Three Chinese Philosophies
Bailee Cook
Have you ever wondered why or how China came to what it is now? Well, a lot of it has to do with the three Chinese philosophies which are Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. All of these philosophies are basically completely different from each other, but they were all very popular in Ancient Chinese history. In the end, the three Chinese philosophies impacted Ancient and modern China in many different ways.
The first major Chinese philosophy was Confucianism. Confucianism was laid back, but strict to a point. What I mean by that is you had clear laws and rules to follow, and if you followed them you would get rewarded rather than punished. If you decided to overstep your boundaries and disobey your …show more content…
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.” Laozi feels that Yin and Yang represents human life because he said “human life is a whole made up of opposites” and that is what Yin and Yang is, a whole made up of opposites. Living a life full of happiness is also a big thing in teaching the way of Daoism. With all of these all of these beliefs, Laozi again felt that the best way to rule a society was to rule the least amount possible. As I said before, Daoism was by far the most laid back philosophy and I believe a very interesting one as …show more content…
Legalism had a very strict and harsh mindset behind it, and that is exactly what it turned out to be, strict and harsh. Legalism was executed in this way because people were too selfish to set a good example for each other. Therefore, people weren’t really allowed the chance to set an example for each other because when they were told to do something they would do it with no excuses or exceptions. If you failed to do the task you were given you would be severely punished and your ruler wouldn’t hesitate to do so. Hanfeizi created Legalism and he believed strict and harsh was the only way to rule and create a well organized society. In the end, Hanfeizi’s biggest goal was to have a well organized society and he felt the way he ruled accomplished that very well.
In conclusion, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism had a huge effect on Ancient and modern China. The three Chinese philosophies all had very unique mindsets behind them and were executed very differently. All in all, each philosophy is unique and very smart in their own
Bailee Cook
Have you ever wondered why or how China came to what it is now? Well, a lot of it has to do with the three Chinese philosophies which are Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. All of these philosophies are basically completely different from each other, but they were all very popular in Ancient Chinese history. In the end, the three Chinese philosophies impacted Ancient and modern China in many different ways.
The first major Chinese philosophy was Confucianism. Confucianism was laid back, but strict to a point. What I mean by that is you had clear laws and rules to follow, and if you followed them you would get rewarded rather than punished. If you decided to overstep your boundaries and disobey your …show more content…
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.” Laozi feels that Yin and Yang represents human life because he said “human life is a whole made up of opposites” and that is what Yin and Yang is, a whole made up of opposites. Living a life full of happiness is also a big thing in teaching the way of Daoism. With all of these all of these beliefs, Laozi again felt that the best way to rule a society was to rule the least amount possible. As I said before, Daoism was by far the most laid back philosophy and I believe a very interesting one as …show more content…
Legalism had a very strict and harsh mindset behind it, and that is exactly what it turned out to be, strict and harsh. Legalism was executed in this way because people were too selfish to set a good example for each other. Therefore, people weren’t really allowed the chance to set an example for each other because when they were told to do something they would do it with no excuses or exceptions. If you failed to do the task you were given you would be severely punished and your ruler wouldn’t hesitate to do so. Hanfeizi created Legalism and he believed strict and harsh was the only way to rule and create a well organized society. In the end, Hanfeizi’s biggest goal was to have a well organized society and he felt the way he ruled accomplished that very well.
In conclusion, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism had a huge effect on Ancient and modern China. The three Chinese philosophies all had very unique mindsets behind them and were executed very differently. All in all, each philosophy is unique and very smart in their own