Entry#2 Shan Dong

Shan Dong

So this weekend our group went to Shan Dong province in China where we went and saw the house of Confucius and Mount Tai. Confucius' home town is most definitely one of the most important places in China. The comparison that I think that we have in the United States is Mount Vernon where George Washington lived. People come from all over China and all over the world to visit the Confucius temple as well as that of Mengzi. The same happens in the United States with Mount Vernon. This brings about the question: why do people go to these places and why is it significant? The best way for me to answer this is to use my own experiences in both places and my own knowledge of the historical context around these two figures.

Beginning with George Washington, he is so famous and idolized as the quintessential representation of the United States, because he grew up as a normal person who had money and power. This is not however what makes him so highly regarded. He failed to ward off the French as a young military officer and this brought shame upon him, but this did not stop him from persevering. When he led the United States to victory, he did so with great bravery and sacrifice and declined to be king later. He showed valor, modesty, and had his interest on the well being of the nation instead of his own. It is for this reason that when I go to Mount Vernon these thoughts are always in my head and I try to relate and imagine what it must have been like for him living there. Seeing where he worked and where he made decisions is invaluable. One gets the aura or the feeling of being connected with a figure who is so important. By visiting Mount Vernon it makes me think about my own identity and what it means to be an American and how I can translate his values into my own actions.

I draw a similar connection to the life of Confucius. He never was in any very high ranking positions in the government, and when he died he was poor and for the most part alone except for a few followers that kept loyal to him. He became such an icon and figure of moral excellence due to the message that he wrote about, lived by, and conveyed to everyone around him. People wanted to follow him and his example, because of his message was one that China for the most part did not have before him. He gave people a guide and a clear message on how to be morally responsible, virtuous and righteous. It is for this reason that China is the way that it is today in regards to their low crime rate and their overall friendliness as a people in my opinion. When I was in the temple I thought similar things as to when I was in Mount Vernon. I thought about what it must have been like for him to come up with these ideas of morality when he lived in a world that desperately needed it. I thought about his struggles and how his legacy has been so important as to draw so many people to the temple.

I noticed how one of our tour guides Mark had a camera and was taking pictures of everything too. It surprised me that he had not gone before. Even for someone who has lived in China his whole life, the experience of first going to this temple is invaluable. I believe Chinese people go to this temple and continue to see it in order to find a way of reconnecting with the message of Confucius and spending more time to reflect within themselves about how they can exhibit ren2 to their loved ones and hopefully finally to the entire world. The real value of seeing Mount Vernon and the Temple of Confucius and Mengzi lies in the self reflection that can be brought about by journeying to these places. These locations are a sort of landmark for all people to stop their fast hectic lives and to really slow down and try to get to the root of the problems within their family, their work, their friends, and the world.

I finally now have two perspectives on how certain figures in Western society and Eastern society can have such a grand impact on people all over the world. Being able to travel to the hometown of Confucius let me make this connection and realize how although us Westerners live so far from the people of China, we still appreciate and admire the grand figure of the past that wove the moral fiber of our society that made us what we are today.


Explanation of pictures:

These are two pictures that we saw in Qufu.