Chinese Philosophies
By: Abbey Mills, Blaise Tylicki, and Parker Stobaugh
Confucianism
It is based on the teaching of Kongfuzi (Confucius) by western society
This philosophy deeply influenced chinese government and culture
Confucius lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E
Confucius deeply respected chinese traditions such as, reverence for ancestors and learning
Teachings --
The goal was to achieve a just and peaceful society
He taught that society worked when all people use standards of good behavior
There are five basic relationships between people ruler and subject, husband and wife, father and son, older sibling and younger sibling, and friend and friend
All people must respect and obey the people with a higher status (Elders)
Influence
Confucius's sayings were in a book called the "Analects"
Confucianism had effect on the government
Civil servants were traditionally people who worked for the government
It was based during the Han Dynasty
Daoism
A philosophy that emphasizes living in harmony with nature
Founder --The wise man of Daoism Laozi
He was the author of Dao De Jing English version of the title is " The Classic of the Way and Its Power"
The Dao De Jing preached and returned to a simple and natural way of living
Teachings --
Daoism was based on the ancient Chinese idea of the Dao (dow), or (way)
Dao was the force that gave order to the natural universe
Daoism taught people happiness and peace by living in harmony, or agreement and the way of nature
A true harmony comes from balancing the opposite forces of nature, this is called the "yin and yang"
Daoists believe that everyone must discover the Dao for themselves
Influence --
Daoism encouraged rulers to govern less harshly
Daoism taught writing and art
Daoism developed into a popular religion
Legalism
Based on the teaching of Hanfeizi
Hanfeizi lived from 280 to 233 B.C.E
He was the prince of the royal family in the Han dynasty
He was very concerned with creating peace and order in society
Hanfeizi did not think that the Confucian teaching about proper behavior where the answer
Teachings
People who followed Legalism believed people are naturally selfish
Legalism said that people will always peruse their own self interests
Therefor it was not enough for rulers to set a good example
Instead they established strict laws and enforced them either with good rewards for good behavior or harsh punishments for bad behavior
In Hanfeizi time rulers where frequently overthrown
To solve this problem Hanfeizi taught that rulers must have absolute power backed by military might
Influence
Legalism philosophies had an almost immediate influence on the government in china
Qin read and admired the writings of Hanfeizi
To achieve the goal of having a strong central government the adopted legalistic ideas