Transcript Taoism and Buddhism in China

Confucianism,
Legalism, Buddhism, and
Taoism
in China
Confucianism
 Founded
by Kongfuzi
(Reverend Master Kong)became Westernized into
Confucius
 About 500 BCE
 Family is the center of all
social relationships
Confucianism
Five
Basic Relationships:
Ruler-Subject; FatherSon; Husband-Wife; Older
Brother-Younger Brother;
Friend-Friend
 Reverence
ancestors
for the past and
Confucianism
Reciprocity
(Negative
Golden Rule)
Legalism
 Based
on the premise that humans
are, by their nature, evil creatures
 Government power is needed to
force obedience
 Severe punishment of wrongdoers
 Sharp contrast with Confucianism
–Confucianism focuses on internal
motivation, while Legalism
focuses on external motivation
Buddhism in China
 Offered
an escape from
the suffering of life on
earth
 Promised salvation to the
good and punishment for
the wicked
 By giving up desire, one
can reach nirvana
Buddhism in China
 Entered
China
during the first
century C.E.
 One of the few
influences from
outside China to
have an impact on
China
Taoism - Basic Beliefs
 Founded
by Lao Zi
 Civilization is
corrupt and has too
many artificial rules
 People need to
return to simplicity
and nature
Taoism - Basic Beliefs
 Tao
means The
Way - attain the
Tao through
nature worship
Taoism and Chinese society
 The
best gov’t is the
one with the fewest
rules (rules are
artificial)
 Confucian rules for
society are useless
because they’re
artificial (not natural!)
Taoism and the supernatural
 There
is a belief in a
spirit world
 Spirits inhabit the world
around us
 Ancestors can have a
strong influence on you
and your relatives-remember dead relatives
in a special way
Taoism - Quotes
Relax and go with
the flow
 If you let muddy
water alone, It
will clear up by
itself
 A tree too big to
stretch your arms
around grew from
the tiniest sprout


Water is the softest
and weakest thing
on earth.
– Rock is the
hardest and
strongest thing on
earth
– Yet nothing’s
better for wearing
down rock than
water
The Yin and Yang
 Harmony
happens
when they’re kept in
balance
 Yin - quiet energy,
nightime, feminine
 Yang - active energy,
daytime, masculine