Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) was a Chinese philosopher who is

considered one of the most important and influential

individuals in history. His teachings have had a great impact
on affecting the lives of humans not only in China but around
the world. Born during a time of political and social turmoil,
Confucius developed a philosophy that came to be known as
Confucianism and later gave rise to another influential
philosophy called Neo-Confucianism. His teachings
dominated Chinese thought and culture for many centuries;
and still linger in today’s society. Among other things,
Confucius laid emphasis on family, kinship, loyalty,
righteousness, encouragement of humanity and
strengthening social bonds. He was the first in China to set
up private academies for the rich and the poor alike. He is
thus credited for positively impacting the education system
in China by making it focus on meritocracy rather than
inherited status. Confucian philosophy is fundamental to the
hugely influential Four Books and Five Classics. Know more
about the teachings of Confucius and their impact through
his 10 major contributions.

#1 He revived the great moral teachings of the sages of

the past
The cusp of Spring and Autumn period (770 – 476 BC) of
Chinese history during the reign of Zhou Dynasty (1046 –
256 BC) was a time of political and social turmoil. Born in
551 BC and dejected with the degeneration and violence in
society, Confucius took inspiration from the sages of the past
and expounded teachings that would inspire generations to
come. He considered himself to have re-transmitted the
values of the great sages of the golden age of Zhou Dynasty
centuries ago. Confucian teachings emerged among the
leading philosophies of what is referred to as the “100 schools
of thought“, a term used for philosophies and schools that
flourished from the 6th century to 221 BC. Building upon the
wisdom of ancient Chinese sages, Confucius expounded a set
of political and moral doctrines; and social and political
ethics based on family, kinship, loyalty, righteousness and
what may be termed as the fundamental ideas of humanity.

#2 He laid the foundation and developed the influential

philosophy Confucianism
The philosophy that developed from the teachings of
Confucius came to be known as Confucianism. It became
hugely influential and had a great impact on Chinese history.
Some key points regarding Confucianism are stated below:-

i. Zi Gong (a disciple of Confucius) asked: “Is there any one

word that could guide a person throughout life?” The Master
replied: “How about ‘shu’ [reciprocity]: never impose on
others what you would not choose for yourself?”. This is often
referred as the silver or golden rule of Confucianism.

ii. Confucianism is mostly indifferent to big metaphysical and

physical mysteries but has a more practical approach. As
Confucius says, “We do not yet know how to serve man, how
can we know about serving the spirits? We don’t know yet
about life, how can we know about death?“

iii. It lays emphasis on belief in and encouragement of

humanity.

iv. It is more like a moral guide for different strata of society,

government and its organizations.

v. It is comfortable with hierarchy but values and respects

each building block of society.

vi. It encourages collectivism and strengthening social bonds.

vii. It stresses on respect for family, age and tradition.

viii. It focuses on education and meritocracy.

ix. It believes on superiority of personal exemplification over

explicit rules of behavior.

#3 He is traditionally credited with having authored or

edited the “Five Classics”
Although many modern scholars contest it, Confucius was
traditionally credited with either authoring or editing many
ancient Chinese texts including the “Five Classics”. The five
classics gained popularity during the Warring States era (c.
475 – 221BC) but it was during the age of the Han Dynasty
(206 BC – 220 AD) that they started to be considered as a set.
Considered as the golden age of ancient China, Han Dynasty
adopted Confucianism as its official ideology and the Five
Classics were part of the state sponsored curriculum. The Five
Classics, that in many ways form the essence of
Confucianism, are:-

1. Classic of History (書經) – Also known as the “Book of

Documents”, this text is considered as the first narrative
history of ancient China. A compilation of 58 chapters, it
details the events of ancient China. These documents and
speeches are alleged to have been written by rulers and
officials of the early Zhou period and before. The book
mentions the deeds of ancient sage kings Yao and Shun and
also includes histories of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. It is
possibly the oldest Chinese narrative and may date from the
6th century B.C.

2. Classic of Poetry (詩經) – A collection of 305 poems divided

into 160 folk songs; 105 festal songs, sung at court
ceremonies; and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to
gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house.

3. Classic of Rites (禮記) – Describes ancient rites, social

forms and court ceremonies. Book of Rites is the foundation
of many ritual principles that arise in later imperial China.
According to it, proper ritual conduct would maintain
harmony in the empire.

