Analects, Books Twelve Through Fourteen

One again I see the roots of China's isolationism as they are told be Confucius to strictly adhere to ritual no matter what and ignore anything that does not conform to this. Also, passage 12:5 refers to China as entirely surrounded by seas, which contributes to the mindset that they must be independent and self sufficient.

Passage 12:8 struck me as "advanced" thinking because it talks of a concept I thought to have been conceived well after Confucius' time. The concept is that humans are equal. He says that all animals have the same skin underneath, which is why one msut study to be a gentleman, for one is born as just another human.

Confucianism seems to have high stock in leadership, as Confucius (the Master) would be in greatest and would teach his students, who in turn became Masters and taught others, creating a hierarchy, which Confucius believes in as he often helps nobles and believes they will lead those that follow them into following goodness, as he often says something along the lines of: raise up the straight and the crooked will become straight.