Inside a Fortune Cookie: What Would Confucius Do?

The Chinese novelty. The American fortune cookie, and most likely a Japanese product. But who cares? Right? They are tasty AND fun.

The sugar(a dozen fortune cookies later, don't ask...) has got me a little excited. The message is even better.

I made a rule beforehand. The first one is your "future", or fortune. The rest are just cookies. Sugar cookies.

"Face facts with dignity."

Wow. How prophet-like, how...true? What is it about an ancient Chinese proverb that is so alluring? Is it the wisdom of Confucius? Or just clever marketing? Maybe just an American's consumerism raging up again, like the worst flu bug you ever saw? Who was Confucius? And did he have anything to do with this newfound wisdom I stumbled upon?

Born in China in 479 B.C., Confucius was not know by that name. He  was known as Kong Qiu, but the translation from Catholic missionaries stuck in the west. Although his father died at a young age, Confucius' mother raised him educated and refined. As a young man, he took as small-time job as an office worker in the government's tax collecting arena. He studied education and after his mother died, and after a long mourning, Confucius entered into teaching.

Although there is no "Bible", there is a history of writings for Confucian practice. The Five Classics and Four Books provide much of the teachings. The basic tone of the teachings are instructions and advice on how to live together, in a harmonious and moral state.

In the social religion, there are creeds, or instructions to live by. These tips for life are meant to provide quality and optimism for life. It breeds respect for family and neighbor. These creeds can be found in the Five Classics and the Four Books, as well as the "Five Great Relationships" and Confucian Virtues.

In the relationships, the five that are at the core of Confucianism, "Father-son, Elder brother-younger brother, Husband-wife, Elder-youth, and Ruler-subject." These relationships suggest an inner peace and respect that is essentially the ideology of the religion. This is further enriched in the teachings of Confucian virtues, five core virtues that encompass a realm of good nature. The virtues are: Ren, meaning kindness; Li, meaning appropriateness; Shu, which is the "Golden Rule"; Xiao, meaning devotion to family; and Wen, meaning respect for culture.

The message in my fortune, about facing facts with dignity, is within the boundaries of Confucianism. It simply is an example of the "social harmony" of the teaching. To accept the facts, no matter how unsatisfactory, is a witness to the religion's teachings of changes, and is present in the Yijing Book in The Five Classics.

The idea that one can exist entirely peaceably, prosperously, and with many numbers of people is an extraordinary belief that transformed the American Chinese food industry. The novel cookie, with its readable and livable message, lives on. The core ideas of Confucius, and his followers, are ideas that permeate critical thought today, so much so, that in the 19th century, Japanese confectioners "created" the fortune cookie. They were sold to Chinese restaurants and soon were an American icon.

They still are.

A photo of "American" Portland, Oregon's "Chinatown", shot with a "Japanese" camera. Seems appropriate for this article. The message from Confucius is universal.

Thank-you for reading, and thanks to Randy Andersen, Michael Molloy, and Stanford University.

Photo by Ronald Borst. Canon XTi & EF 50mm f1.4 USM, Shutter 1/500 second at Aperture 3.2, ISO 800.