TAOISM vs CONFUCIANISM -- English subtitles

[joeching]

@zambolxx, u lost me -- too deep.  and i m also allergic to the topic of god.

[strangelittleboy]

thank you

[joeching]

@strangelittleboy thank u for accepting some chinese/asia culture. besides taoism and confucianism, there is also buddhism, which preaches letting go of everything earthly, or ownershipless.

[samuelsixvids]

THIS VIDEO IS VERY COOL!!!

[joeching]

@samuelsixvids not often the chinese ancients make themselves understandable.

[Dasar7557]

When peoples suppress themselves in the beliefs of divisional polarities such as righteousness & unrighteousness they begin producing negative energy out of fearfulness & guiltiness. If peoples do what they have been manipulated to perceive as wickedness then they will have guiltiness. If peoples suppress themselves out of fear then they will feel worthless. 

[Zamolxx]

And the most damned are those who choose to maintain their neutrality in times of great moral crises. There is no truth to inaction. Not a single discovery of universal physical principle has been achieved by such a phylosophy/methodology; Only mysticism and eztoerism...

[Dasar7557]

Like a lion in a cage, so will they develop a broken spirit. The politeness rituals only destroys the world whether Christianity, Muslims, Judaism, ect... ect... Their perceptions of reality are deluded and they condemn themselves in their own judgments. One sees the bamboo trees which bend in the winds.

[Dasar7557]

If they were not flexible they would snap. Humans are no different. When you have an orthodox moral code it will only create chaos for in it their is imbalance. If you find self-fulfillment then you will only produce positive energy and in that heal the world. Listen to me, be marry and satisfied. Do what you will but go against the freewill of others, unless in self defense. This is the way of nature!

[chinawarrior666]

Confucius was a romanticist, while Daoism disregarded romanticism. Daoism teaches that rulers have to work with what is happening rather than trying to force changes. Confucianism saw itself as a system to bring back what Confucius considered to be 'ancient'. Confucius very much admired the values of Western Zhou period and sought to bring them back to the Eastern Zhou period. Neither opinion is right nor wrong.

[ingeniouskoala]

The lime-green text is difficult to read. >:| Try white text on black blocking.

[joeching]

@ingeniouskoala my video editing package is very primitive.

i think we have the whole text of the conversation in one of my replies.

[DreamsofMajesty]

For anyone who desires the truth, I would highly recommend checking out the scribd website that is listed on my channel.

[BioCapsule]

@DreamsofMajesty Such insecurity in your faith that you have to be to come to someone else video to pimp it...

[SanguineBullet667]

I personally do not like Taoism, I much prefer Confucianism.

[joeching]

@SanguineBullet667 so, u r a humanist, rather than a naturalist.

but i think the important thing to remember is that ancient asian sages were not preaching us, but describing us. so, dont dont do anything that's not us.

[BleedingInShadows]

Can someone, please, tell me what's PZR and Zhou?

I need it for an assignment. It would be nice to get the answer as soon as possible.

Thanks. 

[joeching]

@BleedingInShadows pzr=politeness ritual of zhou,

zhou is the zhou dynasty, one of whose emperors thought up the politeness ritual that confucius want all of us to embrace.

[BleedingInShadows]

@joeching Thank you very much. :)

I haven't read the message on time, unfortunately, but I managed to understand it in a way. I understood it as those 5 relationships. in a way , guess, i wasn't that wrong.

[joeching]

@BleedingInShadows best way to appreciate what the sages did is to think that:

"they were not teaching, but describing, us."

[sticksrice]

This is a great clip! If you are willing to share your username/pass w/ that other viewer so he/she can place the subtitles where they can be read more clearly, just change your psswrd when finished. He/she is right it is hard to read the subtitles and us less knowledgable viewers miss some very strong words of wisdom. They are speaking Mandarin and it is Cantonese on the screen behind the English? Yes? Thanks for the great video, it is an insight into great thought for the planet. Peace.

[joeching]

@sticksrice the video is on ht tp//ping-pong.n et/laocon.mpg. and it doesnt have to be me to spread the message. do what ever u can with ur account.

also another asia culture clip i would recommend watch is:

ASIA UNIFICATION -- English version

watch?v=00q7LUK9TeI

[taishing11]

the purpose of delicately green shadowed subtitles procures a sense to replay the video to consume the lost or unread portions of difficult to see text.

