Three Schools of Thought in Feudal China

A detailed Summary of Three Schools of Thought in Feudal China

Amongst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, arose many intellectual thinkers that brought such profound impact in the field of politics, religion and philosophy. Even to this day, their influence can be viewed in the many matters of China. Confucianism became the leading school of thought and later significant philosophies such as Daoism and Legalism gained immense recognition as well. Each party had their own proposals for creating an idealistic political society where the many problems they faced in their everyday lives could be eliminated. All three approaches were very distinct but at the same time, they contained certain similarities as well. I find that Confucianism and Daoism could be resembling in many ways to find several common grounds. On the other hand, Legalism goes on to take a more unique approach which was much different from the previous two.

Confucius was born in 551 B.C., to a poor family of the lower nobility. Throughout his life, he relentlessly tried to gain an office with a prominent ruler of the time who was willing to adopt his various concepts. Confucius died in 479 B.C, before such a change ever took place. However, he succeeded in winning over a handf

Confucius' jun zi had to possess these fine qualities to achieve success. On the other side of the token, Daoism emphasized the need for similar entities. Lao zi explains: "For minds, the depth is good. In social relations, human-heartedness is good. In speaking, the trustworthiness is good. In governing order is good". Both systems, through different approaches, promote peace and goodwill among the family, society and with neighboring states.

Out of the three different thought systems, Legalism was a success in the sense that it achieved what the other two systems desperately strove for - the unification of China. Many of the Legalist ideas were quite thought provoking and praiseworthy; they believed in equality for all and government according to merit. However, the system gained a rotten reputation according to the ruthless rule of the First Emperor of China. Confucianism thus became the official Philosophy, gaining wide acceptance in China.

By third century, yet another thought system evolved among the numerous small states. Legalism was far different in its ideals and approach unlike its predecessors. Like Daoism, Legalism did not have one founder but several people who shared similar ideas of which Han Fei zi is well known. While Confucianism tried to gain total harmony with social order and Daoism searched for the same result in nature, Legalists believed that a strong political structure was the answer. While the previous two believed that politics should be very minimal, Legalism asked for a strict code of law and enforcement of it.

Before the advent of Legalism, judgements were made as the need arose and lacked a set pattern. Rulers searched the past for previous practices and rituals and acted with no spe

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Category: History