Hsun Tzu Essay

Hsun Tzu was a Chinese philosopher and disciple of Confucius. When Confucius died, his followers split into two groups. One such group believed that the rites that Confucius advocated could produce virtue and rectitude because humans possessed these qualities. However, the 2nd group, to which Hsun Tzu was a part of, believed that the Confucius program of rites and observances were necessary because humans were inherently evil. Overall, I agree with what Hsun Tzu is saying.

With a strong belief in education, Hsun Tzu believed that only by rigorous training and devoted study could change human nature. Most people enter the world with the belief of only themselves and thus need education to learn more of life. Without such education, the human being does not know what it needs to know in order to go through life properly. The human only knows itself and cares for itself the most. Through education they can learn unselfishness and discipline among other things.

Hsun Tzu saw the education of a child in the same manner as sharpening a piece of wood or sharpening a piece of metal with a stone. If such was done correctly, the piece of wood would become straight and the metal to be sharp just as the child would become a gentlemen. However, if such goes wrong the wood is rendered useless, the metal is dull, and the child faces a long, vigorous task ahead of trying to get through life without the benefit of a proper education. To get his point across, Hsun Tzu published various essays.

One such essay states that learning should never cease. The meaning of the such statement is that you’re never too young to learn nor are you too old. Learning begins at birth and doesn’t stop until your final day. No one ever fulfills complete knowledge of the world, but they attempt to learn whatever they can to get through life with knowledge and dignity.

Overall, without and education and life training, a child cannot succeed in the world in the best way possible. While they do learn throughout their entire life, they may not exactly “learn” in the most.