[joeching]

@taishing11 the best thing is to learn chinese.

but the idea is to produce the video and translation with the least among of effort so one can do more. in term of chinese culture and history, we r in a race against america's effort to destroy china as a threat for a lack of understanding of china.

[xIegionx]

i'd suggest re-writing it in youtube's captions

[joeching]

@xIegionx any chance u can help? i m simply too busy in trying to stop wwiii.

[xIegionx]

@joeching Give me your username and password and ill edit this video with captions

[naranja18she]

seriously why did u pick green as the color? Why couldn't it be black or blue? something visible?

[joeching]

@naranja18she i only have time to use the default with this old video editor.

u should try to pause the clip. anyway, oriental philosophies r supposed to be fuzzy. so get in the mood first.

[phalluses]

the green subtitles are a joke.

[joeching]

@phalluses well, there's nothing here for u to laugh at. and i did my best, or would u rather go pick chinese.

[DookieBasket]

sorry, if this is a reoccurring question, but what film is this from?

[joeching]

@DookieBasket a chinese history docudrama that i borrowed from a friend, on confucius. (the western version of confucius is not only inaccurate, but distorting.)

u might want to check the latest movie(or documentary?) on confucius produced by china.

[Zamolxx]

The green writing was kinda hard to follow, though still a great vid. I agree with Confucius, man is unlike any other animal, because out of all the representatives of the biosphere, he (man) is the only creature also governed by the principle of cognition. Thus the noosphere (the sphere of cognition, ideas, knowledge), reorganizes both the abioticsphere and the biosphere, through willful creative reason. The noosphere is distinct from the biosphere, but not separate.

[Zamolxx]

Also here is a great paper entiteles the taoist perversion of 20th century science, you can read it, just be typing "taoist" in the search field of the schillerinstitute . org

[joeching]

@Zamolxx in china, the notion of superstition is deeply imprinted in everyone's mind, so we r immune to many of the weird beliefs of the taoists.

the 3 root religions of asia are more descriptions of what the asians are like and aspired to be, than teachings from the masters, confucius, buddha and lao tze. thus far confucius have the largest following and taoism, the least, simply because confucius was more accurate in describing us.

[powereater]

@joeching Maby, i belive that confucious has simply gained strength because he accurately prepared cultures for the concepts of states and nations. Lao tze's teachings of harmony with nature is when humanity has a history of conquring nature is simply...... dissatisfactory.

[joeching]

@powereater i still think they complement each other.  also buddhism deals with all liviing things, not jus human as confucius tried to do.

[shaneho78]

Any Naruto Fans here? Deva Pain's idea of an endless cycle of temporary peace and subsequent chaos is very similar to what Lao Tzu said here.

[joeching]

@shaneho78 lao tzu was saying that to be one with nature is to let it be -- meaning to take the good and bad, and appreciate it as is.

[Zamolxx]

Yes but that contradicts the purpose of which human beings are distinct from the animals. One can be part of nature, but not one with it. This is also a pantheistic argument, that God is nature and vice-versa. Zhu Xi (a true follower of Confucius and Mencius) says that the li is derived from Li, but it is not Li. Just as the custom of a country is derived from Natural Law, but it's not Natural Law. Creation is derived from God, but it is not God. Confucius was advocating for Vernadky's noosphere

[shaneho78]

If unrestrained indulgence is only proper according to natural laws, then why is there a need for the teachings of Tao? Why impart anything? Just let people do what they want.

[DreamsofMajesty]

scribd (dot) com/nb812

[joeching]

@DreamsofMajesty any godly stuff is for the genetically defective.

[jrjupton]

ya know ya know the world turned day-glo ya know ya know the world turned day- glowowowowowo (x-ray spex quip).... wise men indeed

[joeching]

@jrjupton

chinese culture is not for everybody.

[jrjupton]

@joeching

perhaps you misunderstand, perhaps not; you see the colour of the english subtitles are a little bright for my eyes but when the daylight is gone- everything becomes clearer. no offence intended. english humour can be a little abstract

[joeching]

@jrjupton

the ku huming book on "the spirit of chinese people" is for everyone:

ht tp://ww w.archive.o rg/stream/spiritofchinesep00ku­huuoft/spiritofchinesep00kuhuu­oft_djvu.txt

[jrjupton]

@joeching

thank you. joeching. 

