First writings | Genius of the Ancient World

Duration: 1'47''

Synopsis

Early writings and thoughts found on bamboo sticks in a nobleman's grave were a key signal to Confucius' philosophy.

Further Information

More clips from Genius of the Ancient World

03: Confucius | Genius of the Ancient World

03: Confucius | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 59'07''

In the final episode, Bettany travels to China on the trail of Confucius, a great sage of Chinese history whose ideas have fundam...

Belief of cosmic forces | Genius of the Ancient World

Belief of cosmic forces | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 2'17''

Confucius grew up around the ancient belief of two cosmic forces, that, combined with human ritual, kept the world and ...

Confucius and followers | Genius of the Ancient World

Confucius and followers | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 2'23''

Confucius was open to instruct anyone no matter their circumstance, as long as they were willing and the care for other...

Confucius and legacy | Genius of the Ancient World

Confucius and legacy | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'00''

Despite dying before fulfilling his destiny, Confucius' pupils pushed his teachings and emperors after his death channelle...

Confucius and modern day | Genius of the Ancient World

Confucius and modern day | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'40''

After Chairman Mao denounced Confucius' teachings in the 1960s, Confucianism has had a 21st century resurgence.

Confucius and Music | Genius of the Ancient World

Confucius and Music | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 1'18''

Confucius was a big proponent of music with rituals and endorsed it as a form of early art therapy.

Confucius origins | Genius of the Ancient World

Confucius origins | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'53''

Confucius was born into gentile poverty and was said to not play with toys but enact spiritual rituals with certain objects.

Confucius' appeal | Genius of the Ancient World

Confucius' appeal | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 50''

Confucianism had wide appeal as it applied to everyone no matter the class or background, as long as you were "a lover of wis...

Confucius' rituals | Genius of the Ancient World

Confucius' rituals | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 2'37''

Descendants of Confucius explain the importance of ritual and social morality.

Importance of family | Genius of the Ancient World

Importance of family | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'05''

Confucius thought family provided a pivotal moral compass for existence, with the hierarchical structure being able to dis...

Reinterpreting ritual | Genius of the Ancient World

Reinterpreting ritual | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'52''

Confucius took the ideas of ancient ritual and applied his modern thinking to it, moulding it to his philosophy.

Ruling and philosophy | Genius of the Ancient World

Ruling and philosophy | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'31''

Confucius likened ruling to a father-son relationship; you must rule with love for your people as if they are your children.

Taoism | Genius of the Ancient World

Taoism | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'31''

A brief explanation of Taoism and "The Way" as well as a telling of a folklorish tale about Confucius meeting the founding father of Tao...

The virtue of Ren | Genius of the Ancient World

The virtue of Ren | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'23''

Ren is a foundational virtue of Confucianism and in the simplest of terms denotes humanity.

More resources about Philosophy and Ethics

Abortion On Trial

Abortion On Trial

BBC Two | 2017 | 59'10''

Fifty years after the Abortion Act was passed, Anne Robinson brings together a group of people with conflicting views on abortion to ask if the law is fit ...

Are You Good or Evil? | Horizon

Are You Good or Evil? | Horizon

BBC Two | 2011 | 58'46''

Horizon meets researchers studying psychopathic killers to try to determine what makes people good or evil. One such scientist believes he ha...

06: Should We Close Our Zoos? | Horizon

06: Should We Close Our Zoos? | Horizon

BBC Two | 2016 | 59'22''

Liz Bonnin investigates how and why zoos keep animals and looks at whether they need to change to keep up with modern science.

What Makes a Human? | Horizon

What Makes a Human? | Horizon

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'02''

Professor Alice Roberts investigates what exactly makes human beings different from the animal kingdom. What is it that truly makes us human?

Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

BBC One | 2019 | 57'43''

From colossal farms in America to the destruction of the Amazon, Liz Bonnin investigates how our hunger for meat is killing our planet.

Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die

Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die

BBC Two | 2011 | 59'10''

Author Sir Terry Pratchett - an Alzheimer's sufferer - travels to the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland and witnesses first-hand the procedures...

01: Buddha | Genius of the Ancient World

01: Buddha | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 59'09''

Historian Bettany Hughes travels to India, Greece and China on the trail of three giants of ancient philosophy. To begin, she invest...

