CHINESE EASTERN PHILOSOPHY

CONFUCIANISM
Confucianism is one of the most influential religious philosophies in the history of
China, and it has existed for over 2,500 years. It is concerned with inner virtue, morality,
and respect for the community and its values.
The main idea of Confucianism is the importance of having a good moral
character, which can then affect the world around that person through the idea of
“cosmic harmony.” If the emperor has moral perfection, his rule will be peaceful and
benevolent. Natural disasters and conflict are the result of straying from the ancient
teachings. This moral character is achieved through the virtue of ren, or “humanity,”
which leads to more virtuous behaviours, such as respect, altruism, and humility.
Confucius believed in the importance of education in order to create this virtuous
character. He thought that people are essentially good yet may have strayed from the
appropriate forms of conduct. Rituals in Confucianism were designed to bring about this
respectful attitude and create a sense of community within a group.
The idea of “filial piety,” or devotion to family, is key to Confucius thought.
This devotion can take the form of ancestor worship, submission to parental authority,
or the use of family metaphors, such as “son of heaven,” to describe the emperor and
his government. The family was the most important group for Confucian ethics, and
devotion to family could only strengthen the society surrounding it.
While Confucius gave his name to Confucianism, he was not the first person to
discuss many of the important concepts in Confucianism. Rather, he can be understood
as someone concerned with the preservation of traditional Chinese knowledge from
earlier thinkers. After Confucius’ death, several of his disciples compiled his wisdom and
carried on his work. The most famous of these disciples were Mencius and Xunzi, both
of whom developed Confucian thought further.
Confucianism remains one of the most influential philosophies in China.
During the Han Dynasty, emperor Wu Di (reigned 141–87 B.C.E.) made
Confucianism the official state ideology. During this time, Confucius schools were
established to teach Confucian ethics. Confucianism existed alongside Buddhism and
Taoism for several centuries as one of the most important Chinese religions. In the
Song Dynasty (960–1279 C.E.) the influence from Buddhism and Taoism brought about
“Neo-Confucianism,” which combined ideas from all three religions. However, in the
Qing dynasty (1644–1912 C.E.), many scholars looked for a return to the older ideas of
Confucianism, prompting a Confucian revival.
TAOISM
Taoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy and religion that instructs believers on
how to exist in harmony with the universe.
Taoism (also spelled Daoism) is a religion and a philosophy from ancient China
that has influenced folk and national belief. Taoism has been connected to the
philosopher Lao Tzu, who around 500 B.C.E. wrote the main book of Taoism, the Tao
Te Ching. Taoism holds that humans and animals should live in balance with the Tao,
or the universe. Taoists believe in spiritual immortality, where the spirit of the body joins
the universe after death.
The Tao Te Ching, or “The Way and Its Power,” is a collection of poetry and
sayings from around the third and fourth centuries B.C.E. that guides Taoist thought and
actions. While the author is traditionally believed to be the philosopher Lao Tzu, there is
little evidence that Lao Tzu existed at all. Rather, the Tao Te Ching is a gathering of
earlier sayings from many authors. This book was given an origin with the philosopher
Lao Tzu for cultural and political reasons. Lao Tzu is sometimes understood as the
image of the Tao, or a god, and given legendary status.
The Tao (or Dao) is hard to define but is sometimes understood as the way of the
universe. Taoism teaches that all living creatures ought to live in a state of harmony with
the universe, and the energy found in it. Ch’i, or qi, is the energy present in and guiding
everything in the universe. The Tao Te Ching and other Taoist books provide guides for
behavior and spiritual ways of living in harmony with this energy. However, Taoists do
not believe in this energy as a god. Rather, there are gods as part of the Taoist beliefs,
often introduced from the various cultures found in the region known now as China.
These gods are part of the Tao, like all living things. Taoism has temples, monasteries,
and priests who make offerings, meditate, and perform other rituals for their
communities.
 One of the main ideas of Taoism is the belief in balancing forces,
or yin and yang. These ideas represent matching pairs, such as light and dark, hot and
cold, action and inaction, which work together toward a universal whole. Yin and
yang show that everything in the universe is connected and that nothing makes sense
by itself.
Taoism became well-known in the eighth century C.E. as the religion of the Tang
dynasty. In the following centuries, it existed alongside Buddhism
and Confucianism (another philosophical religion). However, during
the Communist takeover in 1959, Taoism, Confucianism, and other religions were
banned. This caused a decline in the practice of Taoism in China. Many modern Taoists
live in Taiwan, although recent reforms in China have increased the number of Chinese
Taoists.
