Taoism vs. Confucianism

1. Taoism vs. Confucianism • Confucianism • A system of thought representing “conventional values” • social-minded • represents a higher form of moralism • optimistic rationalism • Humanism: humaneness (ren) and righteousness (yi) • family ethics • ritualizationof life

2. Confucian Views of Men and Society • a sage ruler (sage king) is needed to keep social and political order • Man is the center of this mundane world • gentlemen (junzi) in gov’t to help rule the state • good government brings about good society

3. good individuals: humane and righteous • rites and music: • sacrifice and ritual • rules and regulations • family is the base of society and state • ethics and order • Education • Humanism

4. Confucius

5. Taoism (based on TTC and CT) • Taoism/Daoism valued speculative thought • Questioned and sometimes repudiated Confucian values • rejected all other “artificial devices” of civilization • mocked ritual and propriety and decried group conventions • pessimistic about society • man is not capable of keeping order and safety in society • social man is a misguided being • sought nature as refuge from man’s world • scorned government, feared progress and civilization • wary of technical skills • naturalism

6. Taoist Critique of Confucianism • Confucian Virtues and regulations • humaneness and righteousness • like web-toes, extra-fingers, and other physical superfluity • not a part of human nature; their existence is of no meaningful value • not attributes of humanity because they were used to pursue honor and wealth, thus were the sources of greed • along with the rites and music, caused confusions in the world • what made people “superior men”; what caused people to twist their nature and die for • Good person • one who accepts the given characteristics and knows his/her own self

7. Lao-tzu’s Critique of Confucianism • The person of superior integrity • Does not insist upon (display) his integrity. • The person of inferior integrity • Never loses sight of his integrity; • For this reason, he lacks integrity. • The person of superior integrity takes no action • Nor has he a purpose for acting • The person of superior humaneness takes action, • But has no purpose for acting • The person of superior righteousness takes no action • And has a purpose for acting

8. The person of superior etiquette takes action • But others do not respond to him; • Whereupon he rolls up his sleves and coerces them • When the Way is lost, afterward comes integrity. • When integrity is lost, afterward comes humaneness. • When humaneness is lost, afterward comes righteousness. • When the righteousness is lost, afterward comes etiquette. • Etiquette is the attenuation of trustworthiness, • And the source of disorder . • Foreknowledge is but the blossomy ornament of the Way, • And the source of ignorance. (TTC/ddj, 1/38)

9. Let there be a small state with few people, • Where military devices find no use; • Let the people look solemnly upon death, • And banish the thought of moving elsewhere. • They may have carts and boats, • But there is no reason to ride them; • They may have armor and weapons, • But they have no reason to display them. • Let the people go back to tying knots to keep records • Let their food be savory, their clothes beautiful, their customs pleasurable, [and] their dwellings secure. • Though they may gaze across at a neighboring state, • And hear the sounds of its dogs and chickens, • The people will never travel back and forth, • Till they die of old age. (TTC/DDJ, 30/80)

10. To Taoists, Confucian pursuit of knowledge • interfered with the innate characteristics of things • created distinction between men and other beings • men separated themselves from the birds and the beasts • treated the birds and the beasts as their possessions • created mechanic devices to hunt (or kill) animals and nature • complicated life, provoked debates, and divided people and all creatures • life should be as simple as “the simplicity of unhewn log” • caused contention for profits and fame • did not help people to realize and appreciate the Tao, but would move people away from the Tao

11. More critiques • Confucian sages • the source of troubles in this world • created more harms than benefits • people do bad things in the name of humaneness and righteousness • the world would be in peace without the sage • abandon wisdom and abolish sagehood • forsake outer form and cultivate inner virtues

12. Was Taoism a “School”? • Problems of Traditional Taxonomies • no clear indication of community in strict sense of the word • Unclear about schools, master-disciple transmission • Show only individuals and fragmentation of transmission over generation • inevitably misinterpreted classical teachings • argued for the writers’ favorable system of thought. • likely to engage in “the invention of tradition” • inaccurately identified tradition, for instance, grouping Huangdi and Laozi as Huang-Lao school.

13. Claims of revealed texts (in Han times) were often connected to Daoism • What defines Daoism? • the knowledge of natural categories • the manipulation of yin-yang correlations, • the concepts of self-cultivation taught by Laozi and Zhuangzi • empirical knowledge of plants and herbs, etc. • Did a Confucian community, Ru community, exist as was told by Han historian? What defines their identity? • Their ritual criteria of value vs. economic criteria of value.

14. Other Schools? • Did a Mohist community exist? • What defines Mohist community? • Strong sense of communal life; • Community stood as a big family characterized by strict hierarchy and sense of brotherhood. • Sacrifice for the community was encouraged. • The community maintained its own legal code separate from the state • Stressed military defense skills for self-protection and survival