ed., locs. 85-90)
Because Confucius believed that education was how responsible, moral citizens were created, he argued that it was essential to a stable, prosperous society that schooling be available to all...His educational goal was to create gentlemen who carry themselves with grace, speak correctly, and demonstrate integrity in all that they do. Thus, his educational focus was not only on the subject being studied but on the moral fiber of the student as well…

This is something we can hardly find in present-day Chinese people.

Instead, today THIS is commonly found among the “mù zhōng wú rén (arrogant, selfish and rude)” Chinese people: A couple of Chinese students studying in the Republic of Korea (ROK: South Korea) were watching something on their phones and talking so loudly that other people inside the cafe complained. Now that was lunch time, and during dinner time on the same day in the same hood some old Chinese men were clapping and talking out loud as if there were no one else there in the restaurant. It was a fancy place in Marine City, Busan Metropolitan City, and these Chinese men looked like some well-educated businessmen or the PRC Consulate employees. The restaurant owner was frustrated because they didn't listen to her asking for some bas'ic social manner and etiquette for the other customers wanting to have a peaceful family dinner there. It was really disappointing.

Today the Chinese society only uses the lines from Confucius for political purposes while acting like an undisciplined kid with no sense of basic manner for the others in the world. Shame on you, People's Republic of China. Sigh...a “republic (re-peopl’ic)” already says it’s a government system run by the “people,” you idiots (to PRC (People’s Re-peopl’/ -publ’ic of Chin’a) and DPRK (Democratic People’s Re-peopl’/ -publ’ic of Kore’a (North Korea))).

(Kindle Ed., locs. 139-144)
It was this familial model that Confucius applied to his political philosophy. Confucius conceived of the ruler as the son of heaven and the father of the people. Thus, the ruler must be of the highest moral character and must conduct himself appropriately as a father figure. The magistrate would be closest to the people, and Confucius considered this to be the “father-mother” role. According to this model, if a ruler comported himself in a good manner, he would bring about social stability, population growth (not only as a result of intra-population births and longevity, but also because he would attract people from other states to his realm), and he would be able to create the conditions necessary to foster the public welfare.

(Kindle Ed., locs. 23-27)
“...If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good.” With a sense of shame, he believed people internalized duty, and would, therefore, behave appropriately. Of virtue, Confucius frequently espoused the well-known principle of the Golden Rule, saying, “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.”

I’d call it “conscience,” rather than “shame.”

I’d say it was a “meaningful” read, and I do recommend readers to pick up and open this opportunity for some quality time of "Human-pondering."