John Smith from Santa Fe, New Mexico
Tell me about Confucius
Confucius himself respected what he called the will of heaven but his basic theme was mortal man and the things that bring out the best in human nature. Nowadays we could call him a genius of social science.
He was born in 551 B.C., during China's feudal era. As a poor boy, he decided that riches have little to do with happiness. He found the wisdom he wanted in olden poems, art and music and in ancient religions that stressed man's ties with the earth and nature's laws. At 22, he started a school and the rest of his life was crowded with devoted students.
The goal of Confucius was happiness for one and all. This would, he thought, occur quite naturally in an ideal society. He outlined rules of proper conduct for everyone in the fuedal system of his day. The kingpin of his ideal society was an honest ruler who strictly obeyed a code of fairness with kindly courtesy toward all. Such a one would inspire loyalty and set an example for all his subjects. One governor was half convinced and made Confucius Minister of Crime. The people accepted his ideas, sang songs about him and crime, they say, disappeared from the scene. But no governor fully accepted his social program and most feudal rulers saw it as a threat to their selfish privileges.
His simple theme was common courtesy at all levels of society the honest to¬ goodness courtesy that abides deep down in every human heart. Confucius had a saying for those in doubt about what to do. What you do not like done to you, do not do unto others. Centuries later, this was made more positive. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you became our Golden Rule. The secret of this ideal lies in treating oneself and everybody else with equal fairness.
The old chapter of feudal history is closed. But certainly the rewards of kindly courtesy still prevail. You can test the old magic for yourself. Notice when you act with polite consideration that others tend to do likewise. The gentle magic seems to be catching. Sometimes it even works when others are acting like backward barbarians. Imagine what would happen if this courtesy infected everybody in our society. Nobody could feel neglected or unwanted. Nobody could commit a crime against himself or against anyone else. It's too bad that China or some other society never gave a fair test to the Confucian recipe for human happiness.
If Confucius had prevailed 100 per cent, the whole world might be genuinely courteous. Nations and governments would be polite and honest with each other and with all their peoples. Trickery and warfare would go out of style. Chances are that in our time this is but a dream. But some future generation may dare to give it a fair try. Who knows, that old Golden Rule could start a world wide epidemic and usher in a Golden Age of human history.