Confucius and his disciples were often persecuted by fearful despots. Having been deported from another state, the band – passing through a remote region – encountered an old woman crying beside a grave. Confucius asked her why she wept. A tiger had killed her husband and his father, she explained, and had recently attacked her only son.

“Why do you live in this savage place?” Confucius asked. “Because there is no oppressive government here,” the woman replied.

“My children,” Confucius said, addressing his disciples, “remember that oppressive government is worse than a tiger.”

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While traveling through an arid region with his students one day Confucius, suffering from intense thirst, was offered a bowl full of water collected by a disciple from a rain puddle. He immediately emptied the bowl on the ground. “It would be too much for one, too little for all,” he declared. “Let us continue our journey.”

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Once when Confucius and his students were in the State of Chen, they ran out of food and all of the students fell ill. One of the students, Zi-lu, also a famous scholar, complained, “So, it is possible for a righteous person to become destitute!” Confucius replied, “A righteous person can guard his morality and virtue even when he is destitute; whereas a wicked person will resort to all sorts of vices when he is destitute.”

Our moral standard shouldn’t change according the situation we’re in. We are sometimes tested to see whether we can stay unmoved and hold on to our principles in tough situations. Many people will compromise themselves according to the situation, and they gradually and slowly move away from their own principles.

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Confucius travelled to many kingdoms to spread his views. One time he left the Kingdom of Wei for the Kingdom of Chen via Kuang City.

The people in Kuang City mistook Confucius as Yang Hu from Lu. Indeed, Confucius looked like Yang Hu. Yang Hu had invaded Kuang City before, and the people in Kuang City resented Yang Hu very much, so they encircled Confucius and his followers. The situation became very tense, and his followers were afraid. Confucius said, “King Wen of Zhou has died and the cultural system of Zhou has fallen upon me. If heaven wants the system to die, it will not allow me to master it. If heaven doesn’t want the system to die, what harm can the people of Kuang City do to me?”

After Confucius and his followers were surrounded for five whole days, they were finally out of danger.

During the times Confucius travelled to various kingdoms, he had come across similar situations many times. Confucius once came across somebody who wanted to harm him. Confucius said, “Heaven bestowed upon me such virtue. What can he do to me?”

this story found here… stories from ancient china

Confucius was China’s most famous Philosopher. He lived in Ancient China during the Zhou Dynasty.

Confucius was a government official, and during his lifetime (he lived from 551 to 479 B.C. ) he saw growing disorder and chaos in the system.

Perhaps due to the turmoil and injustices he saw, he set himself to develop a new moral code based on respect, honesty, education, kindness and strong family bonds.

His teachings later became the basis for religious and moral life throughout China.

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 “To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right”  

 
“Let the prince be a prince, the minister a minister, the father a father, and the son a son”
 

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do”

“Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it”

“What a superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others”

read more here… a china family adventure

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may you day be filled with enlightenment

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(They did the surgery on Alan’s hip and arm yesterday but soon after he developed 103 fever? He is still under by sedation. a ying yang… good and bad news!!)