Show CHINESE CIVILIZATION Western students of Chinese life and letters are surprised at the lofty ideals of government of the family and of society so-ciety set forth in the ancient classical literature which from generation to I generation has exerted an ennobling I Influence upon the thoughts of the people peo-ple But they are also surprised that these ideals have been realized to so small an extent In government in the family and in society Ancient Chinese literature is a witness wit-ness to the nobility of human nature II I in Its best thoughts and aspirations The sages taught that man is made for virtue To be benevolent is to be a I man They taught that virtue distinguishes dis-tinguishes men from animals and that when men fail to be virtuous they cease to he men The heart of man tends toward goodness as water tends to flow downward Water may be forced upward up-ward but that its not Its tendency In like manner men may be driven to evil I but It is not according to their nature The mountain clothes Itself with forestfi 1 and verdure but axmen come from thb neighboring city and cut down7 th tJ sri slnm06tstsfillnG up from tho living roots but the cattle browse them down until the mountain Is bald and I desolate and men say It Is the nature of the mountain to he bald and desolate deso-late Not so Its condition Ihr the result I of violence to its nature Thus mans nature seeks to clothe itself with virtue vir-tue but it Is assailed by external evils till finally the recuperative powers of the heart become paralyzed and we I look upon the evil man and say It is his nature to be evil Not so his true nature na-ture has been overcome by the evil that Is alien to It The end of learning is to recover tho lost heart which is the childheart that all men have in common Confucius tersely describes the ideal c I condition in human relations as realized when the prince acquits himself as f prince tho minister ns minister the i I father as father and the Ion as son I that Is wheii men in every rank in society ciety discharge faithfully the duties belonging l be-longing to their l place The law of heaven Is the law of right the law of duty and wisdom consists correctly 1 applying this law In the relations of I life Confucius taught that the end of learning was to develop and irukc I 1 manifest the Innate virtue to renovate the people and to rest In the highest goodness I Chinese history has not been without examples of upright rulers and faithful citizens of compassionate fathers and I filial sons but the Ideal slate the ideal family have been for the most I I part themes to be talked about to be written of In elegant essays but not to bo striven after or experienced The I Son of Heaven has usually proved bo a son of earth in his bondage to its passions and allurements Ministers have been eyes and ears and hands nor for the service of their princes but for the service of their own Ignoble I appetites and ambitions Society has not been ruled by the law of benevolence benevo-lence but by the law of selfishness I The operation of this law is also seen in family life Parents regard children ns given to them to command children in turn have few rights In the presence pres-ence of their parents There Is a popular popu-lar saying that parents are the family gods and too often they rule in their households with the authority of gods The lisciple oi Confucius learned through observing the relations between be-tween the sage and his son that tho I superior man is not intimate with his children In general the hard and selfish rule of parents begets a formal r and selfish service In children Falsehood False-hood and duplicity take the place of truthfulness and candor and unloving I authority Is met by unloving obedience D Z Sheffield in the July Forum |