0:00:05 > 0:00:09Since the dawn of civilisation, the forces of nature
0:00:09 > 0:00:13and the whims of gods held sway over humanity.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But 2,500 years ago,
0:00:17 > 0:00:21humankind experienced a profound transformation.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Suddenly, there were new possibilities.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32This is a time when rationality overrode superstition and belief.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36This is an ethic which does not rely on the gods.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39The world is now explained in terms of natural forces.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42We are now responsible for our own destiny.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Upheavals across the globe sparked an ambitious
0:00:49 > 0:00:52vision of what humans could achieve,
0:00:52 > 0:00:56spearheaded by three trailblazers.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Socrates, Confucius and the Buddha -
0:01:00 > 0:01:02great thinkers from the ancient world
0:01:02 > 0:01:05whose ideas still shape our own lives.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Is wealth a good thing?
0:01:09 > 0:01:12How do you create a just society?
0:01:13 > 0:01:15How do I live a good life?
0:01:17 > 0:01:20By daring to think the unthinkable,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23they laid the foundations of our modern world.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27I've always been intrigued by the fact that these men,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30who lived many thousands of miles apart,
0:01:30 > 0:01:35seemed almost spontaneously, within 100 years of one another,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38to come up with such radical ways of thinking.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44So, what was going on?
0:01:44 > 0:01:47I want to investigate their revolutionary ideas
0:01:47 > 0:01:50to understand what set them in motion.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53In this programme, I'm on the trail of that quintessential
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Eastern sage - Confucius.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01He had a mission. But many people at that time did not agree with him.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05His vision was modelled on the power of the past and the family.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09He believed that education could transform both individuals
0:02:09 > 0:02:10and society.
0:02:10 > 0:02:16He is talking about your state of mind. Your feelings.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21But in the 20th century, Confucius was declared an enemy of communism.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24So now, he should be out of favour.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27But that hardly seems to be the case.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32This is the longest continuous civilisation in the world,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34and Confucius has a huge role in that.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37It's so amazing to be so close to them. My heart is beating!
0:02:53 > 0:02:59In 551 BC, an elderly ex-soldier from the ancient state of Lu
0:02:59 > 0:03:01faced a grave predicament.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04His family line was in danger of ending.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07He needed a son to continue his name,
0:03:07 > 0:03:12someone who would be able to perform the vital rituals to honour him
0:03:12 > 0:03:13and his ancestors.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18The old man took a young wife.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21We are told that she went to a sacred mountain
0:03:21 > 0:03:23and prayed hard for a boy.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28The son she bore would be known as Master Kong.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31In Chinese, Kong Fuzi.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35In the West, we call him Confucius.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Confucius was born into one of the most advanced
0:03:43 > 0:03:46civilisations in the world.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49The ancient Chinese were innovators in art,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52metal work, agriculture and weaponry.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00And from around 1000 BC,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03they developed a sophisticated political system.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07A network of vassal lords who bore allegiance to one king.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13But by the time Confucius was going up,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16stability had turned to chaos.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19This was an age when all of ancient China
0:04:19 > 0:04:22was trapped in a ruthless cycle of war.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Tribal invasions from the west, along with rebellion amongst
0:04:31 > 0:04:35the lords, splintered the empire into independent states.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41All vying for power.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Spurred on by a kind of arms race, now that cast iron meant that
0:04:49 > 0:04:53weapons could be mass-produced, families attacked families.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54This was total war.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00This collapse in society would become
0:05:00 > 0:05:04the catalyst for Confucius' ground-breaking philosophy.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15The oldest record of Confucius' life and ideas, the Analects,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18were compiled about a century after his death.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21These fragments of his conversations,
0:05:21 > 0:05:26along with other later histories, give us clues to his life story.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32We are told that Confucius was just three when his father died.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Old aristocracy, he had fallen on hard times -
0:05:36 > 0:05:38one of the victims of the turmoil of the age -
0:05:38 > 0:05:43leaving Confucius' mother to raise her son on her own
0:05:43 > 0:05:45in a kind of genteel poverty.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52Interestingly, it seems that education was Confucius' lifeline.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Somehow, probably through a mix of private teachers
0:05:55 > 0:06:00and home-schooling and, you suspect, the sheer grit and determination
0:06:00 > 0:06:06of his mother, Confucius was taught history, poetry and ritual.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16While other children played with toys, he's said to have acted
0:06:16 > 0:06:20out sacred rituals by laying out cups and bowls.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Now, these weren't just empty gestures,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26a bit of spiritual theatre.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30The kinds of rituals that Confucius learned played a crucial role
0:06:30 > 0:06:34in the ancient Chinese world view.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36A world view in which order and harmony,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39both on Earth and in the cosmos,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41were considered essential goals
0:06:41 > 0:06:43if life on Earth was to continue.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01The ancient rites that young Confucius knew were performed here,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, right up until the 20th century.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12The Chinese had a particular religious outlook which
0:07:12 > 0:07:16meant that these rituals weren't directed towards a deity.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19There is no creative god.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22There's nothing like the idea
0:07:22 > 0:07:24of a supreme power that dreams
0:07:24 > 0:07:26everything into being.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29What it posits instead is this notion that there are
0:07:29 > 0:07:32two cosmic forces. They're not even really divine,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36they're just natural forces, a bit like gravity in a sense.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41And on the temple here, you have perhaps the most common,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44the most powerful symbols of these two great forces.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47And that is the dragon, the heavenly force.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51And the phoenix is the female, the cold, the earthly force.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55And they are locked in perpetual struggle.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57They try to overcome each other.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01And it's this incredible dance of power
0:08:01 > 0:08:04out of which all life pours.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06So what's humanity's role in all of this?
