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Impact of confucianism on china
Confucianism and Daoism in ancient China
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During the history of ancient China, around 500 B.S.Ec., the Chinese begin to go through a crisis. The original order established in the civilization was long gone, and a change was needed. Something had to be done, in order to get the order restored in china. Chinese thinkers looked for ways to change their empire in order to reestablish order to their empire. In the chaotic China civilization, several different answers arouse to solve the problem, which ultimately changed China for the better. The three primary solutions were the concepts Legalist, Confucianism, Daoism.
In the first solution to the disorder of the civilization, the legalist answer was thought of. The philosophers behind this idea thought that “the solution, to China’s problems lay in the rules or laws, clearly spelled out and strictly enforced through a system of rewards and punishments” (Strayer 150). The underlying “sole purpose of the Legalism was to make the rule of the ruler longer for the Legalism [and] to regulate the behavior of each individual so as to establish a social order” (Ma 55). The legalist answer was a good idea because they felt a harsher government
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It was not as harsh as legalism, and was more culturally accepted, unlike Daoism. Confucianism ways of thinking changed how people of the Chinese society behaved. It was expected of superior parties in China’s social hierarchy to govern by the moral norms of Confucian values. Confucius believed that “If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good” (James 2). His teachings, and beliefs changed the whole dynamic of the Chinese culture, and the perspective of how they value family and political life. Out of all the solutions created for this time period, this one was the most influential to the Chinese
There are many Chinese Philosophies within the world, including Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism, in which they have all originated as a result of the collapse of the Zhou dynasty in China, however, they do not all have the same beliefs.
Legalist was first proposed by a Qin statesman named Shang Yang and developed by the philosopher Han Feizi who had a big influence during the Warring States Era of China. Legalist played a very important role in ancient China history and Legists believe that human beings are more inclined to do wrong things than right things because they are motivated entirely by their own benefits. It had a positive influence but its development during the Qin Dynasty resulted in “burning of books” which is a disaster for Chinese culture. So the question is: Are there more advantages than disadvantages of Legalist theory’s growth?
#5 & #6 shows the religious impacts in the Yangzi river civilizations. With the teachings of moral righteousness and discipline of Confucianism’s text as shown in doc. #6, it brought about stability within China. This brought a more structured society of work where social rankings were based on effort of work. Confucianism’s teaching also introduced education systems where students were taught teachings of Confucianism as well as calligraphy. Daoism is another philosophy that arose from the ancient civilization of the Yang He River that has a major influence on China. Daoism teaches the concept of Yin-Yang and by finding one’s place in nature, one can achieve perfect harmony. This philosophy promotes peace and addresses people to live a simple life which also helped stabilize the country (doc
China’s government was ruled by an emperor (king). The king had to do a very good job, and his people would have to like his work and effort, if not, they overthrew him and someone else came to rule. The mandate of heaven, or approval by the gods, was very important. For example, if the crops were good, and everything was moving along fine, it meant that the gods liked you. But if the...
1. Legalism: After the fall of the Zhou Dynasty in 500 B.C.E., the Chinese civilization fell into a state of chaos. To end the period of disunity, a way of thinking called Legalism was advocated. According to Legalism, the state would remain peaceful and united if rulers enforced strict rules with rewards for following, and brutal punishments if laws were broken. Han Fei, a Chinese philosopher, promoted Legalist ideas. Due to the harshness of this philosophy, it was not a sustainable form of governing. (Political, Cultural)
In Ancient China there were two beliefs that people competed against it, and they were Daoism ( Taoism) and Legalism. Both beliefs, Daoism and Legalism, were very different from each other. Daoist believe that you don’t need rules, and Legalist believed that you need rules no matter what. Legalist is a better belief than Daoism because it keeps the Society safer.
