All Posts Tagged ‘Confucius’
Appreciation Confucius
Thursday, February 4th, 2010There are many different ways to approach the topic of how Confucius and the tradition he is associated with are theoretically and morally appreciated.
Material Culture Confucius
Thursday, February 4th, 2010The study of material culture is a modern academic field that considers artifacts as a primary source of information of the culture in or for which they were produced. When examined by specialists, primarily archaeologists, sociologists, and art historians, objects from the past help modern researchers form meaningful inquires and develop interpretations of the cultures that produced them. This exhibition, Confucius: His Life and Legacy in Art, presents a varied ensemble of artifacts from a sprawling history of more than two millennia – from the inception of Confucianism as the personal teachings of an itinerant sage in a deteriorating hegemonic world to its final halcyon days as the statecraft of China’s last emperors.
Culture and People Confucius
Thursday, February 4th, 2010Confucius (551-479 BCE) lived and taught during the late Spring and Autumn Period (春秋時代, chunqiu shidai), a time of fragmentation and social upheaval in Chinese history, as states struggled against one another to maintain and expand control. In response to the chaos he witnessed, Confucius traveled from state to state, hoping to find a leader willing to take him on as a government official, and to practice his doctrine of proper conduct and governance. Confucius did not see himself as an innovator, but rather as a transmitter of knowledge (The Analects, VII.1).
History Confucius
Thursday, February 4th, 2010According to historical records, Confucius was active in the final years of the tumultuous period known as chunqiu 春秋. The term chunqiu literally means Spring and Autumn and derives from the title of a contemporary historical text. The text is organized as an annalistic compilation documenting important affairs, both internal and external, of the state of Lu (鲁) from 722 to 481 BCE.
Geography Confucius
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010Compared to contemporary China, the territory under the Zhou (周) dynasty domain at its peak was quite modest, stretching southward to the Yangzi River from present day Hebei, and westward to the eastern tip of modern Sichuan.
Confucius
Monday, January 25th, 2010His Life and Legacy in Art
One would be hard pressed to identify a more readily recognizable figure in Chinese history than Confucius—his ideas, as transmitted in the Analects and some other documents and then later elaborated upon by other philosophers (such as Mencius and Xunzi), have profoundly shaped Chinese civilization and culture. Given his imposing stature in Chinese history, it is somewhat ironic how little verifiable information is actually known to historians and scholars about the historical Confucius; much of what is commonly presumed about Confucius in the public imagination is distorted by centuries of accumulated legend, veneration, and iconography. The spring 2010 China Institute exhibition, Confucius: His Life and Legacy in Art, assembles a collection of visual representations of Confucius informed by such veneration as well as presenting objects related to the state cult that grew up around him.
