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Home , Filial piety, Taoism

Primary Sources: Chinese Philosophical Traditions , Daoism, Legalism (+ in )

Confucianism: (c. 551 - 479 BCE) has been one of the most important thinkers in . Confucius redirected Chinese toward establishing the correct moral behavior of people within society. Significantly, Confucian thought was founded on the oldest and most respected traditions of Chinese society. Confucius himself claimed that he did nothing new, but in he fundamentally changed the direction of Chinese thought.

Selections from the (5th Century B.C.E.)

On

Mang I asked what filial piety is. The Master said, "It is obedient." Soon after, as Chi was driving him, the Master told him "Mang asked me what filial piety is, and I answer him 'being obedient.'" Fan Chi asked, "What exactly did you mean?" The Master replied, "That , when alive, should be served according to ; that, when dead, they should be buried according to ritual; and that they should be sacrificed to according to ritual."

On Goodness

The Master said, "A youth, when at home, should behave well toward his parents, and when abroad, respectfully to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful. He should overflow in to all, and cultivate the friendship of the good. When he has time and opportunity, after doing those things, he should study the polite arts."

Zhonggong asked about perfect . The Master said, "When abroad, behave to everyone as if you were receiving an important guest; treat people as if you were assisting at a great ; do not do to others as you would not wish done to yourself. Thereby you let no murmuring rise against you in the country, and none in the . . . ."

On the Gentleman

"When gentlemen perform well all their duties to their relations, the people are inspired to virtue. When they remain true to their old friends, the people are preserved from irresponsible behavior."

The Master said, "A gentleman points out the admirable qualities of men and does not point out their bad qualities. A petty man does just the opposite."

The Master said, "A gentleman is distressed by his lack of ability, but he is not distressed by men's not knowing him."

The Master said, "What the gentleman demands is something of himself. What the petty man demands is something of others."

Confucius On Teaching and Learning:

IX.4: There were four things from which the Master was entirely free. He had no foregone conclusions, no arbitrary predeterminations, no obstinacy, and no egotism. XVII.2: The Master said, "By , men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart." XVI.9: Confucius said, "Those who are born with the possession of are the highest class of men. Those who learn, and so readily get possession of knowledge, are the next. Those who are dull and stupid, and yet compass the learning are another class next to these. As to those who are dull and stupid and yet do not learn--they are the lowest of the people." VII.8: The Master said, "I do not open up the to one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain himself. When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, and he cannot from it learn the three, I do not repeat my lesson." IV.9: The Master said, "A scholar, whose is on truth, and who is ashamed of bad clothes and bad food, is not fit to be discoursed with." XV.29: The Master said, "To have faults and not to reform them--this, indeed, should be pronounced having faults."

On Government

The Master said, "To rule a country of a thousand chariots requires reverent attention to business, , economy in expenditures, and love for men, as well as the employment of the people only in the right seasons."

The Master said, "If the people are governed by laws and punishment is used to maintain order, they will try to avoid the punishment but have no sense of shame. If they are governed by virtue and rules of propriety [ritual] are used to maintain order, they will have a sense of shame and will become good as well."

QUESTIONS: (based on your understanding of the primary sources)

1. What qualities and behaviors are emphasized by Confucius?

2. What is Confucius’ view of human nature?

3. How can, according to Confucius, order and stability be achieved in a society?

4. Why do you think his philosophy appealed to many people in Chinese society right after Confucius’ death? (think of the time period and what was going on in China at that time)

LEGALISM: Selections from The Writings of (c. 230 BCE) – a legalist writer

Daoism offered no active political program, whereas Confucius and his disciples preached a doctrine of benevolent reform based on virtuous imitation of the past. A third that emerged in the chaos of the late Zhou era was Legalism, which rejected both the Way of nature, as embraced by Daoists, and Confucianism's emphasis on the primacy of the moral way of antiquity. Legalist writers, to the contrary, emphasized law and advocated a radical restructuring of society in ways that were totally rational and up-to-date.

Legalism reached its apogee in the late third century B.C. in the writings of (Master Han Fei) and the policies of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Han Fei was a prince of the stare of Han who defected to its chief rival, the state of Qin, but eventually he ran afoul of Qin's chief minister, (d. 208 BCE) and was forced to commit suicide in 233 BCE. Before he died, he composed a number of essays on how to construct a stable and peaceful state. The following selections present Han Fei's major principles of .

HAVING REGULATIONS

No country is permanently strong. Nor is any country permanently weak. If conformers to law are strong, the country is strong; if conformers to law are weak, the country is weak....

Any ruler able to expel private crookedness and uphold public law, finds the people safe and the state in order; and any ruler able to expunge private action and act on public law, finds his army strong and his enemy weak. So, find out men following the discipline of laws and regulations, and place them above the body of officials. Then the sovereign cannot be deceived by anybody with fraud and falsehood....

Therefore, the intelligent sovereign makes the law select men and makes no arbitrary promotion himself. He makes the law measure merits and makes no arbitrary regulation himself. In consequence, able men cannot be obscured, bad characters cannot be disguised; falsely praised fellows cannot be advanced, wrongly defamed people cannot be degraded.

