While Daoism and Confucianism are of two different strains of thought they often flow in the same way like two parallel rivers in governance in aspects of life, in practice the two systems are often flow be each other to some degree but never interconnect at any points. Confucianism deals with social matters, while Taoism concerns itself with the search for meaning. They share common beliefs about man, society, and the universe, although these notions were around long before either philosophy. Confucianism and Daoism are the two most influential philosophies in China both having their roots during the Zhou Dynasty The political and social environment that inspired these schools of thought was the breakdown of the Zhou monarchy and the rise of …show more content…
According to Confucius, each person should act with virtue in all social matters; family, community, state, and kingdom, to ensure order and unity. Man's virtue in all its forms is called “ren” which would make sense but Daoism does not make much sense the ideology in which the ideal ruler and government do not interfere in the lives of the people and lead them to prosperity of primitive simplicity by nonaction and focuses on intuitive spontaneity. It is civilization that has corrupted humanity from its early state of innocence but realistically as a person or society lives and ages there is no such thing as innocence as one must grow and learn. The sage practices nonaction, gives up worldly ambitions, and lives a simple life in accord with nature though that one does. The dedication to right relationships and a solid social order contrast directly with the inner direct intuition of Taoism. While both philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism may end up with the same result in having a healthy society, one is taught and can culminate in results while the other is impeded by environmental variables and through inaction and exclusiveness may cause more
Although Daoism believes in modesty, and Confucianism emphasizes honesty, ruling a kingdom effectively during a time of turmoil requires sovereignty. Legalism is a system of pure power that demands restraint and discipline with an emphasis on strict laws. Daoism maintains the balance of nature and embrace harmony by utilizing “The Dao.” Confucianism highlights virtues and morality wanting people to become The Superior Man. For an East Asian Kingdom plagued by famine, war, and civil unrest, Legalism would bring order to the Kingdom by a centralized and powerful government, strict laws that govern the people, and once peace ensues, a secure economy.
Ever since the Han Dynasty, Confucianism has been a cornerstone in Chinese culture. Established by the scholar Confucius, this belief system focused on achieving a "…perfect society in which all people devoted themselves to fulfilling their roles… (and) all wholeheartedly did what was expected of them." (PMEA, 32) This included all individuals knowing and enacting their responsibilities in order to create a world of harmony. During the Song, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, Confucian principles, were intertwined throughout the Chinese government, culture and everyday lives of subjects. Advancements made during this timeframe allowed Confucianism to develop and grow with the Chinese population, making this belief system a mainstay in Chinese society.
Ancient China has three philosophies: Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism. These three philosophies explain how people should behave and how the government should rule the people. The philosophies were guidelines to the people. Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism have different values, beliefs, and ideas of what is important and expected, but the main goal is to work towards peace and harmony. These cultures are the same way in being rewarded due to their actions, but different in government regulation because of the people in command.
The Taoist philosophy is based on the teachings of Laozi and seems to have a more religious flow to it. Where as Confucian writings focus on the government and social order. Confucius believed that if a person behaved properly, then their family would follow suit, then their neighborhood, their city, and in time the whole country. The basis for a good system of government was the ideal Confucius family. Confucius talked about the 5 relations. They are emperor/subject, parent/child, husband/wife, older sibling/young sibling, friend/friend; all of which (with the exception of friend/friend) were based on the parent/child relationship. A large part of Confucianism is filial piety. The Superior Man, according to Confucian beliefs, is not only virtuous because of his actions but because of his attitude as well. This is why the Confucian belief that should the government behave in such a way the whole country will see this good and follow it.
The founder of Buddhism is Buddha Siddhartha, born 624 in present-day Nepal. His name means “Awakened One.” A Buddha is somebody who has awoken from sleep and suddenly sees things truthfully. As Buddha grew up, he could speak sixty-four different languages and was a good mathematician. He often visited poor and old people, and realized that every person would one day experience sufferings, for example, sickness and death. Because Buddha believed in reincarnation, he became aware of the fact that everyone would experience these sufferings in a never-ending cycle. This caused him to feel sympathy for them and himself, and so he wished that they could all escape suffering. Thus, this created the religion of Buddhism.
"If an individual can practice five things anywhere in the world, he is a man of humanity...reverence, generosity, truthfulness, diligence and kindness" (Ebrey 19). Confucius' gentleman has to possess these fine qualities to achieve success. On the other side of the token, Daoism emphasized the need for similar entities. Laozi explains: "For minds, the depth is good. In social relations, human-heartedness is good. In speaking, the trustworthiness is good. In government order is good" (Ebrey 28). Both systems, through through different approaches, promote peace and goodwill among the family, society and with neighboring states.
