China’s Governmentand Literature

Form of Government: People's Republic.

Constitution. Fourth constitution since 1954; effective December 1982.

Chief of State. President/chairman of the republic.

President Xi Jinping

Head of Government. Premier.

Li Keqiang

Vice-premier in charge of economic affairs

Legislature. National People's Congress; annual sessions; term 5 years.

Standing Committee. The executive, elected by National People's Congress; consists of chairman, vice-chairmen, and members.

State Council. Cabinet; consists of premier, vice-premiers, and ministers, all appointed by National People's Congress.

Judiciary. Supreme People's Court--the highest judicial organ of the state--consists of one president and one vice president; term, 4 years. Other courts include Special People's Courts, Local People's Courts. Supreme People's Procuratorates and Local People's Procuratorates enforce laws.

Communist Party. The government is controlled by the main organs of the Communist party, including the Central Advisory Commission, the Central Committee, and the Politburo. Party membership (1980): 38,000,000.

Political Divisions. 21 provinces; 5 autonomous regions; 3 special status municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin).

Voting Qualifications. All citizens over 18 years of age can vote with the exception of persons deprived of voting by law.

References

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/chinfact.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50135238n

Photos from

www.google.com

THE FIRST SAGE OF CHINA

Confucius or Kung Fu-tzu (551–479 BCE) Born of a poor but aristocratic family in the

state of Lu, he was orphaned at an early age.• Held minor government posts• Died at the age of 72• Taught a total of 3,000 disciples • His former students and disciples gathered

together, in order to assemble all the sayings of their teacher.

They looked upon their great teacher as an - Educator- Statesman- Philosopher- Traditionalist- & the Founder of Chinese Literature

5 Books of Confucius1. Book of Changes (Yi King)- made up of a geometrical combination of six

lines plus sixty four explanatory essays.

- used for divination- supposed by some to present a secret and

profound philosophy but no key has been found.

2. Book of Ceremonies (Li King)

-this voluminous work on etiquette was re-edited about 100 B.C. by two Tai cousins, based on documents allegedly written by Confucius.

3. Book of Historical Documents (Shu King)- this is a formulation of the political ideals

and fundamentals of good government.

4. Book of Poetry (Shi King)- a selection of 305 best poems, the book stresses

the cherishing of thoughts and sentiments of forebears.

- Some poems are odes written for various occasions; some are lyric.

- The book is valuable for insight into manners and customs of the ancient Chinese

5. Book of Spring and Autumn (Ch’un Ch’iu)

- its praises were as stimulating as spring, while its censures were as withering as autumn.

Mencius

- a good organizer and proselytizer- Gathered the discourses and sayings of

Confucius as recorded by the disciples and organized them into books, the best known of which is the book of Analects.

6 principles:

1. Human nature is good and evil is essentially unnatural.

2. Man is free to conduct himself as he will, and he is master of his choice.

3. Virtue is its own reward’. If one does good for a reward or avoids evil for fear of punishment – that is not virtue.

4. The rule for individual behavior is: what you do not want others do unto you, do not do to them.

5. A man has five duties: to his ruler; to his father; his wife ( and she to him); to his elder brother; to his friends; and the most important of these is filial duty.

6. Man should strive to become a superior man.

CONFUCIANISM- the philosophical system founded on the

teaching of Confucius (551-479 B.C.)- It sought to help the rulers maintain

domestic order, preserve tradition, and maintain a constant standard of living for the tazpaying peasants.

Doctrine

- to the humanistic understanding of Heaven, humanity and the harmony between them, while also forming its own distinctive doctrines through concentrating on human self-cultivation and self-transformation.

At the heart of Mencius' teaching is the belief that human beings are born with the knowledge of the good and the ability to do well. Everyone is born with what Mencius described as the 'four beginnings': benevolence, righteousness, respect and the capacity to distinguish the "right" from the "wrong".

Anyone who fully realises his heart/mind understands Heaven and serves the mandate of Heaven, through which he is able to become a sage, and participates in the creation and recreation of Heaven and Earth.

