Download Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism

4 early River Valley Civilizations
• Sumerian Civilization - Tigris & Euphrates Rivers (Mesopotamia)
• Egyptian Civilization - Nile River
• Harappan Civilization - Indus River
• Ancient China - Huang He River
Chapter 2:
(See your Packet, p.
)
“The Four Early River Valley Civilizations”
• Mesopotamia [Sumer] (Tigris & Euphrates Rivers)
• Egypt (Nile River)
• Indus Valley (Indus River)
• Ancient China (Huang He River)
ENTER
A Chinese junk on the Huang He today.
An artist visualizes what the ancient Chinese village of Banpo
on the Huang He may have looked like over 4,000 years ago.
Chinese script is unique, isn’t it?
Think about other elements of Chinese culture:
Chinese architecture, music, technology,
dress and fashion, and eastern belief systems…
Gobi Desert
Also unique!
Taklimakan Desert
Himalaya Mts.
Pacific
Ocean
“River Dynasties in China”
1. Why did China develop apart from other cultures?
• China’s geography ocean, desert, high mountains, isolated China.
Isolated geographically, cut off from trade, there would be little opportunity for cultural diffusion in
China’s case. Developing in a vacuum, China’s civilization would stand out as the most unique of our
world’s early civilizations.
PEACE
LOVE
TOLERANCE
LUCK
ETERNITY
Neolithic ca. 12,000 - 2000 B.C.
Xia ca. 2100-1800 B.C.
Shang 1700-1027 B.C.
Western Zhou 1027-771 B.C.
Eastern Zhou
770-221 B.C.
Warring States period
475-221 B.C.
Ancient
China
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
CH 2: “River Dynasties in China”
[Packet, p. ]
2. What were three features of Shang culture?
• First written records
- calligraphy writing and paper making
• Sharp division between king’s nobles and the
peasants
• Wood used as building material
(not mud-dried bricks as in other regions)
• Peasants used wooden tools
• Shang made magnificent bronze weapons
and ceremonial vessels
Pics: Bronze work of
the Shang period
(1700-1027 B.C.).
A toilet, an ax, and a
cooking cauldron.
CH 2: “River Dynasties in China”
[Packet, p. ]
3. Name three important values of Shang culture.
• From very early on, the idea of the “group” /
community more important than the idea of
“individual”/ or any single person.
• Emphasis on family, respect of parents
• Family emphasized in religion too –
ancestor worship.
• Oracle bones used to consult the gods
• Chinese writing unique to others.
Symbols stood for ideas, not sounds.
This allowed the many different groups who
spoke different languages to all understand
the same writing system.
Oracle bone
Neolithic ca. 12,000 - 2000 B.C.
Xia ca. 2100-1800 B.C.
Shang 1700-1027 B.C.
Western Zhou 1027-771 B.C.
Eastern Zhou
770-221 B.C.
Ancient
China
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
Warring States period
475-221 B.C.
CH 2: “River Dynasties in China”
[Packet, p. ]
4. Name two important changes brought about by
the Zhou.
While the Zhou did simply adopt much of old Shang culture,
they also did introduce new things:
Above: Jade disk,
China’s Zhou period.
Below: Bronze helmet and sword,
Zhou period.
• A new idea of royalty that claimed rulers got their
authority from heaven. This was known as the
Mandate from Heaven.
From this time on the Chinese would believe in
divine rule.
This meant disasters could be blamed on the rulers
and they would frequently be replaced.
This led to a pattern of rise and fall of dynasties in
China known as the dynastic cycle.
• The Zhou gave large regions of land and privileges to
a select few nobles who then owed loyalty to the king
in return. This type of political system the Zhou
introduced is called feudalism.
• Zhou introduced the first coined money; improved
transportation with roads and canals; improved the
efficiency of government with trained workers called
civil servants; and introduced the first iron-making.
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
Start here
Emperor is
defeated !!
Rebel bands find
strong leader who
unites them.
Attack the emperor.
Poor lose
respect for govt.
They join rebels
& attack landlords.
A new
dynasty
comes to power.
The emperor
reforms the govt.
& makes it more
efficient.
The
Dynastic
Cycle
Droughts,
floods,
famines occur.
Lives of common
people improved;
taxes reduced;
farming encouraged.
Problems begin
(extensive wars,
invasions, etc.)
Taxes increase;
men forced to
work for army.
Farming neglected.
Govt. increases
spending;
corruption.
Neolithic ca. 12,000 - 2000 B.C.
Xia ca. 2100-1800 B.C.
Shang 1700-1027 B.C.
