Confucianism does not begin and end with Confucius but was a living philosophy that served China as a practical guide to governing. “Ten Matters for Reform” is a Song Dynasty text written by Ch’eng Hao to the Emperor Shen-tsung (r.1068-1085). They show both a Confucian’s concern with form and rites, but also economic, environmental, and military problems that he thinks the government needs to correct. Confucian’s look to the past Golden Age for their solutions that had worked previously and here is no different.
The text is an excellent method to show students both Confucianism as a living philosophy but a great deal of commonality between problems during the Song Dynasty and today. Unemployment, environmental degradation, and over-spending on the military are all discussed here. It is important to have the students understand that Confucian’s look to the past for their solutions to the Golden Age, a stark contrast with how politicians function today.