Classical Chinese Thought

Course Code: 158000103-A22/23

Course Convenor: Dr Stefania Travagnin

Reconstruct the context and diversity of ideas of the Hundred Schools

of Thought, with special focus on the key terms and themes that they
all address, and highlighting how they differ in each school.

Word count: 1,096

The Hundred Schools of Thought refers to a proliferation of philosophical debate, by
various Chinese thinkers, during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States
period. A vast array of terms and themes constitute this debate and I shall address just a few
of them here. A defining feature of this period concerns the inter-relation and continuum of
relative harmony between heaven, earth and man. Each school thus attends to matters
ranging from socio-political philosophy, normative ethics and the metaphysics of reality.

The question of how to attain a "stable social, economic, and political order (zhi 治)"1 is a
useful starting point for elucidating distinctions between schools of thought. First, the
Mohists. They believed the harmonious functioning of society to be an intrinsic good. This
is achieved through the universal subscription of the citizens to a "unified conception of
morality (yi 義)".2 Mozi delineated ten doctrines, which he believed aimed towards that
end. These include 'inclusive concern' (jian-ai 兼愛), ‘rejecting aggression’ (fei-gong 非攻)
and ‘moderation in use’ (jie-yong 節用). If everyone was to comply with these guiding
principles then zhi (治) will be achieved. The principle of 'conforming upward' (shang-tong
尚同) suggests an impetus on the state to educate the citizens in these principles and thus
foster a harmonious social environment. Indeed, Frazer points out that the role of the state in
forming the moral education of the citizens is a distinctive theme of Chinese thought with
each school offering suggestions on how to implement this.3

The normative ethics promoted by the Mohists is similar to consequentialist utilitarianism

whereby the morality of individual actions and social policies is judged according to it's
relative benefit to the welfare of the majority. This contrasts sharply to the deontological
ethics of Han Feizi in which each individual should rigidly conform to their social role.
Indeed, Han Feizi commended the marquis of Han for executing his crown keeper for
sheltering him from the cold.4 The crown keeper transgressed his social role and was thus
rightfully beheaded. The motivation behind an individual's action and even the
consequences of one's action is irrelevant to Han Feizi. Although this apocryphal tale takes
legalism to the extreme, it illustrates the principle that zhi 治 is to be achieved through
conformity to social hierarchies.

So where Mozi advocates for the state's active role in encouraging the citizens to develop a
universal morality based on the common concern for all, Han Feizi advocates the state
applying a heavy hand in enforcing social hierarchies. Both seek to attain zhi 治 but do so
from very different perspectives. The question of social hierarchy was also of significant
concern for Confucius. He agrees with Han Feizi that social hierarchies are important and
ought to be maintained. He believed that social relations between ruler and subject, father
1 Fraser, Chris (2009) “The Mohist School.” In Bo Mou (ed.) History of Chinese Philosophy. London: Routledge,
pp.137-163, 140.
2 ibid
3 ibid 145.
4 Wong, Yuk (2003) “Han Feizi (Han Fei Tzu).” In A. Cua (ed.) Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy. London:
Routdlege, pp.285-288, 286.
and son, elder brother and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend were
fundamental. Each relationship (except friend to friend) is hierarchical, and so emphasis is
placed on deference to authority and filial piety (xiao 孝). However, where the legalists
emphasise enforcing morality top down from social positioning, Confucius criticizes rulers
who impose the heavy hand of "legal manipulation or managerial techniques". 5 Instead he
advocates bottom up by starting with the moral cultivation from the level of the individual
through the family, the state, and ultimately the entire world (128). Anyone with the correct
moral development can earn the Mandate of Heaven (tian-ming 天命) and become a rightful
ruler (junzi 君子), regardless of their position at birth. This view is shared by the Mohists
and their notion of ‘Elevating the Worthy’ (shang-xian 尚賢).

Slingerland presents Confucius as "a fundamentally religious thinker, advocating a

theistically informed, culturally conservative virtue ethic".6 Confucius' ethics are
"theistically informed" by Heaven (tian 天), which is a symbolic representative of a perfect
moral order. 天 is to be revered by conforming to one's social role and the correct
application of ritual (li 禮). The Mohist metaphysics is also underpinned by 天 but their
interpretation is that 天 is equally committed to the well-being of all, thus we should reflect
that through universal love. This distinctly contrasts with Han Feizi, who promulgated an
"amoral indeterminism and atheism" (286). Therefore, Mozi and Confucius both advocate
virtues aimed at fostering positive human social relations but they have a different emphasis
with regards to social hierarchy and rituals based on their different metaphysical
interpretations.

Confucian thought is a "virtue ethic," not a deontological ethic. The primary intention of the
Analects is to delineate a set of principles for the "spiritual development" of one's "inner
dispositions".7 It is not the case that we blindly follow ethical rules. Rather we should instil
virtues such as empathetic understanding (shu 恕) and benevolence (hui 惠) deeply into our
character so that we may naturally act virtuously in any given context that we might
encounter, without the need for deliberation. In this way we can attain non-action (wu-wei
無為), which Slingerland defines as "spontaneous, unselfconscious, and perfectly
efficacious".8 This supports Frazer's view that the individual action and it's consequences are
in fact not the most important factor for ethical judgement but rather it is about the
intentionality and the manner in which the action is performed.

The art of wu-wei is achieved when one thinks and acts in accordance with the Dao (道).
Confucius' Dao is that of the perfect moral order, embodied through Tian 天 and aimed at by
humans through duty and ritual. The Mohist view of Dao is similar to that of Confucius but
emphasises universal love instead of deference to hierarchy. Finally, we come to Laozi.

5 Slingerland, Edward (2009) “Classical Confucianism (I): Confucius and the Lun-Yu.” In Bo Mou (ed.) History of
Chinese Philosophy. London: Routledge, pp.107-136, 129.
6 ibid 109.
7 ibid 128.
8 ibid 112.
Laozi approaches the Dao from the opposite end of the spectrum and says that Dao is the
primordial metaphysical underpinning of all things. We can observe the Dao through its
immanence in nature. Moral categories are the creation of human psychology, nature is
amoral. Thus if we want to live in accordance with the Dao then we must in fact learn to
break free of the notion that we can attain it through language and reasoning.

To conclude, the Hundred Schools of Thought saw the development of a wide array of terms
and themes that interweave and inform one another in highly refined and often subtle ways.
Each school provides a different emphasis but all are concerned with delineating a way for
humans, society and the cosmos to righteously pursue the Dao.

References

• Fraser, Chris (2009) “The Mohist School.” In Bo Mou (ed.) History of Chinese Philosophy.
London: Routledge, pp.137-163

• Liu Xiaogan (2009) “Daoism (I): Lao Zi and the Dao-De-Jing.” In Bo Mou (ed.) History of
Chinese Philosophy. London: Routledge, pp.209-236.

• Slingerland, Edward (2009) “Classical Confucianism (I): Confucius and the Lun-Yu.” In Bo Mou
(ed.) History of Chinese Philosophy. London: Routledge, pp.107-136

• Wong, Yuk (2003) “Han Feizi (Han Fei Tzu).” In A. Cua (ed.) Encyclopedia of Chinese
Philosophy. London: Routdlege, pp.285-288.

• Wong, Yuk (2003) “Legalism.” In A. Cua (ed.) Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy. London:
Routdlege, pp.361-364.