Introduction to Chinese Civilization
Scott Inglis
484432

Throughout Chinese history, there have been three principal schools of thought that have had an
influence on the lives of Chinese people. They are Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. I refrain
from using the term \u2018religions\u2019 to describe these three schools of thought (although Daoism
developed into a religion and Buddhism is usually thought of as a religion) because they do not
profess belief in a deity or deities. Although these three schools of thought existed together in
China, their core values are very different from each other, as are their views on life and death. In
this essay I will explain the core views of each school of thought, and then compare and contrast
their views on life and death.

Confucianism (r\u00faji\u0101) was founded over 2,500 years ago in China. The founder of Confucianism is
reported to be a man named K\u01d2ngz\u01d0, who was later called K\u01d2ng F\u016bzi, meaning \u2018Master Kong\u2019, on
account of his teachings. His name was Latinised to Confucius by the Jesuit missionary Matteo
Ricci, and the system of ethics associated with him was called Confucianism. From the sources
available, it is unclear if Confucius was the founder of Confucianism or if he was merely a
transmitter of earlier ideas. Confucius never wrote anything down, so it is through his disciples, and
later, Mencius, that we know his teachings.1

Daoism (d\u00e0oji\u0101), also known as Taoism because of Wade-Giles Romanisation, is a native Chinese
philosophical school, which is based on the teachings of L\u01ceoz\u01d0, which are written down in a book
called the D\u00e0o D\u00e9 J\u012bng which roughly translates to \u2018Classic of the Way\u2019. This book, along with the
writings of the later Daoist philosopher Zhu\u01cengz\u01d0, is the primary text of Daoism. According to
legend, L\u01ceoz\u01d0 was a minor official for an emperor in the Zh\u014du Dynasty, and he was one day asked
by a guard to write down his philosophy. What resulted was the D\u00e0o D\u00e9 J\u012bng.2

Siddhartha Gautama, who lived a sheltered life of luxury inside his father\u2019s palace until he was 29.
When he finally ventured outside, he saw an old man, a sick man, a dead man and a wandering
ascetic. Shocked by these sights, Gautama became a holy man himself, wandering the countryside
and seeking instruction from various religious groups, all of which he was dissatisfied with. He sat
under abodhi tree, making a vow not to move until he had \u201cobtained true liberation\u201d3 He looked up
on the seventh day and at that moment he obtained enlightenment. Gautama then spent the rest of
his life bringing enlightenment to others around him, and was thus called the Buddha (Sanskrit:
\u2018enlightend one\u2019)

Confucius was concerned primarily with relationships between people. His aim was to create a
harmonious society where people would be able to get along with each other. Harmony was the
\u2018ideal state\u2019 for Confucius.4 He said that filial piety or filial devotion(xi\u00e0o) was the greatest of
virtues. When elders were respected and obeyed, then harmony could reign. Originally referring to
the obedience of a child to his or her parents,xi\u00e0o was extended into a system of Five Relationships

1. Ruler and subject
2. Father and son
3. Husband and wife
4. Older brother and younger brother

With the exception of the last one (friends) these relationships are all unequal, with the second
member of the relationship being submissive to the first. (xi\u00e0o). When all people play their parts
properly in these relationships, harmony would prevail.5 These Five Relationships formed a
significant part of Confucius\u2019 ethical system.

3 Toropov and Buckles 140
4 Zhao 2006
5 Inglis 2004