1/ Explain the concepts of “Yin” and “Yang”. Using pp. 227 ff in the textbook, try to tie them together with an early understanding of the “Dao” (“Tao”) and the Chinese dream of a ‘Golden Age’.
The concepts of Yin, Yang, and Dao are beliefs the early Chinese had to better understand the order of nature and its elements. Yang is male energy, and is understood to stand for dry and warm elements in nature, as well as for active and expansive elements. Yin is the female energy, and is therefore the opposite of yang; it is wet and cold, slower and regressive in nature. Furthermore, yang objects (males) are seen as positive, heavenly and more important elements then yin objects (females). Objects in nature may at times have both yang and yin characteristics, or can even change from yin to yang and visa versa, depending on the circumstances they are placed in. Dao goes beyond the concepts of yin and yang in that it seeks to understand nature as a whole in harmony and cooperation with all. The belief in the way of Dao is also the belief in a Golden Age. To illustrate, if people everywhere followed the way of Dao then true peace and harmony would reign throughout the earth. (Noss and Grangaard 226-227)
2/ Elaborate on the ‘understanding’ of the “Dao” as told by Lao-Zi, Zhuang-Zi and in Dao De Jing.
Lao-Zi, according to legend, repulsed by the government and Confucian teaching of that time, vanished into the unknown in the hopes of escaping this corrupt society, and to construct the Dao De Jing. However, others have argued that though Lao-Zi may have fathered Daoist philosophy he is not the author of Dao De Jing. Though the way or understanding of Dao is impossible to describe, according to the Dao De Jing, yet because of Dao everything exi...
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...at has been the view of Confucius and his philosophy after the Chinese revolution of 1911?
After the Chinese revolution of 1911, Confucian scholars failed to maintain Confucianism as a state religion in China’s new constitution. However, the new leader, Sun Zhongshan, when speaking of his plans for the Republic, quoted Confucian phrases and values. Overall, the Nationalist Party and the New Life movement incorporated Confucius virtues and colorings throughout their belief systems. With the rise of Communism Confucian once again went under revision, this time with Confucius teachings of ren being attack as primitive and unprogressive. The Confucius philosophy of today is uncertain and there has been talk of developing a more “modern Confucianism”. Nonetheless, in certain areas Confucian is still popular and its virtues are still promoted. (Noss and Grangaard 285-287)
Where will America be in a few thousand years; will we retain our current culture or continue to grow, thrive, and adapt to our surroundings? While these are important questions for our country’s future, many of the answers can already be found in one of the oldest civilizations on the planet, China. Chinese culture has been formed and reformed many times throughout its expansive history, and with changes in rule and structure, there have also been changes in philosophy and culture. Confucius emerged as a prominent figure in Chinese philosophy and managed to grow in popularity through time with his famous teachings, including those in his Analects. The philosophies of Daoism emerged later through many writings including the prominent Daodejing, written by philosopher Laozi. Although Confucius’ Analects and Laozi’s the Daodejing have both influenced Chinese culture, their primary goals for society differ in many ways.
Confucianism is regarded as one of the primary religions that have profoundly influenced Chinese beliefs and ideologies. While Kongzi, or Confucius, is the founder of Confucianism, he is not the only philosopher who has contributed to such a significant impact on China. Similarly, the Analects of Confucius is not the single text that represents Confucianism. In fact, during different time periods throughout the history, there are a number of eminent representatives of Confucian thoughts, such as Mengzi and Xunzi. Because Confucianism aims at eliminating chaos and maintaining order in a harmonious society , they all agree that the guidance and education of virtuous Confucian pioneers are of extreme importance to achieve this goal. Yet, instead of supporting each other, Mengzi and Xunzi have made contradictory arguments on human nature and cultivation of moral elites .
Cao Xueqin’s Story of the Stone is a classic in Chinese literature, showcasing the life and exploits of the wealthy Jia clan during the feudal era. Through Cao’s depiction, the reader is afforded a glimpse into the customs and lifestyle of the time. Chinese mode of thought is depicted as it occurred in daily life, with the coexisting beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism. While the positive aspects of both ideologies are presented, Cao ultimately depicts Taoism as the paramount, essential system of belief that guides the character Bao-yu to his eventual enlightenment.
Confucianism became popular during the Han Dynasty as it was the state religion and had a great impact on East Asia (Confucianism 1, pg. 7). Born in 551 BCE in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Confucius himself absorbed the teachings of Mahavira and the Buddha (Confucianism 1, pg. 2) He had a set of virtues that he believed a functioning society should stand by such as benevolence, love and rites. Confucius wanted China to return to the old days when people were loyal to their rulers and rulers were polite and caring towards their people. He believed rulers s...
A lot of Chinese viewpoint were created early, as culture emerged along the Yellow River before 1000 B.C .E. One such idea strained the significance of agreement in and with environment around the idea of the Way which e may say described a fair and controlled way of life. More recognized systems of attention developed afterward, if we see in the 5th and 6th centuries B.C, for the period of a separated and anxious period of Chinese politics. A variety of thinkers sought way to shore up a physically powerful political system or survive without one. Of the resultant philosophies or religions, Confucianism proved the majority of durable and noteworthy.