MOHISM
Mohism, also spelled Moism, school of Chinese philosophy founded
by Mozi (q.v.) in the 5th century BCE. This philosophy challenged the dominant
Confucian ideology until about the 3rd century BCE. Mozi taught the necessity for
individual piety and submission to the will of heaven, or Shangdi (the Lord on High), and
deplored the Confucian emphasis on rites and ceremonies as a waste of government
funds.
In contrast to the Confucian moral ideal of ren (“humanity” or “benevolence”),
which differentiated the special love for one’s parents and family from the general love
shown to fellow men, the Mohists advocated the practice of love without distinctions
(jianai). The Confucians, in particular Mencius, bitterly attacked the Mohist concept of
undifferentiated love because it challenged the basis of Confucian family harmony,
which was in fact and theory the foundation for the social harmony of the Confucian
state.
In Mohism, morality is defined not by tradition, but rather by a constant
moral guide that parallels utilitarianism. Tradition is inconsistent, and human beings
need an extra-traditional guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral
guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximize general utility.
He also believed in the 2nd law and was in conflict with the ancients.
 Mohism promotes a philosophy of universal love, i.e. an equal affection for
all individuals. This universal love is what makes man good. This advocacy of
universal love was a target of attack by other schools, most notably the Confucians who
believed that while love should be unconditional it should not be indiscriminate. For
example, children should hold a greater love for their parents than for random strangers.
He also had many conflicts with Confucian ideas.
Mozi posited that the existence of society as an organized organism reduces the
wastes and inefficiencies found in the natural state. Conflicts are born from the absence
of moral uniformity found in man in his natural state, i.e. the absence of the definition of
what is right (是 shì) and what is wrong (非 fēi). We must therefore choose leaders who
will surround themselves with righteous followers, who will then create the hierarchy that
harmonizes Shi/Fei. In that sense, the government becomes an authoritative and
automated tool. Mohism is opposed to any form of aggression, especially war between
states. It is, however, permissible for a state to use force in legitimate defense. Mohist
ideology has inspired some modern pacifists.
In addition to creating a school of philosophy, the Mohists formed a highly
structured political organization that tried to realize the ideas they preached. This
political structure consisted of a network of local units in all the major kingdoms of China
at the time, made up of elements from both the scholarly and working classes. Each unit
was led by a juzi (literally, "chisel"—an image from craftmaking). Within the unit, a frugal
and ascetic lifestyle was enforced. Each juzi would appoint his own successor.
However, there was no central authority beyond the writings of Mozi. Mohists developed
the sciences of fortification and statecraft, and wrote treatises on government, ranging
in topic from efficient agricultural production to the laws of inheritance. They were often
hired by the many warring kingdoms as advisors to the state. In this way they were
similar to the other wandering philosophers and knights-errants of the period. They were
distinguished from others, however, in that they hired out their services not only for gain,
but also in order to realize their own ethical ideals.
The Mohists assume that people are naturally motivated to do what they believe
is right, and thus with proper moral education will generally tend to conform to the
correct ethical norms. They believe strongly in the power of discussion and persuasion
to solve ethical problems and motivate action, and they are confident that moral and
political questions have objective answers that can be discovered and defended by
inquiry.
For the Mohists, then, the purpose of government is to achieve a stable social order by
promulgating a unified conception of morality. The central task of the state is moral
education, training everyone to reliably conform to the same moral standards in
judgment and action. This is the basis for such other aims as national defense, public
security, economic management, and social welfare. The responsibility of the state for
moral education is a distinctive theme of classical Chinese thought, prominent in both
Mohism and Confucianism and much criticized in Daoist texts.
A distinctive feature of the theory is that, as might be expected from the practical
orientation of Mohist thought, moral education is regarded as akin to teaching a
practical skill, such as how to speak a language. It is accomplished primarily by
emulating the judgments and conduct of moral exemplars, specifically how they
distinguish right (shi) from not (fei) and act accordingly. The basic source of moral
guidance is thus practical training in social norms, which people are expected to master
and extend to new cases. As in language learning, social superiors teach chiefly not by
dictating rules or instructions, but by setting an example to be emulated and then
praising or correcting the learner’s performance. Of course, sometimes they will set
forth explicit fa (models, rules), as when the Son of Heaven issues the original order for
everyone to identify upward. But moral education is not seen primarily as a matter of
inculcating knowledge of rules, theoretical knowledge of the good, nor the reflective
habit of testing the maxims on which one acts against the moral law. It is seen mainly as
a kind of skill training. The outcome of such training will be virtues, reliable dispositions
to distinguish right from not correctly in speech and action.