China: Three Ways of Believing

1. China: Three Ways of Believing World History

2. Background… • The late period of the Zhou Dynasty was marked by great social change. Out of this social change came two new belief systems; Confucianism and Daoism. • Both belief systems seek to restore social order and maintain harmony.

3. Confucianism • Based on beliefs of Confucius. • His philosophy focused on social order and good government. • Believed harmony is a result of people accepting their place in society. • When we accept our place in society we know how to behave.

4. More Confucius… • Five Key Relationships: • Ruler to subject • Parent to child • Husband to wife • Elder brother to younger brother • Friend to friend **Note: Government is at the top of the five relationships. What does this say about the responsibility of government?

5. Confucius Analects • His Analects are a collection of verses written down by his followers. • Analects reveal his value of education, self-sacrifice and his belief that people can be perfect. • Morally superior person has 5 virtues; integrity, righteousness, loyalty, altruism and reciprocity and virtue, love and human heartedness.

6. Do these sound familiar? • Analects • The Master said, If of our three hundred Songs I had to take one phrase to cover all my teaching, I would say ‘Let there be no evil in your thoughts.’ • Tzu-king asked about the true gentleman. The Master said, “He does not preach what he practices till he has practiced what he preaches.” • The Master said, "If the people are governed by laws and punishment is used to maintain order, they will try to avoid the punishment but have no sense of shame. If they are governed by virtue and rules of propriety [ritual] are used to maintain order, they will have a sense of shame and will become good as well."

7. More from Analects… • The Master said, "Anyone learning without thought is lost; anyone thinking but not learning is in peril." • What values do you see embedded in the Analects? How do these compare to our own values? • What is the relationship between the people and government according to Confucius? According to Americans?

8. Daoism • Lazoi founded Daoism. • He wrote the Dao De Jing (The Way of Virtue). • Daoism emphasizes living in harmony with nature. • Believed people need to focus on “the Dao” of things, not the small worries of everyday life. • To know “the Dao” (ways of the universe), people need to live a simple life.

9. Knowing “the Dao” • “Those who know the dao do not speak of it. Those who speak of it, do not know it.” • People must live simply, naturally • People must reject conflict. • Government is unnatural. • “If the people are difficult to govern, it is because those in authority are too fond of action.”

10. Confucius meets Lazoi • Overtime, there was a blending of belief systems that evolved in China. • What does each system offer? • Daoism teaches us about the natural world. • Confucianism teaches us how to behave.

11. And then there was Legalism • After the turmoil of the Zhou Dynasty, China was united under Shi Huangdi – the Qin Dynasty. • Shi Hunagdi was knows as the “First Emperor” of China. • He unified China using Legalist beliefs.

12. Legalism • Believed: • “The Nature of man is evil.” (who does this sound like from US History?) • Greed is what motivates people and is responsible for much conflict. • Strength is a ruler’s greatest virtue, not good behavior. • “The ruler alone possesses power, wielding it like lightning or like thunder.”

13. The Three Beliefs • 1. What are the key beliefs of each system? • 2. Draw an icon for each belief system. • 3. Create a map of the Five Relationships of Confucianism. • 4. Which belief system do you agree with the most? Why? • 5. Which belief do you feel is the most effective and why?