After taking an adventure to Chinatown, we sat down at our table. Little did I know that would be my first real life Confucianism lesson! I was parched and all I wanted was a beverage so I started pouring myself some tea. All of my friends had their jaws to the table (that’s an exaggeration, I am trying to make the lesson clear), when I started pouring tea for myself. It was against li, etiquette/customs, which is a huge component of Confucianism. For the rest of that trip, I did not pour my own tea. Confucianism lesson number one, check!

Then there were creatures on the wall. They were elegant and beautiful, one was a phoenix (female) and the other was a dragon (male). It symbolized family and marriage which connected with Confucianism, because in Confucianism relationships, especially the ones that connect the family, are really important.

There were also patterns on the wall. They were all random and often nature inspired which went along the culture of Daoism, because Daoism was all about going with wu wei (the flow) and having no structure. It also included a nature aspect, which is a major components of Daoism. This in effect ended up going against Confucianism, because the patterns weren’t orderly or structured.

There was also a carrot dessert. Yes, vegetable dessert. On the outside it looked leak a carrot, however the inside was a completely different story. The inside help a dessert. This went against the rectification of names (being what you say you are) which means it went against Confucianism. However that said, it went with Daoism because this unexpected twist was something you were supposed to just go with. Just go with its wu wei and accept surprises.

Finally, last but not least, dimsum. Majority of the dumplings you would receive (or at least for me) you wouldn’t know what was in them! You would just have go with the wu wei (flow) which pointed to Daoism. Also they were filled with natural ingredients also indicating Daoism.