CHINESE PHILOSOPHY

1. CHINESE PHILOSOPHY

2. ANCIENT CHINA Earliest Dynasties Xia Dynasty 21st-16th c. bce Shang Dynasty 16th-11th c. bcefirst writing Zhou Dynasty1027 bc-221 bc Confucianism Taoism

3. Shang Dynasty16th-11th c. bce

4. Shang Dynasty • Central Yellow River Valley • Oldest examples of Chinese writing • Hunters and farmers • Brilliant bronze culture • Cities • Cheng Chow (16th c. bc) • Anyang (C. 1384-1111 bc) Ornament of the late Shang, 7 cm The figurine shows the costume and headdress usually worn by people in the Shang Dynasty

5. Shang Social Organization • City-states under the nominal rule of a high king • Proto-feudalism. • The area under the jurisdiction of the king quite probably was small, perhaps not more than 100-200 miles in any direction from Anyang. • Traces of a family ruling system and of ancestor-worship are discernible. • Rigidly patriarchal society. Shang Tang - the first ruling king of the Shang dynasty

6. Oracle Bones • Oracle bones used for divination. • A question was written on the bone, which was then fired and a T shaped crack was produced to be interpreted; the interpretation was then written on the bone. • After the predicted event occurred, the date of the occurrence was also written on the bone.

7. Astronomy and Calendar Ox bone inscribed with a table of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Oracle bone with record of solar eclipse

8. ZHOU (CHOU) DYNASTY 1027 bce-221 bce

9. Zhou (Chou) Dynasty • Introduced organized agriculture • Feudal society • Land grants in return for support in war and loyalty • Ruler: Tianor “Son of Heaven • Principal of societal relationships illustrated in the Book of Songsand the Book of Rituals • Confucianism and Taoism introduced

10. Lao Tzu or Lao Zi“Old Sage” or “Old Master” • Born c. 604 bce • Reputed Author of Tao te Ching or Taodejing: The Way and Its Power • Legendary life: • His given name was Li Erh • Lao Tzu means "old sage“ or "old boy“ • Native of Ch'ü-jen, in the Honan Province.

11. Taoist Canon • Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing ) : Written supposedly by Lao Tzu (81 chapters often divided into two parts) • Book of Dao : Chapter 1-37 • Book of De : Chapter 38-81 • Chuang Chou (Chuang Tzu or ZhuangZi ) : Written supposedly by Chuang Chou (inner chapters) and others (misc and outer chapters) • Hua Hu Jing: Unknown author (81 chapters) • Lie Zi: Written supposedly by Lie Zi (111 chapters)

12. TAOISM • Tao:the ultimate reality behind existence, a transcendant essence. • Highly individualistic and mystical character • Existential skepticism • Wu-wei:spontaneity -- to discern and follow the natural forces -- to follow and shape the natural flow of events, not to struggle against nature

13. Yin and Yang • Negative and positive principles of the universe. • One cannot exist without the other, and they often represent opposites in relations to each other. • As there is more and more Yang, eventually, Yin will appear and replace this increase. Similarly in the opposite direction, Yang will appear to replace the increase in Yin

14. Negative Female Dark Earth Positive Male Light Heaven YIN YANG

15. Three Jewels • Compassion - leads to courage • Moderation - leads to generosity • Humility - leads to leadership

16. ConfuciusK’ung fu-tzu or Kongfuzi • 551-479 bce • Son of aristocrat, raised in poverty • Itinerant teacher • Sayings collected in The Analects • Possibly edited The Book of Songs

17. Confucian Canon of Texts • The Book of Songs • The Book of Documents (Shang Shu) • The Book of Changes ( I Ching) • The Book of Rituals • Ch’un-ch’ iu: a chronicle • The Analects • By study and self-cultivation, individuals can merge their instinctive beings and their social beings.

18. Followers of Confucius

19. Confucianism • Importance of traditional values: self-control, filial piety, propriety, ritual • Individual virtue leads to societal virtue • Contextual morality -- guided by circumstances of a particular problem • Obedience contingent upon benevolence

20. Confucian Values • Li:propriety, ceremony, civility. 4 basic rules of human conduct: courtesy, politeness, good manners, respect (reverence for age) • Jen (Ren):respect for self and others:”Do not do to others what you do not want done to you.” Charity and courtesy • Te:virtue, the power of moral example as in a strong leader who guides by example or in the forces of nature • Wen:the arts of peace: music, poetry, art -- conducive to harmony and order and a model of excellence. Traditional Chinese art always strives for beauty.

21. The Six Relationships Obedience in The Six Relationships is contingent upon the superior members observing their duty to be benevolent and caring. The relationships are modeled on the loving relationship between parent and child. Older Friend Ruler Teacher Subject Student YoungerFriend

22. The Mandate of Heaven • The moral order of the Universe: right and wrong • Fate: Life and death are beyond our control. • The right to rule is based upon knowing and observing the moral order of the Universe • The judgement of history: losing the Mandate of Heaven results in loss of power.

23. Taoist Response to Confucianism

24. Chuang Chou (Chuang Tzu or ZhuangZi ) • Ca. 369-286 bce • The Way has nothing to do with the “rights” and “wrongs” associated with traditions such as Confucianism

25. "Once I, Chuang Tzu, dreamed that I was a butterfly. Suddenly I awoke, and there I was, visibly Tzu. I do not know whether it was Tzu dreaming that he was a butterfly or the butterfly dreaming it was Tzu, Between Tzu and the butterfly there must be some distinction. [But one may be the other.] This is called the transformation of things."