0:08:06 > 0:08:10We're fundamental to this. You've got these two great cosmic forces
0:08:10 > 0:08:15and our role is to keep the balance, and we do this through ritual.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18And that's what this kind of temple complex was built for.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22This is where the ruler would come to make offerings to
0:08:22 > 0:08:24rebalance these two forces.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28And it wasn't just for the rulers, it took place in every single temple,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31every local shrine, right down to the household.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Sounds like a potent and a pervasive world view
0:08:34 > 0:08:36that Confucius is being brought up with.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Absolutely. It's the only world view he knows.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50As he reached adulthood, it looks as though Confucius grew to
0:08:50 > 0:08:56appreciate the gaping disparity between the ancient ideal of order
0:08:56 > 0:09:00and the reality of life subject to the chaos that raged all around him.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05His search for a solution to that intractable problem
0:09:05 > 0:09:08at the very heart of Chinese society
0:09:08 > 0:09:11would prove to be his life's work.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21Fortunately, conditions across the ancient world were nourishing
0:09:21 > 0:09:23new ways of thinking.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Improvements in agriculture, increased trade,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and growing urbanisation meant that some in society were less
0:09:30 > 0:09:35tied to a life of subsistence, creating the opportunity for
0:09:35 > 0:09:39men like Socrates, the Buddha and Confucius to develop their ideas.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45The scale of change - economic and technological -
0:09:45 > 0:09:49is reflected in archaeological remains,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52like this monumental grain store.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Advances in technology from the Iron Age onwards led to an increase
0:10:08 > 0:10:14in agricultural yields that were stored in massive pits like this.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Suddenly, for ordinary people, because they had enough food,
0:10:17 > 0:10:22life just wasn't a grinding cycle of a kind of hand-to-mouth existence.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Obviously, stores like this provided grain,
0:10:26 > 0:10:31but they also gave another great gift - time to think.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37When Confucius was about 20, we're told
0:10:37 > 0:10:41he landed a bureaucratic job managing grain stores like this.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45But his mind was occupied by the turmoil of the day.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48Looking around him,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52it seemed obvious to Confucius that humanity needed help.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57And how he responded is considered a first in Chinese history.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02He began to engage in systematic philosophical enquiry.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17One thing I like about Confucius is the sense that you get
0:11:17 > 0:11:20that he had a kind of natural curiosity,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24that he felt compelled to explore, and to try to understand the world.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29And in his early 20s, he decided to leave his home state of Lu,
0:11:29 > 0:11:30and get on the road.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Travelling west, he would have eventually met the great
0:11:37 > 0:11:38Yellow River.
0:11:42 > 0:11:43I think we have to imagine him
0:11:43 > 0:11:46at this point in his life as a kind of ethnographer,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49going from one place to another with open eyes
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and an open mind, gathering together experiences and encounters.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02The Analects describe Confucius meeting people who had
0:12:02 > 0:12:06renounced civilised society and lived amongst nature.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11These recluses were the forerunners of Daoism,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14that other great belief system of ancient China.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18They believed in something known as the Way.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Could you explain to me what exactly the Way is?
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Is it possible for humans to influence or control the Way?
0:12:52 > 0:12:53Xiexie. Xiexie.
0:12:58 > 0:13:04The Daoists believed that developed society diverted us from the Way.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Society was artificial, something people imposed on the natural
0:13:08 > 0:13:10spontaneous way of the universe.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Only by reconnecting with the forces of nature could
0:13:14 > 0:13:16we achieve harmony once again.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Confucius reacted to Daoist belief with a kind of frustrated
0:13:22 > 0:13:24indignation.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27"We can't go and live with the birds and the beasts.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29"Am I not a man among men?
0:13:29 > 0:13:32"If the Way prevailed in the world, there would be no need for me
0:13:32 > 0:13:33"to change it."
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Confucius' search for solutions to the problems of his day
0:13:40 > 0:13:43took on a more practical, political dimension.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48For him, the Way wasn't an intangible cosmic force.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Instead, he saw it as the harmony that could be brought about
0:13:52 > 0:13:55by a perfectly ordered society,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59something attainable by human action.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03It was a claim the Daoists thought the height of arrogance.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10This critical dispute is embodied in one legendary encounter.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Confucius is said to have come here, the city of Luoyang.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23As he was studying in the state archives,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27he met an older man and they struck up a philosophical discussion.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34As Confucius got up to leave, the old man chastised him.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39"Put away your proud air and many desires,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43"your insinuating habit and wild will.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46"These are of no advantage to you."
0:14:48 > 0:14:53The enigmatic old man was none other than Laozi,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55credited as the founder of Daoism.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Whether it's true or not, this pairing with such a great figure
0:15:00 > 0:15:04reveals the iconic status Confucius would later reach.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07And it tells us something else.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12That setting in the archive gives us a clue to Confucius' methods.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17For him, solutions to contemporary problems lay in a close study
0:15:17 > 0:15:19of what had gone before.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24The past was a kind of reservoir of truth.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34Ever since he was a boy, he had been schooled in ancient texts.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Now, as a man, they became the inspiration for,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and the very foundation of his philosophy.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Recent discoveries have shed new light on these classic texts
0:15:45 > 0:15:47of Chinese history -
0:15:47 > 0:15:52800 bamboo slips which contain the earliest
0:15:52 > 0:15:54evidence of Confucius's words.
