![]() ![]() It further suggests a need for a distinct understanding of teaching authority that is not modeled on political authority. It is argued here that there is little basis for concluding that the Analects is fundamentally authoritarian in its depiction of teaching. The master-student relationship, while undoubtedly hierarchical, did not involve complete submission by the student. Questioning the master is often a good quality in a disciple. In contrast to later depictions of Kongzi, he is not presented as infallible in the Analects, and his students do not always accept his opinions. Masters are not generally considered to be like fathers, and students have more room to dispute with their master than previously recognized. By studying the roles of master and students and the relationship between them in the Analects, it attempts to show that according to this text the master did not occupy a position of complete dominance over the student. The Analects is a compendium of the sayings of Confucius (551479 b.c.e.), transcribed and passed down by his disciples. This article takes issue with the stereotype of "Confucianism" as authoritarian, a view common in discussions of modern China as well as in scholarship on early China. ![]()
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