Chinese Philosophy Dbq Analysis

Throughout history, Chinese philosophies have referred to various perspectives and values followed among their people. All of these philosophies have a long history of several and many years. Out of the three well-known philosophies, Confucianism and Legalism have polar opposite values and morals. The philosophy that began from Confucius believed in returning good ethics in order for society to have good conduct opposed to bad people. Whereas Legalism believed that the disorder of society would be fixed by harsh punishment and overall government control. Therefore, both philosophies values and teachings lead to impacts that influenced the lives of people in China in various ways. To begin with, both philosophies had alike objectives, although …show more content…
Confucius taught people more ethics in order to avoid bad conduct. ”Humans beings are determined by environment and education,by the habits and preferences they develop an the lives they lead.”(Document 6). This shows that the influence was all up to the individual's actions, you are the one that controls your good conduct. In contrast, Shi Huangdi helped China by standardizing Chinese script, weights, measurements and even transportation for troops and travel. (Document 2). He was able to improve society's essential tasks, therefore he had a positive affect. Although another influence is that he “formed units of five to ten families, which then had a group responsibility for the wrongdoings of any individuals within the group” (Document, 1). This meant that he was so controlling that any wrongdoing was immediately reported. People’s lives were influenced by having trust issues towards your family and making sure your life was kept to yourself to avoid any shaming and or harsh punishment visible to the public. Both philosophies had major roles in ancient China history and influenced society for what they believed in was the best. In conclusion, Chinese philosophies was what guided historic life in China to fix their “disorderly” society. Out of the three most known philosophies, Confucianism and Legalism are the most different due to their values and influence on society. These philosophies truly lead to a change to Chinese culture and without the Confucius thought of good ethics and Legalism belief of harsh punishment government would be very different today. If these philosophies, China’s values would be far different from modern day