0:15:54 > 0:16:00They were found in 1993 in the tomb of an old noble man.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Amazing. And they date back to when?
0:16:03 > 0:16:08Oh, these were dated to the 4th century BCE,
0:16:08 > 0:16:13roughly 100 years after Confucius.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15It says something like,
0:16:15 > 0:16:20"Set your mind on the way and be virtuous.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23"Do everything in accordance with humanity."
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Not only the earliest words of Confucius but beautiful words too.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Wow.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34And they were so amazing because they provide us new
0:16:34 > 0:16:38information on early classics that were very important
0:16:38 > 0:16:40to Confucius himself.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44And, for example, this particular slip
0:16:44 > 0:16:48mention about the classics he would have read.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53The Book Of Odes - ritual and music.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57But The Book Of History is very important, because it recorded
0:16:57 > 0:17:02figures such as the Duke of Zhou, and early kings of the Western Zhou
0:17:02 > 0:17:06that was about 500 years before Confucius' time.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11And these men were able to lead a society of harmony.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Confucius found in the words of The Book Of History
0:17:24 > 0:17:26what he was looking for -
0:17:26 > 0:17:31an ideal model where social and political harmony had prevailed,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34engineered by the almost super-humanely sage rulers
0:17:34 > 0:17:37of the early Zhou dynasty,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40in particular, the Duke of Zhou.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45When his brother, King Wu, died,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48the Duke could have seized the throne.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51But it's reported that instead he acted loyally,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55ruling as a regent for his nephew, the king's son.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59And then, when the boy grew up, fairly and faithfully,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01he handed over the reins of power.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Whether these accounts were entirely true is a moot point,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16but Confucius saw huge potential in them.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23This golden age was robust evidence that social order was possible.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27By following the practices and the examples of the early Zhou,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29by reviving the past,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33there could be solutions to the problems of the present.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37It is the great thing about golden ages, they're very comforting.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40We believe that if humanity was capable of wonderful things
0:18:40 > 0:18:43in the past, we can achieve them once again.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56Confucius believed that early Zhou society was the ideal
0:18:56 > 0:18:59manifestation of his concept of the Way.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02To recreate that harmony,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05society needed to return to their high standards.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Especially in terms of ritual.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14Confucius was convinced that the ancient rites had been corrupted.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16In order to restore the golden age,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19he would have to reinstate proper ritual.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Here, in Confucius' hometown of Qufu,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32is a temple dedicated to the master.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35It's the ultimate place of pilgrimage for many of his devotees.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Mr Kong traces his ancestry back to Confucius
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and often leads rituals that his illustrious relative
0:19:46 > 0:19:48set such store by.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25HE CALLS OUT
0:20:28 > 0:20:32But ritual here has always meant more than just ceremony.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36It's an all-encompassing ethos that shapes every
0:20:36 > 0:20:38aspect of people's behaviour,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41including what we might call etiquette and customs.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22It seems that Confucius threw himself into understanding
0:21:22 > 0:21:25and perfecting the rites of the early Zhou.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Confucius was nothing if not a stickler for detail.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35We hear he wouldn't even sit on a mat unless it was dead straight.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39But there seems to have been a kind of beauty in his precision.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Just listen to these wonderful words describing him.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47"His expression was serious, his step brisk.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51"When with his clasped hands he bowed to his colleagues on left
0:21:51 > 0:21:55"and right, his robes moved evenly in front and back.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58"His hurrying advance was a glide."
0:22:09 > 0:22:14Confucius set out to transmit the importance of proper ritual,
0:22:14 > 0:22:17promoting his ideas right across the land.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21One account describes his rather hostile reception
0:22:21 > 0:22:23from a government advisor from the state of Qi.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28"Confucius lays such stress on appearance and costume,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32"elaborate etiquette and codes of behaviour that it would take
0:22:32 > 0:22:37"generations to learn his rule. One lifetime wouldn't be enough."
0:22:40 > 0:22:43To this day, Confucius is often criticised for his pedantic
0:22:43 > 0:22:48attachment to intricate forms of antiquated ritual.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51But what his critics didn't understand is that he had
0:22:51 > 0:22:56discovered something radically new within these ancient rites,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00something which marked a critical shift in his thinking.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14When Confucius' was in his mid-20s, his mother died.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17For three years, he dutifully carried out ancestral rites
0:23:17 > 0:23:19in her honour.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25But he would breathe new life and new meaning into these traditions.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29- WHISPERS:- Ah! Oh, yes.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Wow, how beautiful.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37So these are things that would actually have been
0:23:37 > 0:23:39used in ancestor worship?
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Exactly. Ancient Chinese believed that the ghost
0:23:41 > 0:23:46and spirits continue to exist after the ancestors die.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52So it's important to offer them food and wine in these kind of vessels.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57In particular, those made of very expensive bronze.
0:23:57 > 0:24:03And everyone would be really engaging in the ritual to continue
0:24:03 > 0:24:06a kind of relationship they had before.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Do we know what Confucius thought about all of this?
