Ex-"Dude did you see Inception?? Another badass performance from Leo--that's my boy!"
I'm not sure when exactly I started doing this, but I'd have to guess sometime around senior year of college. For whatever reason, the crew I rolled with with was big on it. Every time we watched SportsCenter, a basketball game, movie, television show, etc. someone would inevitably wind up yelling "that's my boy!". And truthfully, I fell in love with this. What better way to show your appreciation and commitment to your favorite stars than to proudly confess it--at every possible opportunity? Not to mention, by doing so you seem to develop a strong attachment to this person, like somehow you are part of all their amazing achievements. Talk about your all-time best vicarious experiences.
Over the last several years, I've "boyed" quite a few people. My list includes notables like Edward Norton, Talib Kweli, Michael C. Hall, Mos Def, Ryan Braun, Wes Welker, Tom Hanks, Don Cheadle, and many others. That said, if you know me you know that there are 3 people who are in a whole seperate realm when it comes to "my boys"--the holy Trinity of Ghiossi's boys if you will: Lupe Fiasco, Leonardo Dicaprio, and Chris Paul.
But there's another boy of mine who I've yet to mention. This boy is unique and stands out from the others for a number of reasons. For one, you won't see this boy anywhere on television or anything like that. In fact, no one has seen this boy for the past 2500 years. Yet everything I've learned about him, beginning with middle school and going through my East Asian History classes at Cal Poly, has totally fascinated me. I'm of course talking about my boy, the one and the only--Confucius.
And if you're thinking that just came from left field, bear with me.
"Thousand years of history would be like a long dark night without Confucius"
Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting my first Confucius Temple. Acting on a spur-of-the-moment impulse, my roommate and I booked train tickets to Tainan, Taiwan's former capital. Much to my surprise and delight, I soon discovered that the first ever Confucius Temple to exist here in Taiwan was located in this wonderful, historically-rich city. With so many "copycats" sprinkled all over Taiwan, I figured ending up at the original was too good an opportunity to pass up, and so I gladly paid the 50 NT to enter the Temple Palace and there I was.
The Tainan Confucius Temple was originally constructed in 1665, and has since undergone multiple renovations. And honestly, other than the age of the place, it failed to impress me greatly as a tourist destination. Perhaps partly because there were so many people, everything (sadly) was in Chinese, and at that point we had already visited 2 other temples (you've seen one temple in Taiwan, you've seen them all), I wasn't as amazed as I thought I would be. Though I must admit that the section showcasing the various instruments used for past ceremonies at the temple was pretty damn cool. And of course the gold tablets with carved Confucian teachings would have been really sweet if I could read Chinese characters, but let's just say I'm not quite that far in my language lessons at this point...
 |
| .....something really intelligent, I'm sure... |
 |
| Very old bell used for signaling ceremonies |
 |
| drums (duh) |
Yet despite the temple's shortcomings, the experience was nevertheless enjoyable because the temple itself reminded me of the great individual for which it had been built.
Although Confucius is known world-wide, many of the details surrounding his life, his teachings, and most importantly his role in the development of Chinese culture are a mystery to many of us from the West. In fact, up until middle school, the only way I had ever heard of Confucius was from those joke "Confucius Say" proverbs like Confucius Say, Man who stands on toilet is high on pot or Confucius Say, Two wrongs may not make a right, but two Wrights made an airplane. And while these are certainly good for a chuckle, the end result more often that not is that Confucius is unfortunately overlooked as one of the greatest thinkers in human history; and a man whom the world, especially the West, owes many of its values to.
Confucius is famous for advocating values such as filial piety, justice, and fulfilling one's role to society. But above all, and what impresses me most about Confucius, is how strongly he emphasized the need for education in society, which let's just say wasn't exactly as much of a no-brainer 2,500 years ago as it is today. Confucius even extrapolated on this central tenet to his teachings by arguing that the highest positions of power should be designated on this standard as opposed to the traditional familial-blood system. As a teacher in Taiwan, I've witnessed first-hand just how serious education is taken here. Whereas back home sometimes education is taken for granted (speaking partly from personal experience here), the opposite is true here. These kids literally go to school from 8-8 many of these days, and it's not uncommon for a child to be scolded or punished for bringing home A- scores. Sure, I do think all of that is a little over the top. But still it demonstrates that the Taiwanese understand that the best opportunities for success and moving upwards are firmly rooted in education. And Confucius was the first one to really push forward this doctrine.
Going back much further in time, long before Confucian teachings could influence the inner-workings of Hess Young Scholars' English School, Confucius' impact on Chinese culture can be seen in an even more significant light. The Examination System, which lasted from the Tang Dynasty all the way until 1905, was directly influenced by Confucius. This highly competitive system, which decided who would rise to top government roles and advisory positions, tested its participants in subjects varying from history, the arts, math, science, law, and calligraphy. This ensured that those with the most power and influence in Chinese society would surely be the most well-rounded and qualified. Undoubtedly what's even more amazing about this system is how it held very few restrictions on who could take the test, allowing even minorities and women to participate. If Confucius' teachings on the importance of education weren't important enough, surely the implication that anyone could use education to better oneself and transcend social classes were. It really should come as no wonder then that until the last 400 years or so, the West generally trailed China in scientific developments, and paled in comparison to the greatness of the Song, Tang, and Ming Dynasties.
But let me conclude by disembarking from my historical high horse. Surely Confucius' impact on Chinese history and culture is unparalleled. But what I am what most fascinated by is how many of his teachings influence contemporary American and Western culture. The very idea of a meritocracy is based upon Confucian ideals. Expanding upon that, it wouldn't even be a stretch to say that some (certainly not all) of capitalism, which promotes self-actualization, is founded partly in Confucianism (so much for rags-to-riches and the "American" dream...). Even our freedom of speech mirrors what Confucius taught about having healthy debate and disagreement within society. And to think that this man lived thousands of years before these ideologies would become commonplace in Western culture, and that he is generally regarded as a "conservative" thinker...
