Comparing Confucianism And Daoism

From Mandarin, the “Dao” translates to the path or way of life. The Dao also encompasses the balance of the universe and the natural flow of the world. These two seemingly contradictory definitions show how unique the Dao is and how many different forms and “definitions” it can really have. While the general consensus is that the Dao is a balance or natural way of life, the real confusion begins when you begin to delve into how to achieve, maintain, or appeal to the Dao. The two main schools of thought on this are Confucianism and Daoism. While both of these philosophies have a very similar belief of what the Dao really is, their concepts are simultaneously contradictory. This is mainly due to the fact that the manner in which to maintain the

The focus of Confucianism tends to be on hard working filial piety while Daoism has a sort of easy-going natural mysticism about it, but how can these opposing viewpoints both lead towards the same peace that is the Dao?

While these two philosophies share a similar view of what the Dao is, their concepts of it vary and contradict each other. In Confucianism, the Dao is maintained through the interactions between people and their relationships. There are five different relationships that are important to Confucianism’s idea of maintaining the Dao: ruler to subject, husband to wife, father to son, elder brother to younger brother, and friendship. Four of the five relationships are extremely hierarchical. These hierarchal relationships are a main difference between the concepts of Confucian Dao and the Daoist concept of the Dao. Through the careful maintenance of these relationships and the honoring of whoever is higher in the hierarchy, Dao is achieved and maintained. Another unique part of the Confucian concept of the Dao is it basically makes the females irrelevant. While there are stipulations placed on them by Confucian ideals, a