Confucius

Paper Summary:

In 403 B.C. Tsin disintegrated into 3 separate states, Han, Wei, and Chao. This disintegration marked the beginning of the Warring States period in what is now known as China. The paper examines the life of one of the great philosophers - Confucius - who rose as a result of the warring states was Confucius. This paper explores Confucius' philosophy, principles and teachings and showed how he influenced the Han dynasty.

From the Paper:

"It was believed that earthly events were closely related to heavenly affairs. Specifically, heavenly powers granted the right for someone to govern, and that person was called, "the mandate of heaven." This was given to an individual that was thought of as the son of heaven. His duty was to observe high standards of honor and justice, and to maintain harmony. If he did this, the heavenly powers would approve his work, and the dynasty would retain its mandate to govern. However, if he failed in his duties, chaos and suffering would come to his rule, and the heavenly powers would withdraw the mandate of heaven and find a different one.15 According to Confucian thought, a ruling dynasty lost the Mandate of Heaven when an emperor did not fulfill the traditional obligations of a ruler, which were to protect, to establish a stable political order and to avoid the exploitation of citizens. Also, in the concept of Confucianism, if an emperor became corrupt, lax, inept, or ruthless, this would result into loss of support from his people, and more importantly, the loss of heavenly support, which would result in the fall of the emperor or dynasty."

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