at age 67. Although they welcomed him there, he was not offered public office anymore, and he did not seek it. Instead he spent the rest of his years teaching and writing. He died at age 72. After his death Confucius' followers spread this system of belief. It had a major impact on the Chinese culture.SYMBOLSA symbol that is used or associated with the religion of Confucianism is the yin-yang. Yin-yang are " the two countervailing forces of the universe, each necessary for balance yet each constantly changing in power." Yin refers to any thing that is negative, yang refers to anything that is positive. The irony is that these two things tell people everything they know, it is impossible for the both not to be in coexistence with each other. This is saying that life attracts opposites, such as: good and evil, light and darkness, and war and peace. " It shows the two opposites, yin and yang, eternally pursuing each other in a harmonious way." It is true they are opposites, but there is no conflict, there is only balance." This drawing symbolizes the way life should be lived. No one can hope for all pleasure and no pain, or all life and no death, or all happiness and no waiting, or all agreement and no disagreement." This means that no one's life can be set to perfection, there is always room for adjustments.If "harmonious interplay between yang and yin" is the goal of one's life then the question is how to achieve it? Confucianism answers the question by stressing tradition and stressing to be rational.Related to the yin and the yang theory is the idea that all things are composed of the five elements: wood, metal, fire, water, and earth. Like yin and yang, these elements are continually influencing each other in the balance of nature.The number five had a great significance in the Chinese view of the universe. Each of the five elements was identified with one of the five primary colors, the five directions, the five principal grains...
