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Ch. 7: Early China
Lesson 5: Chinese Philosophies
and Life
pp. 178-183
Vocabulary
• What is important about these
words in the Chinese Culture?
–Philosophies
–Duty
–Filial piety
Objectives
• SPI 6.33 Analyze the structure of the Zhou
Dynasty and the emergence of Daoism,
Confucianism, and Legalism
• SPI 6.34 Identify the political and cultural
patterns prevalent in the time of Confucius
and how he sought to solve them
Review: Period of Warring States
• Rulers and aristocrats fighting amongst
the territories
• War for decades
• Needed to stop the killing
• Wanted to bring order to society
Part 1: Chinese Philosophies
• Chinese thinkers develop
• 3 major philosophies
– Confucianism
– Daoism (Taoism)
– Legalism
– All 3 = Main Goal was to create a well-run and
peaceful society
What Ideas Did Confucius Teach?
• Confucianism was based on
teaching of Confucius
– Criticized kings
– Urged people to follow ancestors
– Tried to bring peace and
harmony to China
– Duty is central idea of
Confucianism
•
•
•
•
Parents love children
Children respect parents
Seek knowledge
Rulers should rule justly
The Influence of Confucius
• Confucius believed the
government service should be
open to men of ability, not just
nobles
• Book = Sayings of Confucius
called The Analects
• His ideas continued to shape
Chinese society until 1900s
The Philosophy of Daoism (Taoism)
• Daoism promoted a
peaceful society
– Began with the ideas of Laozi
– Believes people should free
themselves from worldly
desires and live simply
– Turn to nature and the Daothe spiritual force that guides
all things
– This will cause people to live
a happy life
Confucianism vs Daoism (Taoism)
• Confucius taught people should work hard
to make the world better
• Daoism taught people to turn away from
worldly affairs and live in harmony with
nature
Legalism
• Legalism-School of Law
– Believes humans are evil
– Strict laws and harsh punishment were
necessary to force people to do their duty
– EMPHASIZED FORCE
Part 2 : Chinese Life
• Chinese society was divided into 4 classes
– Landowning aristocrats
– Farmers
– Artisans
– Merchants
Lives of Aristocrats
• Aristocrats were wealthy
• Owned large plots of land
• Family’s land was divided equally among
all of the male heirs
Lives of the Farmers
• 9 out of 10 Chinese
farmed
• Lived in rural villages
surrounded by mud
walls
• Rented the field
• Paid taxes
• Farmers forced to serve
as soldiers
Lives of the Artisans and
Merchants
• Artisans are skilled workers
• Wealthy
• Not respected members of society
– People believed merchants worked for their
own gain and not for the good of society
What were Chinese Families Like?
• Family was at the center of early Chinese
society
• Practiced filial piety-people’s responsibility
to respect and obey their parents
• Required people to take care of their
parents
Roles of Men and Women
• Men were respected because of their jobs
• Considered the jobs of men more
important than the work of women
• Women raised children and saw to their
education
• Women managed household and family
finances
Ancient Chinese Philosophies
Confucianism
Legalism
Daoism
Founder
Confucius
Hanfeizi
Laozi
Beliefs
•Family values
•Knowing your place in
society
•Positions in government
should be based on merit
not hereditary
•People are born
wicked
•Must be taught
proper behavior
through punishment
and rewards
•Aristocrats favored
this belief
•In search of the Dao
•Finding peace with nature
•Searching for harmony with
nature
Compare and Contrast Social Hierarchies of Many
Civilizations
Draw the pyramids.
Egypt
India
China
United States