4. Classic of Changes (易經) – Also known as the I Ching or

the Book of Changes; it contains a system of divination, which
is centered largely on the principle of yin and yang.
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or
situation by way of an occultist and standardized process, or
ritual.
5. Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋) – These are historical
chronicles of the State of Lu, Confucius’s native state. They
imply condemnation of usurpation, murder, incest, etc.

4 His five virtues are among China’s most valued

traditional virtues
Though Confucianism is practiced as a religion by many,
scholars point out many dissimilarities vis-a-vie patterns
observed among other faiths. Confucian propagation and
belief in humanistic ethics in times of social and political
upheaval must be appreciated. Confucius taught five virtues a
gentleman should practice every day to live a healthy,
harmonious life. They are among the most valued traditional
virtues of China. They are:-

1. Ren, which means humaneness or benevolence.

2. Yi, which means righteousness and honesty.

3. Li, which means proper behavior and propriety.

4. Zhi, which means knowledge or wisdom.

5. Xin, which means sincerity and fidelity.

#5 His teachings inspired Neo-Confucianism which

impacted China for almost 6 centuries
Statue of Zhu Xi, the most influential Neo-Confucian

Neo-Confucianism attempted to create a more rationalist

form of Confucianism. The Song Dynasty (960–1279) scholar
Zhu Xi was the most influential figure of this philosophy. He
streamlined Confucian education by compiling the Shisu
(Four Books):-

1. Lunyu or Analects – Believed to have been written by the

followers of Confucius, it is primarily a collection of his
sayings and discourses.
2. Mengzi or Mencius – This basically is a collection of the
conversations and anecdotes that Confucius had with fellow
philosopher Mencius.

3. Da Xue or Great Learning – It primarily has chapters on

achieving a state of balance. It emphasizes on the values of
harmony, relationship and moral cultivation; importance of
hard work and collaboration; and the value of teachers and
elders in Chinese society.

4. Zhong Yong or Centrality and Commonality – This 33

chapter book, focuses on the golden mean to gain perfect
virtue.

Zhu Xi wrote commentaries on these four books,

reinterpreting them and using them as the foundation of his
social, moral and political philosophy Neo-Confucianism. The
Four Books were the basis of China’s civil service
examinations from 1313 till 1905, when the examinations
were abolished. The ideas of Neo-Confucianism were thus a
towering influence on China for almost 600 years.

#6 Confucius positively influenced the education system

of his country
Confucius was an eminent scholar and a teacher throughout
his life. Under the Zhou Dynasty, in those times, education
was a prerogative of the nobility. Schooling took place within
government offices and was dispensed by public officials.
The aristocrats were trained in civil and military education
based on the six arts: archery, rites, music, arithmetic,
charioting and calligraphy. Confucius was not in favor of this
biased system and was among the few who set up private
academies for the rich and the poor alike. He famously said
“My teachings are for everyone, without distinction“.

#7 His political philosophy was a guiding light to many

future rulers
Confucius also had a great impact on Chinese political
history. In Confucian thought the state is seen more as a tool
to bring out the best in people. Great emphasis is given to
people’s faith in their rulers and the rulers must keep
working to maintain the faith people have in them. The three
requisites for the government are stated as thus in
decreasing order of priority:-

1. Confidence of the people in their ruler

2. Sufficiency of Food

3. Sufficiency of Military Power

Confucius also stresses on how people should govern

themselves and how the society should work towards being
harmonious and virtuous.

#8 Confucius successfully propagated the concept of

meritocracy
One major influence of Confucian teachings was the concept
of meritocracy, where a person’s qualities determine his
position in society rather than his inherited status. These
ideas led to the introduction of the Imperial Examination
System in China, which allowed anyone who had passed it to
become a Government Officer. Most scholars consider this as
the first known example of administrative meritocracy, based
on a civil service examination irrespective of people’s birth
or background. The ideas would be implemented almost two
millennia later in colonial British India and later in other
parts of the world.

#9 His emphasis on social harmony forms the base of

Chinese society
Depiction of Confucius, Gautama Buddha & Laozi – The three
founders of the Three Teachings

Confucius laid a lot of emphasis on social harmony, which to

date forms the basis for Chinese society. Confucian thought
says that every individual has a place in the social order and
they need to be respected for it. This respect has to be mutual,
so while the wife has to respect her husband, the husband
needs to be benevolent towards her. The young must show
respect for their elders; and they in turn must be kind to
them and guide them. The ruler must be responsible and
humane towards his subjects; and this must be reciprocated
with obedience towards the ruler.

