Post 7

Having read Smith's work on Chinese religions discuss Confucius' main philosophical ideas and the Confucian project.

Confucius’ main philosophy breaks up into five ideals. The first being Jen which defines the ideal relationship that should pertain between individuals. Within your public life it calls for untiring diligence and in your private life it calls for courtesy, unselfishness, and the empathy to “measure the feelings of others by one’s own.” The second ideal deals with the chun tzu which refers t the ideal term in such relations, it is the opposite of a petty person. This person is endowed with a self-respect that generates respect for others. Li is the third ideal and has two meanings; the first of which is propriety, the proper way things should be done with nothings in excess. Confucius also believed that age merits respect because of the wisdom experience confers. The second or companion meaning of the word li is ritual. When these right behaviors are followed the individual’s entire life becomes choreographed. Te is the fourth idea of the Confucian scheme, literally meaning power where men are ruled. However, the power in which te refers to is the power of moral example. Those who rule need to voluntary cooperation of their subjects, and this will only happen when the subjects believe that their leaders merit their cooperation. When this happens the goodness enters society through their leaders that people respect and admire. The final and fifth idea is wen. Wen refers to “the arts of peace” in respect to music, poetry and painting. “By poetry the mind is aroused; from music the finish is received. The odes quicken the mind. They induce self-contemplation. They teach the art of sensibility. They help the restrain resentment. They bring home the duty of serving one’s parents and one’s prince.” This affects the political dimension as well because the state that is victorious usually has the highest culture. Within the Confucian scheme the one who is always trying to become better is a good man or woman. Because the self is a center of relationships and relationships are ever shifting, never-ending crosscurrents of human relationships human beings are likewise in motion. They are prevailing currents are the Five Constant Relationships which make up the Confucian project. This project is to adjust one’s “wings” at the angle that lets these relationships carry us to empyrean heights toward the goal of becoming a more complete human. The Five Constant Relationships are presented as relatively stable currents in atmospheric conditions that in other respects can fluctuate widely. The essential goal is to expand one’s empathy indefinitely towards all of humanity. If this goal is completed one will transcend selfishness, transcend nepotism, overcome parochialism, and conquers chauvinistic nationalism.



Do the same for Taoism, focusing on philosophical Taoism and Taoist values.

Within the Philosophical Taoism there are both philosophical and vitalizing teachers that teach their students what they should understand and what they should do. Basically the philosophies are on of right and wrong, light and dark, knowledge and truth called the tao (pronounced DOW, meaning “The Way”). They will try to conserve their te by expending it efficiently where the vitalizing Taoists try to increase its supply. It is an attitude toward life where the knowledge that they are in quest of is the kind that empowers life. To live wisely one must conserve life’s vitality by not expending it in useless draining ways. Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu’s recommendations revolve around the concept of wu wei that translates literally as inaction, however in Taoism means pure effectiveness. The Three Jewels (compassion, moderation, and humility) are the basic philosophy on Taosim. They can also be translated or considered as kindness, simplicity, and modesty. They formed the practical, and political side of the teachings.


Finally, compare and contrast these two Chinese philosophies.

The terms Tao and De are philosophical terms shared by both Confucianism and Taoism. The basic assumptions of Confucianism that relied on rituals and order are rejected by early Taoist texts. Both support a humanist philosophy emphasizing moral behavior and human perfection. In short Confucianism is based on ethics where as Taoism is a path of behavior. Its lso believed that Confucius was an actual person where Lao-tzu was not.