Lao Tzu

Qin Shi Huang (or Shi Huangdi) was the First Emperor of a unified China, who ruled from 246 BCE to 210 BCE. In his 35-year reign, he managed to create magnificent and enormous construction projects. He also caused both incredible cultural and intellectual growth, and much destruction within China.

Through out all of history we have seen so many heroes and villains all over the world. But one place in particular was in China, with a leader who goes by the name of Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong was a well-known communist leader in china who actually lead the Chinese Communist Party. He is one of the most important people/historical figures in history. At first he was helping China at the beginning of his ruling, nut then his actions had cause China to completely fall and breakout into violence and complete chaos!! Changing the views of his people because whatever good he had done did not matter anymore from his great down fall. During his ruling though some believed that Mao

Qin Shi Huang was born in 259 BC and eventually ascended to the throne of the kingdom of Qin at the age of 21 creating a war and declaring himself China’s first emperor (Source 1). Although he did bring unification to China, Qin Shi Huang was a forbidding and brutal dictator who abused his power and dishonoured his people and country. This assignment will clearly highlight the negative aspects of Qin Shi Huang, including: the banning of Confucius, how he enforced of unnecessarily strict laws and how his arrogance and ignorance eventually took over.

Government is the essential power of a country, which directly influences society because it provides somewhat of a security blank for those who are affected by it. Lao-Tzu’s, “Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching,” along with Niccolo Machiavelli’s, “The Qualities of the Prince,” both discuss multiple characteristics that a leader should possess to be a successful. While their goal is similar, in which they both describe what it takes to become a better leader, their ideas concerning leading are conflicting.

Before this assignment I never knew anything about Asian history until I got to this class and received this assignment. I can’t believe how much Asian history influenced the way we as Americans look at history now. In Steward Gordon’s When Asia Was The World, I found the story of Xuanzang very interesting. Xuanzang was a Buddhist monk who traveled all over to learn more about Buddhism until he became confused and decided to go to the center of Buddhism, along the way he faced many difficulties, he decided to go back to China and share what he had learned.

Qin Shi Huang Di has been making an effort to unite China under his power and legalist ways. The First Emperor should not be supported in his attempts to unite China. Not only is he responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, he also has dangerous legalist ways and spends his time focused on unimportant issues.

While Thoughts From The Tao-te Ching by Lao-Tzu and The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli are both pieces of work that serve as ground rules or guidelines for a ruler on how to rule a country, the two authors’ prepositions vary tremendously. One author takes on a susceptible viewpoint, while another takes on a much more conservative outlook. There are many factors as to why they differ so much. Even though Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli both provide intricate structures as to how rulers should run their state, there are extreme differences between the two.

What learning experiences have had the most influence on your own personal development as a leader?

Leadership many times can be misinterpreted by many individuals. Leadership is an ability that not everyone is meant to have nor develop. In fact, many can be called, “leaders” but that does not imply that their leadership role plays a positive impact on others. At times, some people seek leadership in a form to only obtain power and abuse it for their own self-interest. While there are others that create great influences to following generations. For instance, there are those like Plato and Thomas Jefferson who have established philosophical thoughts that for past centuries, have revolutionized many people’s ideals. Through their principles many people have identified, what they consider can exemplify, true characteristics that make someone have successful leadership qualities. In their own way, they have influenced others, with the purpose to communicate a foundation of important ideals which have helped guide many. Whether it is one or a group of individuals. Many people should consider in practicing and adapting to those philosophical principles, manifested in Plato’s, “The Allegory of the Cave” and Thomas Jefferson's, “The Declaration of Independence” essay who illustrate certain ideals and aspects of leadership in their own unique way.

What Leadership theories covered in class are reflected in the book? Explain how, using examples.

Who is Lao Tzu? What is the purpose of Tao Te Ching? Why did Lao Tzu write Tao Te Ching? “Lao Tzu was a Chinese philosopher credited with founding the philosophical system of Taoism…He is thought to have lived in the 6th century BEC” (Mark). Lao Tzu’s philosophy of non-action has a great impact on future generations, because it can make the country become peaceful. Tao Te Ching was primarily writing to the rulers and the emperors of that time, he wants all the countries and subsidiary countries in China can coexist together peacefully, hoping that there will be no more wars. The poetic style of Tao Te Ching makes it universal, because it teaches people how to think and to behave well in an manner that can be acceptable and understandable

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was broken down so that I could read a section at a time and still know what was going on. I also liked that it discussed easy ways to become a better leader. Many of the subjects

Chapter sixteen discusses various leadership theories which can implemented by leaders to achieve success. The choice of leadership theory differs from leader to leader as they possess different vision and way of managing. A theory isn 't always perfect in itself, it is the endless effort of the leaders which makes the theory a perfect one. Two approaches of leadership that I prefer are Situational Leadership Theory and Servant Leadership Theory. Among many theories I prefer these two because I tend to practice those principles most of the time and I assume these are theories that I truly tend to continue in a long run.

Important people- Lao Tzu (Laozi) went to the western border of China and was told to record his teach ings. Chuang Tzu was a Chinese philosopher took the teachings of Lao Tzu and developed them. He also made it easier to understand.

Instead of adopting a single leadership theory, I have embraced aspects of the following theories that I feel align with my personal approach to