Root Aesthetics : China And The Three Perfections ' Of The Cultivated Scholar

He had revolutionary ideas about new relationships and government, different from many things that the Chinese people had ever seen. Another major belief system in Classical China was Legalism, which was technically a branch of Confucianism, and was surprisingly extremely popular (Carr). Legalism was very strict and built a code of law. The laws were generally harsh and discriminatory to women. Confucianism was the more popular and long lasting of the two. Daoism was also a notable belief system in the Classical Chinese time period. A possibly fictional philosopher and thinker named Lao Tzu created it. Daoism is partially a philosophy, but partially a religious faith just like most belief systems in this time. Daoists were much like present-day hippies due to their firm belief in the spirit world. Much like Confucianism and Legalism, this new idea was absolutely revolutionary and the Chinese loved it. They believed that respectfulness to the forces in everyday life and respectfulness to ancestors was the secret to being happy and free. While Confucianism argued that order was the only way for true peace, Daoist thought that ancestral veneration was the way for peace (Carr). These religious

In the book Tao Te Ching, it shares philosophical concepts of Daoism, by Lao Tzu. A main concept used in Daoism is “acting without expectation." In other words, this ideology states that we should act upon with gratitude and peace without expecting anything in return. This demonstrates the concept of making others happy, you will receive a sense of euphoria during the process. Furthermore, as stated by Mc Mahon, "Put in some good hours at the office or at your favorite charity, temple or church." Emphasized are the concept of Daism, along by doing charity work, temple or church, will lead you along a road of happiness, you are acting without expectation and sharing it through your actions.

Beauty is an incredibly subjective thing; what might seem appealing to one’s eyes may be horrendously ugly in the eyes of another. However, the status of “beautiful” or “ugly” can be assigned rather objectively when art is examined from the perspectives of different philosophies. The beliefs and values of different philosophies can be used to find meaning and beauty in various art forms, allowing for a more straightforward determination of beauty. Because of the many layers of meaning most paintings entail, they are a perfect example of an art form that can be analyzed by numerous philosophical viewpoints to find meaning and beauty, and Ma Yuan’s painting Walking on a Mountain Path in Spring, which comes from the Song dynasty of Chinese and depicts a sole figure standing in a natural surrounding, is no exception. Ma Yuan’s painting is beautiful because it represents the ultimate achievements for the Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian philosophies.

Daoism is a daily guide to living so a person can experience the most of their own self. Daoism teaches the follower to look inside and to gain knowledge through self-exploration and to connect with our inner nature. The yin and yang shows the complementary sides of objects and nature, even the human body. The Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego states, “All is Tao. All opposites are in actuality part of one whole, giving rise to one another. Neither is

The Daodejing is a collection of chapters from ancient China. The chapters explain why things happen the way they do. In order to understand everything that exists and the way it exits, the Daoists explain “dao” which means the way. The way helps people to find their way to excellence during a time of turmoil and strife. Life as it is known is uncertain and unclear. Daodejing uses a non-logical approach to explain the uncertainties in life. The authors of this ancient text use contradictions to prove their points because logic cannot always be used as a guide. Contradictions help to find balance and teach people to live in a world without having a full understanding of things. According to chapter 15, it was stated that “those who prize way-making

The Daoist outlook on life focuses on the relationship between humanity and nature. In the Daodejing, there is a

The founder of Daoism was a sage named Laozi. Laozi and other sages wrote the main Daoist literary work, the Daodejing, which educated disciples of Daoism on the main topics of the philosophy. The Daodejing contained the most basic principles of Daoism, such as dao and wuwei. In addition to this, Daoism had a great effect on Chinese culture and art. After Daoism was prevalent in the Warring States time, many art pieces depicted nature as a huge, vast being and humans as small, powerless to nature’s forces.

The Daodejing expresses a great interest in balance in life. The Daodejing introduces the Yin (陰) and Yang (陽) and its ways. Yin and Yang balance the good and bad to create a virtuous situation. Daoism is presented as a much more spiritual way of life. Laozi urges people to follow ‘the Way’ (道) as it leads to a more rewarding, humbling, and virtuous life.

Confucianism and Daoism were two great Philosophical who had contrasting views while seeking the truth, in different ways. Confucianism ethic was seeking truth through a connection to society and believe that logic and reason could resolve any problems or supposition, Confucians believe if people follow the Chines philosophy it would help to unite society. On the other hand, Daoism seeks true through a more Mystical view he saw nature as living a good balance life, he seeks to teach and impart wisdom to mankind if mankind would observe. Because of the different outlooks it has cause a withdrawal from public life

Before parallels can be drawn between ideals and paths in Daoism, Daoist philosophy and Dao must be defined. It is hard to put Daoist Philosophy into a nice, neat sentence because of the complexity and vast amount of information on the subject. For the intent of this paper, Daoist philosophy is defined as a Chinese philosophy that takes a more naturalist approach to religion and way of living. It is the connection between imitating nature and harmony. Dao is defined in Chapter 1 as the constant moving “everything” that surrounds us. It is not tangible, it is just what it is, and you do not know exactly what this something is.

The basic concepts that are the most important for understanding the Daoist view of reality is described simply in our Revealing World Religions courseware. Essentially, Daoism teaches that there is an ultimate reality. This ultimate reality serves as the basis for everything and everyone in the universe. This is a trait of the religion that is similar to that of other ancient wisdoms. The introductory lecture on Daoism introduces the translation of the Dao. The Dao is representative of “the path” or “the way”. The concept relates specifically growing power that surges and flows through all things, living and non-living. The idea of the Dao is to serve as a regulator for natural processes, nourisher for balance within the Universe, and an embodiment

It appealed to many people as it provided a way to live one's life and to respond to other classes (the oppressed and the ruler’s relationship). Daoism was also wildly popular. It’s main focus was on balance and nature. Daoism offered people the spirituality and answers to life’s questions which they felt Confucianism didn’t answer. This balance was very clear for many centuries which is why these two beliefs were so well preserved among the chinese.

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.

Daoism pokes at Confucianism by making some underlying statements in the Daodejing, but nevertheless these two differentiate in the manner of how the Dao is to be

Daoism is synonymous with Taoism; in this religious philosophy, the way of nature is central theme of life. It was founded by Lao Tzu in 500BC in China. Lao is believed to have authored the “Dao de Jing”, which details the Daoist beliefs. Dao is a concept, a way, a principle that will lead a person to a happy, peaceful life. Dao can be achieved by incorporating the Three Jewel of Taoism that are humility, simplicity and compassion in one’s life. According to Dao, de Jing “The Way to Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure”.15 Further, there is no concept of good and evil, the Dao is simply the universe, which is perceived as a self- sustaining entity that generates energy called qi. Like other Chinese traditions, Daoist also have great reverence for the spirits of ancestors as well as spirits of nature that is plants, animals, rivers, etc. 16