Life of a Poet: Confucius

This man has been an inspiration to me for as long as I can remember, so when I was asked to do a weekly thread, I thought it only fair to highlight his work!

Confucius - Biography

Confucius was born and died in the state of Lu. He lost his father at the age of three and grew up in straightened circumstances, under his mother's care. As a boy he liked to set up sacrificial vessels and to imitate the gestures of ritual. At the age of nineteen he married, and a son and two daughters were born to him. His relations with his wife and children were without cordiality. He was a large man of great physical strength.
At nineteen he entered the service of a noble family as superintendent of parks and herds. At thirty-two he was engaged in teaching the ancient ritual to a minister's sons. At thirty-three he went to Lo-yang, the imperial capital, to study the customs and traditions of the Chou Empire, which by then had actually split into numerous warring states of various sizes, and whose capital remained solely a religious center. On this occasion he is said to have visited Lao-tzu. When Confucius was thirty-four, the prince of Lu, threatened by powerful rivals among the local nobility, was forced to flee. Confucius accompanied him to a neighboring state. Here he heard music, learned how to play, and became so absorbed that he forgot to eat. Returning to Lu, he devoted the next fifteen years to his studies.

If you want to read more:
http://www.poetseers.org/the_poetseers/confucius/

A few of his poems:

Sadness

[translation by C.E.R. Allen, 1891]

THE sun is ever full and bright,
The pale moon waneth night by night.
Why should this be?
My heart that once was full of light
Is but a dying moon to-night.
But when I dream of thee apart,
I would the dawn might lift my heart,
O sun, to thee.

Trysting Time

[translation by C.E.R. Allen, 1891]
I
A PRETTY girl at time o' gloaming
Hath whispered me to go and meet her
Without the city gate.

I love her, but she tarries coming.
Shall I return, or stay and greet her?
I burn, and wait.

II
Truly she charmeth all behooders,
'Tis she hath given me this jewel,
The jade of my delight;

But this red jewel-jade that smoulders,
To my desire doth add more fuel,
New charms to-night.

III
She has gathered with her lily fingers
A lily fiar and rare to see.

Oh! sweeter still the fragrance lingers
From the warm hand that gave it me.

The Soldier

[translation by C.E.R. Allen, 1891]

I CLIMBED the barren mountain,
And my gaze swept far and wide
For the red-lit eaves of my father's home,
And I fancied that he sighed:
My son has gone for a soldier,
For a soldier night and day;
But my son is wise, and may yet return,
When the drums have died away.
I climbed the grass-clad mountain,
And my gaze swept far and wide
For the rosy lights of a little room,
Where I thought my mother sighed:
My boy has gone for a soldier
He sleeps not day and night;
But my boy is wise, and may yet return,
Though the dead lie far from sight.
I climbed the topmost summit,
And my gaze swept far and wide
For the garden roof where my brother stood,
And I fancied that he sighed:
My brother serves as a soldier
With his comrades night and day;
But my brother is wise, and may yet return,
Though the dead lie far away.

THANKS; for the efforts Ingrid.

OUTstanding..never heard about this before --today

I was afraid of that, ha ha ha.

In my country Chinese poetry is valued very highly, the Chinese poets are seen as one of the wisest.

Wisest and they work the hardest
lol

is there any other astonishing piece to share?

Some Senryus by Confucius:

***************

The book salesman should
be honored because he knows
the books that will sell

***************

There are three methods
to gaining wisdom . . . All of
them are perilous

***************

At the center of
your being is a diamond
with a perfect flaw

***************

Choose a job you love
and you are gently shouldered
off the stage of life

***************

If you look into
your own heart and find nothing
there, plant a love seed

***************

Never give a sword
to a virtuous man . . . Give
him a book instead

***************

God is a tiger . . .
There is nothing to be feared
more than a tiger

***************

Do not impose on
God what you yourself do not
desire to practice

***************

The wickedness of
an oppressive government
is the zeal of wealth

***************

A superior
man who can't dance will never
achieve true knowledge

***************

The man whose teachers
are anger and hate has the
soul of a pebble

***************

OH man; wise wise wise..

I can't choose favs. but these stood out for me :

If you look into
your own heart and find nothing
there, plant a love seed

***************

Never give a sword
to a virtuous man . . . Give
him a book instead

I just re-did my room, and now my books are all shuffled about. I need to find my Asian philosophy section.

Learned something new, that Confucius wrote poetry although he was more well known as a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period more than for writing poetry. I have included another link if anyone wants to read even more about his life. I am a big fan of quotes that have been attributed to Confucius and have included some of those quotes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
Confucius

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
Confucius

He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.
Confucius

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
Confucius

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.
Confucius

Silence is a true friend who never betrays.
Confucius

What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
Confucius

When anger rises, think of the consequences.
Confucius

Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?
Confucius

Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.
Confucius

Look at the means which a man employs, consider his motives, observe his pleasures. A man simply cannot conceal himself!
Confucius

Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself.
Confucius

Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.
Confucius

Thanks for the addition, Silvia. All of the quotes show deep insight in the human mind...he was indeed a really good philosopher, as was Lau- Tse:)

I'd be interested to learn more about how his philosophy might have influenced the aesthetics of his poems. Confucius came down very strongly on the side of traditionalism, controlled thoughts and actions, and the precision of ceremony. Do you think this sort of self-controlled rigidity is expressed in his poems, Ingrid?

Confucius, like other influential thinkers of his time, showed his human face to a great extent in his work. He also made erotic verses and this was not seen as degrading. I feel he and others of his time were more "whole"in the way they approached life and all that makes us human. Nowadays, even on here, some parts of our lives are seen as somehow less dignified.

he made a Book of Songs, and many of them were about sex and also about day to day life, and although he had strict guidelines for the format, he was very human in his wording. So no, he was not rigid or self controlled in his work( apart from the technical side), I think it was a way to show his inner most self, his feelings, like it is to ( most of) us and in a more healthy way than we nowadays tend to do.

Here is the link, in case you are interested:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Songs_(Chinese)

"I feel he and others of his time were more "whole"in the way they approached life and all that makes us human. Nowadays, even on here, some parts of our lives are seen as somehow less dignified."

I think that's a really interesting idea. Something I've noticed in my brief and incomplete and ignorant experience with some Asian philosophies is that their thinking tended to be more holistic. Where most people I know tend to separate out different spheres of life (work separate from fun separate from religion separate from sex) those things seem a bit more enmeshed. You're not just Confucian when you go to church or do religious things... you're "Confucian" in every aspect of your life. Instead of it being a religion, it's a way of living. I suppose this is something that religions like Christianity strive for as well, generally with middling success. Anyway, I'm not very educated on these things, so if someone around here is familiar with a Confucian tradition, I'm all ears!

Where most people I know tend to separate out different spheres of life (work separate from fun separate from religion separate from sex)

^^
This is why people get (mentally)ill, or get distorted views on certain parts of their lives. Some children are taught that being angry, showing your anger and having sexual needs are bad. Some are whipped or beaten up, or even told they will go to hell when they satisfy themselves ( don't want to use a word that may be inappropriate on the boards). All elements of who we are should be valued equally (important) Shame and guilt are real killers of joy for life...and so unnecessary.