#10 His philosophy is among the three great Chinese

teachings
In China the term San Jiao (three teachings) can be traced
back to the prominent scholars of sixth Century AD. It is a
common term referring to philosophies of Confucianism,
Buddhism and Taoism; which have had the greatest impact
on the Chinese Civilization. Here are a few examples of how
the teachings of Confucius still have a major influence in
China. Confucius advocated respect for elders, ancestors,
family and the state; something that may be observed even
today in the amount of reverence for authority and age in
China. Confucian thought advocates “filial piety” or devotion
towards parents. The family is still the primary unit of social
organization in China and is valued and nurtured.
Collectivism is inherent in Confucian thought. The Chinese
are thus culturally adept to think in terms of collective
responsibility to their family, community and nation at large.
Influenced by Confucianism, in Chinese culture, being an
intellectual is not limited to study alone. He/She should be
successful in being a human and make use of his/her ability
to do well for the state, society and the world at large.

Mencius and his development of Confucian teachings

Mencius was perhaps the first most influential
interpreter of Confucius who very much developed
upon the original teachings of the master.  He not only
defined the central Confucian concept of ren/jen
(humaneness), which Confucius did not do, but also
gave a systematic elaboration of what constituted
ethical human nature.  The rise of Mencius was the
result of the political activities of the shi class
(educated commoners) who, during the Warring
States Era (479-221 BC), were often employed as
advisers/administrators to the newly risen
dukes/kings who wanted to conquer the others and
become the emperor.  As seen from the writings of
Mencius, he himself often advised the king of Qi, one of
the hegemons contending for the leadership of China. 
The ru/ju (Confucian), a group within the shi class,
gained ascendancy, which paved the way for the
eventual establishment of Confucian learning as the
"state ethic" around the 2nd century A.D.
Mencius was very good at using allegories in clarifying
his points.  Many of his allegories have become
Chinese proverbs, such as the story of one who tried
to catch fish by climbing on a tree, meaning an
impossible task.  
1. The centrality of the family in the moral state.
For Confucius, the family was the unit that taught
political loyalty to the king, through teaching a son to
be loyal to his father.  Mencius continued the emphasis
on the family, rather than society on the whole, as a
unit to measure the success or failure of government. 
Like Confucius, Mencius sees the material well being
of the family as essential to the well being of the state.
Much of Mencian writings are about government
administration.  In one instance he said a sign of social
prosperity was 70 year olds eating meat and wearing
silk, and the humaneness of the king was shown
through how well a person's parents and family could
be taken care of.(119)  
Repeatedly, Mencius emphasized the importance of
filial piety and self-preservation as a form of filial
piety: to him the most important service was serving
one's parents, and the greatest vigilance was to
preserve oneself. (139) 
To Mencius, the good ruler rules from the family to the
state: the extended family.  He quoted from the Odes
(Book of Songs): He set an example for his wife; It
extended to his brothers, And from there to the family of
the state. (122)
 Mencius commented: "This speaks of taking this mind
and extending it to others.  Thus if one extends his
kindness it will be enough to protect all within the
four seas, whereas if one fails to extend it, he will have
no way to protect his wife and children." (122) 
Almost all his examples of satisfactory human
behavior involved taking good care of one's family.
(123-124)
2. Emphasis on rule by humaneness, instead of war
Although Mencius was no Mo Zi and did not advocate
absolute pacifism, he was most of the time against
wars.  He advised rulers to take care of the people's
livelihood to win their support: encouraging
agriculture instead of fighting many wars (remember
this is the Warring States Era, when rulers were all
eager to fight to aggrandize their power) (118-119).
Instead of focusing on war, Mencius advised the King
of Qi, one of the nine large states in China then, to
focus on humaneness in his administration. (123)
Mencius said to the king of Qi: a hegemon needs a
large state, but a humane king does not.  A ruler just
needs to take care of the people, acting like parents. 
Then nobody would want to attack him.  (128-129)
Mencius, however, was no democrat.  Like Confucius,
Mencius distinguished between ordinary people and
gentlemen: while the latter would be able to "have a
constant mind despite being without a constant means
of livelihood," the ordinary people, without a constant
livelihood, would succumb to all kinds of problems. 
(123)  The constancy of mind, meaning a mind not
swayed by external material things, was something
Mencius cherished, and to him was achieved through
self-cultivation.  On the other hand, because ordinary
