C-Man In The House

Works in Jan’s Heroes series celebrate virtues of icons from popular culture.

C-Man In The House is a meditation on the work of 7th-Century Chinese philosopher and politician Confiucius, and his reflections on achieving what he called The Great Harmony.

When the great principle prevails, the world is a commonwealth in which rulers are selected according to their wisdom and ability, mutual confidence is promoted and good-neighborliness cultivated. Hence, men do not regard as parents only their own parents, nor do they treat as children only their own children. Provision is secured for the aged ‘til death, employment for the able-bodied, and the means of growing up for the young. Helpless widows and widowers, orphans, the lonely, the sick and the disabled are well-cared-for.

Men have their respective occupations and women their homes. They do not like to see wealth lying idle, yet they do not keep it for their own gratification. They despise indolence, yet they do not use their energies for their own benefit. In this way, selfish schemings are repressed, and robbers, theives, and other lawless men no longer exist, and there is no need for people to shut their outer doors. This is The Great Harmony.

Says Jan: ”Is it just me, or does this Confucius look a little like Ai Weiwei?”