The Life Labours And Doctrines Of Confucius

Author : Edward Harper Parker
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9781330116739
Total Pages : 43 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (167 download)

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Download or read book The Life, Labours and Doctrines of Confucius written by Edward Harper Parker and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2015-06-16 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Life, Labours and Doctrines of Confucius In order obtain a clear notion of our subject, it is desirable to explain ho Confusions was, and the condition of the social life amid which he lived. If the reader will look at the map, he will be surprised to see that the China of those days was practically confined to the valley of the Hwang Ho, (which means "Yellow-River"), taken in its broadest sense. I mean that the river which is commonly spoken of as "China's Sorrow," has at different periods entered the sea through channels both north and south of its present course; has, in fact, taken temporary possession of other river valleys and channels. The China of Confucius' time was, then, confined to the tract of country east of the Great Bend, where the river leaves Tartary for good; and was enclosed or bounded north and south by the most outerly of those streams which have at any time been connected with the Yellow River system. We know very little of China previous to Confucius' time (sixth century before Christ), but what little we do know was sifted for us and transmitted by Confucius. We may sum it up in a few words. The written character in an antique form had certainly existed for several thousand years, but it is quite uncertain how many: the best authorities say 3, 000, that is 5, 000 from now. Very recent discoveries in Babylonia have revealed to us original Sumerian cuneiform records on a wholesale scale, written in clay, and dating at least 5, 000 years back; but there are no such original ancient records in China, noris there any trace of the Chinese ever having written in clay, still less of there being any connection between Chinese and those western hieroglyphs which preceded cuneiform. Several dynasties had existed, and the rulers of these had shifted their capitals from time to time according to the vagaries of the Yellow River. One of their chief cares was to deal with the havoc wrought or threatened by the floods which resulted from these fluvial irregularities. But although the earliest Chinese literature reaches back 4, 000 years, the older records are so brief and laconic that we derive no satisfactory mental picture from them. In the time of Confucius the imperial power had dwindled down almost to nothing, and the appanage States of the vassal princes, most of which had been conferred originally upon kinsmen of the King (for the more modern title of hwang-ti or "Emperor," which in those days applied to the Supreme God, and thence only by extension to past Emperors, had not yet assumed its present definite form), were almost independent. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.