China

China honors two wise ancestors, or funders of its religions. Laozi is believed to have written abut the time of the gurus of the Upanishads, possibly preceding the enlightenment of Siddhartha Guatama. Confucius is the more widely known sage, who was probably alive at the time of the Buddha. Confucius emphasized good education for government. His disciples assured him a prominent role in he life of China until the beginning of the twentieth century.

The early Chinese people believed that heaven is not radically separate from the earth. Heaven is considered yang, or female energy, and earth is yin, which is predominately male. Heaven contain living ancestors who are both yang and yin. Some philosophers believe that there are some feminine characteristics in males and some masculine characteristics in females because there must be harmony in Yang and Yin. This concept is both philosophy and religion.

Yijing (I Ching) can offer guidance in the choices available to an individual so that he or she can obtain the support of heaven and nature, or at least avoid offending them. The Yijing was an established guide for Chinese life when Daoism and Confucianism were in their formative stages.

The beginning of Daoism as a philosophy in the sixth centure B.C.E. has been attributed to the sage Laozi (Lao Tzu). Daoism has stimulated a variety of responses in its readers. Philosophers of China emphasized its teachings about going with the flow of nature rather than resisting it in artificial structures of culture. Daoism has a reputation for magic. Before the beginning of mid-twentieth century medicine, people depended on Daoist remedies that might help them heal.

Dao De Jing focuses on the harmony of opposites within the peaceful flow of the Dao. Beneath amazing changes of nature, there is a never-ending flow which is neither entirely visible nor open to full knowledge. Nevertheless, it influences the process of the changes that can be seen. The way of the Dao includes a peaceful harmony of opposites. These ideas, which were part of Chinese beliefs before Laozi lived, contain the teachings of Laozi, and are about the individual’s relationship to society and nature. Dao De Jing focuses on the harmony of opposites with the peaceful flow of the Dao. Although no one can define exactly the full dimension of the way of the universe, the Dao is the mysterious cosmic power present in all human experiences. The Dao is not only the actuality of experiences but also the potential activity of the universe unfolding itself; it is the nonbeing that gives rise to phenomenal reality. Hidden, the Dao nevertheless manifests itself to those who patiently observe and reflect. Enough can be known of the Dao that a person can choose to live in harmony with it. Those who insist on their own way or who force society into their own plan may seems to succeed for a while but inevitably the pendulum with swing the other way.

The sage, or the wise person, comes to realize that in the long run, humans can not conquer nature. For the sage, there is a certain amount of learning to accept frustrated desires and purposes, of bending to the inevitable course of events.

Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), a champion of the Daoists, expanded on the teaching of the Dao De Jing. He also believed in nature above culture. Even the simple task of making a rack to hold a suspended bell can involve Daoism. By concentrating on their own nature-the nature of self- on the nature of a tree and on the nature of heaven that brings them together in harmony, humans turn a practical task into a Daoist experience. The government can be handled in a similar way. Shuangzi is reported to have turned down a civil service post in order to remain fee from the constraints of society, even those that carried glory and honor.

Confucianism has been the most influential philosophy of China throughout the centuries. Wherever Chinese people lived, they have been influenced by their greatest teacher, Confucius. Confucianism has sometimes been seen as more a philosophy than a religion. Other people have thought it a political science or a system of education. It has been all of these things and more.

Confucians think that Confucius had a fundamental belief that humans are by nature good. Confucius had to have a strong faith in humans to make such an assumption. He was surrounded all his life by cruel wars, unjust societies, and humans’ inhumanity to each other. Beginning with his foundational principal of human goodness, Confucius added a second principle. Humans, who are naturally good, learn best through example. A great need in human society is a model human being, a person who will set an example for others to follow. Confucius called his model person a junzi, translated to mean gentleman or superior man.

Confucius said to his students, “At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at forty I came to be free from doubts; at fifty I understood the Decree of Heaven; at sixty my ear was attuned; at seventy I followed my heart’s desire without overstepping the line.”

There are five distinct virtues or qualities in the junzi. First, humans exert their own uprightness regardless of outward circumstances. Second, humans are magnanimous, expressing forgiveness towards others. Humans are not to be ruled by laws but follow an internal principle. Third, humans are sincere in speech and action and are not a mouthpiece for hire; their word is their bond. Fourth, humans are earnest. They want to be rather than seem to be. Genuine good work replaces the mere appearance of it. Fifth, humans are benevolent, always generous in their relationships with people.

Confucius was a teacher of political philosophy and ethics. In his teachings, Confucius did not speculate much about heaven. He said, “When you have offended against Heaven, there is nowhere you can turn to in your prayers.” That statement shows reverence for heaven. He also had a reverence for worship Ancestor worship was a duty of every person in China. Confucius enjoyed participating in religious ceremonies – for him they were a necessary part of life, the basis for an orderly society.

Some philosophies challenged Confucius’ point of view. These philosophies had differing views about human nature and about the role and desirability of government. The Mohists, followers of Mozi (MO Tzu), who lived between 479 and 381 B.C.E., taught that if everyone would love one another, society would be transformed. Mozi may have been a follower of Confucianism. He had about 300 disciples. The Fajia (Fa-Chia or Legalists) school of philosophy said that human nature respects only strong laws and severe enforcement of laws. It was believed that a prince should rule by causing fear in his subjects. He must control laws, methods, and all powers of state. Confucians did not agree with the Legalists’ assessment of human nature.

Han Feizi (Han Fei Tzu) was from a noble family and he was jailed by he king of Qin. The king admired Han

Feizi’s work but had him imprisoned as a threat. Unable to plead his innocence to the Qin ruler, Han Feizi

drank poison and died. The writings he left show how his philosophy competed with that of Confucius. He

believed humans were not to be trusted. The king had to rule by a firm system of rewards and punishment.