* Kung Fuzi (Master
Kung)
*about 500 B.C.E.
*Advisor to rulers
during Warring
States period of
China
Ren --> humaneness, benevolence
“Do not do unto others what you would
not want others to do unto you.”
Xiao --> Filial Piety (Respect your elders!)
1. Ruler
Subject
2. Father
Son
3. Husband
Wife
4. Elder
Younger
*
Status
* Age
* Gender
*Most important Confucian book.
* Focus on social harmony and the role of
rulers and bureaucrats in government.
*assumes that “people are basically
good.”
* If someone does something bad,
education,
not punishment, is the answer.
 Good people will mend their ways if they
have a good example to follow (the Emperor!)
* Knowing what he knows and knowing what he
doesn’t know, is characteristics of the person
who knows.
* Making a mistake and not correcting it, is
making another mistake.
* The superior man blames himself; the
inferior man blames others.
* To go too far is as wrong as to fall short.
* 300s B.C.E.
* Warring States
period.
* political philosophy
of the Qin Dynasty.
1. Human nature = selfish.
2. Law = morality
3. Ruler = strong, punishing hand for
baddies. Reward good people.
One who favors the principle
that individuals should obey
a powerful authority rather
than exercise individual
freedom.
• Warring States Period
• Tried to escape society and find “the
Way of nature.”
* The basic text of Daoism.
* In Chinese, it means The Classic in
the Way and Its Power.
* “Those who speak know nothing:
Those who know are silent.”
1. Dao [Tao] = exactly like “The Force” in
Starwars
2. Goal= to become one with the Dao (nature,
the universe, etc.)
3. Wu wei =
--> “The art of doing nothing.”
--> “Go with the flow!”
4. Man is unhappy because he lives w/
man-made laws that are contrary to the
ways of nature.
The WAY:
1. Reject formal learning.
2. Rely on instinct.
3. Discover the “rhythm” of the
universe.
4. Ignore political and social laws.
* Feminine
* Masculine
* Passive
* Active
* Darkness
* Light
* Cold
* Warmth
* Weak
* Strong
* Earth;
Moon
* Heaven;
Sun
How is a man to live in a world
dominated by chaos, suffering, and
absurdity??
3 Solutions:
Confucianism --> Moral order by proper
relationships
Legalism --> harsh law & order.
Daoism --> Freedom for individuals
avoidance of conformity.