LS 5603 LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

Review of CONFUCIUS: THE GOLDEN RULE

A. Freedman, Russell. CONFUCIOUS: THE GOLDEN RULE. Frederic Clement, Illustrator. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2002.

B. BOOK SUMMARY:
Freedman shines with some of his very best work in a complete birth to death biography for 4th through 8th grades of the iconic figure of Confucius. He writes of the early years of Confucius and aims to separate the myth from the mortal man of ancient China. There is coverage of his famous sayings, a great depth of knowledge of his students including his least and most favorite. An excellent profile of the well known but little understood Chinese hero, Freedman gives us a highly readable and engaging text containing poignant information about the scattering of his pupils after Confucius’ death and a thorough and modern compilation of his famous sayings.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The book is very readable. It has all the elements that make a literary work standout. The writing flow is fluid and thoughtful and the facts are very detailed. The book does a good job of telling the monumental things that Confucius did and said that he is remembered for. It also mentions his human frailty.

Near the beginning of the story we encounter a passage that illustrates a human foible: “He (Confucius) was no saint, however. Once, a character name Ru Bei sent a messenger to Confucius’s home, asking for a meeting. Confucius disapproved of Ru Bei and wanted him to know it. He declined the meeting on the ground that he was ill. Then, as the messenger was going out the door, the wily philosopher took up his lute and began to sing loudly, making sure that he was heard.” The author relates another incidence of Confucius being all too human. A young person was being disrespectful and Confucius “blessed him out” as we say in the Southeastern United States. The young man is believed to have ignored Confucius’ requests for him to behave. He final got the pupil’s attention by cracking the student’s shins with his walking stick.

Another unflattering quality that is well documented is Confucius’ physical characteristics. Freedman relates that he was physically very strong and a large sized gentleman. He goes on to say that Confucius has been portrayed as a “homely giant with warts on his nose, two long front teeth that protruded over his lower lip, and a wispy beard.” Clement’s illustrations are reason enough to pick up this volume. The cover indeed pictures Confucius with the long teeth just over his bottom lip. Not buck teeth, but flat straight teeth that appear longer than is normal with a considerable space between the two front teeth. Clement uses mixed media to illustrate the 14 book plates. Each illustration looks as if it is made on a golden papyrus or flattened tree bark. Many multiple lines frame each illustrated page and a bit of realia are laid across the outer edges of the work of art such as flower petals, seeds, beans, stones, red and orange peppers, small circles of jade. I am not a fan of Asian art but each panel, each page is a museum quality work of art which works seamlessly with the story. Each picture has a sentence under the work of art that is a line from the adjoining page which is ice for adults but absolutely a great thing for a young student to have an important point reiterated and drawn physically from what they have just read.

Freedman is careful to let the reader know that parts of the story can not be verified completely and he separates the conjecture from the facts. He laments the fact that like Jesus, Buddha, and Socrates, Confucius left us no verifiable written records, but “taught by means of dialogue and example.” As the great prophets and philosophers mentioned above, Confucius’ words were compiled by his disciples after his death. The writings today know as the “Analects” or “Sayings of Confucius” were written by his disciples and the disciples of the disciples. Freedman says that there is research to suggest that the writing and editing process may have been a work in progress for 2 to 3 centuries.

One story that is heard over and over again in the Orient and written in a large number of accounts is the presence of a unicorn associated with the homely philosopher. It is said that his father was a seventy year old former soldier and his mother a young peasant girl. Coming home from laboring in the fields, the legend has it that his mother saw a unicorn come from the woods and approach their home. She immediately identified the visit as a positive and powerful omen went up to the unicorn and tied a bright ribbon around its horn. Two days later it is believed she went atop a nearby mountain to ask the spirits for a son. On her way home she went into labor with Confucius and stopped in a cave to give birth to the baby boy that looked just like his father.

