The evening times., 1900-07-02
THE WISE KUNG FUTzE.
A Name That standE Pre-eninent I'm
Chinese History.

Fatze, EEdlg the Philosopher. better
known under its Latinized form, Confu
cius. the name Of the great sage whom
historians have credited with having
nodded she character OF the Chinese. tx
ed their movement as a nation in grooves.
ont of which they have neither the will
nor the power to extricate themselves; in
a werd who represents liz his own per-
sea the state. more completely even than
the Grand Mcnsrque" was the state" N
France.
confucius is the one great teacher OF the
Chinese. His philosophy. as 1t is en-
bodied in the writings of his followers
Coafaclus himself left no etaicaI writings
forms the foundation of the educational
system of China throughout its length and
breadth From the common school to the
university, all is CoEfrcius. In the form
of sententiOus maxlms, his wisdom is inI-
pressed upon the smeneries of millions OF
the ser classes while thousands of the
literates, those who have gone through
the curriculum OF the upiversities. and
are candidates for eivil Offices, can repeat
by heart every sentence of the classical
books.
sage who has secured for himself SO
high place in the. veneration ef a people
can have Ecen ~ ordinary parsonage. And
yet the ste-.s Of the life OF Confucius is.
on the whole. disappointing one II is
not possible to discover in his biography.
when stripped of its plainly fictitious de-
tails, any evidence Of extraordinary men
tai vigor in the man, while the few writ
ings which can with certainty be referred
20 C0nfucius are almost painfully ceh-
eient In those marks OF Intellectual supe-
riority for which It is natural TO look The
few facts in his life which may be regard
ed as authentic can be disposed of in
few words.
Confucius was born in the year $50 B.
c., and was therefore nearly eontempora-
~ with the Greek sage Pythagoras- he
was of noble lineage. tracing his genealo-
gy back over 500 years to the kings OF the
dynasty OF Shang. His birthplace was IN
the modern Province Of Shantung-the pro-
vince through which runs the lower part
of the River Ho. In those days China
then the Kingdom OF Chow-had less than
one-sixth OF its present extent, and IS
thought to have contained not more than
Il, ,000. 900 or Is. 900 COO inhabitants. Nomi-
nally it was kingdom; actually its gov
ernment was feudal. resembling closely
that OF France In the Middle Ages More
over. at that time the country was pracu-
caIly in a state Of anarchy. owing 10 the
jealousies and rivalries OF its petty sover-
eign, which kept the kingdom in per-
petual state of intsrnecine war Good
government had ceased &c exist. and in
its place were dlsorgsnizatiot misrule, and
misery for the mass OF iSE people
HOw>to remedy these eNls. was ques-
tion 10 which ConfUcius began early 10 de-
vote his serious thought. He became
student of politics, and Il IN being stu
dent he became a teaehe. He opened
school for young men. whom be instructed
In history and the art OF government, =
school which quickly became famous and
drew upon him the attention Of the leading
men In his state.
But Confucius aspired TO be more than
a teacher Having made himself master OF
the wisdom Of the ages. he desired an op-
portunity TO put his wisdom } the practi-
cal test OF actual administration Of affairs,
and finally, though not until he had reach
ed the nifty second year ca his age. his
desire was gTatihed. He was appointed
chief magistrate OF the city OF Chung-tOo.
and so successfully did he fill this office
that he was promoted to be Minister OF
Crime in his state. and at once entered up
on a long cherished plan OF reform Forth
with. we are told, all crimes ceased but
his very success was the cause OF his
downfall. So prosperous did his state be-
come-the state OF Lu-that il aroused the
jealousy CT a neighbOring prince. who
adopted a singular yet effective means of
counteracting the influence OF Confucius-
He sent to the Prince of Lu stud OF fine
horses and bevy OF beautiful women. and
straightway Confueius was forgotten by
the prince in the excitement OF the race
course and the seductiOns Of the harem.
Neglected by his prince. Confucius. at
tended by some Of his disciples, withdrew
from the state Of Lu and entered upon
his famous wandering Of DCteen years
duration through the various states Of the
kingdom. The many incidents which oe-
CURED in the course OF these travels and
the adventures which befell him form the
most interesting though not perhaps the
most authentic. portion Of the biography
Of the sage.
Confucius returned to Lu in his sixty
ninth year. The state was now in the
hands of the son OF the prince who had
neglected him, but Confucius would not
again take Office. During the remainder OF
his life he devoted himself 10 literary work
and :he giving of lectures to his disciples
He died in as B. c.. at the age OF seventy
to.
The scope Of the studies Of Confucius
took a much wider range than the
management OF affairs OF state He
descended into all the details Of the rela-
tions Of man TO man in even the mos,
trivial affairs OF daily life. He gave mi
mute instructions for the nurture and
education of children; he impressed upon
children the duty of flial obedience: he
gaTe rules Of etiquette and conduct for the
intercourse of all classes of society No
important action. whether in the family or
in society at large. was overlooked. or left
by him without some rule for guidance.
Underlying all these rules OF social in
tercSdrse-forming their basis-was the
golden rule which has often been
quoted, What you do not like when done
10 yourself do not do to others" II has
been remarked that Confucius gave the
rule in a negative form only But he him
self understood It also In It's positive and
more comprehensive application, and is
said On one occasion to have deplored that
he had not always been able himself TO
follow it,
Confucius was IN no sense the founder OF
a religious sect Confueianisn is strictly
speaking, as improperly reekoned among
the religions OF China as agnostieism would
be reckoned among the creeds of the Wes-
tern world. Confucius purposely ana ex-
pIicitly kept aloof from the subject Of re-
ligion.
while yoa cannot serve man." he re-
piled to one OF his disciples who had ques-
toned him upon this subject, '-how can
you expect TO serve spirits?" And to the
question: What becomes Of man after he
has taken his departure from this world %
his reply was; while you do not know
life what can you know abou. death?'' Con-
fucius confined his thoughts and those 0f
his followers to the affairs OF this life
There was. he conceived, enough in tnis