Three Schools of Thought in Feudal China
Amongst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, arose many intellectual thinkers that brought such profound impact in the field of politics, religion and philosophy. Even to this day, their influence can be viewed in the many matters of China. Confucianism became the leading school of thought and later significant philosophies such as Daoism and Legalism gained immense recognition as well. Each party had their own proposals for creating an idealistic political society where the many problems they faced in their everyday lives could be eliminated. All three approaches were very distinct but at the same time, they contained certain similarities as well. I find that Confucianism and Daoism could be resembling in many ways to find several common grounds. On the other hand, Legalism goes on to take a more unique approach which was much different from the previous two. Confucius was born in 551 B.C., to a poor family of the lower nobility. Throughout his life, he relentlessly tried to gain an office with a prominent ruler of the time who was willing to adopt his various concepts. Confucius died in 479 B.C, before such a change ever took place. However, he succeeded in winning over a handf
nameless is the source of Heaven and earth . Confucius put great importance in conducting numerous rituals for various occasions. No matter who the ruler was and what his status was, what would keep the state functioning was the law. Confucius' jun zi had to possess these fine qualities to achieve success. Confucius explains about dao, or "the way", which he believed, that if the people accepted it's terms and were willing to abide, they would succeed in creating an utopian society. Both systems disliked governments that employed killing and wished for a non-aggressive rule. While the previous two believed that politics should be very minimal, Legalism asked for a strict code of law and enforcement of it. Unlike the other philosophies, Legalism put the emphasis on the rule rather than the ruler. Out of the three different thought systems, Legalism was a success in the sense that it achieved what the other two systems desperately strove for - the unification of China. Likewise, Daoism disliked the emphasis of status being displayed in the political realm. Since Confucius did not succeed in completing a manual of his views, these followers had to derive their own interpretations of the system, which now form the Analects. Morality and benevolence were crucial factors for a successful state, according to Confucianism and Daoism. The same sense of mystery can be sensed in Daoism.
Common topics in this essay:
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Analects Analects,
Han Fei,
Likewise Daoism,
Daoism Legalism,
,
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Mencius Xun,
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code law,
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