On the basis of The Great Learning and Analects discuss the Confucian conception of the relation between the family and the state.

The Chinese people have always looked up to Confucius as a moral and spiritual leader and regard his teachings as an ideal which should be aimed for in the cultivation of a good life. The Chinese culture, in this aspect, reflects some of these teachings through its continued emphasis on family and discipline. Rooted in customs and traditions, the family unit is the breeding ground for values and mindsets which will be carried on throughout …

…give up on them just because they seem impossible to achieve. Rather, it is the long and winding path we must take first as individuals in order to bring harmony, peace and stability to the family and to the state. Although we might never reach true enlightenment, we can still try to come close. Bibliography 1)Chan Wing-tsit. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, Princeton University Press, 1963 2)D.C. Lau (trans.), Confucius: The Analects, Penguin Classics, 1979