[b0bbydigital151]

Good video.. but the subtitles .. why that color??.. its unreadable...

[joeching]

@b0bbydigital151

i try harder next time. there is a movie on confucius coming out. maybe i ll put some highlights on utube.

[screenwriterOscar]

Holy shit.... we got two years left to 2012...4:19. I-ching predicted the end of time.

Does the government know this?

[joeching]

the best answer i got from i-ching expert is that we ll have a big one in north america.

according to this j-ching, i think the disaster would be that republican won back the presidency, and the world should grip for war.

my solution is: california independence.

[vidzzqueen]

yeah , go our own ways for sure... nothing is perfect and humans arnt robots, you cant teach them if they dont want to be tought.

[joeching]

our first line of defense is good breeding. then it's the education in morality, which in the west is hijacked by xtianity.

when we control humans with laws, they will become outlaws.

[screenwriterOscar]

Can you tell me what movie is this?

[joeching]

i took out of a dvd.

but u should go to the coming new move: confucius.

someone thinks it's better than the avatar.

[ChenStyleJohn]

Wonderful post! Thanks for doing the translation work!

:o)

Keep spreading the love!!

[joeching]

to really under stand the chinese, u might want to read the book: the spirit of the chinese people by ku hung-ming.

he debated the chinese culture against the western beliefs.

[questartodd]

Hey guy's , I tried to respond to you last week or so but it did't go thru, I am a cultivator of the I kuan tao, Derek Lin is my teacher,Both con and lao are part of the phyl teachings of the true tao , sorry for the short names but it's late ..I didn't mean to disrespect anyone.thank you for taking the time to share !!! great post !

[joeching]

no respect is needed for a true sage, who was just trying to alert us to whom we really are and what environment we live in, and how to live with it.

only when they do it without expecting any respect from their listeners, would they be able to get it rite for us.

[archdeaconj]

Confucius was indeed a contemporary of Lao Tsu and the two actually met. It is said that Confucius started trembling and perspiring, later referring to him as 'abyss' and 'the dragon'. What did Lao Tsu say to him? He said: Be natural, seek the authentic self, let innate love and compassion express itself, do not cultivate morality. Lao Tsu thought that cultivated virtues and morals are social constructs. Before Lao Tsu, Confucius felt his virtue and morality dissolving.

[joeching]

nature is the same, east or west.  but nurture, or morality and virtue, is the opposite between east and west. yes, nurture alway does get the shorter end. but it's nurture that make us human, rather than remain barbarians.

look what's happening. we trashed nurture, resulting in losing nature, or the climate.

confucius is just saying: we do have a choice -- to be good or bad.

[skafazzation666]

so hard to read

[joeching]

harder to translate. and even harder to put up. let's all chip in, a bit a time.

[getchizzled]

nice choice of colors , cant read shit

[repivonex]

I just did some Wiki, so 道家 is known as "Philosophical Taoism" and 道敎 is known as "Religious Taoism". =)

[joeching]

道 means way. 家 means family as a group, and one expert as a individual. 敎 means teaching.

it's more like we misinterpreted christianity as a teaching, rather than a superstitious religion.

however, taoism, has been rejected by many for it's beliefs in gods and goblings, as xtianity does.

[repivonex]

The character 教 has 2 meanings, Teachings and Religious. Teachings as in Philosophy, Religious as in religious worship.

Like I mentioned eariler, anyone considered himself a 道家(Philosophical Taoism), has totally nothing to do with any beliefs in Tao's gods or worship of anything sort.

道敎(Religious Taoism) is like Christianity, it's a religion with phliosophical teachings. Whereas 道家(Philosophical Taoism) is purely a Teaching, there's absolutely no god nor worship in it. =)

[joeching]

it's a perennial argument between the east and west that eastern 敎's are the same as western religion. the one ignorant notion of the westerners is that religion in asia is a synonym to superstition.

this one ignorance has caused millions of chinese to be slaughtered.

[questartodd]

The tao only shows respet to religious teachings.reguardless of origin ,clearity of thought , understanding ...is the tao , to do good is possiable in other forms of philosiphy, and religons,Bodhisattva , pegan , christian etc... and by the way there is no "izm " the the true tao. , the tao does not require you to believe ...it is a blank page where anything can be written upon. you have many clear and interesting words ...very knowing and in manderin chinese, I am impressed and pleased.

