Sin and punishment from East To West

Extract

[...] Confucius states “Guide them by virtue, keep them in line with the rites, and they will, besides having a sense of shame, reform themselves.” (823) Confucius believes that to be guided by punishment is not the way, rather virtue is the most valuable way to reform a wrongdoing. Japanese feudal society does not share the same beliefs. Genji had many affairs with the women of the court ,and embodies the opposite of Confucius‘ ideals. Genji talks about his punishment, “Everything that has happened to me is a result of my own inadequacy. [...]

[...] These two quotes are both talking about an adulterous incident but with two different view points of proper punishment and sin. Japanese culture sees adultery not as a good thing but an increasing norm among men in the courts. Since it is gaining in normalcy the punishment is less and it is not seen as such a sin. The King in A Thousand and One Nights found the sin punishable by death and considers an act like this a grievous sin against him. [...]

[...] Sin and punishment from East To West Texts from Feudal Japan to Western Europe differ in the way they view sin and punishment. The Analects of Confucius and The Divine Comedy by Dante have opposing positions on how past beliefs and actions should be viewed by people of the present. Confucius' Analects are also irrelevant in the lives of those from The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu; what Confucius believes is to right path reform is not relevant to Japanese court culture. [...]