Daoism means “Followers of the way”, although Dao does not means only “way”. According to the BBC religion, the word Dao or Tao can include several concepts such as “the source of creation”, “the ultimate”, “the unnameable” ,“the way of nature as a whole”, “the natural universe as a whole” and “the inexpressible and indefinable.” In Taoism they believe in way of living in which there were not many rules and believes in the philosophy of inaction. They say that you can find happiness through nature and harmony. Also this is where yin and yang come from. As we can see, there are major differences between Daoism and Confucianism, but one of them is very important, the life after death.
While Confucius and Laozi differed in their views about virtue with others, they both require some form of harmony. Confucius thought a gentleman enacted certain virtues such as benevolence, justice, filial piety, and loyalty, and these are important in order to reach the Way through ritual to avoid shame. He felt ritual depended on the harmony of these virtues, but it did not take precedence, because "harmony cannot be sought for its own sake, it must always be subordinated to ritual". Instead, ritual is equal to a love of learning, because there is no limit of knowledge to gain. While he recognized those who can act without comprehension, he felt learning trounced innate knowledge. In contrast, Daoists believe simplicity provides a better life for the people than wisdom from learning, because it can lead to artifice. Laozi felt "when the great Way is neglected there arises benevolence and justice". He felt virtue only arises after the harmony of the Way has disintegrated. According to Daoists, harmony arose from the Way in the form of yin and yang, which regulates everything on heaven, earth, and in humans. This principle, however, requires that our actions are already predetermined, and they cannot affect harmony. Each individual would have to have an immense amount of trust for this system to work. However, in Confucius' society individuals would be able to
The origins and founders of these two religions are quite similar, which will be explained in this paragraph. Confucianism was founded by a man named Confucius; which is how the
Confucianism and Daoism seem to be complete polar opposites but there are some similarities between the two. One way that they are similar is that they both focus on the goal of self-improvement. Their teachings both agree that people are responsible for their personal life, individual
Confucian ethics focused on groups, humans living in communities and in societies advancing human culture and civilization in harmony and balance with each other. Taoist(Daoist) ethics focused on individuals separate lives and personal moral advancement in harmony and balance with nature. Both Confucian and Daoists focus on cultivation of Wen and virtue of Te-power without force. Both also focus on a kind of humility. In Confucianism this is Chun Tzu; in Daosim it is humility to nature and natural order. Both honor the past, tradition, and ancestors, and both have a concern for the future. However, the
In another way, Daoism was based upon the teachings and writings of Laozi, whose views varied from the ideals of Confucianism. In summary, there has been a transformation in the Chinese culture due to founding contemporaries the philosophies workings of the three major social beliefs, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. The three major social belief systems faced issues such as political order, humane treatment and how to unified society. Although there are distinct similarities and differences between the groups each established their own defined game plan or path in search of an optimistic future for china in order to solve or evict the many problems that plagued everyday
Confucianism and Daoism are two influential schools of thoughts that have existed in ancient China around the 6th century BCE. The former, led by the politician and philosopher Confucius, proposed that humans live in society according to a set of predefined rules and that they transform society through political action. Whereas the latter, led by the philosopher Lao-Tzu, promoted the idea of inaction; people should go with the flow instead of taking action to control their lives and dominate their surroundings. Although, at first glance Daoism and Confucianism seem to be two opposing philosophies, a more in depth analysis of two of their key ideas –filial piety and education—reveals that they do share some similarities.
Confucianism was founded by the first Chinese thinker to address both the political and social order of things straightforwardly and self- consciously. Kong Fuzi, or Confucius in English, lived from 551-479 B.C.E., but his teachings did not reach their full potential during the his life of an educator and political advisor born into an aristocratic family. Confucius gathered many disciples to spread his beliefs that were rooted in moral, ethical, and political character. He didn’t address questions about religion because he believed they were above the human moral intelligence capacity, nor those regarding obscure, complicated philosophical questions because they would not help solve the problems of China. Confucius did not really even care about the state, but he did believe
Confucianism and Daoism are both chinese religions. They both incorporated religious practices with daily activities in a way that it pertained to philosophy as well as religion, making the secular sacred. Confucianism was grounded in ethics and virtuous socio-political conditions. Daoism, also known as Taoism, sought to establish the proper relation between humans and the cosmos through discernment of the Tao, or Way. Confucianists are more concerned with social relationships and Taoism is of a more broader nature and more mystically oriented and more philosophical. They both focused on relationships that humans had with each other as well as the relationships that humans had with nature. They were atheistic in a sense that they had no