Creel, Herrlee. Chinese Thought from Confucius to Mao Tse-tung. New York: University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Kaltenmark, Max. Lao Tzu and Taoism. Translated by Roger Greaves. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 1969.
Without any doubt, Dao(道) is the most important idea in the book Dao De Jing. However, it seems a little improper to use the character “Dao(道)” compared to many other better options to describe this power. In one explanation, Dao means the reason and order of the whole world. According to this argument, Laozi should use the characters that mean reason, like “理” or “序”. On the other hand, according to Laozi, Dao is the origin of the myriad things that exist now. In this way, Laozi should simply call this power “始”or “源”. Although “Dao” had been used to represent the ultimate truth in Yi Jing, or other books before, Laozi was able to choose any character he preferred, because the Daoism was original by Laozi. According to Laozi’s personality, he will not try to make the content more readable by giving up the accuracy of the language. In Chinese, Dao(道) also means the road or pathway. Laozi doesn’t give too much explanation about pathway idea in his book. However, Laozi chose Dao over other characters, so there must be another idea that Laozi doesn’t want to give directly to the readers. I will try to explain the
ask. How did Daoism (道教) affect the daily life of the ancient Chinese? Daosim (道教)
Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism are the typical foundations of Chinese literary thought and culture. For the case of Daoism, it has a philosophical perspective as well as a religious inclination that is identified as DaoJiao in modern Chinese contemporary literature. The other two are however deeply interconnected with the Daojiao. Therefore, Laozi, also known as Lao-tzu in the wade- Giles nomenclature of translations, a huge favorite of early western scholars, is an interlink of the other two (Ivanhoe). For instance, philosophical Daoism originated from Laozi. Laozi was a talented philosopher who thrived in the sixth century B.C.E and was of Chinese ancestry. In Daoism, Laozi was considered a religious deity. This paper aims at examining
Confucius (551–479 B.C.) was a Chinese philosopher and founder of the Confucian school of thought, which greatly influenced political and social life in China. His teachings are known primarily through the Analects of Confucius, a collection of "brief aphoristic fragments", which was compiled many years after his death. Although he didn’t write any books, his students did the writing based on his teachings and millions of people still rely on Confucius's philosophy as a guide to live. Until the twentieth century, Confucianism was the state religion of China. Confucius (Master K'ung Ch'iu), His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism or Daoism. Legalism was a third Chinese philosophy, a Classical Chinese philosophy that emphasizes the need for order above all other human concerns. At the other extreme was the philosophy known as Legalism. Proponents of Legalism did not concern themselves with Confucian values of ethical and mor...
During the Warring States era, the Chinese population was in need of social and political change. Accordingly, three schools of thought were formed and became a tradition in China: Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism. These systems focused on virtues and law-based tactics. Sanders et al (2008) points out that “these three systems of thought were written by three distinct prominent writers whose main focus for the Chinese population were philosophy, political and religion development” (p 89,93,97)
It can also be argued that the political activities of Chairman Mao’s Communist China were more of a continuation of traditional Imperial China, based heavily in Confucian values, than a new type of Marxist-Leninist China, based on the Soviet Union as an archetype. While it is unquestionable that a Marxist-Leninist political structure was present in China during this time, Confucian values remained to be reinforced through rituals and were a fundamental part of the Chinese Communist ...
Laozi recognises that language is extremely inadequate in demonstrating the true meaning of certain ideas. To him, reality surpasses the human language Even the concept of “dao” itself is unable to be fully expressed through language: It can be seen as a teaching, a way of doing things, an origin, and so on. There is no single description that can encapsulate what dao is as a whole. One can only offer an illustration of one of its dimensions at a time. Hence, Laozi seems to engage in language skepticism to demonstrate the indescribability of dao, and the perils of taking any one of its definitions too literally. If we were to narrow our perspective and attempt to
It was created in China and Lao-Tzu was a person who showed and experienced it. Tao Te Ching is the primary text of Daoism. It includes philosophy, mysticism, consideration and lyrics. Daoism focusses in detail on the connection between the humankind and the world. The essential idea of Chinese philosophy, Dao, can be literally translated as “path”, “way”, “road” or “method”. It has the three meanings: the way of ultimate reality, the way of the universe and the way of human life. People cannot perceive Dao in its first concept. It even cannot be obviously comprehended, as its idea is too enormous and vast for human’s mind. In Dao’s next perspective, it is the way of the universe, the standard, the tempo, the power in everything. In the third sense, it signifies the manner of people’s lives. These paths of Daoism are joined. Daoists cannot practice one of them without experiencing all three. There are three approaches to Daoism. The first one is philosophical. It tries to keep ch’e by consuming it efficiently. It is more an approach to life so it can be used widely. The next one is psychophysical. Following it, Daoists try not only to consume, but also to increase the amount of ch’e. It can be done with the help of a diet (a wide range of Chinese foods and herbs), martial arts (psychophysical disciplines) and meditation (yoga). The