It must be around seventy years ago since Josie Brittle, a trainee teacher at my Junior School and whom I loved with the passion of a seven year old, painted a picture for me of Confucius the Chinese Teacher Philosopher and Sage. It was a water colour and in my mind’s eye I can see it now. Why, or how Josie Brittle was interested in him I do not know, but I do know that she awakened within me a desire to know more about the philosophers who have tried to answer the questions asked by humans since the beginning of time. What is life? Is there a purpose to it? Why are we here and is there more to life than the narrow vision of those folk who say, “Capricious chance made us and all else is illusion”.
Confucius (Kong Fu Zi) was born on September 28, 551 BC in the State of Lu and died there in 479 BC, He is buried in the cemetery of Jining mid-way between Shanghai and Bejing in China. He is well known as being the originator of many wise sayings (and many made-up ones, not so wise!)
He was a contemporary of Heraclitus the Greek Philosopher and, like Greece, much of China was civilised fifteen hundred years before the battle of Hastings, and so these two early thinkers are worth listening to. Sayings such as: a) Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it. b) It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. c) Much learning does not teach understanding,” and d) Those who love wisdom must investigate many things. These were wise words then, and are still ideas which can make a huge difference if incorporated into our own lives.
Not to be outdone by Confucius however, in 1966 the first chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mau Tze tung compiled his own ‘Little Red Book of sayings. My own copy contains thoughts such as, ‘Power comes from the barrel of a rifle’ and, ‘A Communist …..should be more concerned about the Party and the masses than about any individual … only then can he be considered a Communist.’
Many readers will know that thinkers have always pondered as to the relative ‘worth’ of an individual as compared to that of the masses and they, like you, will have noticed that ‘Leaders’ the world over, have always chosen to value the masses over the individual. Chairman Mao was no exception to this, as we see from his quotation that the Party is greater than the Individual.’
How different this is from the values of the baby whose birthday we celebrate this Christmas. I reckon he is unique in asserting the primacy of the individual and by calling on leaders to be the servants of others, and not to regard, as most leaders do, the people as being their servants.
This baby, of course, was not a leader in any normal sense of the word. He did not grow up to become a man of power and prestige. In fact, unlike Confucius and Heraclitus he left no writings of his own. However, his sayings about the individual have been repeated zillions of times, and today he is accepted by two billion people world-wide in a very personal way.
As I get older I enjoy Christmas more and more. This is not explained by a Methodist up-bringing or presents, or tinsel, or pudding or walnuts or my wife’s wonderful cooking and the chatter of friends and family. Nor is it the mock-up of the crib and Mary and the Donkey in the Church. It is simply that I love singing carols about the baby to whom I am an individual and who gives me a personal value. This baby was different in that he did not grow up to regard a person as a number in a data-base, nor as a chemical organism thrown together by chance.
I usually end December’s ‘View from the Pew’ with a few words about that wonderful carol Adeste Fidelis, (O Come all ye faithful) but my earlier mention of China brought to mind the following account of an eager young Doctor who was regaling an audience in Tampa Florida on his pet subject of over-indulgence at Christmas.
He began, “Chinese food is full of Monosodium Glutamate. Red meat is dreadful. Fizzy drinks corrode the stomach lining. High fat diets are a disaster and who knows the harm caused by chemicals in processed food? ‘However,’ he went on, “can anyone name the thing that causes the most long-term grief and suffering after eating it?’
After a brief silence a silver haired gentleman raised his hand, and asked ….
“Is it Wedding Cake”?
View from the Pew 