High Coo – Sept 29 – Confucius Day

The Temple of Confucius in Jiading, now a suburb of Shanghai. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius

Confucius Day is celebrated on September 29. See https://nationaltoday.com/confucius-day/

Confucius, or Master Kong, was born on September 28, 551 BCE and lived for nearly 72 years before dying in 479 BCE. Known as a philosopher and master teacher, Confucius presented himself as a “transmitter who invented nothing” yet considered himself a transmitter of values which emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness, and sincerity.

“His teachings require examination and context to be understood. A good example is found in this famous anecdote:

廄焚。子退朝,曰:傷人乎?不問馬。

When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court Confucius said, “Was anyone hurt?” He did not ask about the horses.

— Analects X.11 (tr. Waley), 10–13 (tr. Legge), or X-17 (tr. Lau)

By not asking about the horses, Confucius demonstrates that the sage values human beings over property (which animals seem to represent in this example); readers are led to reflect on whether their response would follow Confucius’s and to pursue self-improvement if it would not have.” (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius)

My humble haiku response is Confucius Day

horses are horses,

humans are humans – are not

both worth honoring?

calendarinspirationdesign.com

1 thought on “High Coo – Sept 29 – Confucius Day

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