CHINESE PHILOSOPHIES

Confucianism• Founded by Confucius

• Duty (responsibility) is the central idea

• Filial Piety is very important

• Focus on education, ethics, and morality

• He wanted to reform the government from within

• Believe all government jobs should be open to everyone

• His sayings were collected in a book called The Analects

• Not concerned with spirituality, but with bettering people for a more stable society

Buddhism• Founded by Siddhartha Guatama (“The Buddha”) in India

• The Leader: The Dalai Lama

• Believes in nirvana – the “end of suffering”

• The Four Nobel Truths and the Eightfold Path are core parts of Buddhism

• Buddhism has two branches: Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism

Daoism• Started by a man named Laozi

• It focuses on giving up worldly desires and living harmoniously with nature

• They believed people should turn to the spiritual force called the Dao (path – “the way”)

• Many Chinese followed both Confucianism and Daoism as they thought the two supported one another

• This is often shown through spiritual forces they called Yin and Yang

Legalism• Started by a name named Hanfeizi

• Unlike Confucianism, Legalism believed that people were naturally evil

• Hanfeizi believed that kings should make strict laws and harsh punishments to force people to do the right thing

• Legalists believed the law was above everyone, including the king

• Many aristocrats and kings liked legalism because it justified their rule by any means necessary

• However, in time it led to extreme punishment even for small crimes