Legalism was first noted during the rule of Qin Shi Huangdi. He expanded what we now call China to a unified country by savagely conquering his neighboring kingdoms. Legalism was marked by controlling subjects by punitive laws (Lubow, 2009). This form of rule had a system that encouraged community members to hold each other accountable to the rulers – if it was proven someone was breaking the law, and no one turned him in, all would be punished. It was also with this strict code of order and obedience that Qin Shi Huangdi was able to build his Terra Cotta army. The punishment for such things as not paying fees of taxes, or even if work was deemed incompetent, was forced labor on the Emperor’s building projects (Emperor’s Ghost, 2014).
“Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.” (Confucius) Doaism, Confucianism, and Legalism are all different philosophies with distinctive ideas. The Chinese believed in these three philosophies to help give them the knowledge they needed at the time. All three philosophies have strong valid beliefs about government and other topics.
Confucius was also known as “Kongfuzi” or “Master Kong” Confucius is important to history because he was the person who Confucianism. Confucianism is one of the methods in China that restored order. Confucianism helped china by advising people to return to ethics such as a child being respectful their parents or family being loyal to each other. Confucius also had ideas about government also that included that the king should be a role model and that lower classes of people should look up to the higher classes of people. Along with Confucianism came Daoism and Legalism. Daoism supported that people should live in harmony with the Dao. Daoists even believed that the ruler was in harmony with the dao and that the ruler would govern effortlessly. One of the most famous Daoist teacher was Laozi. He was important to Daoism because he was credited with writing a famous Daoist book called, The Way and Its Power. Laozi eventually got so famous he was worshiped as a supernatural being. Legalism was a belief like Confucianism and Daoism. Legalism had strict rules. In Legalism if one person committed a crime more than one person would be
What are the 3 main religions of China? The 3 main religions are Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Buddhism shows you how to end suffering. Confucianism is mainly about being respectful. Daoism is about how people should observe nature to know how to behave. Overall, these are the 3 main religions of China.
Confucian culture has persistence, so it does not disappear with the annihilation of the old system. Confucian culture, formed under two thousand years of feudal autocratic rule, not only exists for a long time, but also still has important influence on Chinese contemporary political life and political culture with its strong vitality. The theme of moderation is to educate people consciously to self-improve, self supervise, and self educate, and train themselves have the ideal personality. Fundamentally, the Confucian thinks that the root of governing revolution lies in the will of people, therefore, it should govern from the will of people if it wants to achieve the social governance, which has its profound meaning (Chan, Cho, 2014). The emergence of a lot of social problems, in the final analysis, is due to the lack of governance...
Confucianism has changed throughout China’s period of time. The start of confucianism was a way to view the world and build a foundation around. Although, this began to spread other ideologies and cross ideas. During the period Tang (618-906), Han Yu
In the early stages of China, there were 3 major philosophies; Taoism, Legalism and Confucianism. Each of the philosophies trace back to the Era of Warring States, when the Zhou Dynasty was forced to move East due to rebellion in the West. Taoism is based on the writings of Lao-Tzu, which urge religious piety and humility. Legalism, written by Shang Yang, Li Si, and Hanfeizi, depends on law and stricter rule rather than faith. Confucianism, taught by Confucius, stressed love for humanity, worship of the ancestors, respect from child to parent, and harmony. Each had a different idea on how to end conflict in china.
Throughout China’s history, dynasties have deeply ruled China over a course of 4,000 years. Confucius walked the earth in 551 BC, and inspired new ways of thinking and teaching education. He valued deep thought and became a living example for those around him. Confucius took great delight in studying and was eager to learn from anyone. Confucius taught the value of kindness, integrity, truth, modestly and courteousness that spread like wildfire and inspired those around him. In addition, Confucius is credited to have written some of China’s most influential Chinese classics, which helped outline the principles of a society, confucian philosophy, aspects of life, and early education (Surowski). Confucius was set on the following basic principles when it came to learning. Confucius often said “Studying without thinking leads to confusion; thinking without studying leads to laziness” (“Confucianism”). The early
In this essay I will evaluate the success and the lack of success of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire using three different Chinese perceptions: Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Through Confucianism, I will