Editing Chinese philosophy (section)

==Ancient philosophy==

=== Spring and Autumn period ===

{{Main|Hundred Schools of Thought}}

Around 500 BCE, after the Zhou state weakened and China moved into the [[Spring and Autumn period]], the classic period of Chinese philosophy began. This is known as the [[Hundred Schools of Thought]] ({{lang|zh-hant|諸子百家}}; ''zhūzǐ bǎijiā''; "various scholars, hundred schools"). This period is considered the golden age of Chinese philosophy. Of the many schools founded at this time and during the subsequent [[Warring States period]], the four most influential ones were [[Confucianism]], [[Taoism|Daoism]] (often spelled "Taoism"), [[Mohism]] and [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]].<ref name=":4">{{cite book|editor-last1=Garfield|editor-first1=Jay L.|editor-last2=Edelglass|editor-first2=William|year=2011|chapter=Chinese Philosophy|title=The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy|location=Oxford|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=9780195328998}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Ebrey|first=Patricia|author-link=Patricia Buckley Ebrey|title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of China|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|location=New York|page=42}}</ref>

==== Confucianism ====

[[Image:Confucius Statue at the Confucius Temple.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Kong Fuzi ([[Latin Language|Latin]]: [[Confucius]])]]
{{Main|Confucianism}}

Confucianism is a philosophical school developed from the teachings of Confucius collected and written by his disciples after his death in ''[[The Analects]]'', and in the [[Warring States period]], [[Mencius]] in ''[[The Mencius]]'' and [[Xun Kuang|Xunzi]] in ''[[Xunzi (book)|The Xunzi]]''. It is a system of [[morality|moral]], [[social philosophy|social]], [[politics|political]], and [[religion|religious]] thought that has had tremendous influence on Chinese history, thought, and culture down to the 20th century. Some Westerners have considered it to have been the "[[state religion]]" of [[imperial China]] because of its lasting influence on Asian culture. Its influence also spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and many other Asian countries.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Confucianism reached its peak of influence during the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] and [[Song dynasty|Song]] dynasties under a rebranded Confucianism called [[Neo-Confucianism]]. Confucius expanded on the already present ideas of Chinese religion and culture to reflect the time period and environment of political chaos during the [[Warring States period]]. Because Confucius embedded the Chinese culture so heavily into his philosophy it was able to resonate with the people of China. However, the relationship between Confucianism and contemporary Chinese society is continuously transforming, reflecting the evolving cultural, political, and social landscape of modern China.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lai |first=Chen |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781351268912 |title=Confucius and the Modern World |date=2018-11-21 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-26892-9 |edition=1 |location=New York : Routledge, 2019. {{!}} Series: Routledge studies in contemporary Chinese philosophy |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781351268929}}</ref>

The major Confucian concepts include [[filial piety]], loyalty ({{lang-zh|c=忠|p=zhōng|labels=no}}),  ''[[Li (Confucian)|li]]'' (ritual), ''[[Ren (Confucianism)|ren]]'' (humanity or humaneness), the [[rectification of names]] (i.e., to ensure everything is what its name implies it should be),.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Warren|last=Steinkraus|title=Socrates, Confucius, and the Rectification of Names|journal=Philosophy East and West|volume=30|issue=2|year=1980|pages=261–64|doi=10.2307/1398850|jstor=1398850}}</ref> Confucius taught both positive and negative versions of the [[Golden Rule]]. The concepts [[yin and yang]] represent two opposing forces that are permanently in conflict with each other, leading to perpetual contradiction and change. The Confucian idea of "Rid of the two ends, take the middle" is a Chinese equivalent of the idea of "thesis, antithesis, and synthesis", often attributed to [[Hegel]], which is a way of reconciling opposites, arriving at some middle ground combining the best of both.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Confucius heavily emphasized the idea of microcosms in society (subunits of family and community) success's were the foundations for a successful state or country. Confucius believed in the use of education to further knowledge the people in ethics, societal behavior, and reverence in other humans. With the combination of education, successful family, and his ethical teachings he believed he could govern a well established society in China.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

==== Taoism ====

[[Image:SFEC BritMus Asia 021.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Chinese [[ceramic glaze|glaze]]d [[stoneware]] statue of a [[Daoist]] deity, from the [[Ming dynasty]], 16th century]]
{{Main|Taoist philosophy}}

[[File:BatQuaiDo_2.svg|thumb|left|200px|[[Bagua]]: Modern ''[[Taijitu]]'' with ''I Ching'' trigrams]]

Taoism arose as a philosophy and later also developed into a religion based on the texts the ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'' (ascribed to [[Laozi]]) and the ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]'' (partly ascribed to [[Zhuang Zhou]]). The word ''[[Tao]]'' ({{lang|zh-hant|道}}; also transliterated as ''Dao'') literally means 'path' or 'way'. However, in Taoism it refers more often to a meta-physical force that encompasses the entire universe but which cannot be described nor felt.

