Essay on The Daoism and the Confucianism in Han Dynasty

The Daoism and the Confucianism in Han Dynasty Yang Yu History 135: Imperial Chinese History Professor: Robert J. Culp Paper I March 4th, 2011 The Daoism and the Confucianism in Han Dynasty As the dominant philosophical school for around two thousand years in Chinese imperial history, Confucianism is always regarded as the most representative ideology of China, associated with numerous books, poems, artworks and stories that glorify Confucianism’s permeation into every corner of Chinese society. However, before Han Wudi, Confucianism was only one of those competing philosophical schools founded in Spring and Autumn period. During the Warring States period and Qin dynasty, Legalism took place of all other philosophical schools†¦show more content†¦However, it is always easy to start the process of centralization but difficult to maintain the state of centralization. Faced with this knotty problem, Wudi adopted Confucianism, which underlined â€Å"the moral basis of superior-subordinate relations, appreciating that in the long run the ruler would achieve his goals more easily and economically when his subordi nates viewed their relationship with the ruler in moral terms of loyalty and responsibility† (65). In fact, Han’s Confucianism is not the same as the Confucianism during the period of the Spring and Autumn or Warring States. It is a special status of Confucianism. As Ebrey writes in his book, â€Å"Han Confucianism itself was eclectic, fortifying itself with precepts and philosophical concerns drawn from what had been competing philosophical schools in the pre-Qin period† (77). Different from the traditional Confucianism, Han’s Confucianism assimilated thoughts from Legalism, Daoism and other schools, such as Moism’s thought of universal love (å… ¼Ã§Ë† ±) and yin and yang school’s thought of five phases (é˜ ´Ã©Ëœ ³Ã¤ ºâ€Ã¨ ¡Å'è ® º). â€Å"Han Confucians sought ways to comprehend the world around them as a self-generating and self-sustaining organism governed by cyclical yet never replicating flows of yin and yang and the five phases (fire, water, earth, metal, and wood)† (78). Han Confucians thought that if one of these phases was disturbed, the whole system wouldShow MoreRelatedThe Han Dynasty1195 Words   |  5 Pages The Han Dynasty, dating from 206 BCE-220 AD, was founded by Liu Bang who was the winner of the civil wars that followed the collapse of the first Imperial dynasty in China (Qin Dynasty). The Han dynasty is considered an influential empire that created a spiritually and philosophically enlightened nation through the teachings of Daoism, Legalism and Confucianism. At the time that Liu Bang first founded the Han dynasty the basic structures of the Qin state were retained, and the ideology of the QinRead MoreChinese Philosophy Essay1408 Words   |  6 PagesThree areas of philosophy emerged amidst the chaos and constant warring of the Zhou era. The three were called Confucianism, Daoism, and legalism. They were Chinese philosophies that were thought to be the best ways to rule and achieve order in the society. Confucianism believed that a ruler s job was to set a good example, and not order. Since people were thought of as naturally good, they would following the right path based on the ir own conscience. Legalism was a more harsh way of ruling, ledRead MoreThe Three Types of Ancient Chinese Rulers943 Words   |  4 PagesIn ancient China, many different rulers tried to unify and rule the country using a variety of methods – Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism to name a few. Each philosophy had its own set of rules of how people should act both in public and privately. The overall goal of each philosophy was to set a standard of acceptable living that would ensure harmony and success for the society. However, each was different and thus had different results. Legalism is a philosophy emphasizing strict obedience toRead MoreHan Fei Legalism Analysis1108 Words   |  5 Pagestitled â€Å"The Writings of Master Han Fei† that was written by Han Fei. Han Fei was a prince in the Han state of China. He was schooled with Confucian ideas and principles, but would reject them to create a more lawful society. Since he was a prince, he had a high social status and was in line for the throne of the state of Han after his father would pass. This gave him an advantage to implement his legalist ideas into the government because he would soon be ruler of Han. As the ruler, he would not beRead MoreThe Three Philosophies Of China1097 Words   |  5 Pages31st Religion organizes society; it controls our daily life and can be the breaking or making point of a society. The three Philosophies of China consist of Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism, but only one Philosophy surpasses all others, Confucianism. Legalism is one of the strictest ways of ruling. Han Fei Zi founded legalism; he believed that there was only one way to obtain order in a society; this was through learning from your mistakes. Although the punishments were cruel andRead MoreThe Main Features Of Egyptian And Mesopotamian Civilizations1364 Words   |  6 Pagespolitical problems was the development of bureaucracy in Han China meant to solve? The Han dynasty created a bureaucracy to further repair the mistakes of the Zhou dynasty. The Qin dynasty, the predecessor of the Han dynasty, chose to select officials so that they would not rise up against them, such as in the case of the Zhou dynasty. However, these officials were not necessarily qualified for their job. This prompted the Han dynasty to instate civil service tests for bureaucrats to ensureRead MoreAncient Chinese Philosophies : Comparisons Between Lao And Confucius1476 Words   |  6 PagesAncient Chinese Philosophies: Comparisons between Lao Su and Confucius Daoism and Confucianism are two of China’s oldest religions. Both of these men’s teachings largely affect China’s belief system today, and both still widely practiced and still have temples all over the world. Confucianism helped shape China’s education system that still stands today, and Daoism has been helping people understand â€Å"the way† of life since the Han Dynasty. They are both very similar to each other, but at the same time theyRead MoreYin And Yang : What Do The Chinese? Believe About Nature?3063 Words   |  13 Pagesclearest connections to the past? How many civilizations were there in the classical period, for China? Name all of them in order When did the Zhou dynasty start to decline? What were the people who received land from the ruler supposed to give the government in return for the land? What was the main reason the Zhou dynasty in decline? What was the standard spoken language in China during this time called? Who was the person who gave China its name? What wasRead MoreBuddhism : The Popularity Of Buddhism1306 Words   |  6 Pagesare roughly 244 millions of practitioners in China, which is equivalent to 3.5% of the world population (â€Å"The Global Religious Landscape†). Since Buddhism’s core values and principles are highly correlated to two ancient Chinese religions: Daoism and Confucianism, Buddhism continues to gain popularity and flourish in China. In fact, Buddhism originated from India, and the founder of Buddhism was a prince from a North Indian tribe who lived in the era of 500 B.C. when Confucius lived in China (â€Å"BuddhismRead MoreHow China s Isolation Affected Itself?2161 Words   |  9 Pagesdevelop? Patterns in Classical China What dynasties were widely known in China? What has the Zhou dynasty accomplished? What were the alliances like? What became of the Yangtze River Valley? What did the Zhou dynasty work to do? Qin Dynasty Who took over after the fall of the Zhou dynasty? What accomplishments were made during the Qin dynasty? Han Dynasty What was accomplished in the Han dynasty? Political Institutions What was done with