Confucius in 90 Minutes

An excellent overview of the man, his times, and his philosophy. A joy to read and experience.

I knew some Confucius sayings and that he was a Chinese wiseman. This book painted a more detailed picture of him and left me with a full Confucius Page in my mind.

Before Mao there was Confucius, and probably after Mao there will be Confucius. He is the central figure in Chinese social and political thought, and his prescriptions have been the rule - of -life among China's ruling bureaucracies for hundreds of years. In his small work Paul Strathern humorously chronicles the efforts of Confucius to provide an ethic of decency for a feudal world living through troubled times. The wisdom of Confucius is not meant to save the individual soul but rather to enable society to function decently. Confucius in his own life, Strathern makes clear was not exactly the model of success. And he died disappointed and far from the political office he would have liked to have held. But he left a legacy which Chinese civilization as a whole would adopt. This work gives an excellent outline of Confucius life and work. It is a good beginning for anyone who wishes to explore the subject in greater depth.

I was very interested in reading more about Confucius after reading "Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus" by Karl Jaspers. Strathern's brief book reinforced some of what Jaspers said, but with much easier language. This book won't tell you a lot about Confucius and his teachings, but will let you know if you want to do any more reading. I liked his recommendation of Arthur Waley's translation of "The Analects." I do wish he had given just a little more recommended reading. He didn't suggest "The Wisdom of Confucius" by Lin Yutang, but I recommend it. This "90 minute" book is a light, quick read, which suited me at the time. Now I want to read more about Confucius (the Lin Yutang book). I like the 90 minute series and intend to read more of these volumes. Modern business just doesn't give you the luxury of time to read about philosophy. So for authors that I'm not sure I want to spend much time on, the 90 minute series is great. Strathern is a clever man. He didn't just write a book. He created a product line with a recognizable "90 minute" brand label!