Chapter One: Comparing the Christian Commandment of "Love" With Confucianism
So, what do we find in Confucius (551–479 BC)? A great deal of commendable insight. According to Confucius, "We must love others as ourselves; we must wish for them what we wish for ourselves." With the presence of such love, "the entire world will resemble one family, all people will embody one person." Such phrases and thoughts fill the moralistic Chinese texts: “Xiao,” “Lunyu,” “Mencius,” “Zhongyong,” “Daxue,” “Xiaojing,” “I Ching,” “Wujing,” “Shijing,” “Chunqiu,” “Zhu Xi,” “Liji”.[9] When reading such reflections on love, one cannot help but recall the New Testament sayings: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Gal. 5:14; Matt. 22:35–40; Luke 10:27; James 2:8; 1 John 13:34–35; 1 Cor. 13; Eph. 5:2; Col. 3:14; Gal. 6:2; 1 Tim. 1:5; 1 John 4:7–9, 11, 12, 16, 20, 21, 2:10, 11; 1 Pet. 1:22, 3:8–9; 2 Pet. 1:7; Heb. 13:1…), "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them" (Matt. 7:12; Luke 6:31; Acts 15:20). If the word of God commands us to "do good to all" (Gal. 6:10), then we also read in Confucian texts that "one must love all"[10] and similar sentiments.