[joeching]

actual when i observe asian culture from outside, like here in berkeley, i see they r just stuff that fit into people's aspiration.  so, i still claim that the sages are not teaching us, but describing us.

[repivonex]

Thanks for the video.

Btw, 道家(Tao's philosophy) and 道教(Tao's Religion) are 2 different things with different views and concepts, but they are both called Taoism in English, that's misleading.

confucius' philosophy and its religion is the same, buddhism philosophy and its religion is basically the same(as in teachings), but Tao philosophy and its religion is like 2 totally different things.

[dashxdr]

I wish the subtitles were easier to read. Maybe have green letters over black outlines so they show up better.

[joeching]

@dashxdr :laotse>Why do you think the politeness ritual of Zhou is so important? confucius>because it once brought peace and harmony to the world. this is what we don't have today. today the world is tumultuous and people are suffering, which is caused by the lack of this politeness ritual of zhou(PZR). I like prz and want to revive PZR. that's the only way to bring back peace and harmony to the world.

[joeching]

@joeching l> I used to consider politeness is very important.

but later,I changed.

can the river flow backward? it cannot. it could

only obey nature's dictate.

c> according to u, PZR could not calm upheaval.

[joeching]

@joeching l>yes, upheaval is in our hearts, and our hearts

are unpredictable. the never ending upheaval

in the world is proof that it's beyond our ability to control it.

prz being the rule of our conduct, in a certain

period of time, it might work. but as nature

takes its course, it would at last lost its effect.

because we ll more and more realize that the

joy of living comes from no restrain, letting it

be natural and conduct according to our natural selves.

[joeching]

@joeching so this takes us to the following thesis: humans should try to survive according to

earth's rules, while earth's rules is based on

heaven's rules. heaven is based on way(or tao)

and tao is based on nature. at the end, everything

should be based on nature and should be natural.

[dashxdr]

@joeching

Oh -- I was able to make out the words, I just had to pause the video and study it several times. It detracted from the message, I think.

Thanks for the video. It is a fascinating subject. I'd like to know more about the politeness ritual of Zhou.

Given these two viewpoints I lean more towards Taoism.

[ambucias]

in a certain way, this conversation had taken place in my head when thinking of theses two wisdom path.

[joeching]

yes, sages become sages by when u show they r able to continuously remind us what kind of people we really are, or what's really in our heads and genes.

[Igneous01]

i believe lao tze was more wise and understood the subject much better than the Confucianist. You do not need a king to govern the interests of the people, the people can govern themselves. It is fear and dependency on external sources that have made people want to be governed by something else. Because they cant control it. People want to be controlled, because they fear the consequences of being free. None are more hopelessly and enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.

[joeching]

u r rite, but humans, even in asia, r not ready to be fully and individually responsible for themselves. they still need the wisest among us to lead.

in the west, people leave it to god, then they had to scream "human rights" as no one now can be hold accountable for their actions, much of which is in the name of god, like the many christian crusade, or massacre, in asia and mideast.

[cowfordflorida1]

some deep shit right there

[wize11]

i think that TAOISM free and confucious is control.I came to only 2 conclusion on life and that rather it is free or it is controled and i dont know which one it is...could be both(shruuges shoulders)

[NoZenIsZen]

Wisdom.

[joeching]

i dont think they are debating but just "describing" something.

have u ever thought where they get their knowledge and wisdom from. i think it's from observing us. so they were just "describing" us.

it's just too many of us have gone astrayed in the last couple hundred years.

[dinosore9]

confucous totally ripped apart lao witht at last bit. lol he had no comeback and was just liek whatever man do what you do.

id say the winner of the debate is always the person that learns somthing.

[ilbill220]

you have a good point, but I think lao won, since of course the true winner is the one who gives his opponent a mindfuck with an anology involving rivers. =)

[joeching]

this win-loss debate is very western, and bordering barbaric. it's like when the ape-brain ronald reagan claimed he won the cold war. the fact is that the soviet union recognize what a barbaric brat america is, so it sacrificed it's own union for peace.

sure enough the brat didnt understand and pushed on with world domination, now the competitor, unexplicably disappeared.