Western Zhou 1027-771 B.C.
Eastern Zhou
770-221 B.C.
Ancient
China
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
Warring States period
475-221 B.C.
The first 300 years of Zhou rule were relatively peaceful and stable.
But that changed around 771 B.C.E. as nomadic tribes invaded from the north
and as the noble families began to fight for power against one another.
The crossbow is introduced in China during this time of great conflict and chaos
known as the Period of Warring States.
Chinese values collapsed during this period of arrogance, chaos, and defiance.
Will China be saved?
By who?
…..stay tuned.
– In the final years of the Zhou there was almost
constant conflict.
– China moved away from its ancient values of social
order, harmony, and respect for authority.
– Chinese scholars and philosophers developed
different solutions to restore these values.
– Three philosophies emerged to provide a solution.
These were Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism.
To learn without thinking is fruitless;
To think without learning is dangerous.
Confucius – “Lun Yu” Chap. 2
• Assignment: Examine the main ideas
of each philosophy. Then write a
letter to the ruler of China explaining
which philosophy you think will be most
effective in dealing with the problems
of the day. You should explain the
reasons for your choice.
* 551 – 479 B.C.E.
* Born in the feudal
state of Liu.
* Became a teacher
and editor of books.
Li --> Rite, rules, ritual decorum (Binding
force of an enduring stable society)
Ren --> humaneness, benevolence,
humanity
Shu --> Reciprocity, empathy
Do not do unto others what you would
not want others to do unto you.
Yi --> Righteousness
Xiao --> Filial Piety (Respect your elders!)
1. Ruler
Subject
2. Father
Son
3. Husband
Wife
4. Older
Brother
Younger
Brother
5. Older
Friend
Younger
Friend
*
Status
* Age
* Gender
* The single most important Confucian
work.
* In Chinese, it means “conversation.”
* Focus on practicalities of interpersonal
relationships and the relationship of
the role of rulers and ministers to the
conduct of government.
* 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.
* 372 - 289 B.C.E.
* Disciple of Confucius.
* Starts off with the assumption that “people
are basically good.”
* If someone does something bad, education,
not punishment, is the answer.
ä Good people will mend their ways in
accordance to their inherent goodness.
* The emperor is the example of
proper behavior --> “big daddy”
* Social relationships are based on
“rites” or “rituals.”
* Even religious rituals are
important for SOCIAL, not
religious reasons, acc. to Confucius.
INDIA
CHINA
1. Brahmin
1. Scholar-Gentry
2. Kshatriyas
2. Peasants
3. Vaishyas
3. Artisans
4. Shudras
4. Merchants
Untouchables
Soldiers
Imperial Nobility
Domestic Slaves
* 280? - 233 B.C.E.
* Han Fe Zi.
* Lived during the
late Warring States
period.
* Legalism became
the political
philosophy of the
Qin [Ch’in] Dynasty.
1. Human nature is naturally selfish.
2. Intellectualism and literacy is
discouraged.
3. Law is the supreme authority and
replaces morality.
4. The ruler must rule with a strong,
punishing hand.
5. War is the means of strengthening
a ruler’s power.
One who favors the principle
that individuals should obey
a powerful authority rather
than exercise individual
freedom.
The ruler, therefore, “cracks
his whip” on the backs of his
subjects!
* Not sure when he
died.
[604 B.C.E. - ?]
* His name means
“Old Master”
* Was he Confucius’
teacher?
* 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.”
These words, I am told,
Were spoken by Laozi.
If we are to believe that Laozi,
Was himself one who knew,
How is it that he wrote a book,
Of five thousand words?
1. Dao [Tao] is the first-cause of the
universe. It is a force that flows through
all life.
2. A believer’s goal is to become one with
Dao; one with nature. [“The butterfly or
the man?” story.]
3. Wu wei --> “Let nature take its course.”
--> “The art of doing nothing.”
--> “Go with the flow!”
4. Man is unhappy because he lives acc. to
man-made laws, customs, & traditions that
are contrary to the ways of nature.
To escape the “social, political, & cultural
traps” of life, one must escape by:
1. Rejecting formal knowledge and
learning.
2. Relying on the senses and instincts.
3. Discovering the nature and
“rhythm” of the universe.
4. Ignoring 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??
Confucianism --> Moral order in society.
Legalism --> Rule by harsh law & order.
Daoism --> Freedom for individuals and
less govt. to avoid
uniformity and conformity.
Thanks to
Ms. Susan M. Pojer
Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY
And
T. Loessin
Akins H.S. Austin, TX