47 Chinese Philosophy
Learning Objective
- Discuss Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, and Mohism.
Key Points
- Confucius stressed tradition and believed that an individual should strive to be virtuous and respectful, and to fit into his or her place in society.
- Confucianism remained prevalent in China from the Han Dynasty in 202 BCE to the end of dynastic rule in 1911.
- Lao-tzu was the legendary founder of Daoism, recorded in the form of the book the Tao Te Ching.
- Daoism advocated that the individual should follow a mysterious force, called The Way (dao), of the universe, and that all things were one.
- Legalism held that humans were inherently bad and needed to be kept in line by a strong state. According to Legalism, the state was far more important than the individual.
- Legalists could be divided into three types: those concerned with the position of ruler, those concerned with laws, and those concerned with tactics to keep the state safe.
- Mohism emerged under the philosopher Mozi, and its most well-known concept was “impartial care.” Mohism also stated that all people should be equal in their material benefit, and in their protection from harm.
Terms
Five Classics
The basis of civil examinations in imperial China and the Confucian canon. They consist of the Book of Odes, the Book of Documents, the Book of Changes, the Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals.
chi
Life force or body energy, which supposedly circulates through the body along meridians.
Tao Te Ching
The book which forms the basis of Daoist philosophy.
Analects
The document in which the students of Confucius recorded his teachings.
jen
Human virtue, under Confucianism.
Confucianism
Confucius, who lived during the 6th century BCE, was one of the foremost Chinese philosophers. He looked back on the Western Zhou period, with its strong centralized state, as an ideal. He was pragmatic and sought to reform the existing government, encouraging a system of mutual duty between superiors and inferiors. Confucius stressed tradition and believed that an individual should strive to be virtuous and respectful, and to fit into his or her place in society. After his death in 479 BCE, his students wrote down his ethical and moral teachings in the Lun-yü, or Analects.
Being a good and virtuous human in every ordinary situation was the goal of Confucianism. This virtue was called “jen,” and humans were seen as perfectible and basically good creatures. Ceremonies and rituals based on the Five Classics, especially the I Ching, were strongly instituted. Some ethical concepts included Yì (the moral disposition to do good), Lǐ (ritual norms for everyday life) and Zhì (the ability to see what is right in the behavior of others).
Confucianism remained prevalent in China from the Han Dynasty in 202 BCE to the end of dynastic rule in 1911. It was reformulated during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) as Neo-Confucianism, and became the basis of imperial exams.
Daoism
Another important philosopher in th