[MsKahla]

I love that :)

[dinosore9]

seems like taoism  highly regards wishful thinking. its kind of pointless really. i mean its like nihlism. nothing means anything, therefore i dont have to do anything and things will happen.. and confucism is more of a revolutionary and evolutionary thought. the idea that mankind should struggle to make life easier in society. without respect, there would be nothing left. individual meaning in life would pretty much deminish. id say confusism seems more reasonable and actually has a purpose.

[NoZenIsZen]

The purpose is no purpose. Walk where there is no path...

The Tao flows like a river, you can swim with it, then u attain the power of the river, or swim against it, which is just a waste of energy which produces anxiety, fear and hatred. You cannot have white without black, small without large, good without bad, pretty without ugliness, pain without pleasure, male without female, yourself without your competitor, hard without soft....Yin without Yang....

[codeagent47]

Not necessarily that doing nothing is BAD!! Of course doing something is good! But it comes a cost depends how you do. Doing nothing depends on how the situation goes can be benefit, or it can not benefit at all! Controlling is not always stands in the top choice! The idea behind this video is that it really depends on the time how you make your action!

[BoUnIeYo]

Taoism... wishful thinking, pointless? Confucianism... more revolutionary and evolutionary, more reasonable and has a purpose? umm... I might have to disagree with you on that & say both ARE revolutionary and evolutionary, equally reasonable and have purposes, & (Taoism) does not highly regards wishful thinking and pointlessness. My reasons and supports... watch the video again, it's all there. =P

[Zamolxx]

You should check out the writings of Chu Hsi, is the best representative of the tradition of Confucius and Mencius and much more.

[joeching]

@Zamolxx could u enlighten us with some fast-food, editted documentaries? u know far fast things move these days.

[Zamolxx]

The neoconfucian ideas of Chu Hsi represent the school of principle. Chu took the good things from taoism and buddhism and incorporated them into confucianism, while rejecting mysticism, ezoterism and nonaction. Chu Hsi's ideas involve the principle of Jen or humanes, which is similar to the western principle of Agape and the principle of Li (God, or the supreme cause). His ideas and work offered China the basis for rapid economic development, Chu is the representative of the chinese Renaissance

[Zamolxx]

To short it out,li derives from Li,but it is not LiThat means,creation derives from God,but it is not God,a country's custom derives from Natural Law,but it is not Natural Law.Li or God is the principle which subsumes the universe and while the mind of Heaven is intelligent and good,only man deliberates on his actions.Chu's cosmology and ontology are in essence the same as with Leibniz's philosophy.His monadology represents the individual monads, all being subsumed by the supreme ultimate monad.

[neurartist]

Lao tze should sit there naked if he believes in nothingness... and Confucius in order to be polite should not only stripe naked but also... anyway, nothingness over confusion anyday

[joeching]

lao tze put on clothe to keep warm; confucius, to hide his private parts. that's nature vs ritual.

[dashxdr]

>lao tze put on clothe to keep warm; confucius, to hide his private parts. that's nature vs ritual.

That was absolutely beautiful.

Yet I wonder if Confucius has _some_ wisdom. For example: "A superior man indeed is Chu Po-yu! When good government prevails in his state, he is to be found in office. When bad government prevails, he can roll his principles up and keep them in his breast."

I read that in Neal Stephenson's book The Diamond Age. I wonder about its meaning sometimes.

[joeching]

thanks for remind me i said that.

as to the government system of old, my observation is:

if the rulers, or servants(as they call themselves today), went above the culture of confucianism, taoism and buddhism, then we have a bad period in history; but if everyone stay below, or abide by, the culture, they we have a good period. in fact, in most time the higher ranking one has in society, the more cultural you carried yourselves.

personally, i long for the song dynasty.

[Yuviek]

Ok not so bad when eclipse happens, but should be raging red in the beginning..

Peace..

[redbaron998]

I love how they talk, they sit there and think, then speak (Not speaking before thinking!) and never interrupt the other.

Great video, where did it come from?

[joeching]

i love how u put it:" Not speaking before thinking!"

the latest chinese news on america's reaction to the xingjing riot showed the whitehouse spokeman finally read from some notes, instead just talk, without thinking or facts.

[lezvarthok]

I like the green :o) it doesnt matter. thanks for the translation. its such a timeless conclusion, I wonder when does it grow old and washed away...?