people did not have such constancy of mind, their
rulers must appeal to their material needs.
3. Developing on the Confucian ethical human nature.
This was perhaps Mencius's greatest contribution to
Confucian learning.  Confucius described an ethical
Heaven and ethical human beings that corresponded to
and were supervised by Heaven, for Mencius, an ethical
human being is a moral universe on his own.  Indeed,
ethical human nature and one's very physical life force,
the qi, were intertwined.
If one nourishes the qi with uprightness and does not
injure it, it will fill the space between heaven and
earth.  it is the companion of rightness and the way,
born from an accumulation of rightness.  If one's
action causes the mind to be disquieted, it starves. 
(p.127).  
Here, Mencius means the qi and rightness were integral
parts of the human being and, at their best, humans
could constitute moral universes on their own, with or
without external approval.  These moral universes were
tied to the very physical life force of the human being,
therefore they were the physical universe as well.  
Mencius built an even more tightly knit moral/physical
universe than Confucius.
For many people searching for the Chinese origins of
humanism or respect for the individual, they often
came to Mencius.  It is not surprising, since Mencius,
as shown above, gave individuals so much moral
power! Unlike Confucius who was preoccupied with
the correct practice of ancient rituals, Mencius was
less concerned about rituals.  To him, ritual propriety
was not to depart from serving one's parents and
older brother.(140)  The whole spectrum of dead
ancestors were cut from his definition of ritual
practices!  Mencius was less concerned about tradition
than individual moral behavior, which he generalized
into the universal principle of ren/jen (humaneness).
Like Confucius, Mencius believed human nature was
inherently ethical.  Therefore all moral virtues
originated from natural human sentiments:
Humaneness originates from human compassion;
shame is the beginning of rightness; modesty and
compliance is the beginning of propriety; and sense of
right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom. (129).
More than Confucius, Mencius emphasized moral
exertion.  His very refutation of the Mo Zi style
argument that humaneness is external rather than an
inherent part of human nature was also to show that
humans should not shy away from what they can do,
which is moral efforts. (148-149)
4. Humaneness as an absolute principle instead of just
concrete practices
In the Analects of Confucius, Confucius taught his
students the definition of humaneness according to his
students' weaknesses.  To Confucius, humaneness was a
way of human behavior that is realized in specific daily
practices.  For Mencius, although the emphasis on
practice continued, Mencius also championed
humaneness as a more absolute principle that could be
defined.  Instead of the ritualized relationship between
king and ministers, Mencius defined relationship
between king and ministers, king and his people, more
along lines guided and judged by the principle of
humaneness.  Therefore the king was also required to
practice humaneness, not just the abstract, remote
judgment of the Mandate of Heaven.  
When the king of Qi asked him about the kingdom of
Yan that Qi attacked and possessed, Mencius says if a
ruler like the king of Yan was not righteous, he could
be deposed.  But the king of Qi should practice
humane treatment to the people otherwise he would
not be a righteous ruler. (125-126)
The relationship between king and ministers  is
reciprocal: the ruler should also treat the ministers
nicely, otherwise the ministers would not treat the
ruler nicely.  The ruler serves as the moral exemplar of
humaneness and rightness:(140-141)
    "if the ruler is humane, everyone will be humane.  If
the ruler keeps to rightness, everyone will keep to
rightness."
The noble person preserves his mind through
humaneness and courtesy, which enables him to love
others, and he will be reciprocated. (142)
Mencius even went to the extent to say that full
dedication to reciprocity is humaneness. (156) 
Elsewhere, he did also define humaneness as inherent
in the human sentiment of sympathy.  Unlike
Confucius, however, who saw humaneness more as a
form of practice, e.g. in social relationships, Mencius
treated it more as a principle of kindness to others,
reflected in rulers' care for their people, in son's
filiality to father, and so on.
5. Mencius, Mo Zi, and Lao Zi
Obviously Mencius's this worldly glorification of
human moral efforts differed from Mo Zi who denied
an ethical human nature, and Lao Zi, who advocated
conforming to nature and abandoning human efforts
at anything.  On the other hand, there also were
resemblances of Mencius, Mo Zi and Lao Zi.  Mencius's
emphasis on avoiding war and military expansion,
although differing from Mo Zi's pacifism,  also
reflected the belief in the superiority of a moral code
of behavior, this time humaneness, over military
warfare.  Although Mencius differed from Lao Zi,
Mencius also had sentences like " to nourish the mind,
leave the desires few," (p.158) which is likely to
remind one of Lao Zi.

