History 2nd Paper

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Art 101

19 November 2018

Research Essay: Confucianism, Legalism and Daoism

China, in the 21st century has emerged as a global power in terms of its economic growth, over the years. This paper discusses some of the most influential theories, philosophies and worldviews which effect the Chinese society, its economy, foreign policy and culture. A detailed comparison of Confucianism, legalism and Daoism will be made along with their supposed effects on the development of China.

The founder of Confucianism, master Kong did not try or mean to invent a new religion, but to revive the unnamed religion of the Zhou dynasty. The basic concepts of Jen and Li are thought to be the basis of Confucianism. The concept of Jen can be described as the set of values that make human beings distinctively human. According to Confucius, Jen is the basis of all good, but unfortunately, he never saw it fully expressed. Jen is often explained as the sense of humanity towards others, while maintaining your own self-esteem. Confucius realized that a concrete set of rules are required to develop a successful political system. The sets of rules or guides that he proposed, are commonly known as Li. The major set of ethics consist of these five components.

Ren (humaneness).

Yi (righteousness or justice).

Li (Proper rite).

Zhi (Knowledge).

Xin (Integrity)

The rules of righteousness are based on the circumstances that makes a person feel the difference between right and wrong. The rules of ethics, explained by Master Kong, are somewhat similar to that of Emmanuel Kant, as both of them believe that an action ought to be done primarily based on the rightness of the action, and not as a means to an end.

Taoism, also known as Daoism, is an ancient Chinese philosophy which has played a role in the development of Chinese religion over the years, in rural areas. The philosophy of Taoism indicates that there is an inherent cosmic balance which dictates the functioning of the universe, and that human beings must also try to live in harmony it. The original belief, may or may not contain the concept of ancestor worship, but nowadays, Taoists do observe spirit and ancestor worship. The philosophical tradition of Taoism flourished under the Tang dynasty (618-917 CE), as the emperor declared it the state religion ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"tcbFA4q2","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}Taoism\\uc0\\u8221{})","plainCitation":"(“Taoism”)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":106,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/DTmO0ro3/items/73KTGLTX"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/DTmO0ro3/items/73KTGLTX"],"itemData":{"id":106,"type":"webpage","title":"Taoism","container-title":"Ancient History Encyclopedia","abstract":"Taoism (also known as Daoism) is a Chinese philosophy attributed to Lao Tzu (c. 500 BCE) which contributed to the folk religion of the people primarily in the rural areas of China and became the official...","URL":"https://www.ancient.eu/Taoism/","language":"en-us,en-gb,en-ca","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Taoism”). The origins of the religion, however, are not specifically known, as some reports suggest that the religion originated from an ancient Chinese philosopher known as Lao Tzu. While there is some contradicting evidence also present to refute the claim.

Legalism is a political philosophy, developed in the warring states era of Chinese history. The concept advocates an absolute obedience to the authority of the state. The legalists advocated that a structure of law should be developed which should keep in mind the truths of human behavior and that should be the basis of government ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"PodxJHVG","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}Legalism | Chinese Philosophy\\uc0\\u8221{})","plainCitation":"(“Legalism | Chinese Philosophy”)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":108,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/DTmO0ro3/items/7HGPNNC7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/DTmO0ro3/items/7HGPNNC7"],"itemData":{"id":108,"type":"webpage","title":"Legalism | Chinese philosophy","container-title":"Encyclopedia Britannica","abstract":"Legalism, school of Chinese philosophy that attained prominence during the turbulent Warring States era (475–221 bce) and, through the influence of the philosophers Shang Yang, Li Si, and Hanfeizi, formed the ideological basis of China’s first imperial dynasty, the Qin (221–207 bce). The three main","URL":"https://www.britannica.com/topic/Legalism","language":"en","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Legalism | Chinese Philosophy”). The Qin dynasty tried to implement this philosophy and were overthrown due to it. The legalistic philosophy never recovered from this downfall.

A comparison between the three philosophies would only be fair if we consider the political and ethical aspect of all of them. Confucianism provides a deeper meaning to life along with sets of rules for social interactions, to follow. Legalism only provides us with the understanding of state dominance whereas Taoism comes up with the notion of being one with nature. The best and the most popular of these three philosophies is Confucianism. The reason for that being the case is that it provides a profounder spiritual meaning along with sets of ethical ideas to follow, and is not limited to either one of the two.

These philosophies have proven to be important in the historical context of China, as well. Chinese history is mainly composed of dynasties, and the characteristics of dynasties are such that different dynasties give importance to different philosophies. The Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) saw the sudden rise of Taoism to the status of state religion. Confucianism also flourished during the same era, and became a subject of discussion in schools and temples. Confucianist principles became the norm to participate in civil service examinations. Legalism saw its golden era during the time of the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC), but disappeared with the demise of the dynasty.

The mentioned philosophies have also played a big part in the development of China as we know it today. Confucius is a man, whose philosophy has had a wide effect on one quarter of the world’s population. It has been embraced by the public for over a thousand years and the communist party today is also using the philosophy to justify its rule. People in China, who feel a spiritual gap in their development, also resort to Confucianism. However, even with the enormous popularity of Confucius, he came back into the mainstream of China after about 30 years of hiding, because of Mao’s vehement opposition. As far as legalism is concerned, it is widely supposed that the authoritarian nature of the government of China represents the legalistic philosophy. The legalistic philosophy and the philosophy of Taoism has not been able to play as big a role in the development of modern China as Marxism or Confucianism has, however, they have had their share of followers over the centuries. It is widely acclaimed by western media that as the Chinese government speaks a lot about being Confucianist in nature, it seems to adopt more and more legalistic measures. The western claims can be considered a little biased, but there still remains some truth in it.

The culture of economics in China is also widely affected by the Confucian understanding of the world. China aims to enter deals of investment with the developing countries by fair negotiation. Unlike the west that tries to negotiate, in most instances, with a coercive policy, China has been able to invest heavily in Asia and Africa. The abandonment of the capitalistic understanding of economics compromising of having the upper hand and maximizing profits, is replaced with the Confucianist understanding of share and mutual benefit. This has caused the developing countries to be receptive to those heavy Chinese investments. The west, by essence of competition, does not appreciate it and is willing to spread propaganda about Chinese trade deals.

The founder of modern China, Chairman Mao who was a firm supporter of Marxism, at the same time, was a critic of Confucianism. This has caused several governments of China to act and speak against Confucius. It was very recently that Confucianism was re-introduced into the Chinese mainstream, and now, the government of China is seen resorting to this philosophy to justify its rule. At the same time, Confucianism also plays its part in the rural culture where people, longing for spiritual nourishment, adopt the philosophy to fill in the gaps.

In essence, the three said philosophies have their pros and cons but the one philosophy which had the biggest say in the Chinese culture and tradition, is Confucianism. It gives the people a sense of spiritual fulfilment and is thus adopted by the majority of the people living in the rural areas of China.