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Well, Confucius still believed that ancestors were still
0:24:13 > 0:24:15very important part,
0:24:15 > 0:24:20but he started to shift emphasis towards the living,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23by saying that it meant that it's important
0:24:23 > 0:24:27for us to develop this kind of reverence
0:24:27 > 0:24:31and the proper relationship while they are still alive.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35As he said in the Analects very clearly, that if you don't know
0:24:35 > 0:24:39how to serve the living, how would you know how to serve the dead?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42That's really interesting. He's saying actually focus first
0:24:42 > 0:24:44on the here and now and on those who are still around you in
0:24:44 > 0:24:48the day-to-day before you start to think about those who are long dead.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50You are so right.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53It's no longer just about objects like this.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56It's about your state of mind,
0:24:56 > 0:24:57your feelings,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00your love and sincerity
0:25:00 > 0:25:05from inside that you would have towards these people around you.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Confucius realised that ritual brought out positive emotions in us.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20But his really big revelation was that this could permanently
0:25:20 > 0:25:22change who we are.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Habitually performing the rituals of history,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29with the right attitude and sincerity,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32could transform our mind-set.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Virtuous feelings could make virtuous beings.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41Ritual for him was not just the way you do things,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45exactly follow the traditional and this and the rules,
0:25:45 > 0:25:50but even more importantly, you've got to have something inside.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54You've got to have a reverence, respect,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57because this was the way to cultivate
0:25:57 > 0:26:00your inside of goodness, the inside of this kind of
0:26:00 > 0:26:02and the qualities.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06And the whole person would be transformed on the inside.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09But, I mean, that sounds really radical. So he's saying
0:26:09 > 0:26:13you need to do things properly, but they're not just a mechanical
0:26:13 > 0:26:17action. It affects who you are inside, sort of psychologically?
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Yes, yeah, I think this exactly.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23Not only just bring order to the social and life,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27but also this to create a new psychological under this
0:26:27 > 0:26:32meaning there and tried to cultivate this good human qualities.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Yeah. I mean, it's interesting cos he doesn't sell himself
0:26:35 > 0:26:37as an innovator, but he was.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38Yes, he was,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41I think. Confucius said, you know, he was the only transmitter
0:26:41 > 0:26:47that transmitted the ancient culture to today, to the future.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50But actually, what he did was innovation.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54These new things that are really coming from his reinterpretation
0:26:54 > 0:26:58of something that already exists, such as the ritual.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05Nourishing virtue lay at the core of Confucius' vision.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09And he saw transformative opportunities in everyday rituals -
0:27:09 > 0:27:13how we speak, how we dress and how we eat.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17But one that was particularly close to his heart was music.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22He's said to have played the zither and the sounding chimes.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30This was a time and place where music was all around,
0:27:30 > 0:27:35played on totally wonderful things like this monumental
0:27:35 > 0:27:38set of bells that date to just after Confucius' death.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Music was played to accompany ritual in temples and homes,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48so if you listen to these, then you'll be hearing the sounds
0:27:48 > 0:27:51that would have surrounded Confucius during his lifetime.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56BELL DINGS
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Confucius was convinced that music had the power to harmonise,
0:28:03 > 0:28:07to transform and perfect an individual.
0:28:07 > 0:28:08Basically,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12this is art as therapy 2,500 years before we invent the phrase.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34This practical application of philosophical ideas
0:28:34 > 0:28:37in day-to-day life is something that really marks out Confucius,
0:28:37 > 0:28:40as well as those other game-changing philosophers -
0:28:40 > 0:28:43the Buddha and Socrates.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48As a philosopher, you don't just indulge in abstract musings,
0:28:48 > 0:28:52you develop a robust delivery mechanism for your theories.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57Ideas have to have traction, and they have to have tangible impact.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01Confucius was a practical man.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04He had been spurred into action by the bellicose times
0:29:04 > 0:29:06into which he was born.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09His philosophy would only truly be a success
0:29:09 > 0:29:13if he it could affect change on a grand scale.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17Confucius came to think this -
0:29:17 > 0:29:20that shaping and cultivating moral individuals
0:29:20 > 0:29:25was the key to creating a stable social and political order.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27By figuring out what made a good person,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30you could make a good society.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33And so his mission was this -
0:29:33 > 0:29:38to teach people how to be virtuous in a world of political disorder
0:29:38 > 0:29:40and moral decay.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Confucius had given himself a mountain to climb.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03How to instil virtue in society, when society's moral contract
0:30:03 > 0:30:06was so broken was Confucius' big challenge.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13He was to find inspiration from a familiar and enduring institution.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16The family.
0:30:16 > 0:30:17Hello! Thank you.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30Wow, that was quite some welcome! Thank you. Xiexie.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35'Confucius noted how families are organised along hierarchical lines,'
0:30:35 > 0:30:38with fixed responsibilities.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41From birth, we learn our place within key relationships.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45Husband, wife.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Father, son.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49Older brother, younger brother.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56Recognising... Oh, thanks.
