Similarities Between Daoism And Confucianism

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The Dao and The Ru (儒)

In over five thousand years of history in China, different beliefs, mainly on social matters have been upheld and terminated. Similar to other countries in ancient times, the roles and status of women in China are viewed to be controversial based on different beliefs. Opinions about women in ancient China shaped the way in which women were treated and seen in communities. Among all the theories, Daoism and Confucianism are among the most popular ones in the Chinese history. The two beliefs disagreed on different issues on a theoretical level for an extended period. One of the main subjects that the two disagreed on was the status of women in the society, which has played

Confucius also known as Kongzi, a Chinese philosopher developed the Confucianism viewpoint (Ko 3). When it was first formed, Confucianism was trying to teach the world how to act and behave in unbiased ways as decent human beings. Confucianism set up a series of moral standards for people and wanted to guide them to behave in specific ways so that they could get along with each other better and the society could be more secure and harmonious. According to Ko, during this period, Kongzi was well recognized and had a significant reputation in China, which created a situation where the Confucianism guidelines he set up were viewed as rules and guidelines of life among the Chinese people (5). Most of the instructions were sensible and helped many people clear the unknown and become better people in society. Nevertheless, there were some beliefs in Confucianism that differed from Daoism and that an increased number of people in the current world would not agree with, which is the social position of women in

In her introduction to the book “Teachers of the Inner Chambers,” Ko establishes how women were viewed as the inner part of the family and inferior to men within the society (12). Women within families had the duties of running house chores such as taking care of their children, cooking, serving their husbands, and their father and mother-in-law. They did not have any significant roles in the society such as being leaders, positions in politics or being involved in important decision making. Further, women were not supposed to get out or even been seen by the outer part of the society. They were expected to obey their husbands. Evidence on this can be found in Pu Songling’s stories. In the “Dying Together,” when Zhu died, he came back and asked his wife to join him in death, a command that his wife agreed to without any thought or objections (202). Men in the book were presented as dominant over their wives because they commanded them and told them what to do without considering their opinions. Songling’s story shows the relationship between a husband and a wife in the Qing Dynasty that operated under the Confucian belief for many years (203). In the story, the wife was taking orders from her husband and was supposed to agree to every request even it was a death order. Apparently, women had to obey their husbands in every decision