Little is truly known about the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu

(sometimes also known as Laozi or Lao Tze), who is a
guiding figure in Daoism (also translated as Taoism), a still
popular spiritual practice. He is said to have been a record
keeper in the court of the central Chinese Zhou Dynasty in
the 6th century B.C., and an older contemporary of
Confucius. This could be true, but he may also have been
entirely mythical—much like Homer in Western culture. It is
certainly very unlikely that (as some legends say) he was
conceived when his mother saw a falling star, or born an old
man with very long earlobes – or lived 990 years. Lao Tzu is
said to have tired of life in the Zhou court as it grew
increasingly morally corrupt. So he left and rode on a water
buffalo to the western border of the Chinese empire.
Although he was dressed as a farmer, the border official
recognised him and asked him to write down his wisdom.
According to this legend, what Lao Tzu wrote became the
sacred text called the Tao Te Ching. After writing this piece,
Lao Tzu is said to have crossed the border and disappeared
from history, perhaps to become a hermit. In reality, the Tao
Te Ching is likely the compilation of the works of many
authors over time. But stories about Lao Tzu and the Tao Te
Ching itself passed down through different Chinese
philosophical schools for over two thousand years. Today
there are at least twenty million Daoists, and perhaps even
half a billion, living around the world, especially in China and
Taiwan. They practise meditation, chant scriptures, and
worship a variety of gods and goddesses in temples run by
priests. Lao Tzu has been revered for thousands of years by
millions of people; one of his religious titles is even
“Supremely Mysterious and Primordial Emperor.” Daoists
also make pilgrimages to five sacred mountains in eastern
China in order to pray at the temples and absorb spiritual
energy from these holy places, which are believed to be
governed by immortals. Daoism is deeply intertwined with
other branches of thought like Confucianism and Buddhism.
Confucius is often believed to be a student of Lao Tzu.
Similarly, some believe that when Lao Tzu disappeared, he
travelled to India and Nepal and either taught or became the
Buddha. Confucianist practices to this day not only respect
Lao Tzu as a great philosopher but also try to follow many of
his teachings. 

The Tao Te Ching is somewhat like the Bible: it gives

instructions (at times vague and generally open to multiple
interpretations) on how to live a good life. It discusses the
“Dao,” or the “way” of the world, which is also the path to
virtue, happiness, and harmony. This “way” isn’t inherently
confusing or difficult. Lao Tzu wrote, “the great Dao is very
even, but people like to take by-ways.” In Lao Tzu’s view the
problem with virtue isn’t that it is difficult or unnatural, but
simply is that we resist the very simple path that might make
us most content.
In order to follow the Dao, we need to go beyond simply
reading and thinking about it. Instead we must learn wu wei
(“flowing” or “effortless action”), a sort of purposeful
acceptance of the way of the Dao and live in harmony with it.
This might seem lofty and bizarre, but most of Lao Tzu’s
suggestions are actually very simple.
First, we ought to take more time for stillness. “To the mind
that is still,” Lao Tzu said, “the whole universe surrenders.”
We need to let go of our schedules, worries and complex
thoughts for a while and simply experience the world. We
spend so much time rushing from one place to the next in
life, but Lao Tzu reminds us “nature does not hurry, yet
everything is accomplished.” It is particularly important that
we remember that certain things—grieving, growing wiser,
developing a new relationship—only happen on their own
schedule, like the changing of leaves in the fall or the
blossoming of the bulbs we planted months ago.
When we are still and patient we also need to be open. We
need to be reminded to empty ourselves of frivolous
thoughts so that we will observe what is really important.
“The usefulness of a pot comes from its emptiness.” Lao Tzu
said. “Empty yourself of everything, let your mind become
still.” If we are too busy, too preoccupied with anxiety or
ambition, we will miss a thousand moments of the human
experience that are our natural inheritance. We need to be
awake to the way light reflects off of ripples on a pond, the
way other people look when they are laughing, the feeling of
the wind playing with our hair. These experiences reconnect
us to parts of ourselves.
This is another key point of Lao Tzu’s writing: we need to be
in touch with our real selves. We spend a great deal of time
worrying about who we ought to become, but we should
instead take time to be who we already are at heart. We
might rediscover a generous impulse, or a playful side we
had forgotten, or simply an old affection for long walks. Our
ego is often in the way of our true self, which must be found
by being receptive to the outside world rather than focusing
on some critical, too-ambitious internal image. “When I let
go of what I am,” Lao Tzu wrote, “I become what I might be.”
Nature is particularly useful for finding ourselves. Lao Tzu
liked to compare different parts of nature to different
virtues. He said, “The best people are like water, which
benefits all things and does not compete with them. It stays
in lowly places that others reject. This is why it is so similar
to the Way (Dao).” Each part of nature can remind us of a
quality we admire and should cultivate ourselves—the
strength of the mountains, the resilience of trees, the
cheerfulness of flowers.