These beliefs influenced Mencius' perception of politics. The doctrine of benevolence must be brought into politics so that government is humane and moral. It is the responsibility of the ruler to ensure the economic well being of his subjects, to provide them with education and, in doing so, to rule through winning their loyalty and confidence rather than through force.

CHINESE POETS

1. Wang Wei (699-759)- Chinese painter- Poet- Founder of the pure landscape style of

painting- One of the masters of lyrics verse in the

Táng dynasty.

- withdrew from society to paint- Founder of southern school of Chinese art- And a model for the later literati (wen-jen)

artist, or unworldly poet-painter.

The Cold Mountain

The cold mountain turns dark greenThe autumn stream flows murmuring on.Leaning on my staff beneath the wicket

gate,In the rushing wind I hear the cry of the

aged cicada.

Departure

I have just seen you go down the mountain.

I close the wicket gate in the setting sun.The grass will be green again in the

coming spring.But will the wandered ever return?

Walking at Leisure

Walking at leisure we watch laurel flowers falling.

In the silence of this night the spring mountain is empty.

The moon rises, the birds are startled.As they sing occationally near the spring

fountain.

Drinking Alone in the Midnight

A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;I drink alone, for no friend is near.

Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon,For he, with my shadow, will make three men.

The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.

Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave

I must make merry before the Spring is spent.

To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;

In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.

While we were sober, three shared the fun;

Now we are drunk, each goes his way.

May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,

And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.[1]

II

In the third month the town of Hsien-yangIs thick-spread with a carpet of fallen flowers.Who in Spring can bear to grieve alone?Who, sober, look on sights like these?Riches and Poverty, long or short life,By the Maker of Things are portioned and

disposed;

But a cup of wine levels life and death

And a thousand things obstinately hard to prove.

When I am drunk, I lose Heaven and Earth.

Motionless—I cleave to my lonely bed.

At last I forget that I exist at all,

And at that moment my joy is great indeed.

III

If High Heaven had no love for wine,There would not be a Wine Star in the sky.If Earth herself had no love for wine,There would not be a city called Wine Springs.[2]Since Heaven and Earth both love wine,I can love wine, without shame before God.Clear wine was once called a Saint;[3]Thick wine was once called “a Sage.”[3]

Of Saint and Sage I have long quaffed deep,

What need for me to study spirits and hsien?[4]

At the third cup I penetrate the Great Way;

A full gallon—Nature and I are one ...

But the things I feel when wine possesses my soul

I will never tell to those who are not drunk.

Tu Fu (710-70)

- regarded by many as the greatest Chinese poet.

- Raised according to Confucian tradition- Failed an examination that would have

assured him of a government post- Spent much of his youth traveling around

China

The Empty Purse

The bitter pine cone may be eaten,The mist on high give nourishmentThe whole world takes to go-and-getting;May way alone is difficult:

My Oven is cold as the well at morning,And the bed wants warmth from coverlets;My purse ashamed to found emptyStill keeps on hand a single coin.

Summer Nights

Cool perfume of bamboo pervades my room,Wild moonlight in the whole courtyard:Drop my drop falls the crystal dew.One by one the moving stars appear.The feeling glow worms sparkle in dark corners,The waterfowl on the riverbank call to one another;Everything in the world follows the path of war...I sit on my bed, meditating through the long night.

SOURCE: http://nothingistic.org/library/confucius/analects/a

nalects14.html http://history.cultural-china.com/en/165History88

97.html http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16500/16500-h/16

500-h.htm

http://loucheur.blogspot.com/2012/06/summer-night-cool-perfume-of-bamboo.html

* http://jungleinablog.blogspot.com/2006/01/empty-purse.html

Photo Source: http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/W/WeiWang/

images/WeiWang.jpg http://www.poems-and-poetry.com/wp-content/

uploads/2008/10/wang-wei.jpeg http://poetrydispatch.files.wordpress.com/

2007/11/454px-dufu.jpg?w=510 http://www.stillness.com/tao/li%20po.txt http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b45/deadpoet1

3/depressed.jpg

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