Each country on earth has its own history. This history could include its great leaders, culture and unique philosophies of life. Unfortunately, in most countries, those rich values of the nations have been forgotten in the passing of time due to the forces of modernization and westernization which have eroded the true value of living as inscribed by their forefathers [
My trip to Shandong province in the City of Qufu, Confucius’ birthplace later opened my eyes further to the world of Chinese culture and customs. These are the international historical sites where millions of people come each year to see and pay tribute to the Great Man at His temple, grave and family home, and also at the Apricot Pavilion where Confucius taught his students. Some burn incense and bow before the central statue of Confucius. Being there in fresh, I was very happy and excited. We took pictures while listening to the soft speaking tour-guide. Our visit to Confucius and Mencius memorial sites was undeniably a memorable one. It made me understand why UNESCO made this place one of the World Heritage Sites.
In our studies, we later learned that to the Chinese, Confucianism is not a religion. It is a system of thought based on the teachings of Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 B.C. [
It is recorded that Confucius held various government positions in the state of
Lu [
The last days of Confucius’ life were full of regrets, bitterness, and despair since he thought he had failed to make an impact in his society with his ideas due to lack of opportunity [
In most normal universities in China, Confucian courses are included in the international students study programs. At East China Normal University (ECNU), the Confucianism studies are embedded in the practical course called Education Practicum and Field Work. The course is intended to help students develop a solid understanding of Chinese education system and its policies from the cultural perspective. During our stay in China, our class of 2017/18 travelled to Qufu in Shadong Province where we visited the temples of Confucius and Mencius and attended to the International Confucius Cultural Festival, as well as the Confucius memorial ceremony. Most of the students in this class were from Africa. Africans have deep rooted cultural history, just like Chinese, which had gradually been discarded and forgotten when the foreign missionaries came to introduce their religions such as Christianity and Islam in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, and made African traditions look like evil. Meanwhile, Africa continues to face a lot of challenges chiefly caused by moral degradation in most of its countries in which corruption, power struggles and resistances, uncontrollable killings of innocent people and massive degradation of public services are the order of the day. On the other hand, China continues to open itself to the rest of the world, but still able to preserve and uphold some fundamental traditional and cultural aspects such as Confucian ideologies.
Chinese Government provides scholarships to African students in Chinese universities partly to enable them learn from Chinese context to apply and improve situations in their respective countries. However, little is known if the inclusion of Confucian lessons has an impact on these students. Do African students in China take back home valuable lessons from their Confucianism experiences? This article therefore aimed at analyzing Confucius ideas on education and leadership as well as the views of international students on Confucian philosophies, and their reflections on how Africans can benefit from the ideas and philosophies of this Great Sage.
In this qualitative study, I used phenomenological approach in examining the phenomenon of the Great Sage, Confucius and his ideas on education and leadership, utilizing the personal narrative of my reflections as well as the views of 10 individuals; seven of them my former classmates at East China Normal University and the remaining three, former students from other normal universities in Beijing and Shanghai. These ten respondents were from various African countries such as Tanzania, Zanzibar, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi and Nigeria. I basically used face to face interviews as well as WhatsApp messenger to interact with them to collect their reflections regarding their studies of Confucius, his teachings and the lessons they took home to Africa. Phenomenology provided a lens through which respondents were given an opportunity to express their deep rooted feelings, experiences and how they basically committed themselves to the new phenomenon which they were exposed to in the Confucian lessons, and how (if at all) the new knowledge and experience consequently ended up influencing their actions and behaviors [
Many scholars have written a lot on Confucius and Confucianism’s teachings as well as philosophies [
Confucius had an early influence on education reforms in China and other countries due to his valuable ideas. Some of his contributions, philosophies and influences are as below:
After studying a lot about Confucius, I have resolved that this Great Sage was more of an educator than a leader. He spent most of his time on earth studying, teaching and writing. He wrote very powerful books of wisdom even though he was very modest to take all the credit. For he claimed that what he was writing was not his original ideas, “I transmit but I do not create. I am sincerely fond of the ancient. I would compare myself to our old Peng who was fond of talking about the good old days” [
Confucius is often accredited with establishing one of the early formal educational institutions in the world. According to [