Of course, there are issues that must be addressed by action,

and there are times for ambition. Yet Lao Tzu’s work is
important for Daoists and non-Daoists alike, especially in a
modern world distracted by technology and focused on what
seem to be constant, sudden, and severe changes. His words
serve as a reminder of the importance of stillness, openness,
and discovering buried yet central parts of ourselves. 
Lao-Tzu (also known as Laozi or Lao-Tze) was a Chinese
philosopher credited with founding the philosophical system
of Taoism. He is best known as the author of the Tao-Te-
Ching, the work which exemplifies his thought. The name by
which he is known is not a personal name but an honorific
title meaning `Old Man’ or `Old Teacher’ and there has been
countless speculation as to whether an individual by that
name ever existed or whether Lao-Tzu is an amalgam of
many different philosophers. The historian Durant writes,
“Lao-Tze, greatest of the pre-Confucian philosophers, was
wiser than Teng Shih; he knew the wisdom of silence, and
lived, we may be sure, to a ripe old age – though we are not
sure that he lived at all” (652). If he did exist, he is thought to
have lived in the 6th century BCE.

Lao-Tzu & Confucius

A story told by the historian Szuma Ch’ien (also known as

Sima Qian, 145/35-86 BCE) relates how a young Confucius
went to visit Lao-Tzu to ask him a question regarding
history. Lao-Tzu is said to have responded:

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Those about whom you inquire have moulded with their

bones into dust. Nothing but their words remain. When the
hour of the great man has struck he rises to leadership; but
before his time has come he is hampered in all that he
attempts. I have heard that the successful merchant carefully
conceals his wealth, and acts as though he had nothing – that
the great man, though abounding in achievements, is simple
in his manners and appearance. Get rid of your pride and
your many ambitions, your affectation and your extravagant
aims. Your character gains nothing for all these. This is my
advice to you.

According to Szuma’s narrative, Confucius was so impressed

by the old master that he could only compare him to a great,
mythical dragon and took his advice to heart, concentrating
more on his inner wealth than outward displays of affluence
and dedicating himself to philosophy. The story is
considered fictional but exemplifies the high esteem with
which Lao-Tzu was accorded, whether an actual or fictional
figure, in that he is shown to have influenced the greatest of
the philosophers of China.

ACCORDING TO SZUMA’S NARRATIVE, CONFUCIUS WAS

SO IMPRESSED BY THE OLD MASTER THAT HE COULD
ONLY COMPARE HIM TO A GREAT, MYTHICAL DRAGON.

Szuma Ch’ien is the main source for our knowledge about

Lao-Tzu. According to his account, Lao-Tzu was the curator
of the Royal Library of Chou and, disgusted by the ineptitude
and cruelty of the politicians of the time, and the endless
suffering of the people, resolved to leave China completely
and find a place of peace and solitude. On his way through
the western pass of the frontier, he encountered the gate-
keeper, Yin Hsi, who said to him, “So you are going into
retirement. I beg you to write a book for me.” Lao-Tzu
promptly sat down, wrote the Tao-Te-Ching, handed it to Yin
Hsi, and walked on through the pass, disappearing into the
mists. Although there are no accounts of his life after this
event, it is claimed that he lived to the age of 87 and died
peacefully.

