Fiddler on the Roof

The Analects show Confucius to be a realist. He taught that one's individual desires do not need to be suppressed, but that people should be educated to reconcile their desires with traditional propriety without going to extremes.

Words translated from one language to another often do not have quite the same meaning, or feel, as the original. I found that even within a given language the meaning of a word shifts over time and that, vice-versa, some meanings may be expressed differently. Take, for examples, the shifts from "many people" to "multiple people," from "most people" to "the majority of people," from "fewer people" to "less people." Besides, languages expand as time goes by.

Take the word junzi for starters. It is represented by two Chinese characters which combined translate to "true prince" or "son of a ruler," a meaning that has shifted to "an ideally ethical and capable person." But still, the junzi falls short of being a truly ideal person, a saint or sage, sheng

Dao, The Way, self-perfection, world transformation. I personally tend to compare it to "the scriptures" or any holy book.

Li. Among the six arts on Confucius's school curriculum is "rites," comprising rules of etiquette, code of conduct and moral obligation. They are the ritual institutions of the Chou Dynasty (1100–221 BCE). Quoting again, "the range of behavior subject to the broad category denoted by this term ranges from political protocol to court ceremony, religious rite to village festival, daily etiquette to disciplines of personal conduct when alone." All in the realm of good citizenship, I'd say.

Anthromorphism: God in the image of man.

Tian. Quoting: "carrying the basic meaning of 'sky,' Tian becomes a concept of supreme deity, often translated as 'Heaven,' sometimes possessing clear anthropomorphic features, sometimes appearing more a natural force."

Wen, pattern (or template), style, culture. Again quoting: "For Confucius wen denoted the opposite of brutishness in appearance and behavior. A person of 'pattern' was a person who had adopted the many cultivated forms that characterized Chinese culture at its best, in contrast to the 'barbaric' nomadic peoples who surrounded China. Confucians believed that the patterns of Chinese civilization had been initially inspired by the patterns of the Heavens (Tian) and the seasons, and that they represented a Heaven-destined order that human beings needed to fabricate within the sphere of their own activity, so that they could join with Heaven and earth in the process of creation and order. The original Chinese symbol appears to have pictured a costumed dancer, and music, sound, and dance were essential emblems of the Confucian portrait of the civilized society. Such patterns were the basis of ritual, li." This descrption brought to mind the second paragraph of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness,"

The United States, which prides itself on being on the forefront of democracy, has grown into a hotbed of anarchy. Right now (today is Nov. 23) Donald Trump still refuses to concede that he lost a re-election and followers threaten to kill election officials who sign off on him losing the vote counts. A major reason for him still having a widespread voter support is a lack of education and/or information. Or some other preoccupation; hard to figure out. The Analects speaks of "men who are below the average."

Am I, by quoting from the Analects, suggesting taking away a franchise from "men who are below the average"? No way! Behold the fiddler on the roof! "Survival, through tradition and joyfulness, in a life full of uncertainty and imbalance," Wikipedia explains somewhere.

Glib tongues and images to match—in politics, in business, indeed just about everywhere one turns—corrode society. You know it, I know it. But even knowing it … . Advertising professionals have honed the misleading of people to a fine art. A trinket may be advertised at $49.95; a piece of furniture may be advertised at $3499. People smiling at a box of dishwater soap held at arm's length. Motherly instincts manipulated in diaper ads. Let's face it: advertising and political misdirection are pandemics in their own wrong.

• Confucius said, "His opinions are expressed with sincerity. Is he a junzi? Or is he merely dignified by appearance?" (Lun Yü 11-20) • Confucius said, "Either the artfulnes in speech of Chu T'o or the beauty of Sung Ch'ao … in this day and age, it is difficult to be spared." (Lun Yü 6-14) • Confucius said, "A ku that is no longer a ku! What a ku! What a ku!!" (Lun Yü 6-23) The ku was a small drinking cup originally used in rituals. Its accepted size and shape had been altered to facilitate drinking and Confucius laments the predominance of drinking over rituals. Emo writes that this saying raised the issue of of language distortion to cover up unorthodox conduct. An implied meaning might be that a ruler who does not rule properly should not be called a "ruler," an idea covered by the doctrine of "the rectification of names."* ("Call a spade a spade.")  18

With global society teetering on the brink of complete disaster, the greater share of collective responsibility progressively goes to, roughly speaking, those with a higher social and scholarly standing, which, to begin with, brings me to the junzi. "Junzi" is often translated as "gentleman" or "superior man," but to be sure, junzi is not to be confused with sheng (saint or sage).

People not perceived as meeting the scholarly and ethical standards of a junzi are categorized as "petty men"— loosely, people with narrow ethical vision. Compare and contrast some of the many sayings the Analects have on offer:

The Master was motivated by "helping others to accomplish good." He was a professional private teacher who seems to have lived largely off the largess of his wealthier pupils.

Learning, in the Analects, should not be mistaken for formal schooling. However valuable formal education, Confucius perceived the continued pursuit of knowledge and wisdom throughout life as essential. Love of learning is one of the hallmark characteristics of the junzi.

Dao, The Way, is a process, a process of continually bettering oneself.

There are seven times as many sayings in the Lun Yü; as shown in this essay, but what we have here ought to do. Yet to be addessed are ruling and the rulers. Considering that democracy as we know it is, putting it mildly, not in good health, we might do well to consider those carefully, thereby challenging:

The overriding message is that a ruler's sense of virtue is his primary prerequisite for leadership. It is not reasonable to expect to live and work in a civilized society if the rulers themselves do not live up to Confusius' expectations. Well, people are people are people, and the Master knew that very well. It isn't hard to read between the lines.