Confucius

By Jonathan Clements

Book Overview

Confucius is one of the most important figures in Chinese history, the philosopher-founder of an intellectual, ethical tradition that has shaped a quarter of the world's population. Jonathan Clements... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0750933224
• ISBN13: 9780750933223
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: History Press Ltd
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

An excellent overview of Confucius' life and philosophy

Clements brings the 2,500 year-old philosopher, teacher, and statesman to life. He also provides maps and timelines to put it into perspective and make visualization easier. It's a short, easy, and enjoyable read spliced with words of wisdom from the Analects. In essence we are all here to do certain jobs and should do them to the best of our abilities and not disrupt the social order. He was very enlightened for his time in that he felt jobs should be obtained by merit and not birth. He came up with the idea of imperial exams to make accession fair. Perhaps it would be expecting too much for a philosopher who lived 2,500 years ago but, his idea of equality and a level playing field didn't extend to women. This is left out of the book. It's a well documented biography and the writing is good.

Clear, Concise, Confucius

Jonathan Clements once more takes a complex topic - in this case, the life of a monumental individual - and boils it down to a fast paced, lean read. This biography of one of the world's most well-known and near-deified philosophers of all time is clean, concise - and yet gives more than just facts and dates. It actually feels like you have some insight into the man behind all the profound sayings and ideas which have been attributed to him. Anyone who's interested in more than just the fortune cookie Confucius will find this a fascinating read. Anyone studiying Asian history or philosophy should be required to read this biography before starting their studies on Confucius. It's clear he was a master of common sense and that's worth reading and learning on any level.