Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism Essay

Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism be the collar main philosophies of the Chinese people. They fork up been the most influential and widely taught philosophies of the Chinese for many centuries. This essay testament advertise the history of each philosophys origin, and will reveal the main characteristics of each respected area.Confucianism began as the scenes and ideas of a man named Confucius who lived at around 500 B.C. It is interesting to note this was around the same condemnation Buddha was supposedly alive. Confucian was not a prophet, and had little to say some gods, death, or the afterlife. He developed instead common chord concepts of living that create the basis of his philosophy. First, every person should accept an assigned role in society and perform the duties of that role. Second, the government should be virtuous. Finally, only well- amend and super virtuous officials should be appointed to run the government. According to legend, Confucius worked as a min ister in his native province of Shandong. It is tell that in a less than a year, almost all crime was gone. However, after this it is said nearby emperors became jealous and forced him to retire. For the rest of his years he educated people on the ways of his teaching and stirred thought into the minds of many.Daoism was thought to be founded by a man named Laozi that lived around 500 B.C. Daoism sess be defined by its root word Dao meaning way of life of Nature. Laozi viewed Dao as the indescribable force that governed the universe and nature. Laozi recollectd that people should not strive for riches or power, but rather should try to introduce themselves into harmony with Dao by being quietudefully quieted, thoughtful, and humble. Unlike Confucius, Laozi shunned politics and apprised people not to get involved in public affairs. Daoism in general influenced artists and peasants because artists were encouraged by Dao and began expressing themselves in a better manner. Peas ants began to believe in the philosophy because it dealt with nature and its natural forces. Confucianism and Daoism simply filled in what the otherwise lacked in certain areas.Legalism, another form of philosophy, also concerned itself with politics. The teachings, however, differed greatly then that of Confucianism. Legalists believed in power, not virtue, and in harsh forms pf punishment. Legalists viewed people as selfish and untrustworthy. It was believed that threatening people was the only way to achieve peace and prosperity in society. The emperor Shi Huangdi of the Qin Dynasty followed the Legalist method. The Qin Dynasty became powerful but was short-lived mainly because of its cruel punishment and laws. It was believed that the yin and yang was not balanced enough during this epoch.Overall, I pretend all three of these philosophies are well developed and each has their right and bad. For this reason, many people understandably combined more than one of the three philo sophies in an attempt to even out their lifestyle. All three are worthy philosophies and each deserves a certain amount of respect. I believe that because of the great principles each is built on, and the flexibility within each sector, the three philosophies will live in for a very long time and will be passed on from generation to generation forever.