At the end of Confucius’ years of happiness and good health a creature was killed in his home province of Lu and no one could identify the animal. The dead creature was transported to Confucius for identification and counsel. The happy round philosopher instantly identified it as a unicorn. One thing made his identification absolute in his mind, a small bit of tattered ribbon that he believed his mother had tied on the horn of the creature. The great master was overcome with feelings of dread and a few hours later he lapsed into unconsciousness. Confucius did recover and regain much of his vigor. He taught once again and attracted more pupils than ever before.

Not long after the visit of the dead unicorn Confucius, it is told, walked around his courtyard and proclaimed, “I wish to speak no more.” Then he went into his bedroom, lay down upon the couch and stayed there until dying on the 7th day of his self imposed exile to his bedroom. His students had kept a vigil and dressed in mourning clothes and as he lay silent they had lit aromatic leaves near him in the belief that this would dispel any evil spirits that were nearby. Freedman goes on to say, “His disciples buried him on the river bank, just north of Qufu, in a grave that has since been visited by countless emperors, officials, and ordinary citizens, and is still attracting visitors today.”

The author relates several well agreed on actual sayings of Confucius. As a teenager he realized he had the makings of a scholar and says, “At fifteen, I set my heart on learning.” He is often quoted as saying “Study as if you’ll never know enough, as if you’re afraid of losing what you’ve already gained.”

The author’s zeal for the Chinese philosopher is evident throughout the book. His notes are 7 pages long and include a 3 page spread entitled, “In Search of Confusius: A Note on Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading.” Showing his intense love of accuracy and detail Freedman sources each quotation to the numerical chapter and verse of “The Analects of Confucius.”


Freedman documents his extensive research and might inspire others to travel to the places he visited for his studies. Every year on the 28th of September the birth of Confucius is celebrated in his birthplace of Qufu. Freedman and a friend that spoke Mandarin attended such a celebration on the 2,551st birthday of the great philosopher. To say the author’s notes are extremely detailed and inspiring to readers of all ages is an understatement.


This supposedly well read and studied librarian is embarrassed to recollect that in her mind Confucius and Buddha were somehow cleft together and confused. We are fortunate today to know much of Eastern cultures but this is in part a relatively new bit of knowledge to the Western world. I knew of the Golden Rule authorship but not this important fact. Confucius was appalled that during his early lifetime ministers and government officials were selected solely on their pedigree whether they were intellectually inclined or dull. Confucius spent much of his life trying to change that and he did! The ruling class became much more inclusive as the first civil service exams in written history were begun to place governing officials based on their intelligence and scholarly achievements. This is of course still practiced today centuries later from across the globe.


D. Review Excerpts:

Publishers Weekly announces, “Newbery Medal winner Freedman (Lincoln: A Photobiography) delves deep into Chinese history in his intelligent, comprehensive biography of the 5th-century B.C. philosopher Confucius, whose teachings have influenced the development of modern government and education in both China and the West.

School Library Journal comments, “Gr 4-8-In writing this biography, Freedman faced two obstacles: a distorted popular idea of Confucius, and a paucity of data about the real man. He directly addresses the first, and his engaging book beautifully compensates for the second. He sets his subject in the context of strife-torn China, since Confucius was a radical reformer whose ideas had political applications. Politics, education, spirituality: the philosopher has something to say in all these areas, and Freedman compellingly conveys the profundity of his thoughts.”

E. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780439139571&tabname=custreview&itm=1#TABS

F. CONNECTIONS:

Freedman himself recommends, CONFUCIUS LIVES NEXT DOOR: WHAT LIVING IN THE EAST TEACHES US ABOUT LIVING IN THE WEST by T.R. Reid and CONFUCIUS SPEAKS: WORDS TO LIVE BY. Adapted by the Chinese cartoonist Tsai Chili Chung and told in the form of a cartoon strip.

I feel that I would be remiss in not recommending the obvious…….Freedman’s numerous award winning biographies of great Americans. LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY should certainly be read by all Americans and perhaps by all students of Western civilization.