A Confucian Interpretation Of Thoreauvian Living Ethics

The relationship between Thoreau and Confucianism has always been the focus of academic circles.This thesis explores the views in Walden which fit Confucian living ethics through further reading.The thesis refines the living ethics of Confucian traditional ethical culture,and then digs out the core connotations through deep interpretation,the meaning of life,the holism of "heaven and man in one" and the life attitude of "one should find contentment in poverty and joy in one's principle".Firstly,in Confucianism,the essential reason that human life is different from other species lies on the human's possession of morality,rationality and ability of coordination and cooperation.With the foundation of that,Confucianism ethics,for thousands of years,has guided man to love life and value life,to create,to chase through hard-work so that they could keep on self-improvement and finally realize their life value.Thoreau's two-year sojourn by Walden is out of loving and treasuring life,just as what he has done-simple life and cultivation of mind.Secondly,"Heaven and man in one" in Confucian ethics argues that relationship between man and nature should not be the triumph of victory and conquest but harmony and prosperity.And a prominent aspect of Thoreau's view of nature is the absorption of the idea of "Heaven and man in one" in Chinese philosophy.In his works,he compares human,who he believes is a part of nature,to plants and dirt more than once.Finally,in Confucianism,the main point of "one should find contentment in poverty and joy in one's principle" is not "being contented in poverty" but "finding joy in one's principle".It is not the reluctation to wealth or the willingness to being poor,but an attitude of keeping a tranquil mind for the inner truth.Thoreau absorbs this thought and chooses to live by Walden Pond,and stays in voluntary poverty in order to cultivate his mind and be like the eastern philosophers—"a class than which none has been poorer in outward riches,none so rich in inward".Based on the close reading of the text,the author finds that the living ethics,namely,view of life,nature and living reflected in Walden is similar to spirits in Four Books,where Thoreau's admiration for and resonance with Confucian philosophers can be deeply felt.At the same time,the quotations of Confucian classics have deviated from the original intention to some extent,which is caused by translation on one hand,and by creative imagination and reception according to Thoreau's own needs on the other hand.