The film was not only interesting but gave me a better understanding of Confucius’s life, and those who lead him towards the ideas that are incorporated today in China’s culture. Those who he spoke with early on were people of “Daoism,” which enlighten him on the way and that “man should not interfere with the way.” In addition, Confucius spoke with Laozi, who encouraged him to “put away his desire and wild will,” and how these behaviors are of “no advantage” to him. The more people he encountered along his journey shaped and constructed some of the ideas based on the conversations he had with them.
However, what wasn’t really mentioned in-depth in the documentary was how Confucius mother raised him. He didn’t just develop these ideas, his father wasn’t around, a professor/teacher, or Buddhist wasn’t around to give him this sense of philosophy. So, what exactly did his mother teach him? Did his father tell her what all to teach him? And what if his father didn’t die, would his sense of the philosophy be different? All of these what-ifs had me thinking about his teachings from the beginning. Moreover, mentioned in the film was the “two cosmic forces,” which was a symbol similar to yin and yang, however, this symbol had a dragon and a phoenix. The dragon represented heavenly force and the phoenix was a female, who represented cold and Earth forces. These forces control the balance in the world, but the forces do try to over power the other, however, when humans partake in rituals it restores the balance. Moreover, the phoenix is a female, and this goes back to my thoughts on Confucius’s teachings when he was a child. Did his mother lead towards the phoenix when teaching him, the dragon, or did she equal this out. If his father was around, would he enforce more of the dragon? Since his father died when he was three, his mother did all the teaching, she taught him history, poetry, and rituals. But if his father didn’t die, would the philosophy of Confucianism be different ? As well as, would Confucius have left and met the Laozi and a Daoist? We will never know, but its worth discussing about what our own parents, those with one parent, or raised by other relatives/ family friends taught us, and the ideas we hold today. Whether we follow our guardians ideas or have we shaped our own.