0:30:56 > 0:30:57Ah, yeah. Thank you very much.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01Recognising your... Oh, xiexie.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07Recognising your place within these relationships
0:31:07 > 0:31:10and fulfilling your mutual responsibilities within that
0:31:10 > 0:31:14hierarchy taught essential moral values.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19From the family, we developed a sense of loyalty, of honesty,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22of duty, of respect, of filial responsibility.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Basically, to love those around us.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33Confucius saw that the concept of family was a potent model
0:31:33 > 0:31:36and a potential solution for society's ills.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41The family showed how authority could be both exercised
0:31:41 > 0:31:44and submitted to, fairly and productively.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49Not through intimidation, but through mutual assent.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58The moral values learnt in the family - affection and care
0:31:58 > 0:32:02directed downwards, and loyalty and obedience directed above -
0:32:02 > 0:32:06had the potential to transform everyone.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09But Confucius saw that arguably their greatest value
0:32:09 > 0:32:13lay in relation to the glaring problem at the heart of society -
0:32:13 > 0:32:16the waywardness of its rulers.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33This magnificent sword embodies what, for Confucius,
0:32:33 > 0:32:37was the fundamental problem with Chinese leadership.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41This was made when Confucius was alive,
0:32:41 > 0:32:43and it tells us all about itself.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45There's an inscription here that reads,
0:32:45 > 0:32:52"Belonging to King Goujian of Yue. Made for his personal use."
0:32:52 > 0:32:55Now, this is obviously a fabulously deluxe object.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59And Confucius wouldn't have had a problem with that per se.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01He wasn't puritanical.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04He enjoyed the good things of life - swimming in rivers,
0:33:04 > 0:33:06singing with friends -
0:33:06 > 0:33:09and he understood the need for worldly goods.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14But he did not think that good men should devote their time and energy
0:33:14 > 0:33:16to the pursuit of personal gain.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19And he didn't believe in immoderate action,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22anywhere, any time, from anyone.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32In Confucius' opinion, kings who commissioned swords like this
0:33:32 > 0:33:36often abandoned virtue if it got in the way of worldly success.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41He saw the way to transform society was to instil
0:33:41 > 0:33:45the values at work in the family in the rulers of his day.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50To understand the power they wielded,
0:33:50 > 0:33:54you only need look at the way they were honoured in death.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57This ruler, from around the time of Confucius,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01was buried along with 26 expensive chariots
0:34:01 > 0:34:04and 70 sacrificial horses.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07What kind of connection did Confucius see
0:34:07 > 0:34:10between the relationships that he'd observed
0:34:10 > 0:34:12between father and son and the family,
0:34:12 > 0:34:13and what's going on here?
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Well, he looked at the fact that if you had a good father,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18he could bring up a good son.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22And a good son could then respect the father, and this could work.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24So he said "Well, look, if it works at this level,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26"let's just take it to the top."
0:34:26 > 0:34:31If the ruler views those beneath him as his children
0:34:31 > 0:34:35and treats them with love but with firmness, with compassion
0:34:35 > 0:34:41but with integrity, then it would it roll down through the system.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44And the Confucianist could say, "Look, you see the ruler's
0:34:44 > 0:34:46"living like this, you should live like this."
0:34:46 > 0:34:49And literally, it would roll down,
0:34:49 > 0:34:53like the clouds from the mountain and bring blessing to everyone.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57So, for him, might in and of itself wasn't a problem,
0:34:57 > 0:34:59but if you had might, then you also had to have
0:34:59 > 0:35:02a kind of philosophical responsibility to your people?
0:35:02 > 0:35:07Yes. Confucius continued the Zhou tradition that a ruler has
0:35:07 > 0:35:11the right to rule because heaven has clearly given them
0:35:11 > 0:35:12the power and the authority.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16And that's why the top, top ruler was called the son of heaven.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19However, that mandate, that right to rule,
0:35:19 > 0:35:23can be taken away by heaven. And a sign that heaven has taken it away
0:35:23 > 0:35:27is natural disasters, massive earthquakes, floods.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30Confucius said if a ruler becomes corrupt
0:35:30 > 0:35:33and people are suffering through this cruelty,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36then the people have the right to rebel.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38And so Confucius, at one level,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41tells you - respect, honour, duty, loyalty.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46And he also said, "And if that fails, you have the right to overthrow."
0:35:46 > 0:35:47Amazing trick.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03Confucius' tactic was very direct.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06He set out to influence those in power by getting
0:36:06 > 0:36:08a governmental post.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12One snag was his personality.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14He was often seen as arrogant,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17too blunt in the way he delivered his advice.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20But he also faced a bigger problem.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27With enemy armies numbering as many as 300,000 camped on their
0:36:27 > 0:36:32borders, and disloyal sons plotting behind their backs,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34perhaps it's no surprise that the rulers of the day
0:36:34 > 0:36:36failed to take Confucius seriously.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Cultivating moral character and virtuous actions
0:36:41 > 0:36:45in such precarious times was just not a priority.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00With rejection upon rejection,
0:37:00 > 0:37:05Confucius' faltering political career looked set to fail
0:37:05 > 0:37:08and his ideas in danger of being lost to history.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12But he was tenacious and resourceful.
0:37:14 > 0:37:15In his early 50s,
0:37:15 > 0:37:18it looks as though he decided to change his strategy.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21He gathered together a few belongings
0:37:21 > 0:37:24and hit the road once again to continue his moral crusade.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28Only this time, he wasn't alone.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32He was travelling together with a group of devoted students.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41His ability to attract motivated young men
0:37:41 > 0:37:46put his mission to transform self and society back on track.
0:37:49 > 0:37:55By all accounts, Confucius possessed a kind of compelling, raw charisma.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58Now, combine that with intellectual rigour, with bold,
0:37:58 > 0:38:03exciting new ideas and inspiring moral instruction,
0:38:03 > 0:38:04and you've got a potent mix.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13Whilst Confucius had failed alone, a band of around 70 students could
0:38:13 > 0:38:19infiltrate the corridors of power at many levels and in many states.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22They could be a moral vanguard to advise
0:38:22 > 0:38:25and instruct rulers on how to rule virtuously.
