Chinese Philosophy

Chinese Philosophy: A Summary

• Chinese philosophy began in the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period, during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought".

• The major philosophical schools of China that arose were Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism, along with philosophies that later fell into obscurity, like Agriculturalism, Mohism, Chinese Naturalism, and the Logicians.

• Confucianism is still the creed of etiquette for Chinese society and is responsible for creating the world's first meritocracy.

• Before the Han dynasty, the largest rivals to Confucianism were Chinese Legalism, and Mohism.

• The Six Dynasties era saw the rise of the Xuanxue philosophical school and the maturation of Chinese Buddhism, which had entered China from India during the Late Han dynasties.

• During the 19th and 20th centuries, Chinese philosophy integrated concepts from Western philosophy.

• Confucianism reached its peak of influence during the Tang and Song dynasties under a rebranded Confucianism called Neo-Confucianism.

• Taoism arose as a philosophy and later also developed into a religion based on the texts the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi.

• Legalism was highly progressive but would be blamed for creating a totalitarian society, experiencing decline.

• Mohism promotes universal love with the aim of mutual benefit, and everyone must love each other equally and impartially to avoid conflict and war.

• The logicians were concerned with logic, paradoxes, names, and actuality.

• Agriculturalism was an early agrarian social and political philosophy that advocated peasant utopian communalism and egalitarianism.A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy

• Legalism was the official philosophy during the short Qin dynasty, while Mohist and Confucianist schools were quashed.

• Confucianism and Taoism became the determining forces of Chinese thought until the introduction of Buddhism.

• Dong Zhongshu integrated Confucianism with the thoughts of the Zhongshu School and the theory of the Five Elements.

• Xuanxue was a philosophical school that combined elements of Confucianism and Taoism to reinterpret the I Ching, Tao Te Ching, and Zhuangzi.

• Buddhism arrived in China around the 1st century AD, and both Indian schools and local Chinese sects arose from the 5th century.

• Neo-Confucianism was a revived version of old Confucian principles that appeared around the Song dynasty, with Buddhist, Taoist, and Legalist features.

• During the Qing dynasty, there was a return to the Han dynasty Confucianism.

• Chinese philosophy had also begun to integrate concepts of Western philosophy during the Industrial and Modern Ages, as steps toward modernization.

• When the Chinese Communist Party took over the reign, previous schools of thought, excepting notably Legalism, were denounced as backward, and later even purged during the Cultural Revolution.

• New Confucianism is an intellectual movement of Confucianism that began in the early 20th century in Republican China.

• Common terms found in Chinese philosophy include yin and yang, qi, li, dao, and ren.

• Commonalities of Chinese philosophies include a focus on ethics, practicality, and the concept of harmony.