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Chinese History Is Rich With Culture Conjointly Seasoned

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Chinese history is rich with culture conjointly seasoned with value laden principles from a hybridization of Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist schools of thought. Tracing back the lineage of influence or tracking the evolution of culture is at times an arduous task. Retrospective observance has afforded me a certain clarity in interpreting the past. With that being said, this paper is dedicated to the echoes of the past stipulated by the Confucian Scholar Dong Zhongshu. During the length of the paper I will analyze his thoughts on the mandate of heaven, connection between the state & body, and his expectations of rulership. Secondary to all of that is my attempt to demonstrate that Dong Zhongshu was no typical Confucian scholar. It will be …show more content…

Attributes also regulations for those in power derive from a cosmological power. Thus, meaning that the governing is theologically legitimized. Politically Dong Zhongshu is postulating that the ruler has the divine capability of sanctifying his own rule by self-declaration for being the heavenly chosen ruler. Fundamentally this interpretation serves as legitimization of rulership akin to absolutism in France during the 16th century. That same rationalization made it sacrilegious to rebel against the rulership because risking damnation of an eternal life. Politically this is a shrewd calculating move that resembles Machiavellian political theory. Philosophically it is just mere rhetoric with zero logic to support the argument. We can all come up with concepts or arguments for why things may come to be nevertheless if we do not have the data to reinforce said theory then the point is rather mute. Dong Zhongshu was clearly a highly articulate man so I do not question his intelligence. I merely question his motive as well as endgame. His justification is not philosophical though it is politically cunning in his use of fear tactics. “He resides in a hidden place and does not reveal his form and so is numinous” is a clear-cut example of this tactical thinking. That quote is to serve as an ambiguous justification on why the people can’t themselves witness the presence of the heavenly influence although are still

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