The Tao-Te-Ching

The Tao-Te-Ching (Book of the Way) is an anti-intellectual,

anti-authoritarian treatise which posits that the way of
virtue lies in simplicity and a recognition of a natural,
universal force known as the Tao. Lao-Tzu writes, “When we
renounce learning we have no troubles…The ancients who
showed their skill in practising the Tao did so not to
enlighten people, but to make them simple and ignorant.” By
`ignorant’ Lao-Tzu did not mean uninformed but, rather,
purposefully focused on the present rather than
accumulating knowledge which leads to idle speculation and
complications in one’s own life and in the larger community.
Lao-Tzu’s Taoism stood in direct contradiction to Confucius’
philosophy emphasizing education, knowledge as power,
and strict adherence to the law. Lao-Tzu’s claim that “the
more laws one makes, the more criminals one creates” is the
antithesis of Confucius’s assertion that more laws make
better citizens. Regarding Lao-Tzu’s claims, Durant writes,

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The intellectual man is a danger to the state because he

thinks in terms of regulations and laws; he wishes to
construct a society like geometry, and does not realize that
such regulation destroys the living freedom and vigor of the
parts. The simpler man, who knows from his own experience
the pleasure and efficacy of work, conceived and carried out
in liberty, is less of a peril when he is in power, for he does
not have to be told that a law is a dangerous thing, and may
injure more than it may help. Such a ruler regulates men as
little as possible. (654)
Taoism

These two opposing philosophies would inform all of

Chinese society with Confucianism becoming the official
philosophy of the government and Taoism the most popular
belief among the peasant classes (though, certainly, all
classes observed important elements of both beliefs). The
religion of Taoism, which advocated adherence to the
universal Tao long before the Tao-Te-Ching, was practised
through ancestor worship and an acknowledgement of the
natural law of the Tao in all things. Confucianism, which
refused to speculate on universal unknowns, served as a
practical guide to living well through emphasis on law and
proper behaviour.  Lao-Tzu’s writings clarified and codified
an underlying philosophy to the belief in a universal force
while condemning the laws which attempted to regulate that
force in the lives of human beings.

According to Taoism, all human beings are naturally good

but are corrupted by law and an incorrect belief in how they
are supposed to behave in society. By regulating people’s
behaviour through law, government only makes them
behave badly because it creates an artificial environment
which human beings rebel against in an effort to maintain
their natural state of harmony. If one observes the Tao, and
submits to the natural flow of energy in the universe, one
will be at peace. Resistance to the Tao is exemplified through
the creation of laws which keep people from behaving in
accordance with their natures which, if left unregulated and
unrestricted, would tend toward goodness and peace. Lao-
Tzu maintained, as did Teng Shih (his contemporary or
elder), that people behaved badly because they were forced
to through poor government and unjust laws.

Recognizing that human beings act out of self-interest, Lao-

Tzu still felt that, if left alone, they would harmonize
whatever disputes arose through adherence to the natural
rhythm of the universe. He wrote,
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If you do not quarrel, no one on earth will be able to quarrel

with you. Recompense injury with kindness. To those who
are good I am good, and to those who are not good I am also
good; thus all get to be good. To those who are sincere I am
sincere, and to those who are not sincere I am also sincere;
and thus all get to be sincere…The softest thing in the world
dashes against and overcomes the hardest. There is nothing
in the world softer or weaker than water, and yet for
attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing
that can take precedence of it.

This path of passive influence is most clearly articulated in

one of the most famous passages of the Tao-Te-Ching: “Yield
and overcome, Empty and become full, Bend and become
straight.” These lines, and the philosophy they express, have
been cited by many schools of anti-authoritarian thought,
advocating peaceful resolution to conflict, for centuries.
“Quiescence, a kind of philosophical inaction, a refusal to
interfere with the natural courses of things, is the mark of
the wise man in every field. If the state is in disorder [Lao
Tzu claims], the proper thing to do is not to reform it, but to
make one’s life an orderly performance of duty” (Durant,
656). This performance of duty had chiefly to do with
reflection and attention to the natural courses of life within,
and outside of, oneself and, imitating the enlightened self-
interest Lao-Tzu recognized in nature, an awareness that the
good of the individual leads to the good of the community
and that the best society, then, operates on natural, not man-
made, laws.