How to Kill a Human Being | Horizon

How to Kill a Human Being | Horizon

BBC Two | 2008 | 49'13''

Michael Portillo pushes his body to the brink of death in an investigation into the science of execution.

S01E01: Execution | Life and Death Row

S01E01: Execution | Life and Death Row

BBC Three | 2014 | 58'23''

Series telling the story of capital punishment through the eyes of young people whose lives have been shaped by it. It looks at two of...

Kids with Guns | Stacey Dooley Investigates

Kids with Guns | Stacey Dooley Investigates

BBC Three | 2010 | 57'10''

Stacey Dooley explores the issue of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's civil war, where an estimated 30,000 chi...

Malala: Shot for Going to School | Panorama

Malala: Shot for Going to School | Panorama

BBC One | 2013 | 29'20''

One year ago, Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban on her school bus. In this Panorama special, she talks exclusively to Mish...

Faith Behind Bars

Faith Behind Bars

BBC One | 2018 | 38'46''

With access to HMP Edinburgh, this film follows the prison chaplains as they give spiritual guidance and religious support to offenders - including those c...

Child Labour: Kids for Sale | Stacey Dooley

Child Labour: Kids for Sale | Stacey Dooley

BBC Three | 2009 | 57'30''

Stacey Dooley explores the issue of child labour in Nepal, after being exposed to it when working in the Indian fashion industry ...

A Short Stay in Switzerland

A Short Stay in Switzerland

BBC One | 2009 | 1'29'43''

One-off drama inspired by the true story of Dr Anne Turner, who in 2006 took her own life in a Zurich clinic having developed an incurable degene...

Shot for Going to School

Shot for Going to School

BBC Three | 2013 | 56'58''

Schoolgirl Malala Yousafi was just 14 when she was shot for campaigning for girls' education in Pakistan. Nel Hedayat travels to the areas where the...

Amazon deforestation | Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

Amazon deforestation | Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

BBC One | 2019 | 4'21''

Liz Bonnin witnesses the devastation of the Amazon rainforest from the sky.

Should assisted suicide be legalised? | Matters of Life and Death

Should assisted suicide be legalised? | Matters of Life and Death

BBC Two | 2015 | 12'21''

This film looks at the viewpoints of Charlotte and Paul whose life experiences have left them on opposing s...

Young, British and Anti-Abortion

Young, British and Anti-Abortion

BBC One | 2024 | 58'58''

Film-maker Poppy Jay meets the Gen Zers leading anti-abortion campaigns. Online, on campuses and on the streets, she finds a movement growin...

Anti-Abortion Camp | Brainwashing Stacey

Anti-Abortion Camp | Brainwashing Stacey

BBC One | 2017 | 45'37''

Stacey Dooley travels to California to meet Survivors, one of America's most extreme anti-abortion groups, to learn about their acti...

The End of God?: A Horizon Guide to Science and Religion

The End of God?: A Horizon Guide to Science and Religion

BBC Four | 2010 | 58'47''

Thomas Dixon delves into the BBC's archive to explore the troubled relationship between religion and science, from t...

More from Bettany Hughes

03: War of the Words | Divine Women

03: War of the Words | Divine Women

BBC Two | 2012 | 59'05''

Bettany Hughes discovers how the Dark Ages turned out to be a golden age for a few remarkable women.

Evaluation of Freud's theories | Genius of the Modern World

Evaluation of Freud's theories | Genius of the Modern World

BBC Four | 2016 | 3'30''

Evaluations of Freud's work, was he too subjective or is there an element of truth in his theories of the subcons...

The Four Sights | Genius of the Ancient World

The Four Sights | Genius of the Ancient World

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'55''

The story of how the Buddha left his privileged life as a prince in the Himalayas after witnessing the Four Sights.

Roman soldiers | Learning Zone

Roman soldiers | Learning Zone

BBC Two | 2013 | 6'55''

Bettany Hughes visits the excavation of a fort and talks about the importance of soldiers and their lifestyle.

South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission | What's the Point of Forgiveness?

South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission | What's the Point of Forgiveness?

BBC One | 2011 | 3'50''

How forgiveness was used in the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World

Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World

BBC HD | 2011 | 1'14'25''

Bettany Hughes visits seven of the most famous ancient and modern Buddhist locations in the world: seven wonders that give an insight int...