To govern the state by law is to praise the right and blame the wrong.

The law does not fawn on the noble....Whatever the law applies to, the wise cannot reject nor can the brave defy. Punishment for fault never skips ministers, reward for good never misses commoners. Therefore, to correct the faults of the high, co rebuke the vices of the low, to suppress disorders, to decide against mistakes, to subdue the arrogant, to straighten the crooked, and to unify the folkways of the masses, nothing could match the law. To warn the officials and overawe the people, to rebuke obscenity and danger, and to forbid falsehood and deceit, nothing could match penalty. If penalty is severe, the noble cannot discriminate against the humble. lf law is definite, the superiors are esteemed and not violated. If the superiors are not violated, the sovereign will become strong and able to maintain the proper course of government. Such was the reason why the early kings esteemed Legalism and handed it down to posterity. Should the lord of men discard law and practice selfishness, high and law would have no distinction.

THE TWO HANDLES

The means whereby the intelligent ruler controls his ministers are two handles only. The two handles are chastisement and commendation. What are meant by chastisement and commendation? To inflict death or torture upon culprits, is called chastisement; to bestow encouragements or rewards on men of , is called commendation.

Ministers are afraid of censure and punishment but fond of encouragement and reward. Therefore, if the lord of men uses the handles of chastisement and commendation, all ministers will dread his severity and turn to his liberality. The villainous ministers of the age are different. To men they hate they would by securing the handle of chastisement from the sovereign ascribe crimes; on men they love they would by securing the handle of commendation From the sovereign bestow rewards. Now supposing the lord of men placed the authority of punishment and the profit of reward not in his hands but let the ministers administer the affairs of reward and punishment instead, then everybody in the country would fear the ministers and slight the ruler, and turn to the ministers and away from the ruler. This is the calamity of the ruler's loss of the handles of chastisement and commendation.

QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS

1. In Han Fei's ideal state, what is the supreme governing authority: the will of the ruler or the law? (underline quotes to support your answer)

2. What are the "Two Handles" and how important are they to a legalist state? Why must the sovereign never surrender control over the two handles?

3. What roles do individuality and private initiative play in Han Fei's ideal state? (explain)

4. What members of the Chinese society most likely embraced Legalism? Why do you think Legalism appealed to some people?

DaOISM ():

Lao Tzu: te Ching (Dao Ching) - 6th Century B.C.E. ?

The (literally, "the classic of the way of virtue") is attributed to Lao Tzu, though scholars disagree about his actual . In its very poetic form it teaches that there is a dynamic, cosmic structure underlying everything that happens in the world. We humans need to discover that Way (Tao) , which is immanent in all aspects of the world, not a rule imposed from without; and we need to fit into it, letting things take their course, not exerting ourselves in opposition to it by trying to bend things to our will.

Our naming (describing) of things always falls short of the way things are, since things are not limited as our language presupposes. Even the Tao which we are trying to talk about here eludes our words. The original polarity is that of being and non-being, and it will be found to interplay throughout the world, with non-being (, what is not) having as much significance as does being (the fullness of things, what is). Thus the notion of the Tao recaptures the earlier Chinese concept of , the polarities running through all things.

The Dao De Ching was written in the sixth century BCE by Lao Tzu. This period in Chinese history is known as the period of the Eastern . This was a time in which the power of the Zhou emperors was on the decline. Foreign, "barbarian" invaders began to encroach on Chinese imperial territory. Local Chinese warlords began to fight amongst themselves and to challenge the authority of the emperors. Ancient Chinese historians themselves referred to this time as The Period of the Warring States.

The Dao De Ching was written in this time of civil war and upheaval. It presents a philosophy that can be viewed as a response to the disruption of Chinese society. Significantly, the philosophy of Daoism was only one of numerous philosophical systems that developed during the period of the Warring States. Ancient Chinese historians also had another name for this time: The Period of the

1. Tao 2. Qualities

The Tao that can be known is not Tao. When Beauty is recognised in the World The substance of the World is only a name for Tao. Ugliness has been learned; Tao is all that exists and may exist… When Good is recognised in the World has been learned… 17. Rulers

The best rulers are scarcely known by their subjects; 4. Properties of Tao The next best are loved and praised; The next are feared; Tao is a depthless vessel; The next despised: Used by the Self, it is not filled by the World; They have no in their subjects, It cannot be cut, knotted, dimmed or stilled; So their subjects become unfaithful to them. Its depths are hidden, ubiquitous and eternal; When the best rulers achieve their purpose I don't know where it came from; Their subjects claim the achievement as their own. It came before Nature.

Hundred Flowers. What were these "Hundred Flowers"? These were the flowers of philosophy.

“Knowing the male, being the female, Practise no-action; (-wei) Being the course through which flows the World, Attend to do-nothing; One embraces unfailing Love Taste the flavorless, And is again as a newborn. Examine the small, Knowing the light, being the dark, Multiply the few, Being the World, Return love for hate. One becomes unerring Love And returns to Tao. Deal with difficulty while it is yet easy; Knowing honour, being humble, Deal with the great while it is yet small; Being the valley of the World, The difficult develops naturally from the easy Love suffices, And the great from the small; And one is as unshaped . So the , by dealing with the small Achieves the great. When wood is shaped it becomes tools. He who finds it easy to promise finds it hard to deliver; Used by the sage, tools become powerful; He who takes things lightly makes things hard; So a good carpenter wastes little.” The sage confronts difficulty, and so has none.