[LordLebu]

Taoism is not the teachings of Lao Tze , Taoism is just old witchcraft and superstition . But Lao Tze taught eastern philosophy and metaphysics .

[Hosea22]

Superstition? Who can define the boundary line between the superstition of yesterday and the scientific fact of tomorrow?

[LordLebu]

dude , the concept of Tao is not Taoism or Ancient Chinese religion (wrongly interpreted by europeans) .

 Lao Tze taught the concept of Dao form in his eastern philosophy and metaphysics .

[xIegionx]

@Hosea22 scientist

[yellehsmada]

why lime green? why

[methyl0ne]

is it just be or are both sides saying the same thing in different ways..

[nightbeaver]

Anyone knows the title of this movie?Trying to find some links about this movie on the net but can't find it.

[Yoganext2012]

I would love to see a conversation between Lao Tse, Confuscius, Budha, Ghandi, Socrates, Plateu, Aristotle, Apolonia of Tyana, Kant, DeSade, Mahoma, Moses and Jesus Christ. All together in a meeting under a very well understood universal language.

[Some1one1]

i love the philosophy of taoism!

thx

dude

even the color is bad... ;o)

[timbotouch]

colour of subtitles was kinda dumb choice

thanx tho

[joeching]

i shouldn't get could in this dumb green nonsense. being a nuclear engineer, i should v known better.

[KanjiMace]

=) Thank you very much

[KanjiMace]

Am I the only one having trouble reading the neon green font?

[joeching]

sorry, that's the best my video editor can do. let me get the text here, in separate posts: laotse>Why do you think the politeness ritual of Zhou is so important? confucius>because it once brought peace and harmony to the world. this is what we don't have today. today the world is tumultuous and people are suffering, which is caused by the lack of this politeness ritual of zhou(PZR). I like prz and want to revive PZR. that's the only way to bring back peace and harmony to the world.

[joeching]

l> I used to consider politeness is very important.

but later,I changed.

can the river flow backward? it cannot. it could

only obey nature's dictate.

c> according to u, PZR could not calm upheaval.

[joeching]

l>yes, upheaval is in our hearts, and our hearts

are unpredictable. the never ending upheaval

in the world is proof that it's beyond our ability to control it.

prz being the rule of our conduct, in a certain

period of time, it might work. but as nature

takes its course, it would at last lost its effect.

because we ll more and more realize that the

joy of living comes from no restrain, letting it

be natural and conduct according to our natural selves.

[joeching]

prz ties up our innate character, making us helpless

like a bird in cage. sooner or later we would submit

to nature's eternal transformation and come to the

realization that, to live among heaven and earth,

we must live by the rules of the heaven and earth's

natural universe. why should we humans has to

set up all politeness rituals that defy nature and

choke our inborn humanity?

[joeching]

so this takes us to the following thesis: humans should try to survive according to

earth's rules, while earth's rules is based on

heaven's rules. heaven is based on way(or tao)

and tao is based on nature. at the end, everything

should be based on nature and should be natural.

[joeching]

so democracy is a simply majority led by a mediocre leadership, with the rest of the country ignored and the rest of the world letting go to hell at democracy's whim.

china today offers the best of both world. but democracy still represent her greatest threat.

[joeching]

now, let's look at democracy. rarely more than 90% even favor the top leader, or else the democratists would cry fascism. more often it's about 55 to 45, which means the 45% of the people would be oppressed in some way. and when the leader and the 55% are really a mob group, like many times in america as finally how the bush gang was exposed by the new internet . but most of all, the wisest in the country would not touch the presidency with a 9 foot pole.

[annunnemesis]

In most countries democracy is true not democracy at all. It is an elected dictatorship. In america as an example. It was never meant to be a democracy. It was founded as a constitutional republic. As for monarchy. How can one find freedom in another? I say all people must become their own leaders. And own inspiration through virtuosness. kings.presidents,prime ministers and the like. Never seem to be in touch with the common person. And its the common people that change the world....

[joeching]

it animal instinct to vote; but it takes a saint to decide for the mass. the common people is destined to be a mob, not a good decision maker for the common good and long term future. so, the best system is meritocracy, not demobcrazy.

most of todays arguments for democracy is based on a competitive, or even predatory, society. the trust of humanity is gone. some both confucius and lao tze did not figured in.

