The Philosophies Of Confucius And Lao Tzu

It has been said that Confucius and Laozi, also known as Lao Tzu, are the greatest philosophers in the history of China. The impact of their philosophies on Chinese thought and culture has lasted thousands of years. Confucius and Laos’s philosophies helped to revolutionized a Chinese society in turmoil, bringing about cultural and religious revolution. It has been said that these two philosophical theories are a classic pair of opposites. Overall, it is clear that Confucianism and Daosim are two schools of thought that revolutionized the field of Chinese philosophy and continue to thrive even today. In order to understand the similarities and differences of these two schools of thought it is first important to have an understanding of the philosophers themselves. The Philosopher Confucius was born in 551 B.C.E (Craig 35). Throughout his life Confucius formulated many philosophies. However, the only record we have of his sayings are through the Analects, a book of his sayings collected by his disciples (Weiming). Confucius, through his philosophies, sought to resolve the turmoils of his time. He worked to achieve this by urging people to return to “the good old ways” (Craig 36). In terms of the government of his time he proposed “let the ruler be a ruler, the subject a subject, the father a father, the son a …show more content…
This statement led to the creation of the five Confucian relationships where, if everyone fulfilled their own duties to their status, harmony in themselves and in society overall would be achieved