Three Chinese Schools Of Thought Essay Research

Three Chinese Schools Of Thought Essay, Research Paper

The Three Schools Joseph Kemling

Chinese Civ

Essay 2

The three schools of thought-Confucian, Taoist, and Legalist, all have different views and

reasons as to whether or not the United States should be involved in the conflict in Kosovo. Each

school perceived Tao in different ways and had different view.s on human nature. To consider how

each school would take its side on this issue, we must first have some background information on the

schools.

Confucius was one of the main contributors of the Confucian school of thought. He had one

overwhelming message: if men are to achieve a state of orderliness and peace, they need to return to

traditional values of virtue. These values are based entirely on one concept: jen , which is best

translated as “humaneness,” but can also mean “humanity,” “benevolence,” “goodness,” or “virtue.”

This humaneness is a relatively strange concept to Western eyes, because it is not primarily a

practicable virtue. Rather, the job of the “gentleman,” ch’.n tzu , was to concentrate on the highest

concepts of behavior even when this is impractical or foolish. Like his contemporaries, Confucius

believed that the human order in some way reflected the divine order, or the patterns of heaven. More

than anything, for Confucius the ancients understood the order and hierarchy of heaven and earth; as

a result, Confucius established the Chinese past as an infallible model for the present.(Reader p.

81)

What is incumbent on individual people is to determine the right pattern to live and govern

by; this can be achieved by studying the sage-kings and their mode of life and government and by

following rituals scrupulously, for the pattern of heaven is most explicitly inscribed on the various

rituals, li , prescribed for the conduct of everyday life. Neglecting ritual, or doing rituals incorrectly,

demonstrated a moral anarchy or disorder of the most egregious kind. These heavenly patterns were

also inscribed in the patterns of music and dance, y.eh , so that order in this life could be attained by

understanding and practicing the order of traditional and solemn music and dance. Music and dance

are talked about constantly in the Confucian writings. Why. Because traditional music and dance

perfectly embody the humaneness and wisdom of their composers, who understood perfectly the

order of the world and heaven; one can create within oneself this wisdom by properly performing this

music and dance.(Reader p. 97)

Taoism is, along with Confucianism, the most important strain of Chinese thought through the

ages. It is almost entirely different from Confucianism, but not contradictory. It ranges over entirely

different concerns, so that it is common for individuals, philosophers, Chinese novels or films, etc., to

be both Confucianist and Taoist. The Taoist has no concern for affairs of the state, for mundane or

quotidian matters of administration, or for elaborate ritual; rather Taoism encourages avoiding public

duty in order to search for a vision of the transcendental world of the spirit. (Website)

Taoism is based on the idea that behind all material things and all the change in the world lies

one fundamental, universal principle: the Way or Tao. This principle gives rise to all existence and

governs everything, all change and all life. Behind the bewildering multiplicity and contradictions of

the world lies a single unity, the Tao. The purpose of human life, then, is to live life according to the

Tao, which requires passivity, calm, non-striving (wu wei ), humility, and lack of planning, for to

plan is to go against the Tao .The text of Lao Tzu is primarily concerned with portraying a model of

human life lived by the Tao; later writers will stress more mystical and magical aspects. But Lao Tzu

was, like Confucius, Mo Tzu, and Mencius, also concerned with the nature of government; he

believed unquestioningly in the idea that a government could also exist in accordance with the Tao.

What would such a government look like. It would not wage war, it would not be complex, it would

not interfere in people’s lives, it would not wallow in luxury and wealth, and, ideally, it would be

inactive, serving mainly as a guide rather than as a governor. There were people who tried to

translate Lao Tzu into real political action during the Han dynasty; these were, as you might imagine,

spectacular failures. Taoism is frequently called in China, “The Teachings of the Yellow Emperor

and Lao Tzu,” or “The Teachings of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu.” Now, Chuang Tzu (369-286 B.C.)

was a real person; his teachings come down to us in a short collection of his sayings. The Yellow

Emperor is entirely mythical. This Lao Tzu, however, we know nothing about; we cannot say with

certainty if he existed and when; on the other hand, we cannot say with certainty that he did not exist.

All we know is that we have a very short book, the Lao T

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