Three Chinese Philosophies

Confucianism

Daoism

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 Nature

Intuition

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”