THREE CHINESE PHILOSOPHIES
(ZHOU DYNASTY 1045-256 B.C.E)
By: Sid Patra, Noel Oracheski, and Alex
Lampell
Zhou Dynasty (1045-256 B.C.E)
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After overthrowing the Shang, the Zhou made the
Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven said that the king was the
son of Heaven
If the king governed his people well then Heaven
would give him the right to rule
If the king governed badly then Heaven would send
natural disasters and his people could overthrow
him
Photos of Zhou Dynasty
Feudalism
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The Zhou had a system of relationships called
feudalism
In feudalism the king gave part of his land to loyal
supporters (lords)
In exchange the lords sent soldiers to protect the
king
The lord protected the peasants that lived in his
land in exchange of a portion of their crops
Conflicts in Zhou Dynasty
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Feudalism worked for a while, but then there
started to be rebellions against the king
Then rulers hired scholars to ask them for advice
about how to govern
So many ideas were offered that later the Chinese
called them the Hundred Schools of Thought
The three most popular schools were Confucianism,
Daoism and Legalism
Confucianism
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The founder of Confucianism is Confucius(551-479 B.C.E)
The goal of Confucianism is to have a just and peaceful society
In Confucianism you should respect your elders
In Confucianism there are five basic relationships: ruler and subject,
husband and wife, father and son, older siblings and younger
siblings, and friend and friend
All people must respect and obey these relationships
People that have the authority with these relationships (rulers,
fathers, husbands, and older siblings) should set a good example.
They should be kind, honest, wise, and faithful
Confucius used to say, “Don’t do to others what you would not want
done to you”
There is a book with all of Confucius sayings. It is called The Analects
So Confucianism thought that the “best way to govern is to lead by
example”
Photos of Confucianism
Daoism
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The founder of Daoism is Laozi (around 500 B.C.E.)
Laozi wrote a small manuscript of 5,000 characters which is called
the Dao De Jing
Daoism teaches people that you gain happiness and peace by
living in harmony and agreement with nature
For the Daoists nature is full of opposites (like pleasure and pain)
They believed that true harmony came from balancing these
opposite forces
These two forces are called yin and yang
Yin means shaded and Yang means sunlit
Daoists thought that people should live a simple and natural life
They also believed that everyone must discover the Dao by
themselves
So Daoism thought that the best way to govern was “if you must
govern, then govern the least as possible”
Photos of Daoism
Legalism
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The founder of Legalism is Hanfeizi(280-233 B.C.E.)
The goal of Hanfeizi was to create peace and order in
soceity
Many of his ideas survived until today in a book named
after him
Legalism thought that most people are naturally selfish
Legalism thought that rulers should establish strict laws and
make them stronger by giving rewards for good behavior
and harsh punishments for bad behavior
In Legalism rulers have absolute power and are backed up
by the military
They thought that rulers should not trust anyone, not even the
family
Photos of Legalism
The End of The Zhou Empire
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Around 256 B.C.E. the Zhou Empire fell
It was overpowered by Prince Zheng of the Qin
Empire
In the battle between the Qin and the Zhou millions
of lives were lost
Bibliography
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History Alive Book
Images from Google
Any Questions?
Thanks For Watching