Three Chinese Philosophies

ConfucianismDaoism

Legalism

Long, Long Ago, During the Zhou Dynasty

In a Middle KingdomFar, Far Away . . .

Lived a Scholar Named Confucius!

• Name: Kungfu Tze• From a lower noble

family• Sought a government

official job• Goal: A Peaceful,

Harmonious Society

Basic Confucian Beliefs

• Man is good, if good examples are set for him

• Filial Piety - devotion, loyalty to family• Obedience and respect for authority• Education is the only equalizer• Rulers should lead by setting a good

example

Confucius also said . . .

Confucius said:

Do not do to others what you would not want

done to you

FILIAL PIETY“A Son should not stray far from his parents while they are alive . . . parents, when alive, should be served according to ritual; when dead, they should be buried according to ritual; they should be sacrificed to according to ritual."

Five Key Relationships• Ruler and Subject• Husband and Wife• Parent and Child• Older and Younger

Sibling• Friends• Unequal Relationships

(Kow Tow)

Confucius believed that if people performed their familial roles properly, they would perform their roles in society and government properly.

Confucius: In education there is no class distinction.

• But in ancient China only the sons of wealthy nobles could have the opportunity to become educated.

Confucius said: “If the Ruler is upright, then the People will be upright”. The emperor's role was like that of a father: he would love his subjects as if they were his children, and they in turn would show loyalty and respect for him.

Remember the Mandate of Heaven?

What were signs that a ruler was NOT upright and had lost the Mandate?

Impact of Confucianism

• After his death, Confucius’ disciples wrote his sayings in “The Analects”

• During the Han dynasty, it became the basis of Chinese government bureaucracy (civil service exams were based on Confucian ideas and ancient Chinese books)

• It influenced social life, government and education for over 2000 years.

Communists tried to end Confucian ideas in the Mao era

• Children were encouraged to denounce parents who were capitalist or Western.

• The government wanted loyalty to the state, not the family.

• Yet in both Confucianism and Communism loyalty to an authority or group is important.

• Confucianism was not successfully ended by Mao.

What does Star Wars have to do with the Chinese Philosophy

Daoism?

So What is Daoism?

• Lao Zi (Lao Tze) lived in the Zhou dynasty as well

• It was a period of warring states, so he, too, wanted a philosophy to bring peace and harmony to China

• He sought harmony through following the intuitive way of nature. . .

Lao Zi

• Little is known about him

• May have been a clerk in the imperial archives

• Wrote the Dao de Jing “The Way and its Power”

• Disappeared westward

What is the Dao?• is mysterious and profound;• cannot be explained in words;• is the source of all life;• is always in motion;• permeates everything but

cannot be pinned down;• cannot be changed by

humans;• can be a source of power for

humans who act in accord with it.

Daoists

• Have an intense love of nature and affirmation of life

• Sought physical health, vitality, longevity and even immortality

Daoist landscape art

Wu Wei

• Just be• Take no specific

action• Offer no resistance• Go with the flow of

nature.• Emptiness

In harmony with nature

Daoist influences

Chinese science and inventionMath, Astronomy

Summary of Daoism

Harmony with NatureIntuition

Legalism

• Qin Dynasty Emperor Shuhuangdi• Great Wall linked• Centralized power• Allowed agriculture and war• Burnt all books

Han Feizi

• Believed man is bad• Punishments must be

harsh• Similar to Machiavelli

in “The Prince”