As an introductive point, “The Four Books of Confucianism,” is a collection of philosophical works which greatly influenced Chinese civilization, both in the educational and spiritual realms, into the contemporary era. My most prominent observation after reading the book is that the most important aspect any individual ought to pursue is that of self-awareness, where the person seeks to know who they are. The whole idea of the book is to provide moral insights and guidelines into human nature, and this is primarily through the presentation of the apt manners and dispositions of life that a person is required to follow so as to live a truly grander life that is not tainted with evil behaviors.
In making the connection between self-cultivation, education and sustaining learning, it is important to begin by asserting that an acquisition of balance in a person’s life is really important in helping an individual to have a good and harmonious internal balance, meaning that the person can then acquire a good capacity to judge and make decisions. “And, because hismuch more refined and balanced, he has the capability of maintaining whole his nature and thereby giving realization to principle-whereas beasts have no such capability”
Broadly, the Confucianistic belief requires an individual to have a cultural perfection of him or herself through obtaining and pursuing personal education and significant moral reformation as was the case in the initial years of the Zhou Dynasty, which was believed to be a golden age in the Chinese society“a belief that in the early years of the Zhou dynasty (c. 1050-221 BCE) a perfect society prevailed. Confucius' hope was, through devoted study of it, to resuscitate the China of the past and bring about another golden age, a time of perfect harmony and prosperity”
Education is also an important component of Confucianism. In as much as Confucianism is seen to rely on the past as a good model for future living, there is an emphasis on the importance of education in molding the individual and brining intellect and knowledge to the civilization of the day in order to ensure its longevity“The student must be diligent in his studies, working tirelessly to arrive at an understanding that he can claim as his own. The understanding he seeks is the understanding of principle. Having acquired a true understanding of principle, he will confidently rely on it in all that he does”
In tandem with acquiring an education, the book insists on the importance of every individual to sustain learning in order to foster consistent self-cultivation. It enlightens that without this, it is hard for the individual to acquire self-awareness and ultimately, to reach the required moral altitude that leads to the desired way of life. Accordingly, the author avers that proper self-cultivation is only achievable through acquiring a formal education, which then helps a person to become morally superior“Learning is thus learning to be moral. And whereas learning, for Zhu, most certainly includes the study of canonical texts, it also refers to learning through a deliberate emulation of morally exemplary persons"
Another issue of importance is the fact that once an individual is able to reach moral and educational superiority, the individual is subsequently mandated with ensuring the wellbeing of
other individuals in the society. By upholding his or her moral superiority, an individual is able to make fruitful interactions with others so as to ensure good moral associations between people in their day to day undertakings “A person engages in the self-cultivation process in order to perfect himself. But, naturally, self-cultivation goes beyond the self-perfection of the individual; it involves, too, extending one's self to others, feeling empathy for them, and doing the best one can to better their lives”
Conclusively, the above discussed issues of the importance of acquiring education, sustaining learning, becoming morally superior and upholding the daily moral interactions among people in a morally responsible way are both interconnected and critical, as the author presents them, in motivating the life and outlook of both the individual and ultimately, of the society at large.
Work Cited
Gardner, Daniel K. The Four Books: The Basic Teachings of the Later Confucian
Tradition. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2007.