[annunnemesis]

Yes but often tyrants are mistaken for saints. If the judgement of the masses is poor. I do not agree with democracy either. But strictly speaking most industrialized nations are not. That is the illusion played to the people. Lao tzu and confucias had very differnet view points. Lao tzu is my favorite sage ever. But i am not a fan of confucias. The 64 hexagrams of the i-ching laid out in a linear time scale. Predict every major event since it was written. And ends on dec,21st 2012.

[joeching]

ha! u took the words rite out of my mouth. i v just wrote something for china based on the 12212011 event. let me email the post(in chinadailay/china&world forum)to u. but include the 1st 2 paragraghs here(in 3 installments):

CHINA SHOULD HAVE A GREEN OLYMPICS IN 2020

[joeching]

Troubles do come double! As if the current financial crisis is not bad enough, now they are telling us at 11:11 on 12/21 in 2012, when the Sun aligns with the Milky Way, the Earth will start to abort. If you can't believe the Bible, Nostradamus and Mayan Calendar, which all have cross-checked and reaffirmed this, what else can you believe? The Sun will give off a super-flare that will cause super-eruptions of volcano from Indonesia to Yellowstone Park and give Calif its long awaited Big One.

[joeching]

Anyway, haven't we had enough gloom and doom to deal with? Why, even Obama, our latest savior's rousing orations are starting to fizzle, causing stock losses that dazzle. Let's better just cross our fingers that the Lincoln- and FDR- like Obama would not likewise resort to wars like his idols did. We need something optimistic to occupy and tide us over this distracting prophecy. We need an Olympics in Chengdu in 2020.

[THEREIZNOGOD]

very good conversation!

[joeching]

let me try another comparison dialog on u:

MONARCHY VS DEMOCRACY

it seems that most people, upward to 90%, were loyal to their kings in the old days in asia. this showed the kings must have done something right to amass such loyalty. this could be explained by the fact that the kings were typically the top 10%, if not the 1%, or even the most wise person, in the whole country. of course, it also take harmonious people to warrant a such a benevolent king. this is monarchy.

[THEREIZNOGOD]

i can't say without some speculation, but i would say that fear, complacency, and simplicity would have to be factors in this case. the kings always got their way while everyone else just worked to provide the king with riches and comfort. slaves built the pyramids, castles, etc.

[joeching]

when we embrace democracy and turn in to wolves as required in politics, our views are somewhat distorted. can we see maybe the people want the pyramids and greatwalls to be build for their generations. maybe the kings were less exploitative than most of our politicians today.

but we need to seriously think: who were the candidates for kings and his officials; and who, the politicians.

in my book, the former consists the best the country has to offer, the latter, the worse.

[LordLebu]

wonderful , thank you for translating

[THEREIZNOGOD]

thanks for sending this. it's in my favorites

[Wizzman101]

tht was good, unlike western faiths Taoism and Confucianism go together very nicely what a great video i will look at these 2 great ways of life with more open eyes thks

[joeching]

in a way, they r describe how the chinese really were. once the chinese realized what they were saying(also buddhism), they became one country, or family.

i hope all asians, then the whole world, could do the same soon.

[Israe5l]

parts of the english subtitle was hard to see because of the chinese subtitles, unfortunate.

but, thanks a lot for the english subtitle.

i think something deep is going on with the "nature v. nuture".

[Oneshot112]

beautiful

[memoplex]

There are things that cannot be described by or understood through language. A complete description and understanding of the purpose and operation of the Way is beyond the power of language.

Whether you try to reason your way through life or act through emotion, the words associated with each path can be traps, not bridges, because they hide what is common to each: the presence of mystery.

Richard Degen, Tao Te Ching for the West

[joeching]

this is quite true. the entire oriental approach seems to be "feeling nature" rather than cutting it up to find out and change it, much like the difference between oriental and western medicine.

as a chinese scientist, i still can not appreciate all these commotions about big bang and inevitable doomsday theory. what's there before the begining? why an end? and as a software type, shouldnt software guide the hardware?

anyway, what's the hurry?

[sup3rman088]

would you please tell me this movie's name?

it's interesting

[shwiesossheshelis]

Great! Subtitles are little blurry tho. Thanks.

[mikedubya]

Thank you for the translation!

[VideogameAnswerMan]

Thanks for translating! ^_^