0:38:26 > 0:38:32And for this vital role, Confucius was scrupulously meritocratic,
0:38:32 > 0:38:36accepting students even from the poorest of backgrounds.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41In the Analects, Confucius said, "I have never refused instruction
0:38:41 > 0:38:45"to anyone, if, of his own accord, he comes to me."
0:38:48 > 0:38:49This in itself
0:38:49 > 0:38:54was a truly innovatory moment marking an historic shift.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58He was urging that Chinese society should no longer be governed
0:38:58 > 0:39:00by an hereditary elite,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03people who owed their positions simply to their bloodlines.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06Rather, it was those who were most virtuous,
0:39:06 > 0:39:10most concerned about the wellbeing of others, who should lead.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14His way was open to people from any background
0:39:14 > 0:39:16to rise to positions of authority.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22Confucius shared his ground-breaking commitment to a kind of
0:39:22 > 0:39:25egalitarianism with Socrates and the Buddha.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30Their solutions were, in theory, available to everyone.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32But, to a greater or lesser extent,
0:39:32 > 0:39:36when it came to women, they all seemed to have struggled.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39None of them were exactly model family men.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41The Buddha left his wife and child.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45Socrates treated his young wife pretty cursorily.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48But at least those two included women in their thinking
0:39:48 > 0:39:52and suggested they could be part of a solution to society's problems.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55However, when it comes to Confucius,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58it seems he had next to no time for the female of the species.
0:40:10 > 0:40:15The ultimate goal for Confucius' students was to become a junzi.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18Now, this wasn't a title he'd made up.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21Just as with ritual, he took something traditional
0:40:21 > 0:40:23and gave it a potent new twist.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29Junzi was an aristocratic word meaning a son of the lord,
0:40:29 > 0:40:34denoting qualities that could only belong to a privileged social elite.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Now, as part of his shift towards a moral elite,
0:40:37 > 0:40:40Confucius appropriated it
0:40:40 > 0:40:45and changed it to mean the ultimate moral person, a superior man.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50A new kind of gentleman, in its most literal sense.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58For Confucius, education was crucial.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01Drawing on his own life experience,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05he saw an unswerving commitment to critical learning
0:41:05 > 0:41:08as the path to self cultivation.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12He likened the process to polishing jade, crafting one's
0:41:12 > 0:41:16virtuous character, to become the perfect moral person.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18You had to know The Book Of History
0:41:18 > 0:41:24to live by the example of the sage kings and to enact correct ritual.
0:41:24 > 0:41:30But what was essential was to be morally alive to your environment.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34To understand how to behave intuitively in any situation.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36To think for yourself.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Confucius' students joined their master,
0:41:50 > 0:41:55moving across war-torn China to try to influence its errant rulers.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01They were attacked, beaten and almost starved.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04But these testing times sharpened their education.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08The challenges they faced forced them
0:42:08 > 0:42:11to engage in urgent moral debate.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13They proposed solutions to their problems
0:42:13 > 0:42:15and then interrogated those,
0:42:15 > 0:42:19provoking the intense intellectual discussions
0:42:19 > 0:42:22between master and students that you find in the Analects.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24They asked questions like,
0:42:24 > 0:42:29"Should the junzi accept office in degenerate times?"
0:42:29 > 0:42:31"Can you serve a corrupt master
0:42:31 > 0:42:33"if you think you can make a difference?"
0:42:36 > 0:42:38Confucius encouraged this open-ended,
0:42:38 > 0:42:40free-thinking discussion.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44Yet his students still looked to him for definitive answers.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49Ultimately, they wanted to know - what was the essence of goodness?
0:42:51 > 0:42:55For Confucius, there was one all-embracing virtue,
0:42:55 > 0:42:59the most essential to cultivate and yet the most difficult to attain.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03Something called ren.
0:43:04 > 0:43:10Ren is a very splendid word idea, but what does it actually mean?
0:43:10 > 0:43:13What quality does it imply?
0:43:13 > 0:43:17Well, many people tried to translate it differently.
0:43:17 > 0:43:22It's been translated as human heartedness, as good or goodness,
0:43:22 > 0:43:26but we prefer now to use the word simply humanity.
0:43:26 > 0:43:33Because virtually all Confucian values are linked to this notion.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36Courage with ren, then its real courage
0:43:36 > 0:43:38rather than just simply bravery.
0:43:38 > 0:43:43Justice with ren, then it's a humane justice
0:43:43 > 0:43:45rather than just harsh punishment.
0:43:45 > 0:43:50Wisdom with ren, then it's being wise not just being smart.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53And is this something that you achieve,
0:43:53 > 0:43:56or is looking for ren a constant quest?
0:43:57 > 0:44:02Every person, by definition of being a person, embodies ren.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06In other words, every human being's capable of sympathetic
0:44:06 > 0:44:09response to the external world.
0:44:09 > 0:44:15But at the same time, to realise ren fully, which means human flourishing
0:44:15 > 0:44:19in the most comprehensive sense of the term,
0:44:19 > 0:44:21that requires learning.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23And learning, of course,
0:44:23 > 0:44:25it's not simply the acquisition of knowledge
0:44:25 > 0:44:28or internalisation of skills,
0:44:28 > 0:44:32but basically learning to build one's character.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36And in that sense, it's like the highest ideal.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40At the same time, it's a minimum requirement to be human.
