Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Confucianism and Taoism
Confucianism is a moral and religious system of China, dating back to the Analects and the teachings of Confucius, and to ancient commentaries, including that of Mencius (Confucianism pp). Before the third century B.C., it was basically a system of ethical precepts for the proper management of society, envisaging man as a social creature bound to others by "jen," a term meaning humanity or human kindness (Confucianism pp). Jen is expressed through five relationships: sovereign and subject, parent and child, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend, all of which function smoothly by the exact adherence to "li," which denotes a combination of etiquette and ritual (Confucianism pp). In many of these relations, an individual may be superior to some while inferior to others, thus, if someone in a subordinate status wants to be treated properly, then...
Moreover, the ruler, as the moral exemplar of the entire state, must be irreproachable, however, every individual has a deep obligation to be virtuous (Confucianism pp).
Although it is seen more as humanism, Confucianism does have a religious character since the definition of religion focuses on identification of an Absolute and transformation of the individual then Confucianism is a religion because the end result of Confucianism is "Sagehood," which is the "transformative process that takes the seeker toward the realization of its Absolute, T'ien, Heaven, or Tien-li, Principle of Heaven" (Taylor pp).
Taoism is a Chinese philosophical system attributed to the scriptures, Tao Te Ching by the Chinese philosopher Lao Zi in…
Work Cited
Taylor, Rodney L. "The religious character of the Confucian tradition."
Philosophy East and West; 1/1/1998; pp.
Confucianism. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition; Columbia University.
Gale Group. 2005; pp.
Confucianism and Daoism Confucianism Confucianism is a term used to describe a philosophical system of beliefs based on the teachings of Confucius, whose birth name is Kong Qiu but went by the title Master Kong, Kongzi (Jensen, 2007). Confucius was a Chinese thinker who between 551-479 BCE. While Confucius did have disciples, Confucianism as a system of beliefs was not created until the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C.E. before that era there
Confucianism, the Western name for the Chinese religious practice of Ju-chia, or the religion of "K'ung the Master," is an extension of the teachings of Taoism and has long been a major influence in Eastern life and philosophy, especially in China. Developed in the sixth century, B.C. this philosophy encourages the living of a sincere, fair and wise life in all dealings with other people and allows anyone to practice
In the above quotation Tucker has clearly stated that the concept of imminence and transcendence, which are considered as essential aspects of the Western definition of religion, are not easily discernable in the philosophy of Confucianism. On the other hand Tucker makes a valid point, in that there can be many different views of what religion is and how it is experienced by different cultures may differ as well.
Taoism Introduction to Terms and Concepts of Taoism: The origins of Taoism are explained in the book, The Taoist Vision (William McNaughton, 1-5): of the main Chinese religions, Buddhism originated in India but Confucianism and Taoism were both from China originally. Taoism, McNaughton explains, is the philosophy "of the Tao," or "Lao-Chuang philosophy." It's called Lao-Chuang because the two most important philosophers in the Tao faith were Chuang Tzu (from the
"Creative quietude" was key to these men's interpretation of the Tao and wu wei, or the second life-giving force of the Tao which flowed through human beings without the force of will, if only it was allowed to do so by a yielding spirit (207-208). The contrasting camp of Philosophical Taoist were adepts who emphasized using rather than bending with the Tao through herbs, yoga, breathing, and other active methods
As a popular religion it became more and more widespread and accepted by the imperial court as important factor in social life and the people's mentality." (Theobold, "Daoism," 2000) During this time, most critical to its populist embrace, Daoism developed a substantial pantheon of deities that made the religion even more comprehensible and accessible, even to the semi-literate while its more abstract concepts still earned "imperial respect," although "it never