Confucius is also credited to have been the first one to conceive and envision the idea of “education for all”. Confucius preached the concept of “Education without distinction” over 2500 years ago [
Throughout the history, Confucius ideas on education have influenced and motivated people in China. In order for one to get a good appointment in government they needed to study very hard to pass the state-run examinations. This even made ancient communities invest in their children vehemently for them to succeed since their success could uplift the whole family and even the entire community. For example, if a child was showing potential that he can do well in education, the family would do anything to set him aside for intensive teaching and training. Families could even build special “scholar towers” where the student was locked in day after day, year after year to study for the possibility of his success [
Confucianism has also influenced the hierarchical educational system which is being practiced all over the world. In old China, one needed to attend and pass a centralized national examination to become successful in education and reach high social status through an official position [
It is not a secret that Confucius desperately wanted to be a leader in his time. He had leadership ideas that he really wanted to put into practice. He was inspired by the Duke of Zhou from the Book of History who established the Zhou dynasty in China in 1045 B.C. [
Amongst Confucius’ important teaching on leadership, he taught that subjects should respect the ruler at all cost in order to achieve order and harmony. According to him, the society would be harmonious when each person understands his or her proper role and acts accordingly; “let the ruler be a ruler and the subject a subject” he said [
Confucius did not just stop on subjects; he also had a very important advice to leaders. He preached that government leaders were supposed to be exemplary and men of virtues. To Confucius, government service was the highest calling in someone’s lifetime. Therefore, a government official needed to live like a gentleman. According to him, “a gentleman first practices what he preaches and then preaches what he practices” [
Confucius taught five virtues to his disciples so that they could acquire the status of gentlemen. These were virtues of courtesy, magnanimity, good faith, diligence, and kindness. Other scholars added the virtues of dutifulness or loyalty, honesty, knowledge, rightness, courage and understanding [
The study used qualitative data from ten respondents as well as from my own self interview. From the analysis of the data, it was clear that almost all of the respondents did not have prior knowledge of Confucianism before they set their feet in China, except three people who indicated to have had scanty knowledge of this man and his teachings from the books they read as well as from Confucius Centers in their countries. However, just as my experience, all respondents involved in this study admitted that their Confucianism studies made them change the way they viewed life after learning a lot in class and from various facility visits they had at various Chinese cultural and historical establishments whilst in China. The following were among the most important things I and the majority of the respondents reported to have learned:
Since the majority of the respondents reported that they did not have prior knowledge of Confucius and his teachings before landing in China, it was fascinating to still note that most of them were impacted by the teachings of Confucius unknowingly. This was because almost all of them admitted that they came across or learned some popular wise sayings of Confucius long time ago not knowing that the author was an ancient Chinese Sage. Some of the respondents even realized that they had been frequently using those quotations in their professional growth and daily lives. Some of these quotations and wise saying related to education which this group of African students mentioned were as follows;
“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.”
“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is the noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”
“Learn as though you would never be able to master it; hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it.”
“Knowledge is recognizing what you know and what you don’t.”
“He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.”
“You cannot open a book without learning something.”
Apart from educational quotes, these ten respondents also revealed that they came across other common wise sayings that they realized later in their lessons in China that they were Chinese quotations by Confucius, some are listed below:
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
“In a country well-governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.”
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
Personally, from the past, I have been inspired by the quotation “I listen and I forget … I do and I understand”. Honestly, I did not know that it was one of the most valuable Chinese sayings of Confucius until now. These quotations and many otherwise sayings are used every day around the world for education purposes. They are even used by people who do not even know about Confucius, as evidenced in this study; undoubtedly the multitudes have been positively impacted by the wisdom from Confucius’ recorded sayings circulating around the world. This just shows the influence that Confucius continues to make all over the world thousands years after his death with his ideas. If adopted and used sincere by world leaders and peoples, I believe Confucianism would surely contribute to changing the world and making it a better place to live for everyone.
