Are Confucius's ideas still relevant? In order to answer this question, we must first try to understand what those ideas were. But prior to looking at some introductory materials, do note that Confucianism has been seeing something of a revival in China over the last couple of decades. For instance, take a look at this report, which was produced in 2008, during the Beijing Olympics. Although that was a few years ago, it remains relevant today:
Throughout China's imperial era, Confucius was often cited by scholar-officials as support for their arguments - regarding, for instance, how a person should handle a problem with a personal relationship or what kind of policies the emperor should adopt.
Your task:
After viewing the linked video, select at least three passages from Confucius (from the excerpts linked below), explain what you think they mean, why Confucius was propounding these ideas in his own time, and explain why they might still be relevant today. If you don't think any are relevant, then choose three and explain why they aren't relevant.
MPORTANT NOTES:
- Please use our primary source documents for Confucius. Although many websites contain good translations of the Analects, others will misguide you into believing Confucius said things he didn't.
- Be sure to include internal citations and a bibliography in all of your posts (including your responses to peers). Your responses also need to include new ideas centered around the readings.
- In terms of length, aim for about 400 words in your initial post, and 150 words in each response
VIDEO LINKS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atqn6A12Z1I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFt_VGG0kJU