THREE SCHOOLS OF

THOUGHT IN CHINA

CHINESE PHILOSOPHY

The Chinese are different from every

early civilization in that they are much
more secular in their views.
As codified religion never truly took
hold, East Asia developed in a starkly
contrasting pattern to the rest of the
world.

THE VINEGAR TASTERS

WARRING STATES PERIOD

(475-221 BC)

Period of competition between local clan leaders for control

of China
Overlapped with the end of the Zhou Dynasty because the
Zhou were technically in charge, but had little control for the
last 200 years of their Dynasty
Many thinkers developed competing philosophies,
attempting to bring stability and peace to China
Competing clan leaders often developed their own
philosophies

CONFUCIUS
KONG FUZI (551-479 BC)

Founder was Confucius

(born 551 BC)
Part of a noble but poor
family
Wandered to local courts
advising rulers on how to
govern
He attracted many students
who wrote down his ideas
after his death in a book
called the Analects

CONFUCIANISM

Concerned primarily with restoring social stability and order

What is the basis of a stable, unified, and enduring social
order?
a system of social and ethical philosophy
only when character is cultivated are our families
regulated; only when families are regulated are states well
governed.

HOW TO CREATE AN IDEAL

GOVERNMENT?

To ensure Good Governance the state should fill

official positions with individuals who were well
educated and extraordinarily conscientious.
Emphasis on formation of Junzi - superior
individuals- who did not allow personal interest
to influence their judgement.
Literary works of the Zhou dynasty became the
core texts of the traditional Chinese education.

CONFUCIAN VALUES AND

GOOD GOVERNANCE

Ideal Government also needed a strong

sense of moral integrity.
Qualities Important to Confucius
Ren: A sense of humanity
Li: A sense of propriety, courtesy,
respect, deference to elders
Xiao: Filial Piety

CONFUCIAN IDEAS

Emphasis on peace and order by focusing on

proper ordering of human relations.

THE ANALECTS

Book containing Confucius thoughts on how to improve

society
Became the basis for Chinese civil service exams and
bureaucracy
Government workers

HOW DID CONFUCIUS

THOUGHT LENT ITSELF TO
ADAPTATION?

Mecius (372-289BC) was the

principal spokesman for the
Confucius school.
Placed special emphasis on the
Confucian virtue of ren and
advocated government of
benevolence and humanity.
The principle applied that rulers
would levy light taxes, avoid wars,
support education, and encourage
harmony and cooperation.

XUNZI (298-238BC)

Less optimistic view of

society
Strong social discipline best
means to bring order in the
society.
Emphasized the concept of li

LEGALISM

Shang Yang (390-338BC)

Han Feizi (280-233BC)

HAN FENZI

Founder was Hanfeizi (died 233 BC)

Believed that all people were naturally evil
The only way to achieve order was strict laws and
harsh punishments
The best ruler was strict and merciless

LEGALISM AND
GOVERNMENT

The love of the early kings for their children could not
surpass the love of parents' for their children, so if
parents love does not inevitably result in their children
not being unruly, how can the love of kings make their
people orderly?
How were Hanfeizis ideas different from those of
Confucius?

LEGALIST DOCTRINE

Foundations of states strength were agriculture and

armed forces
Legalists sought to channel individuals into
cultivation and military service
Strict legal laws that clearly outlined expectations
and provided severe punishments for violators
Principal of collective responsibility

LEGALISM AND
GOVERNMENT

Many clan leaders chose legalism- why?

Official policy of the Qin Emperor, Shi Huangdi,
who united China after the Warring States Period.
Qin Shi Huangdi was cruel and many later Chinese
people hated legalism because of him.

DAOISM

A contemporary of Confucius was a teacher named Laozi.

Most of what we know about Laozi is so heavily mixed
with legend, that it is difficult to know what is true, and
what is myth.

DAOISM AND THE WAY

Daoists sought to live in harmony with nature and Dao, or the

way of the universe.
Tried to avoid conflict and simply go with the flow
Daoists believed government was unnatural and should be as
small as possible

REJECT MATERIAL THINGS

Laozi taught that a force known

as the Dao permeated all
living things.
Individuals should reject the
world, and their desires for
worldly possessions and power,
and commune with nature,
bringing ones self into a
state of oneness with the Dao.

SIGNIFICANCE

Elusive concept: an eternal principle governing all the

workings of the world
Dao is passive and yielding, does nothing yet
accomplishes everything
Humans should tailor their behavior to the passive and
yielding nature of the Dao
Ambition and activism had only brought the world to
chaos
Doctrine of wuwei: disengagement from worldly affairs,
simple life
Advocated small, self-sufficient communities
Political implications: served as counterbalance to
Confucian activism

SAYINGS OF TAO

Accept everything just the way it is.

Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.
"The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the
more thieves and robbers there will be.
Laozi, Tao Te Ching

DAOISM AND GOVERNMENT

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his

work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it
ourselves.
How were Laozis ideas different from those of Confucius and
Hanfeizi?

While Eeyore frets ...

... and Piglet hesitates
... and Rabbit calculates
... and Owl pontificates
...Pooh just is.
Tao of Pooh V

ACTIVITY

Your job is to identify which sayings are from which belief

system
1. Have no friends [that are not] not equal to yourself.
2. If you think that you do not have enough, then you will
never have enough.
3. If you are not always trying to be someone, you can be
who you are.
4. While his parents are alive, a son may not move far away.
5. It is dangerous for a ruler to trust others. He who trusts
others can be manipulated by others.
6. Indeed, customs differ between the past and the present.
To try to govern the people of a chaotic age with
benevolence and lenient measures is like to drive wild