On the question if Confucian principles were similar to African traditional philosophies, all respondents indicated that most of Confucian philosophies were similar to those traditional principles that were passed from generations to generations in typical African settings. According to them, Africans were traditionally known with embracing the traditional culture of community values such as respect of the elders in the society, patriotism, selflessness, veneration of the ancestors and the strong value on community sharing of resources. All these values are also at the heart of Confucian philosophy. In concurring to this finding, some scholars observe that Confucian and African philosophical traditions are both characterized as “relational” in contrast to the “individualism” which is common in most Western philosophies [
However, these respondents were quick to note that, as opposed to majority of Chinese people, who seemed to continue embracing some of their traditional values up to now, most Africans have discarded most of these values chiefly due to their embracing of the Western individualistic philosophies which generally promote individuals’ satisfaction as opposed to the whole society, as observed by a number of researchers as well [
It is a known fact that Confucius encouraged people to know and honour their roots so as to keep their identity [
All respondents engaged in this study acknowledged the value of the golden rule taught by Confucius which is also found in Christianity. Confucius taught a moral code based on ethics, humanity, and love. The most interesting thing was his golden rule, which can be found in every book of wisdom of earth including the Bible. In response to a question by one of his disciples who wanted Confucius to describe in one word the whole duty of man. Confucius replied that: “… Do not do to others what you would not wish them to do to you.” [
As opposed to accumulation of wealth in search for happiness, the respondents in this study acknowledged to have learned a very important tip to true happiness. According to them, they learned that true happiness cannot only be found in wealth or high statuses, but in living a virtuous life. Confucius was not caught up in worrying about wealth and status; he only wanted to be in government to bring about change. But when he failed to convince the authorities in his time, he did not go to war to forcefully fight for the people and probably overthrow the oppressive leaderships, nor compromised on his virtues to gain favors of the rulers to acquire government position. He instead decided to dedicate his time teaching the young minds to apply his ideas in the future. Instead, he was very happy with simple things such as swimming and singing with his friends. He once said “Eating plain food, drinking water … there is joy in this! Wealth and high position―when gotten improperly―as far as I am concerned are nothing more than passing clouds” [
The respondents also indicated that they were inspired by Confucius principle that the priority of every leader should be serving the people. One of the respondents had this to say:
“The major problem of Africans is selfishness. Selfishness is leading to so many problems we are facing in our countries. I think if we can imitate the selflessness act of Confucius, then it will go a long way”
This is what Confucius preached. He maintained that government exists for the benefit of the people. The first and necessary step in good governance is to put words straight, so that everyone knows what is going on and how to behave. Caring for the common people meant ensuring that basic needs, like food, clothing and shelter, are met. It is crucial that the economy allow people to make a decent living. Even taxes should not be punishing to limit people’s progress. I can now relate to how the current Chinese Government is taking care of its people. A good example is the cheapest and good transport system affordable to everyone in the country. Further to that, Chinese Government has invested and is still investing a lot in education sector at all levels, from elementary, high school to higher education. The infrastructures available in universities in China are just a dream to many African countries. Nevertheless, this is doable and achievable in African countries as well, only if our leaders start using national resources for the benefit of their people, such as creating more jobs by opening more public companies not selling them, and also strengthening infrastructural development by coming up with meaningful construction projects, not just waiting for the private sector or international donors such as from United States of America, China and European Union to do that. With very rich mineral and agricultural resource base of many of the African countries, this is achievable.
All of the respondents in this qualitative study also reported to also have learned a lot on being role-models when one is privileged with a government position. According to them, in Africa, crimes such as corruption, theft and robbery are at an alarming rate. According to one of the respondents from Nigeria, if all government officials would learn Confucianism philosophy, the situation would automatically change for better. The respondent noted that it was the leaders who were the first plunderers of public resources; hence their followers do the same.
During Confucius time, a government official in the State of Lu complained to Confucius about the rising number of robbers. Confucius told him that if he got rid of his own desires for luxury, ordinary people would not steal, even if they were paid to do it [
From the results of this study, the majority of respondents acknowledged that they indeed took home a lot of lessons from their studies on Confucius and his philosophies. It was found that Confucianism studies can make students change the way they viewed life. The study found out that they are many people in the world who use Confucius wise sayings and quotations in their lives not knowing that the author was a Chinese Sage. It has also been observed that Confucian philosophies were similar to those traditional principles that were passed from generations to generations in typical African settings; however, most Africans have discarded most of these values as opposed to most Chinese who seem to still embrace some of the most valuable traditional principles. This has contributed to the moral degradation in most African societies. It was also found out that Confucius studies made foreign students who are serious in them to understand the values of the leaders being the role models and the need for them to selflessly serve the people, and the importance of living a life of virtues.
Due to the involvement of a very small number of respondents (ten), the findings of this study cannot be generalized on all African alumni of all Chinese Universities. Nevertheless, from the findings of this study, it is now clear to me as to why Confucian philosophy has been and will be extremely valuable in the fields of education, philosophy and leadership worldwide. Even though Confucianism might have undergone an evolution as the centuries were passing, certain core ideals have evidently remained. It is indeed clear that Confucius’s teachings and philosophy formed a foundation and is still contributing to a number of modern education ideologies such as education for all, universal education and education for public good. We can comfortably speculate that the Chinese Government borrowed some of its great ideologies used in most educational and leadership policies from this philosopher hence massive development in China. Africans need to learn something from these ideologies.
The author declares no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Kajawo, S.C.R. (2019) Lessons from Confucius Ideas: Chinese Universities’ African Students Reflections. Open Access Library Journal, 6: e5693. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1105693