Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism in Chinese History
This paper examines the three most influential political philosophies in Chinese history: Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Drawing primarily on Wm. Theodore De Bary's Sources of Chinese Tradition, the paper traces each philosophy's core assumptions about human nature, social order, and governance. Confucianism is presented as the dominant tradition, grounded in virtue and social hierarchy. Daoism is explored as a mystical counterpart that emphasizes harmony with the natural order and non-interference. Legalism is analyzed as a pragmatic and often pessimistic reaction to both, privileging strict law over moral leadership. The paper concludes that all three traditions are necessary for understanding the complexity of Chinese civilization.
- Introduction: Three Pillars of Chinese Political Thought: Overview of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism's shared influence
- Confucianism: Virtue, Order, and Social Hierarchy: Confucius's philosophy of virtue, order, and paternalistic governance
- Daoism: The Way, Harmony, and Non-Interference: Daoism's mystical emphasis on harmony and non-interference in politics
- Legalism: Law, Power, and Centralized Control: Legalism's pessimistic view of human nature and rule of law
- Conclusion: Complementary Philosophies in Chinese Civilization: All three philosophies together shape Chinese political culture
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What makes this paper effective
- Organizes three major philosophical traditions into clearly delineated sections, allowing direct comparison across common themes such as order, leadership, and human nature.
- Uses a single authoritative primary source (De Bary) strategically throughout, grounding claims without over-relying on secondary interpretation.
- Maintains a balanced evaluative tone — acknowledging each philosophy's strengths and limitations without dismissing any tradition as inferior.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates comparative analytical writing: each philosophy is examined on its own terms before being set against the others. The author identifies shared themes (order, leadership, human nature) and uses them as consistent lenses across all three traditions, making the comparison structured and intellectually coherent rather than fragmented.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an introductory overview that frames all three philosophies and states a central claim about Confucianism's primacy. Three body sections then examine Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism in turn — each covering origins, core tenets, and implications for governance. A brief conclusion synthesizes the argument, asserting that no single philosophy is superior and that all three contribute to a comprehensive understanding of Chinese political culture.
Introduction: Three Pillars of Chinese Political Thought
The three most influential philosophies in Chinese culture, history, and politics are Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Each of these political philosophies advocates a different approach to leadership and citizenship and offers different means of creating order in society. Each strain of thought also shaped ways of understanding human beings, human nature, and government. Of the three, Confucianism might have had the greatest influence on Chinese history, culture, and politics. According to Wm. Theodore De Bary, editor of Sources of Chinese Tradition, Confucianism "has become an inseparable part of the society and thought of the nation as a whole, of what it means to be a Chinese" (15). However, a study of Chinese political philosophy would be incomplete without equal attention to Daoism, the mystical counterpart of Confucianism that nonetheless had an immense impact on the evolution of Chinese history. In many ways Daoism and Confucianism go hand-in-hand, and both philosophies are inextricable from ancient or modern Chinese society.
Legalism initially arose out of Confucianism, in some ways as a reaction against it. Unlike Confucianism or Daoism, Legalism is relatively unconcerned with philosophy and more concerned with practical means of governance and control. De Bary detects a sort of "anti-intellectualism" among the Legalist philosophers and explains how and why the Legalists strove to divorce politics from persona (122). In spite of the differences among Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism, all three classic Chinese philosophies share elements in common and all three powerfully influenced the development of Chinese government and culture.
Confucianism: Virtue, Order, and Social Hierarchy
The founder of Confucian philosophy was, in his own lifetime, unsuccessful in promoting his theories and ideals. The man known as Confucius was born in the sixth century BCE to a poor family. Faced with the necessity of self-education and self-reliance during turbulent times, Confucius strove to make order out of the chaos of feudalism. "With energy and utter selflessness, Confucius set about to bring order and peace to his age" (De Bary 16). Order and peace became cornerstones of the Confucian philosophy. The underlying mechanism by which society could attain order and peace was through the cultivation of virtue. Virtue is defined through moral actions and behavior, and Confucian writings often refer to specific examples of virtuous conduct. According to Confucian thought, morality and virtue must be part of a society's political philosophy if that society is to enjoy peace and order. Despite its reliance on morality, Confucianism is not a religious philosophy. References to cosmic order do not indicate a Confucian theology or metaphysics. Confucian philosophy is inherently realistic, even if it also tends toward idealism.
The role of government in a Confucian society is to mirror cosmic order. Because of the emphasis on the creation and preservation of order, Confucian thought is preoccupied with social structures and hierarchies. The prominence of social hierarchy and structure in modern Chinese society is largely a reflection of the pervasiveness of Confucian ideals throughout Chinese history. One of the natural by-products of Confucianism is therefore the creation of social strata — of educated, learned people who naturally assume positions of power over the unlearned and peasant classes. Leadership is paternalistic in a Confucian society. Persons in positions of power must be treated with authority, respect, and deference in an orderly, or Confucian, society. By extension, Confucianism is replete with social rituals and prescriptions for "proper" forms of behavior and speech.
Conclusion: Complementary Philosophies in Chinese Civilization
Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism have each influenced the direction of Chinese history, and Chinese culture is a product of all three significant philosophies. None of these can be considered superior to any other; rather, each has specific applications and each contributes to a comprehensive political philosophy.
Works Cited
De Bary, Wm. Theodore (Ed.). Sources of Chinese Tradition. Volume One. New York: Columbia, 1960.
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