I-Ching Lesson #5

By Henry Chu

Introduction

• Last week we visited the work of Chou Gong and the introduction of the concept of Yao.

• This week we will be visiting the contribution of the last saint of I-Ching, Confucius .

• Confucius was born during the Spring-Autumn Era of the Chou Dynasty (~500 BC).

• He was born in the nation of Lu, which was founded by Chou Gong.

The Life of Confucius

• Confucius’ father was a general of the Chou Dynasty and his first wife gave birth to a crippled son.

• Confucius’ father blamed his wife for the handicapped child so he married a second wife who gave birth to Confucius.

• On the night of his birth, Confucius’ father dreamed of a small hill, so his father named him “Cho”—small hill.

The Life of Confucius• When Confucius was but a year old, his father

contracted a strange disease and died within days.

• In order to escape the wrath of the first wife, Confucius’ mother escape to her father’s home and never mentioned to Confucius about his noble origin.

• Therefore, Confucius was educated by his grandfather and was trained by his grandfather to become a superb scholar.

The Life of Confucius

• When Confucius was sixteen, his mother passed away and his grandfather told him about his noble origin.

• He then proclaimed himself a nobleman and went to see the prince of Lu.

The Life of Confucius• Confucius had always been fascinated by the

legend of Chou-Gong so one of his requests to the prince was to see the library of Lu.

• There he found all sorts of scrolls and documentations including the I-Ching.

• He studied in the library for many years and developed a political system based on Chou-Gong’s philosophy.

• Spring-Autumn was a time of unrest and many princes began to fight and wage wars with each other.

The Life of Confucius• Based on the philosophy of Li (Propriety) from

the works of Chou-Gong, Confucius began to implement them in the Lu nation.

• In less two years, Lu had became a peaceful and prosperous nation and Confucius began to enjoy a great deal of fame and popularity.

• This popularity brought on envy and jealousy from the other nobles and they persuaded the Lu prince to alienate Confucius.

The Life of Confucius• Soon Confucius was stripped of his post

and in desperation, he left Lu to seek the realization of his political ideals else where.

• He wandered through China and met with numerous princes. Most of the princes employed him for his literary talents, but never gave him enough chance to fulfill his political ideal.

• After 14 years of wondering, Confucius decided it was time to come home to Lu.

The Life of Confucius• When he returned to Lu, he had amassed a

great population of students and followers so he started a huge school in Lu.

• For the rest of his life, he worked on numerous books and texts, including one of the most important text: the Book of I-Ching.

• Till this day, Confucius is considered a great saint and his birthday is celebrated as a national holiday in many Asian countries.

The Work of Confucius• The contribution of Confucius is the

compilation of the book of I-Ching.• Confucius took all the work that Chou-Gong

already done and expanded on the meaning of each Grand Gua as well as the Yao’s.

• He also wrote commentaries on the first two Grand Gua (Ch’an Gua and Quen Gua)

• He compiled I-Ching into a complete book and thus enabled the work to be passed down to the future generations.

Conclusion• Confucius is the Fourth and Last Saint of I-

Ching.• He had a very difficult life and never got to

realize his political dream.• He found the biggest school in Chinese history

and was regarded as the greatest teacher of all time.

• He completed the book of I-Ching and the text we have today came directly from him.

Questions