0:44:40 > 0:44:45Do you think that Confucius felt that he'd achieved ren?
0:44:46 > 0:44:47No.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51And the interesting thing is many students or followers
0:44:51 > 0:44:53of Confucius also said no.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56Ren requires continuous process of struggling.
0:44:56 > 0:45:02Even to the end of your life, this is still a task incomplete.
0:45:03 > 0:45:09So no matter what, the struggle to be fully human continues.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15There's something in Confucian philosophy,
0:45:15 > 0:45:19a core message, that I find really, genuinely inspiring.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22It's his golden rule taken from the Analects.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26One student said, "Is there a single word that
0:45:26 > 0:45:29"I should use as a rule to live my life by?"
0:45:29 > 0:45:32The master replied,
0:45:32 > 0:45:35"That would be empathy, perhaps.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39"What you do not wish for yourself, don't do to others."
0:45:44 > 0:45:48It's this focus on human relations and being compassionate
0:45:48 > 0:45:50that I think comes closest to defining
0:45:50 > 0:45:53what Confucius meant by the term ren.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58I do love this about all three of the philosophers whose
0:45:58 > 0:46:00stories I'm investigating.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04They made it clear that none of us operate in isolation.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08It isn't that man is the measure of all things,
0:46:08 > 0:46:11but man's relationship with man.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25Confucius continued to travel, and to teach into his later years.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30But only a handful of his students went on to hold political office.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38When Confucius was 73, he fell ill.
0:46:38 > 0:46:43Unable to fulfil his mission, his final words seem defeated
0:46:43 > 0:46:44and bitterly disappointed.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48"No intelligent monarch arises.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52"There is none who will make me his master.
0:46:52 > 0:46:53"It is my time to die."
0:47:04 > 0:47:07Confucius was buried here, in his hometown, Qufu.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12The great transformation he had worked for his entire life
0:47:12 > 0:47:14had not been fulfilled.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21But his devoted students planted trees around his grave...
0:47:21 > 0:47:23and kept his dream alive.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36For 300 years, Confucius' ideas continued as just one of many
0:47:36 > 0:47:38Chinese schools of thought.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42Competing with the likes of Daoism,
0:47:42 > 0:47:45it was unable to effect real change in a chaotic world.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52But once China was reunited under all-powerful emperors,
0:47:52 > 0:47:55stability changed the political landscape.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59The first emperor of the Han Dynasty was convinced by his principal
0:47:59 > 0:48:04advisor that ruling by brutality had served his predecessor badly.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Allying himself with Confucianism -
0:48:08 > 0:48:11and its ideal of rule by virtue -
0:48:11 > 0:48:14would lend to his dynasty greater legitimacy.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19Many of the values that Confucius set great store by -
0:48:19 > 0:48:21the importance of education,
0:48:21 > 0:48:23a shared cultural heritage,
0:48:23 > 0:48:25an ethical government -
0:48:25 > 0:48:29had seemed an irrelevance during the chaos of his lifetime.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32But these would prove hugely effective in holding
0:48:32 > 0:48:34the new empire together.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42Successive emperors enthusiastically took up Confucian ideas,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45and education was central.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48THEY RECITE IN CHINESE
0:48:51 > 0:48:55The poetry, arts, and music of the early Zhou were revived
0:48:55 > 0:48:58as a means of cultivating the goodness and virtue within.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05School children learnt the Confucian canon by heart,
0:49:05 > 0:49:08meticulously writing it out in their best calligraphy.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15Knowledge of The Book Of History and rituals of the Zhou Dynasty
0:49:15 > 0:49:18became a prerequisite to be part of the civil service.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26Confucian education and Confucian texts
0:49:26 > 0:49:30became a powerfully integrative force in Chinese history.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34And of course it was very useful for rulers to have all that emphasis
0:49:34 > 0:49:38on obedience and respect and top-down structure.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42THEY REPLY IN CHINESE
0:49:43 > 0:49:47Even those who didn't get to go to school learnt his words.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50It's actually why we've developed that rather crass form
0:49:50 > 0:49:56"Confucius says," because for 24 centuries, right across China,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59people WERE all quoting Confucius.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05# Confucius say a boy A girl, a moon
0:50:06 > 0:50:10# Make wedding bells ring out In month of June
0:50:12 > 0:50:15# Confucius say when love come Don't delay
0:50:17 > 0:50:19# So, honey, hold me tight
0:50:19 > 0:50:21# Tonight's the night
0:50:22 > 0:50:25# Remember what Confucius say. #
0:50:33 > 0:50:36But all that changed in the 20th century.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39Confucianism came under attack.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44In 1919, students who wanted China to modernise
0:50:44 > 0:50:49and become democratic condemned Confucius for holding them back.
0:50:51 > 0:50:55But it was Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution of the 1960s
0:50:55 > 0:50:59that tried to annihilate all vestiges of his legacy.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04His Red Guard destroyed statues, temples and texts.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08They even came here,
0:51:08 > 0:51:10to his burial place.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16In a telegram to Chairman Mao, they wrote,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19"We have dragged out the statue of Confucius.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21"We have torn down the plaque extolling
0:51:21 > 0:51:23"the teacher of 10,000 generations.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26"We have levelled Confucius' grave.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29"We have destroyed."
