Appraisal #1: 弟子规Reflection
LZS, 11th grader
弟子规is Confucius’s way of living. It
describes how people should carry themselves in all situations, and with all
tasks, big or small. Many of his teachings, while somewhat outdated, can still
be used today. For example, in the introduction to 弟子规, he says “首孝弟，次谨信“. This means respect your elders and
peers, and be trustworthy. In this simple six word statement, Confucius has
identified one of the essential points of interacting with others: respect.
Respect is a common theme he will return to often throughout his teachings, as
it is of the utmost importance for living a virtuous life. This certainly still
holds true today. From a young age, we are taught to respect our parents,
grandparents, etc. However, Confucius takes this even farther by saying that
you must respect all of your elders, not just your family. While this may seem
like an implied point, he is sure to emphasize it throughout his teachings. Confucius
is also includes peers in his list of those to be respected. This aspect of
respect is often overlooked in today’s world. The second part of the statement,
be trustworthy, is also an extremely important teaching today. The fact that
Confucius puts trust in the same line as respect implies that he believes trust
is essential to respect.
Following his thoughts on respect
and trust, Confucius ends his introduction with an interesting statement: “有余力，则学文“。This means if you have extra energy,
you may learn. Confucius is implying that educational learning is not as
important as learning virtue, and therefore it should only be pursued once one
has mastered virtue. This statement would likely be met with substantial
criticism, as it essentially says that schools are not teaching the right type
of knowledge. To a certain extent, Confucius is right. The amount one has
learned does not decide how good of a person they are. And in the society
Confucius lived in, education of the sort we have today likely took a back seat
to the teachings of virtue and respect. But without education, society would
probably not progress. Furthermore, many of the same values taught in education
hold true in Confucius’s writing. School children are taught to respect both their teachers and their
classmates, and they must be trustworthy when talking about their work. Therefore,
a middle ground can be found when discussing Confucius’s stance on education
versus learning virtue.
While many of Confucius’s teachings
hold true today, other seem to have lost their significance. He says “或饮食，或坐走，长者先，幼者后“. This means wherever you eat or
travel, older people go first, and younger people go second. It is clear why
Confucius would say this. It is important to respect your elders, and therefore
you should make sure they are satisfied first. However, in today’s society,
this is often not true. Many families prioritize the children and make sure
they are satisfied first, and then the adults proceed. Confucius would likely
be horrified at this practice, as it seemingly goes against his teachings on
respect and virtue. However, it could also be seen in a positive light. By
showing children a sizable degree of respect, elders teach kids how they should
one day respect others. Therefore, while this practice may on, the surface, not
teach children respect, it teaches them how to respect others in the future.
It is evident from 弟子规that Confucius’s most essential virtue
is respect. He believes it should govern every action in one’s life, from minutiae
tasks to ones of more significance. And while some of his teachings outwardly
appear outdated, their essentials hold true for many situations.
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