China, up until the Qin Dynasty was a very disorganized society consisting of many city-states controlled by kings that were constantly fighting each other for land and power. The Era of Warring states was two hundred years of violent fighting.8 The Qin Dynasty rose from the confusion, establishing an organized government and preceding to unify China for the first time. 10 The Han continued this practice, it brought stability and peace to China.8 However, due to China’s geography, which is very isolated, lead to the formation of different ideas of government and philosophy compared to the rest of the world at that time. The Qin and Han Dynasties implemented ideas and philosophies into their government that had never been seen before.
The Song Dynasty, which began in the year 960, was known as "the most advanced society in the world in its day" (PMEA, 153). Improvements of the printing press and alterations of the examination system altered the way Confucianism functioned throughout China. Although it was introduced earlier, the printing press did not significantly affect the Chinese culture until the formation of the Song Dynasty. Previously, the printing of documents and books was completed by applying ink to a carved piece of wood with the desired message upon it.
The Three Chinese Philosophies When you think of the three chinese philosophies what do you think they are? Are they groups? Well, these are the names of them the three philosophies. They are Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Confucianism is the second strict of the three philosophies.
Legalism literally meaning School of Law, emphasized strict obedience to the legal system, and its philosophers are considered more utilitarian, not addressing deeper philosophical thoughts like the meaning of life or the nature of life. The Qin dynasty was a major proponent of this ideology while the Han dynasty that succeeded it was a patron of Confucianism. The policies born out of this ideology were meant to support the state, the emperor and his military. These policies unlike Confucianism were more reform-oriented and innovative. They emphasized pragmatism over precedence and customs as the basis of law, the Qin polity allowed the common people to gain in rank if they performed well.
What ideology most encouraged the Chinese people to maintain order was the concept of filial piety which, according to Confucius, began with the parents and proceeded to service of the ruler (the Chinese emperor, etc.). The of religion and religious ideologies to maintain order was also apparent in India during this time period; Indian rulers used the Hindu caste system to maintain people in their social positions and discourage and prevent
With the popularization of the Confucian Four Books during Ming dynasty, female-authored writing achieved a new level of importance. Instructional texts written by female authors including Ban Zhao, Madam Cheng, Song Ruozhao and Empress Xu were compiled as the Four Books for Women as a parallel to the Confucian canon. Through writing, these female authors receive social recognition, discuss public affairs and elevate women’s social status within households. However, writing could only allow women to attain limited social power in pre-modern China, as popular female-authored texts are all written by women from privileged background, circulate with limited impact among a small group of audience and further exaggerate gender inequality.
Thesis Confucianism is the most dominant school of philosophy of China. In result of the many contradictions in the teachings of Confucius and the Buddha, Buddhism faced many objections when trying to spread its roots in China. Many confucians strongly disagreed with Buddhism because it disagreed with the fundamentals established in the chinese way of thinking. Use of the Documents
Three perspectives of bringing peace to society was Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. In people’s lives peace in society is very important. People were longing for no violence and expected to be treated well. They wanted to feel comfortable and stable. Because they were searching for peace and order, they wanted rules to be enforced.
As you can see from the examples and other parts of history, amazing structures were built and amazing things were accomplished using legalism. On the contrary, some very bad things were done under the system of legalism, including how the Nazis controlled the camps and ghettos. In both of the examples discussed above, legalism worked well to do what the people wanted to do. The Nazis wanted to order and fear within their camps, and what they got was exactly that. The Qin Dynasty wanted to build a wall, and by using legalism to force the poor to do it, they built a wall.
In ancient china there were two widely different philosophes being so excepted within the same culture. The two philosophes were Confucianism and Legalism. Confucianism was during 55 B, in China. Legalism was during 475-221 BC, also in China. Confucianism is a belief or an idea.
Confucianism has not only affected China and Asia socially but also politically. Everyone has a role and it is their job to fulfill that role and do it as well as they can. Let the ruler be the ruler, you have your own rule and what you have to do, let the subject be the subject. Showing importance in your role is very important and can make or break the society. Document one suggests that the society will fall apart and not run successfully if the subjects don't fulfill their role.
Confucianism is the philosophy most likely to create a peaceful and stable country. One key concept of Confucianism is that people were taught to set good examples for people who were younger or a lower rank than them. This shows that Confucianism would create a stable and peaceful country because setting good examples teaches people to behave in a proper manner, which would keep the country peaceful since people will not be fighting each other. Another piece of evidence is that civil servants were chosen based on their wisdom and skill, instead of their social status.
The Influence of Confucianism, Legalism, and Buddhism on Chinese Empires and Society The history of the ancient China is filled with explorations and reforms of the most suitable, effective, and adaptable state ideology for different empires and the society ruled. Up till Tang dynasty, since the early emperors themselves had little idea what would be ideal and what would not, different ideologies were endorsed in a much experimental way, among which three major ideologies played important roles in shaping the Chinese empires that advocated them and affecting the values and behaviors of the society under the rule of these empires. These three ideologies are Legalism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, and were adopted by Qin, Han, and Tang dynasty
Throughout time and history, the occurrence of Greek rationalism and Confucianism of China ascended nearly the same time. Greek rationalism came about the time 600 – 300 B.C.E while Confucianism emerged in the 6th century B.C.E. Although it may be tempting to see to the great differences, these two cultural traditions share many aspects in comparison. Ancient Greek tradition was greatly inclined by their own philosophy. Socrates was possibly a noteworthy source of influence in Ancient Greek philosophy, leaving behind a profound impact. He stressed the great importance of morals and outlined his description of a perfect world.
Taoism Taoism is an indigenous chinese religion and a philosophy which has roots from ancient shamanism. It has lived through centuries in China as a religion aside Confucianism and Buddhism and as a philosophy aside Confucianism. As a philosophy it is mainly the opposite of Confucianism, because Confucianism praised laws and order but Taoism is more about people having minimal restrictions in order to live happily. The Taoist religion was created from the Taoist philosophy and as a philosophy and religion it has had a huge influence in China and in eastern Asia. Although, as a religion it would outline all the seven dimensions it is debatable if it is more of a philosophy.