The most ancient evidence of Chinese religious and social civilization dates back to the Shang dynasty, circa 1500 B.C.E. In this early agricultural society, there is evidence of some of the basic fundamentals of most Chinese religious thought; the pursuit, establishment, maintenance and enjoyment of harmony in the earthly world. During the Zhou dynasty (1122 - 771 B.C.E.), the path initiated by the Shang was sustained and expanded upon. The Zhou quest for harmony and order led to the development of some extremely crucial concepts that would directly effect the development of Confucianism. It was in this era that the notion of Tian, the force that can be best understood as heaven, first came to light. This later led to the conception of the idea of the Mandate of Heaven (Tian-ming) from which rulers derived all power and sense of legitimacy, due to the accordance of their behaviors with the norms of morality and ritual correctness. In connection with this, the relatively stable feudal society of Zhou era was responsible for the emergence of the tao. This principal made cosmic order and harmony possible; the tao can be thought of as the road or path from which come perfect unity, harmony and order. This idea played a critical role in the development of Confucianism and dramatically affected the course of Chinese development. In the eighth century B.C.E., the Zhou dynasty began to fall apart as barbarous tribes invaded from the west. This led to the disintegration of Zhou rule and the creation of a number of contending smaller states hoping to re-unify China under a new dynasty. This serious breach in the structure of society and the disharmony that prevailed led to new movements of thought. The sages of this time felt strong aspirations to find solutions to the numerous problems that surrounded them. It probably is for this reason that the six-century B.C.E. was characterized by distinct progress in Chinese thought, and became known as the age of the hundred philosophers.
Confucianism and Taoism In a world conflicted with crime, hatred, and the doings of a radical generation x, now more than ever, we should look toward the fundamental schools of thought of the Chinese: Confucianism and Taoism. Fundamentally sound, the principles of Confucianism emphasize an indivi...
World Geography Asia Taiwan General Facts: A. What is the Population and population density of Taiwan? 22,603,001 people call Taiwan home. B. What is the birth rate? 12.74 births/ 1000 population C. What is the infant mortality rate? 6.65 deaths/1000 live births D. What is the death rate?...
Socrates was a Greek Philosopher, he was a well known figure in Athens. Socrates showed the World a new way of thinking. We only know of his life through the writings of his students, Plato and others, rather than writing books and recording his thoughts himself, he orally passed on his thoughts to many young people of his time, one of which is Plato. He found out that he was wise when told that the Oracle of Delphi had revealed to one of his friends that Socrates was the wisest man in Athens, he didn't boast about this, but wanted to prove the Oracle wrong. So Socrates started asking eve...
Confucianism Confucius was born into a noble family in 551 B.C in Lu, a state in china. He spent his working life as a civil servant in various posts and studied China's ancient philosophers with a variety of teachers. For the early part of his life he served as a teacher for higher. As he grew in age he took on politics and sought to serve and influence the growth in China's ethics. His philosophy was of harmony among humans and the need not to execute and torture people to keep rule among china. ...
Philosophy 190 Confucius Confucius was a large believer that things should be based on virtue, and not on blood. Confucius stated that the ideal person was one of good moral character. The ideal person was also truly reverent in worship and sincerely respected his father and his ruler. He was expected to think for himself, guided by definite rules of conduct. Confucius believed that this type of behavior by rulers had a greater effect on the people than did laws or codes of punishment. ...
Confucius The Analects The man, the myth, the legend, these words are uttered by countless people in the twenty first century. Whether, one is speaking of a star athlete, a political hero, or one of their friends, it does not really matter. The only man in history that truly contains all of these qualities is one of the greatest thinkers and teachers of all time. Confucius was born more than 500 years before the coming of Jesus, and his thoughts and views of the world still live on today in everyone's live whether they know it or not. Because of his life was full of journeys al...
Confucius is the Latinized form of K"ung Ch"iu or Master K"ung. Confucius was a man who showed wisdom. He taught moral code based on ethics, humanity and love. He taught his disciples the five virtues, these being courtesy, mag-nan-im-ity, good faith, diligence, and kindness. Confucius only taught to a small number of people saying "I shall not open up the truth, and I shall not help anyone who cannot express his ideas." ...
A philosopher named Confucius founded Confucianism in China 2,500 years ago. Confucianism is a system of ethical behavior and social responsibility that became the great traditions of the East.1 It played an important role in the evolution in Chinese culture over the centuries. It has influenced near-by countries and had made a mark in the history of religion. There are today over six million people who call themselves Confucianists. Most Confucianists live in East Asia where Confucianism is thought to be born. ...
