Confucianism
Confucianism was a philosophy taught by the philosopher Kongfuzi who was better known in the west as Confucius. It was a philosophy that centered around treating everyone humanely and with love and respect. While growing up in the Warring States Period at the end of the Zhou Dynasty, he came to believe that the reason for all the violence was a lack of love and respect. He thought these needed to be shown not only in everyday life to the ruler, his subjects, and family members, but also to the ancestors through rituals. He also believed that as the respect for tradition increased, violence would go down. There were three principles to Confucianism. One of them was ren Kongfuzi then wrote all of his beliefs of ways to improve society in a book called the Analects. The Analects is a collection of all of Kongfuzi's writings that talks about his beliefs and the different ways to improve life in China at that time. For example, one section states, "Lead the people with administrative injuctions and put them in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame they will order themselves harmoniously."
Two of Kongfuzi's disciples established conflicting interpretations of his philosophy. Mencius' beliefs were a combination of his own and Kongfuzi's. He believed that human beings basically had good nature and that governments should rule kindly. Xunzi believed that humans were selfish, self-centered, and would not contribute to society in any meaningful way. He said it was possible for humans to be put on the straight and narrow path, but it would have to be done by harsh punishment.
Two of Kongfuzi's disciples established conflicting interpretations of his philosophy. Mencius' beliefs were a combination of his own and Kongfuzi's. He believed that human beings basically had good nature and that governments should rule kindly. Xunzi believed that humans were selfish, self-centered, and would not contribute to society in any meaningful way. He said it was possible for humans to be put on the straight and narrow path, but it would have to be done by harsh punishment.
Daoism
Daoism was a philosophy founded by Laozi. He wrote the beliefs of Daosim in a book called Dao De Jing, and it was so popular, people considered him a god. Daoists criticized Confucianism and believed it was pointless to dwell on problems with no solution. They believed the solution to society’s problems was to stop striving and live simply. The main moral virtue was wuwei, which meant to disengage oneself from worldly affairs, avoid enhanced education, and live in harmony with nature. Government should be simple and be made up of self-sufficient communities. Dao was the original force of the universe and was eternal, unchanging, and governing of all creation. It was believed that this force connected all beings in nature together, and if you find your place in nature, you can reach full harmony.
Legalism
Legalism was another popular philosophy that helped shaped China and was founded by Shang Yang. It was the opposite of Confucianism and Daoism and was a group of practical people who believed in a highly efficient and highly powerful government to restore order to China. Legalists believed that a ruler should reward his people, but anyone who was disobedient should be harshly punished. Punishment and fear were stressed more than rewards. They also believed in controlling peoples' ideas, and they did this so much that there were many Confucianist and Daoist books burned because they contradicted what they were trying to teach. Legalists weren't concerned about humans' place in the universe and wanted a strong military and agriculture. Merchants, scholars, poets, and educatores were seen as useless. Legalism was the system that unified China. Shang Yang, the duke of the Qin state, was a very capable administrator but was ruthless in enforcing the policies. He was hated by many, was murdered, and his family was destroyed. Han Feizi was one of the founder of Legalism and he collected Legalist ideas into essays on governance. While do ing this he offended many powerful people and was forced to drink poison.