China gave a rise to many different philosophies and religions, even though they were isolated
from the rest of the world. During the Golden Age of philosophy in China there were abundant
of schools and philosophies in how people and the government should live and abide to. Out of
the Hundred Schools of Thought, two examples of thought were Daoism and Legalism. While
others were forgotten or erased from history, the two ideas managed to survive and shape
China’s history. Both ideas were against the ideas of Confucianism and hoped to spread among
society and/or government as well. Daoism believed in allowing the people to live without being
hindered and try to achieve a sense of balance. Legalism believed in that the people should be
strictly controlled due to everyone being inherently bad. Daoism and Legalism mainly affected
and influenced ancient China, both in society and politics. It is best to understand the main
teachings of each religion in order to understand how they were able to attain followers.
Legalism is opposite in thought to what Daoism teaches. The main thought is that people are
inherently bad and that they need to be governed strictly. There were three main teachings of this
philosophy fa, shi and shu1. One was fa, which means law; the laws were written and made
known to the public. The laws govern the people and society, not the ruler himself. It rewards
people for following the rules, but also strictly punishes those who do not obey. The second was
shi, which means legitimacy. The position of leading the state is what gives a ruler a sense of
power. The person himself does not have the abilities or qualities that created such power.
Lastly, shu, which means that the ruler should not be kind and if so will lead to failure of the
society. If they lessen their reigns on the people, everyone will become lazy and disrespectful.
Similar to Daoism, Legalism does not favor intellect and learning, but on the other hand, the
government has supreme authority over personal morals.
Daoism is a philosophy in that the people need to achieve a sense of balance, the yin and the
yang. Yin represents feminine, passive, cold, weak, and the moon. Yang represents the opposite,
such as masculine, active, warmth, strong, and the sun. Followers should allow nature to take its
course and not fight it, “to go with the flow” (wu-wei)2. The way of the universe (aka Dao) is a
reality that cannot be seen or grasp. One has to mold him or her along the way of the universe. In
order to throw oneself and live with nature, one has to avoid all the traps of what is expected of
from society, culture, and government. For that, it means followers need to reject any form of
knowledge or education. It also means to reject any form of laws and rules that are set forth by
the government. Followers, instead, follow their instincts and their senses to achieve a state of
“oneness” with Dao.
Legalism was the predominant philosophy of the Qin dynasty. The country was divided up into a
number of administrative provinces and the system of writing was standardized throughout the
country. Noble families were moved to the capital and lost their status. Family units were
divided up into groups of ten and were responsible for punishing any wrongdoings among that
unit. Many important books were burned and the government made it known that the series of
laws were what to guide them through life, not religion or education.3 The only books that were
allowed were the ones that contributed to industry and the state, such as farming and weaving.
The main point of all of the actions were to control the people and lessen the risk of them
rebelling, keeping everyone under the government’s thumb. Legalism declined as soon as the
Qin dynasty ended. The lasting effect of legalism was that it unified China and created a form of
bureaucracy.
After the Legalism in the Qin Dynasty, Daoism became most successful in the Tang Dynasty.
The founder of the dynasty, Li Yuan, claimed to be the descendent of Laozi. The people believed
that and Li Yuan used that to build his power. He built schools and temples to ensure that the
movement was on top and become more of a religion than a philosophy. Also many of the civil
exams were given to students in Daoism schools, in order to recruit more followers of Daoism
into the court. Schools, such as Lingbao or Maoshan. During this time, it still could not compete
with Buddhism and its influence. However, during the Song dynasty, Emperor Huizong banned
Buddhism. He only appointed high positions to Daoism teachers and established more temples in
his empire. Another aspect that came out of Daoism is the notion of alchemy and mystical nature
of the religion. Many Daoism priests were recruited to teach alchemy to produce different elixirs
and/or try to create gold. Followers also fell into the notion that Daoism’s mystical side could
prolong life, so many upper class society searched for ways to enjoy their riches longer.4 Many
of the poor relied on Daoism to create better weather and crops in order to make money. The
influence of Daoism waned throughout the years due to different rulers and Buddhism, but it
maintained to become a religion and survive.
Legalism and Daoism started in China and the influence was mainly in their ancient state
of China. Legalism had strict control over the people in order to unify the warring states and
create a stable government. The effects did not last long after the Qin dynasty died and did not
manage to evolve beyond just a way of thinking, therefore it did not have a strong foothold in
influencing other cultures around it. Taoism started off as a thought during the age of fighting,
but its beliefs evolved from just a way of thinking to mystic practices and to finally becoming an
actual religion with deities. The only reason why Taoism did not affect other countries around it
was due to the popular spread of Buddhism and rulers that rejected it. Eventually it would spread
to other countries, such as Japan. China was more concerned with their state and well-being that
they were able to develop their own ideals and customs, the negative aspect is that many of those
ideas and customs are lost because of the isolation.
Notes
1. Shen, Qingsong, Dao companion to classical Confucian philosophy, (Dordrecht: Springer,
2013) 36
2. Lao-Tzu, Tao Teh King, (Champaign, Ill.: ProjectGutenberg) 48
3. Shen, Qingsong, Dao companion to classical Confucian philosophy, (Dordrecht: Springer,
2013) 48
4. Lao-Tzu, Tao Teh King, (Champaign, Ill.: ProjectGutenberg) 22
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Lao-Tzu. Tao Teh King. Champaign, Ill.: ProjectGutenberg, 2008.
Shen, Qingsong. Dao companion to classical Confucian philosophy. Dordrecht: Springer, 2013.
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Ma, Li. "A Comparison of the Legitimacy of Power Between Confucianist and Legalist
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Paracka, Daniel J.. "China's Three Teachings and the Relationship of Heaven, Earth and
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