In the year 517 B.C, a man named Laozi (Lao Tzu), a contributor of Taoism (Daoism), was born. Not a lot was known about his life, but it was known that he worked at the royal court during the Zhou dynasty. Because of the growing corruption in the palace, Laozi decided to leave, but before he left, Laozi left behind his will, widely recognized today as the Tao Te Ching. Throughout history, there has been a battle for China’s most dominant religion. The two contenders were Taoism and Confucianism.…
The nonchalant approach of the Dao was simply and was shared with others by the Daodejing (also known as the Laozi). Although each of these views on what it means to be human has many differences, they both hold many similarities. Confucianism is a NONTHEIST religion in which people act more ethical on decisions rather than metaphysical. The main goal was to develop the perfect gentlemen (junzi) through acts of moral cultivation. If a man had a guest…
Daoism was definitely the least strict out of all three philosophies. Laozi was the founder of Daoism, and he believed that to have a successful society you had rule the least amount possible. Laozi believed that everybody should live in peace, harmony, and agreement with the way of nature. Daoism is partly based off what is called Yin and Yang. Yin means “shadowed” and Yang means “sunlit.”…
Confucianism taught filial piety and respect for elders/ancestors. Confucianism was also used by the Chinese to create the civil service exams, which was the first bureaucracy based on merit rather than by social status. 9. Daoism was founded by Laozi. Daoism taught harmony, with no concept of a God.…
Classical China was composed of several major schools of philosophy that generally associated with life on earth rather than spiritual values. These philosophies emphasized a good life on earth and focused on the virtues of obedience to the state rather than speculations about God and heaven. Confucius, or King Fuzi, preached Confucianism, which was a system of ethics stressing virtue and reverence throughout society. Additionally, during the Qin and Han dynasties, an alternate system of political thought arose called Legalism. This philosophical belief was centered around the notion that human nature was naturally evil and required restraint and discipline.…
China Philosophy Essay The characteristics of the ideal ruler according to Confucius is to lead the people with governmental measures, laws, Virtue and rules of propriety. There is proof that this thesis is correct in document 2 of our DBQ. The document says that the ruler can avoid wrongdoing in the people and they will have no sense of honor and shame and set themselves right. If a ruler knows what is right and wrong and is a good person his people will follow him and do what he wants before asking them to do it.…
Laozi expressed that people should withdraw from political and social life and he promoted spontaneous, individualistic, and natural behavior. The ideas told people that to find themselves, they must leave society and materials behind, just like the Buddha believed. An unbiased scholar explains to society how Daoism also aimed for a functional society like Confucianism and Buddhism because, "all three teachings lead to the creation of an orderly society" (Document 5). Daoism did not only affect their followers by leading them into the wilderness, they affected Confucianism followers by changing how they thought of relationships. Daoism still affects people today even if they do not know it.…
The acceptance of Buddhism varied depending on where you are from and your place in society. Some Confucian scholars agreed with the emperor in rejecting the belief as an external, uncultured cult because of its differences, while other Chinese scholars agreed with Buddha, saying that Buddhism had much to offer, and finally, a third response came from a combination of Chinese and Buddhist scholars, who tried to make the Buddhist belief fit in with the already existing Chinese ideologies of Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. One of the Confucian scholars that was against Buddhism was Han Yu, who wrote “Memorial on Buddhism” in 819 C.E. In this he talks about when the Buddha’s finger bone was brought to China from India. He calls the bones…
Imagine living in Greece around 600 and 300 B.C.E. when Greek rationalism emerged. Now imagine living in China during the warring states period when Chinese philosophies emerged. Do you think life in both of these different regions would be more similar or different? Which region would you rather live in Greece or China? Why?…
Lao-Tzu once mentioned that it is possible to understand the real Dao without leaving the house. It actually became a classical statement of Daoism. Confucianism was an attempt to release tension between a man and society, to strengthen a social-political system of China by improving it. Daoism, in its turn, worked out its own quite unique system of person’s cultural development. Confucianism was the elite doctrine of well-educated, intellectual stratum of society.…
EALC 275 PAPER 1 Comparison between a Confucian ruler and a Daoist ruler Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in 2016 for US president, has been addressing the radical Islamic terrorism issues in his election speech recently. According to BBC News on September 7, 2016, Donald Trump is planning to defeat the Islamic terrorists in 30 days when he comes to office in the White House. He is calling for more military weapons, more troops and planes to give IS a fast defeat. Even though it seems to be another audacious promise that Mr Trump has made, a lot of people would have to agree with him on fighting a political correct war given all these terrorist events happening around the world. One might argue that fighting the war against the Islamic…
In China's ancient culture, there were many schools of thought, but the most important two thoughts are Ru tradition from “The Analects” and Daoist School from “Tao Te Ching”, which were created by Confucius and Laozi. Confucius promotes a hierarchical and moral society based on propriety while Laozi promotes a classless and simple social life. Although they seem to be two contradictory propositions, they both claim to go back and rebuild the lost Golden Ages through the way. Confucius advocated going back to an ideal society where people followed propriety. This is shown in the text when Duke Jing of Qi asks Confucius about governing.…
Confucians concurred that the noble man needed to stay occupied with society on the off chance that he was going to change it. The adherents of another new school of thought dating to this time contended rather that the best of technique for transforming society was to pull back from society. Book 2: Dao Chapter 3 deals with the philosophy of equals. A ruler of Dao Jing does not rule, he is a role model: “By honoring the worthy, The people will not compete with one another. By not value scarce goods, The people will not act like thieves.…
Confucianism and Daoism: Comparing Primary Documents Based on the tenants each religious philosophy, Documents A and D represent the Confucian tradition and Documents B and C represent the Taoist tradition. Both traditions set forth major principles for living as an individual and within the community. Major topics include punishment, weapons, conflict, leading, virtue, and crime.…
The basis faith of Daoists religion is that human beings do not have a soul in any groups nor have any motions linked to standards or ethics group systems. According to Daoism, a living person can live, feel, speak about or act, and think in harmony with the Tao. Confucianism is a normal approach to uphold oneself of the highest potential as a living being (Zhenren). There is a process of self-enlightenment that will last a lifetime, one could ultimately become a fulfilled human. According to the scholarly article, "Heritage of China: Contemporary Perspectives on Chinese Civilization," written by Timothy Barrett and Paul Ropp, it states, "The faith in the possibility that ordinary human beings can become awe-inspiring sages and worthies is…