What Would Confucius Do?: Wisdom and Advice on Achieving Success and Getting Along with Others

by Evelyn Berthrong

The world has changed dramatically in the 2,500 years since Confucius' lifetime, but in many ways we still struggle with his core concern: how to live together with a minimum of conflict. In What Would Confucius Do?, East Asian teacher and scholar E. N. Berthrong provides a clear guide to how we can apply Confucian tenets to the modern world. Her original interpretation, based on years of studyingThe Analects, focuses on tact, compromise, and a willingness to see the other person's point of view-Confucius' three keys to living in harmony. This compendium of Confucian quotations, reflections, and advice-from "learning when to speak," to "making the most out of being alive"-is organized to follow the general path of one's career or life and can be applied to the workplace, the family, or society in general. Bernthrong's ambitious goal, like that of Confucius, is to get everyone to discover and know the true inner satisfaction that can be achieved through living life in a civilized manner as taught by one of history's most popular figures.

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2005

Reviews

[oksvuz · Rating 2 out of 5]

a little repetitive

[JDK1962 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Just OK, not for the wisdom of Confucius, but for what feels like a kind of facile gloss. This made me want to search out a good translation of the Analects...this just felt too much like "An Idiot's Guide to Confucianism," full of obvious, easy interpretations.