0:51:36 > 0:51:41It is really chilling coming here to see how a raging, rigid form
0:51:41 > 0:51:46of an ideology tried to obliterate the memory of a man of ideas.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57CHILDREN READ TOGETHER
0:52:00 > 0:52:04But thousands of years of ubiquitous Confucian education,
0:52:04 > 0:52:07particularly the exam system,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10had embedded his principles deep within Chinese culture.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15By the start of the 21st century, the government began,
0:52:15 > 0:52:18once again, to embrace his ideals.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Today, Confucianism is undergoing a renaissance.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28And education remains at the forefront.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36This is a Confucian school in Qufu.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42120 pupils from the ages of six to 18 study the Confucian texts
0:52:42 > 0:52:44and classical arts here.
0:52:44 > 0:52:49It just one of around 3,000 schools in China
0:52:49 > 0:52:52that teaches Confucian values and philosophy.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54WOMAN SPEAKS IN CHINESE
0:52:54 > 0:52:57STUDENTS REPEAT
0:53:01 > 0:53:03So, what is your favourite Confucius quote?
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Why do you like Confucius?
0:53:17 > 0:53:20Why did you decide to send your daughter to a Confucian school?
0:53:37 > 0:53:41It is just fascinating seeing these kids being brought up with
0:53:41 > 0:53:44an ancient philosophy at the heart of everything that they think
0:53:44 > 0:53:46and say and do.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48And actually, they seem to be having a great time.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52It's also even more incredible, though, if you think that
0:53:52 > 0:53:55just a few decades ago, Confucius was considered an
0:53:55 > 0:53:59enemy of the state and none of this would have been allowed to happen.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01Or if it did, it would've had to have happened in secret,
0:54:01 > 0:54:03behind closed doors
0:54:03 > 0:54:06and at the risk of really severe punishment.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15In modern China, greater individualism is seen to have
0:54:15 > 0:54:18undermined a collective sense of right and wrong.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22Confucius' resurgence can be explained by the desire
0:54:22 > 0:54:25for a clearer sense of moral purpose.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30But I wonder if Confucius' appeal is very simple.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33He tells us that whatever our character,
0:54:33 > 0:54:35whatever situation we're born into,
0:54:35 > 0:54:40being good, living a good life is a possibility.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44And that the root to goodness is wisdom.
0:54:44 > 0:54:49Now, that means that as a species, in our finest form,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52we are all philosophers
0:54:52 > 0:54:55in the true sense of the word -
0:54:55 > 0:54:57lovers of wisdom.
0:55:11 > 0:55:16Across this series, I have examined the ideas of three inspiring minds
0:55:16 > 0:55:18of the ancient world.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21Socrates brought philosophy down from the heavens
0:55:21 > 0:55:24and into people's homes, so that through the training
0:55:24 > 0:55:28of our reason, we can achieve happiness for ourselves.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32The Buddha changed the question from,
0:55:32 > 0:55:34"Is there a god?"
0:55:34 > 0:55:39to questions like how to agree on good action
0:55:39 > 0:55:43without necessarily agreeing on what happens after death.
0:55:45 > 0:55:50Confucius said a ritual is a way to bring out the inside
0:55:50 > 0:55:54good qualities, like benevolence, like reverence.
0:55:54 > 0:55:59And if more people possess good qualities and they become real human,
0:55:59 > 0:56:02then their social life, family life, or community life
0:56:02 > 0:56:04will become peaceful.
0:56:07 > 0:56:08But, ultimately,
0:56:08 > 0:56:11what do they have to teach us in the here and now?
0:56:14 > 0:56:18Although these were ideas that were developed 25 centuries ago,
0:56:18 > 0:56:23do you think they have as much relevance to our world
0:56:23 > 0:56:28as they did to ancient China, ancient Greece, ancient India?
0:56:28 > 0:56:32If I want to exaggerate, probably even more so.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36They were confronted with a world in disintegration.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39Little rationality. Little compassion.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44And we are in a world that's much more serious.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49Because it's not simply the human world is in trouble,
0:56:49 > 0:56:52the planet is in trouble.
0:56:52 > 0:56:58And we have in our power the destruction
0:56:58 > 0:57:01of all civilisations, including the planet itself.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03So a change has to be made.
0:57:03 > 0:57:08Not just a change of a political system or economic system -
0:57:08 > 0:57:12these are absolutely necessary - but a change of mind-set.
0:57:12 > 0:57:17And the retrieval of the wisdom of Socrates, of Buddha and Confucius
0:57:17 > 0:57:21is not a question of relevance, it's a question of human survival.
0:57:25 > 0:57:30These extraordinary thinkers aren't remote historical figures.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33They're pioneers of human consciousness
0:57:33 > 0:57:36whose ideas have informed and enriched the lives
0:57:36 > 0:57:38of countless people to this day.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43Their radical responses to the social upheaval of their age
0:57:43 > 0:57:47have, in many ways, determined who we are now.
0:57:48 > 0:57:51Their message was inspiring and challenging.
0:57:52 > 0:57:57That the world isn't unknowable, unchangeable.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00By engaging with it fully, we can lead better
0:58:00 > 0:58:01and more meaningful lives.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04We have agency.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08Our minds can shape the world.
0:58:16 > 0:58:19If the mind of Confucius has made you think,
0:58:19 > 0:58:22then explore further with The Open University
0:58:22 > 0:58:26to discover how great minds have influenced our world today.
0:58:26 > 0:58:28Go to the address on the screen
0:58:28 > 0:58:31and follow the links to The Open University.