Ta Hio: The Great Learning Of Confucius by Confucius

Ta Hio: The Great Learning Of Confucius Reviews

• 
  Viji (Bookish endeavors)

  A handbook to rulers on how to rule and treat the subjects.. it also talks about personal morality..
  "The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue
  throughout the kingdom, first ordered well their own states. Wishing
  to order well their states, they first regulated their families.
  Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their
  persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified
  their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be
  sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts,
  they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of
  knowledge lay in the investigation of things."
  This is the hierarchy which the author gives regarding the development of virtue in a kingdom. He adds that before attempting to make any change in society,one must start with one's family and oneself.
  The importance Confucius gives to personality morality is the cornerstone of his philosophy.
• 
  Ben Rogers

  Zengzi Stardust
  
  In The Great Learning, Zengzi provides a comprehensive guide to personal and societal self-cultivation, emphasizing the importance of education, self-reflection, and moral uprightness.
  Something to think of now!
  
  The book's teachings are as relevant today as they were when they were first written, and the concepts explored in its pages continue to influence and shape culture and thought.
  
  The book is a good read for anyone interested in the development of earlier philosophy.
  
  Although not all modern, the ideas explored are timeless, and its lessons continue to offer valuable insights into the human condition and our place in the world.
  
  3.4/5
• 
  Dokusha

  Konfuzius als Name dürfte so ziemlich jedem geläufig sein. Auch daß er ein altchinesischer Philosoph war und klare Vorstellungen von den Regeln hatte, nach denen Leben und Politik ablaufen sollten, werden noch viele wissen. Aber die Anzahl derjenigen, die seine Lehren tatsächlich kennen oder zumindest einmal gelesen haben, dürfte recht überschaubar sein.
  Dieses Buch nun ist die Gelegenheit, diese Wissenslücke zu schließen. Es führt die Lehren von Konfuzius auf, so wie sie von seinen Anhängern niedergeschrieben wurden (wie auch Jesus hat Konfuzius selbst keine Aufzeichnungen hinterlassen). Der Inhalt besteht aus den Büchern "Gespräche", "Maß und Mitte", "Die große Wissenschaft" und "Mong Dsi", wobei letzteres nicht mehr direkt die Aussagen Konfuzius' zum Inhalt hat, sondern die eines seiner bekanntesten Anhänger, Menzius. Dieser hat Konfuzius nicht mehr selbst kennen gelernt, war aber mit der wesentlichste Verbreiter und Propagator seiner Lehren.
  Das Buch ist aus mehreren Gründen interessant: zum einen, weil man das Gedankengebäude eines der großen Philosophen der Weltgeschichte näher kennen lernt. Dann, weil man auch etliches über Sitten und Gebräuche im alten China lernt, von denen viele bis in die heutige Zeit wirken oder zumindest Spuren hinterlassen haben und manche sonst schwer verständlichen Reaktionen nachvollziehbarer machen. Und schließlich, weil viele der Pflichten und Regeln, die Konfuzius den Menschen auferlegt, auch in der heutigen westlichen Welt durchaus richtig sind und zu einem besseren Miteinander führen könnten.
  Eigentlich bekommt man das Buch gleich vierfach: es enthält die chinesischen Originaltexte, eine relativ textnahe deutsche Übersetzung, eine zweite wesentlich freiere und interpretierte Übersetzung (diese nicht für das Menzius-Buch) und viele teils sehr ausführliche Anmerkungen mit Erläuterungen zu Sitten, Gebräuchen, Sprache, Staaten und Personen. Dies hilft enorm beim Verständnis der Texte und läßt das Buch zu einem wahren Schatz werden.
• 
  Andres

  Corto pero sustancioso. Unos cuantos consejos excelentes sobre como gobernar y cuales son las virtudes que debe cultivar no solo un gobernante sino todos los miembros de un pueblo.
• 
  Ofelia

  I mean...
  It's really short.
  That's it.
  That's the review.
  No, but really I can't be bothered to review freaking philosophy right now so I'm just not.
• 
  Hifzan

  A great book.
  Emphasize on priority, fundamental and basic principle of government. A masterpiece.
• 
  Arsenius_

  Desenvolvendo um pensamento parecido com o "Doutrina do Meio", porém de maneira enxuta [ainda que o comentário de "Tsang" (coloco entre aspas pois o nome está na antiga regra de romanização do mandarim) o dê mais corpo]: assim se dá O Grande Aprendizado.
  
  Poderia fazer conjecturas, mas este trecho basta:
  
  "Things have their root and their branches. Affairs have their end and
  their beginning. To know what is first and what is last will lead near to
  what is taught in the Great Learning.
  The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the
  kingdom, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their
  states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their
  families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their
  persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts,
  they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in
  their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such
  extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
  Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their
  knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts
  being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being
  rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated,
  their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their states
  were rightly governed. Their states being rightly governed, the whole
  kingdom was made tranquil and happy.
  From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all
  must consider the cultivation of the person the root of
  everything besides. "
  
• 
  Kiel

  “The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their states, first they regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, first they rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost in their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.” This Chinese classic unpacks these ordered strata of virtues, starting with society and working inward, then back outward. The lasting impact on Confucian cultures is found in their filial piety and focus on education, and is under threat by vapid materialism. Strangely absent in the order is a deity. There’s much to glean from the Great Learning, but I still believe the best starting point isn’t the kingdom but “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom.” 48 pages of great learning, but there is greater still.
• 
  Mauricio Garcia

  As a first approach to Confucianism it is a quick and stark view to its principal tenets; it's also an affront to the cynicism that permeates contemporary political thought or plain old negativity like Hobbes' view of Natural Law.
  Interestingly enough Confucius view is more akin to that of Rousseau's, in which a little bit of goodness is not only intrinsic to human nature, but it also radiates towards the rest of society spreading Good, or as Confucius himself puts it, Perfection.
  It's quite striking to reflect upon the impact this philosophy has had throughout Chinese history and how it still must be ingrained somewhere in its culture in this day and age of Party dictatorship, being The Four Books and The Five Classics the cornerstone to Chinese philosophical thought.
• 
  J.R. Batz

  A very short, 10 chapter book, discussing the Confucian School doctrine of how to begin to learn virtue. The Confucian School states this is the first work students should read before moving onto Analects of Mencius. Obviously I didn't know that prior to reading it, so I definitely broke the first rule of Confucian Fight Club.
• 
  Gini Wong

  Amazed with the values of what the book advocates still applies after 2500 years later. It is called wisdoms which can stand the test of time.
  
• 
  André

  Quite a cheap but nicely done translation of the four Confucian classics. The language used is quite old-fashioned (I'm talking about the Classical Chinese one) and not always too literal, thus it's not too easy to understand even the translations but there's often an interpretation as well. I really like that they have added the Chinese original text, but in my opinion they wasted a lot of space there...
• 
  James Violand

  The fourth book in The Way. Virtue leads from the top. The Superior Man will reflect his quality in how he acts and the people will become good as a consequence. How pathetic our society has become because the vast majority considers virtue irrelevant.
• 
  Priyanka

  Very short but the things it teaches are very valuable.
• 
  Peter J.

  Loved it.