Confucian Disciples And Confucius Benevolent Study

The disciples of Confucius were the closest social group to Confucius himself,and were also the group directly involved in the creation of Confucianism.Since the disciples of Confucius inquired into Jen,taken talks and deeds around Jen,their activities reflected a vivid picture of thought and soul.With the title of ‘Disciples of Confucius and their Views on Jen',this thesis aims to carefully interpret the relationship between Confucius' disciples and Confucius' s idea on Jen,in order to present the theory of the Confucian' Jen from a perspective.This paper is divided into the following three chapters.The first chapter studies Confucius' disciples inquiries of Jen.Firstly,from the perspective of Zigong's inquiring,this paper discusses the relationship between "Jen","Jen Zhifang" and "Forgiveness" in Confucius' thoughts."Forgiveness" is the way to achieve Jen.The relationship between "Jen" and "Jen Zhifang" can be summarized from some aspects: whole and part,one and more,ideal and reality,moral power and moral behavior,and so on.Secondly,from the perspective of Yan Yuan and Zhong Gong inquired into Jen,this thesis explores the two dimensions of individual self-cultivation and political practice in Confucius' s Jen.The individual cultivation of Confucius' s Jen includes motivation,words and looks,and interpersonal relationship.The political practice of Confucius' s Jen is mainly about governing by morality,and the virtue of politics includes but not limited to courteous,tolerant,trustworthy,intelligent and kind.Thirdly,from the overview of Fan Chi inquired into Jen,this paper analyzes Confucius' s thought that "The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business,and success only a subsequent consideration." This means the order of practice of Confucius' s Jen.The second chapter studies the spread of Confucius' s Jen by Confucius' s Disciples.This chapter interprets Zeng Zi's Jen as his own responsibility,Zi Xia learning to the way and You Zi filial piety as the foundation of Jen.Both Zeng Zi and Zi Xia had inherited Confucius' s Jen,and they had important differences.Zeng Zi paid attention to the direction of the virtues,while Zi Xia paid attention to the direction of learning.You Zi's view of "filial piety is the foundation of Jen" had revealed the relationship between the filial piety and Jen in Confucius' s thought,which had been inherited and developed by later Confucianists,and also attracted the criticism by Zhuang Zi school.The third chapter discusses results of Confucius disciple practicing the Jen.Starting from the analysis of the relevant dialogues in The Analects,we focus on the issue of Confucius disciple's practice of the Jen.As for of Confucius and his disciple,the teaching and learning is based on the theme of the Jen.The Confucius disciple has the tension of becoming a Jen Zhe or a talented person.This tension reflects the greatness of Confucius' educational spirit.In the practice of seeking the Jen,the most exemplary meaning is Yan Yuan.