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Learning objectives
At the end of the lesson, the students should
be able to:
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1. gain exposure to the life of Confucius and
the basic elements of Confucianism
2. analyze and identify key components of
Confucian teaching.
3. apply the concepts from The Analects of
Confucius as they consider contemporary
ethical or social dilemmas.
• Chinese civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in
the world
• There is documented evidence of the Shang dynasty,
which goes all the way back to 1765 BC and China’s
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legendary history goes back even further
• The basis of Chinese classical civilization was
established solidly during the Chou, Ch’in and Han
dynasties, and nearly all that came after that until
about the 19th century fits neatly into the pattern of
dynastic rise, expansion, disintegration and fall
• The unity of this pattern was firmly based on
Confucianism
• Confucianism is not exactly a religion, although it
seems to answer all the basic needs of men, which in
the West have been answered by religious thought
• It provides the Chinese with both a moral order and
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an order for the universe
• It makes the individual aware of his place in the world
and the behaviour appropriate to it
• Confucius actually did believe in gods and ancestral
spirits as did most Chinese of his time, but he
generally refused to speak about them because
nothing could be known directly about them
• This is the Chinese practicality and man-centeredness
• Taoist beliefs and influences are an important part of
classical Chinese culture
• The “Tao” is usually translated “The Way” – the way
in which a flower grows from a seed, according to its

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natural inborn potential
• Just for the Buddhist, suffering comes from grasping
and trying to stop the inevitable flux of the universe
• For the Taoist, unhappiness comes from parting from
the Tao or from trying to flout it
• To follow the Tao, or to “go with the flow”, is both
wisdom and happiness: the analogy here is that of a
flower petal flowing along effortlessly with a stream.
• During the 20th century, China was marked by wide
class division, warlordism, appalling p0verty among
the masses and government corruption
• The dynastic rule of China was brought to an end

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with the revolution of 1911, led by Sun Yat-sen, which
overthrew the Manchus, but this revolution did not
usher in democratic rule as had been hoped
• The Chinese revolution probably changed the lives of
more people drastically that any other revolution in
world history
• It changed the economic structure, the very basis of
society and all relationships that grow out of the
structure
• China is not rich, but she has now solved the
problems of poverty and starvation
• There are no more idle, opium-smoking
landlords or rickshaw drivers who might be

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beaten to death or babies eaten by rats.
• Chinese are still practical and they are still
humanistic.
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• The sayings of Confucius were
remembered by his followers and were
later compiled in a book of Analects
(sayings), perhaps having been expanded
on in the meantime
•
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Through them, we discover Confucius’
notions of the virtues
• i.e., the positive character traits, to which
we should aspire
• Foremost among these is Filial Piety, the
respect which children owe to parents-
and by extension, wives owe to
husbands, sisters to brothers, and
everyone to ancestors
• When such virtue is cultivated in the
home, it is supposed to carry over into
one’s relations in affairs of state as well
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 #1

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pabello Abaigar
paccial abarquez
 #2

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plaras abdul
ramos alonto
 #3

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rojo asence
salgado balington
 #4

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samin belda
sangalang buenafe
 #5

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cadion
sangcap
campo
sarmiento
 #6

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sauro casil
solina castillo
 #7

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sunga concepcion
talaboc cortez
 #8

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escurel
taneo
esita
tulin
 #9

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galicha
untalan guban
villaflor
 # 10

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villena
ybanez abdul
alonto
 # 11

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lambino
lopez
 # 12

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maghanoy
mallorca
 # 13

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martinez
navelgas
 # 14

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Obias
ortiz