The Famous Chinese Confusion

“If a superior man abandon virtue, how can he fulfill the requirements of that name?" (Book 4)
This made me think about corruption. Politicians, police, businessmen, etc. can all be very corrupt people. This reminded me of how stupid and selfish corruption is. People get so caught up in money, greed and hate that they forget the real reasons why they are doing the things they are doing. Corrupt people just waste everybody's time and delay other people's necessities. Living in country were corruption is profuse, brings shame upon the people who actually want this country to be better. To me, corruption is ignorance and apathy. I think that stealing time, effort and money from others is the worst condition a person can degrade him/herself to.
"The Master said, 'Riches and honors are what men desire. If they cannot be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held. Poverty and meanness are what men dislike.'" (Book 4)
Again, corruption. Being good to others is such an easy thing but people continue on letting themselves become victims of their own greed and wrongdoings. This sentence applies not only to corruption but to every-day life. People should be content with what they achieve honestly. If people want more, it is up to them to wake up every morning and go to work diligently, but nothing in life comes for free. I don't want to say I'm karma fanatic but being realistic, any crimes or wrongdoings will be known of at some point, doesn't matter if you're dead, people will know what you did because something will be missing.

Book 5 took me some time to understand. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to make out of the dialogue. I find it easier and less confusing when things are implied instead of being put into a conversation. However, the whole point of this reading blog is to learn how to analyze random texts, and I guess its actually making me think so, it's fulfilling its purpose. It took me some time to figure out the characters as well, since the dialogue comes out spontaneously without any previous introduction.

What I got out of the Analects up to now, is the importance of the family nucleus and the elders. I agree to a certain degree with the Analect's perception of family and the elders. I think that our elders are like a door into the past and there's so much we can learn from others who have lived what we're going through. Elders serve not only as guides but as sources of knowledge and it is because of our elders that we prevent history from repeating itself, even though it is inevitable.


I've noticed that the Master tends to know the answers to everything. I imagine him similar to God in a sense that he is so great and powerful nobody dares proving him wrong. However, anybody reading the Analects is interested in reading what the Master has to say and won't want to prove him wrong. Now, it isn't about proving him wrong but instead about questioning him. So far, the Analects have made me think about the Master as a little arrogant, again just like God and his episode with Job. Comparing two different beings like the Master and God might not be completely wrong but it is obvious that whoever wrote about them looked up to them. Why else would anybody write about something they don't believe in? God and the Master both have great ideas and some others that are completely senseless. When God punishes Job, and when the Master describes how children should act at home, I just thought it was a bit ridiculous. I mean, I do think children should be"filial", "respectful", and "truthful" but what about the child? I'm at a point in my life where fights at home are constant and its the time of my life at which I'm supposed to "find myself" and explore the world. I couldn't possibly imagine myself being tied up at home and then feeling guilty for trying to be myself. I suppose though, that it isn't up to me. If I grew up in Asia or was brought up thinking like this, then maybe right now it wouldn't be such a shock right now.