Comparing Daoism And Confucianism

Confucianism is a way of being loyal to the government and loving and caring for one’s family. Daoism is a way in living in harmony with the Tao. Both of these religions strive for peace and

In China during 406-221 BCE, the battling states between the Zhou and the Han Dynasties? were in a state of governmental disorder. Although the era was in a disruptive state, it ushered in a cultural opening that left a long lasting imprint on the Chinese history. As a result, three major belief systems surfaced Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism in an attempt to achieve a sense of political order in a disorder period. There are distinctions in the way each of the belief systems approached the many problems that plagued the Chinese society. First, all of the founders were contemporaries in China. As well as considered philosophies, who studied the future, and sat out to focus on the present rather than the past. In contrast, Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism established various paths in search of an optimistic future for the success of China. Second, both Legalism and Confucianism developed a social belief system, but are considered a religion. However, both Legalism and Confucianism purpose was to create an orderly society in the hopes of prosperity. In contrast, Daoism does

Confucian and Daoist views were important for the shaping and development of mankind in the past. They were views that existed among the eastern Asian countries. They had both similarities and differences in the way they shaped out self-knowledge and self-cultivation. Also there was other outside forces that played a major role in their theories. Nature and art were said to have helped shape the human race as we know it.

Ancient China has three philosophies: Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism. These three philosophies explain how people should behave and how the government should rule the people. The philosophies were guidelines to the people. Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism have different values, beliefs, and ideas of what is important and expected, but the main goal is to work towards peace and harmony. These cultures are the same way in being rewarded due to their actions, but different in government regulation because of the people in command.

Although Daoism believes in modesty, and Confucianism emphasizes honesty, ruling a kingdom effectively during a time of turmoil requires sovereignty. Legalism is a system of pure power that demands restraint and discipline with an emphasis on strict laws. Daoism maintains the balance of nature and embrace harmony by utilizing “The Dao.” Confucianism highlights virtues and morality wanting people to become The Superior Man. For an East Asian Kingdom plagued by famine, war, and civil unrest, Legalism would bring order to the Kingdom by a centralized and powerful government, strict laws that govern the people, and once peace ensues, a secure economy.

Asia was shaped during the classical era by different religions that influenced it socially and politically. Confucianism and Islam are two beliefs that came about during the Classical period of China and Islam. However, they both flourished in China, and both became very different religions and philosophies. Although both beliefs possessed a few similarities, they were still two very distinct. Where the two beliefs compare in minor topics such as a caste system, they differ in beliefs as a whole. Confucianism is a philosophy, not a religion, and is a very unique idea. Whereas, Islam is in fact a religion and can be compared to the religion of Christianity.

Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, arose many intellectual thinkers that brought such a profound impact in the fields of politics, religion, and philosophy. Even to this day, their influence can be seen on the many matters of China. Confucianism became the paramount school of thinking 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 similarities as well. In my reasoning, I find that Confucianism and Daoism

Confucianism and Daoism are both chinese religions. They both incorporated religious practices with daily activities in a way that it pertained to philosophy as well as religion, making the secular sacred. Confucianism was grounded in ethics and virtuous socio-political conditions. Daoism, also known as Taoism, sought to establish the proper relation between humans and the cosmos through discernment of the Tao, or Way. Confucianists are more concerned with social relationships and Taoism is of a more broader nature and more mystically oriented and more philosophical. They both focused on relationships that humans had with each other as well as the relationships that humans had with nature. They were atheistic in a sense that they had no

While the Way can be considered an intangible idea of how to live your life, others believe it is an omnipotent force that shapes all things and cannot be named. Confucianists believe the former, where they have a superior chance of achieving a better life through ritual. Daoists, however, trust in nonaction, in not interfering with nature, to have a better and longer life. Conversely, the Daoist idea can only hold true in an ideal society, since it would be hard to employ. I will argue that a Confucianist society is better, because it relies on action in a society, the use of virtue with rituals to learn, and the overall betterment of the self to create order in the community as a means of reaching Way.

Three of the major religious philosophies in Classical China were Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism. Daoism was a religious philosophy that the upper class favored to strengthen their traditional Chinese beliefs, especially those relating to nature. Daoism told people to have harmony with nature by living frugally and with humility. On the other hand, Confucianism was centered around ethics. Confucianism’s main teachings were to treat others based on both of your positions in society and it did not discuss magic or mysteries, but instead made sure that everyone understood their place in society. Legalism, another system of political thought, consisted of an authoritarian state and strict rule. Legalists believed that human nature was bad and needed to be controlled. In a Legalist state, the army was in control while the people worked. Although these teaching were are very different, they were all found in Classical China.

History has shown us, that Daoism and Confucianism have many things in common as well as many differences, let me start with what is Daoism and Confucianism. Daoism is also known as Taoism, is a religious tradition originated from China in the 550 B.C.E, it was founded by Lao Tzu, a great philosopher and the author of the “Dao De Jing” .The “Dao De Jing” or “Tao Te Ching” is a Chinese text that contains 81 chapters explaining the “ways” of Chinese life, it is often used by the monks or persons that practice the Daoism. Daoism’s main focus is on nature, and not on the social world. Compassion, moderation and humility are also focuses

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.

At the core of any nation’s culture are its religious beliefs. In China there are the “Three Jewels” Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, as described in Lopez (1996). There are small numbers of people practicing other religions such as Christianity and Islam, but these are the three dominant beliefs of the region. While they are separate in content, they have coexisted for several thousand years. Lopez (1996) goes on to say, “Historical precedent and popular parlance attest to the importance of this threefold division for understanding Chinese culture…Buddhism is the sun, Daoism the moon, and Confucianism the five planets…suggesting that although they remain separate, they also coexist as equally indispensable phenomena of the natural world.” Each belief system stands alone, and at the same time needs the other(s).

While Confucianism and Daoism as forms of philosophy and religion differ on many levels they share some level of basic similarities of understanding in the world. Surprisingly, in comparison to teachings in other religions, neither of these two religions have a creation myth in the traditional sense but instead believe that in the “state of “undifferentiated chaos”” (IWR, 280) that was all of existence, “two polar yet complementary energies known as qi (“breath”, “energy”, or “force”)” (IWR 280) had risen from it: yin and yang; continuously interacting and residing in most things in existence. One could not exist without the other, as they are what the other is not and are in a constant state of change. This concept had come to represent all things in existence that could be seen as binary, for instance hot and cold or day and night, but even though they are opposites they are still connected to each other and everything is still connected to the cosmos itself (IWR, 280). Humans are no different in the sense that yin and yang make up the physical manifestation that is the human body, though the immaterial self is made up of another binary: hun (representative of yang, purity, and upward-rising) and po (representative of yin, turgidity, and downward-sinking) (IWR, 281); once a person dies then both hun an po depart from the body to again be a part of future beings. As can be seen, both Confucianism and Daoism recognize and emphasize a “bipolar and complementary view” (IWR,

Confucian ethics focused on groups, humans living in communities and in societies advancing human culture and civilization in harmony and balance with each other. Taoist(Daoist) ethics focused on individuals separate lives and personal moral advancement in harmony and balance with nature. Both Confucian and Daoists focus on cultivation of Wen and virtue of Te-power without force. Both also focus on a kind of humility. In Confucianism this is Chun Tzu; in Daosim it is humility to nature and natural order. Both honor the past, tradition, and ancestors, and both have a concern for the future. However, the