Questions for Analysis:

1. What is the TAO (DAO)? How is it described?

2. Underline quotes above that reflect the concept of YIN/YANG.

3. What qualities / behaviors are greatly valued by Daoists?

4. Why would Daoism appeal to some people in China, especially during the times of instability and disorder?

Buddhism in China:

The of Forty-Two Chapters The first Buddhist text taken to China, c. 67 CE.

8. The Buddha said: “Evil-doers who denounce the wise resemble a person who spits against the sky; the spittle will never reach the sky, but comes down on himself. Evil-doers again resemble a man who stirs the dust against the wind; the dust is never raised without doing him injury. Thus the wise will never be hurt, but the curse is sure to destroy the evil-doers themselves.”

9. The Buddha said: “If you endeavor to embrace the Way through much learning, the Way will not be understood. If you observe the Way with simplicity of , great indeed is this Way.”

14. A asked the Buddha, “What is good, and what is great?” The Buddha answered: “Good is to practice the Way and to follow the truth. Great is the heart that is in accord with the Way.”

19. The Buddha said: “Look up to and down on earth, and they will remind you of their impermanency. Look about the world, and it will remind you of its impermanency. But when you gain spiritual enlightenment, you shall then find . The knowledge thus attained leads you anon to the Way.”

20. The Buddha said, “You should think of the four elements of which the body is composed. Each of them has its own name, and there is no such thing there known as ego. As there is really no ego, it is like unto a mirage.”

21. The Buddha said: “Moved by their selfish desires, people seek after fame and glory. But when they have acquired it, they are already stricken in years. If you hanker after worldly fame and practice not the Way, your labors are wrongfully applied and your energy is wasted. It is like unto burning an stick. However much its pleasing odor be admired, the fire that consumes is steadily burning up the stick.”

22. The Buddha said: “People cleave to their worldly possessions and selfish passions so blindly as to sacrifice their own lives for them. They are like a who tries to eat a little honey smeared on the edge of a knife. They amount is by no means sufficient to appease his appetite, but he runs the risk of wounding his tongue.”

Han Yu: Memorial on Buddhism (819 CE)

Chinese Buddhism reached its high point of popularity and influence during the initial stages of the (618 – 907), an age of renewed imperial unity and prosperity. Buddhist and proliferated, and the early Tang imperial court often patronized Buddhism in one form or another. However, because so many aspects of Buddhism were at variance with the traditional culture of China, especially Confucian values, conflict was inevitable.

One of the leaders in the Confucian counterattack on Buddhism was the classical prose stylist and poet (768–824 CE), who in 819 CE composed a vitriolic polemic attacking Buddhism. The emperor was so enraged that he initially wanted to execute the author, but eventually he contented himself with banishing this impudent civil servant to a frontier outpost.

Later Confucians considered Han Yu a pioneer of a Confucian intellectual revival that culminated in the eleventh and twelfth centuries with the rise of Neo-Confucianism… A champion of , Han Yu wished to suppress Daoism as well as Buddhism, yet ironically it was due to Daoist influence that Emperor Wuzong initiated a policy of state suppression of a number of foreign religious establishments between 841 and 845. Buddhist monasteries were hard hit by these events, and consequently suffered a major reversal of fortune. Buddhism still remained strong at the popular level, where it increasingly merged with folk magic and other forms of religious Daoism, but from the mid-ninth century on it declined rapidly as a powerful rival to Confucianism for allegiance of China’s ruling class.

Your servant submits that Buddhism is but one of the practices of barbarians which has filtered into China since the Later Han. In ancient times there was no such thing.... In those times the empire was at peace, and the people, contented and happy, lived out their full complement of years.... The Buddhist doctrine had still not reached China, so this could not have been the result of serving the Buddha…

Now the Buddha was of barbarian origin. His language differed from Chinese speech; his clothes were of a different cut; his mouth did not pronounce the prescribed words of the Former Kings, his body was not clad in the garments prescribed by the Former Kings. He did not recognize the relationship between prince and subject, nor the sentiments of and . Let us suppose him to be living today, and that he come to court at the capital as an emissary of his country. Your Majesty would receive him courteously. But only one interview in the audience chamber, one banquet in his honor, one gift of clothing, and he would be escorted under guard to the border that he might not mislead the masses.

If the Buddha has power and can wreak harm and evil, may any blame or retribution fittingly fall on my person. Heaven be my witness: I will not regret it. Unbearably disturbed and with the utmost sincerity I respectfully present my petition that these things may be known.

Your servant is truly alarmed, truly afraid.

Questions for Analysis:

1. When Buddhism reached China, the followers of which most likely embraced the new ? Explain your choice.

2. Why did some Chinese feel threatened by Buddhism and its appeal? Explain.