Confucianism, Legalism And Daoism In China

Chinese legend says that five thousand years ago Chinese society was founded by many rulers. Fu Xi introduced family life as well as hunting, fishing, and the domestication of animals to China. His successor, Shen Nong was supposedly the one who brought agriculture to the Chinese people. Finally, Huang Di is credited for having created the Chinese writing system as well the bow and arrow. The things that all three mythical founders created represent some of the core values still held in China to this day. This is emulated later in Chinese history when three real founders of a different kind introduce their beliefs on the culture; beliefs that effect the history and culture of the society. Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism all influenced Chinese political leaders in early Chinese history and embedded themselves into the culture of China. The first …show more content…
Like Confucianism, Daoism focuses on the proper way human beings should act on earth, however Daoism differs in that they believe, “the will of Heaven is not action but inaction.” This is commonly known as predestination, or rather the fact that every human has a preset future and that future will ultimately take its course. Therefore, human beings with this mindset believe they should let fate take over and take no action to change their fate. Lao Tzu’s work the Dao De Jing, a work written during the Confucian era that holds the philosophical knowledge of Daoism, states that man “acts but does not rely on his own ability.” This goes with the belief that “in Daoism Man and Heaven are united into one” meaning that man and heaven are connected and equal and if man is passive and lets fate control their will they will eventually arrive at Heaven. The philosophy of Daoism is very individualistic and preferred by those who did not agree with the work ethic aspect of