All major Chinese philosophical schools have investigated the correct ''Way'' to go about a moral life, but in Taoism it takes on the most abstract meanings, leading this school to be named after it. It advocated nonaction (''[[wu wei]]''), the strength of softness, spontaneity, and relativism. Although it serves as a rival to Confucianism, a school of active morality, this rivalry is compromised and given perspective by the idiom "practice Confucianism on the outside, Taoism on the inside."

Most of Taoism's focus is on the notion that human attempts to make the world better actually make the world worse. Therefore, it is better to strive for harmony, minimising potentially harmful interference with nature or in human affairs.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy|translator= Wing-tsit Chan|page=137|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=A0qs9W6Km6UC&pg=PA137|publisher = Princeton University Press|date= 2008|isbn = 9781400820030}}</ref>

=== Warring States period ===

==== Legalism ====
{{Main|Legalism (Chinese philosophy)}}

Philosopher [[Han Fei]] synthesized together earlier the methods of his predecessors, which famous historian [[Sima Tan]] posthumously termed Legalism. With an essential principle like "when the epoch changed, the ways changed", late pre-[[Han dynasty]] reformers emphasized rule by law.

In Han Fei's philosophy, a ruler should govern his subjects by the following trinity:
#''Fa'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|t=法|p=fǎ}}): law or principle.
#''Shu'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|t=術|p=shù}}): method, tactic, art, or statecraft.
#''Shi'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|t=勢|p=shì}}): legitimacy, power, or charisma.

What has been termed by some as the intrastate Realpolitik of the Warring States period was highly progressive, and extremely critical of the Confucian and Mohist schools. But that of the [[Qin dynasty]] would be blamed for creating a [[totalitarian]] society, thereby experiencing decline. Its main motto is: "Set clear strict laws, or deliver harsh punishment". In Han Fei's philosophy the ruler possessed authority regarding reward and penalty, enacted through law. Shang Yang and Han Fei promoted absolute adherence to the law, regardless of the circumstances or the person. Ministers were only to be rewarded if their words were accurate to the results of their proposals. Legalism, in accordance with Shang Yang's interpretation, could encourage the state to be a [[militarism|militaristic]] [[autarky]].

====Naturalists====

{{Main|School of Naturalists}}

The [[School of Naturalists]] or the School of Yin-yang ({{zh|t=陰陽家|p=Yīnyángjiā|w=Yin-yang-chia|l=School of Yin-Yang|c=}}) was a [[Warring States]] era philosophy that synthesized the concepts of [[yin-yang]] and the ''[[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|wuxing]]''; [[Zou Yan]] is considered the founder of this school.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/607826/Zou-Yan|title=Zou Yan|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=1 March 2011|archive-date=26 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426150251/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/607826/Zou-Yan|url-status=live}}</ref> His theory attempted to explain the universe in terms of basic forces in nature: the complementary agents of yin (dark, cold, female, negative) and yang (light, hot, male, positive) and the Five Elements or Five Phases (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth).

In its early days, this theory was most strongly associated with the states of [[Yan (state)|Yan]] and [[Qi (state)|Qi]]. In later periods, these epistemological theories came to hold significance in both philosophy and popular belief.  This school was absorbed into Taoism's alchemic and magical dimensions as well as into the Chinese medical framework. The earliest surviving recordings of this are in the [[Mawangdui Silk Texts|Mawangdui]] texts and ''[[Huangdi Neijing]]''.

==== Mohism ====
{{Main|Mohism}}

[[Mohism]] (Moism), founded by [[Mozi]], promotes universal love with the aim of mutual benefit. Everyone must love each other equally and impartially to avoid conflict and war. Mozi was strongly against Confucian ritual, instead emphasizing [[pragmatism|pragmatic]] survival through farming, [[fortification]], and [[Public administration|statecraft]]. Tradition is inconsistent, and human beings need an extra-traditional guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximize general benefit. As motivation for his theory, Mozi brought in the ''Will of Heaven'', but rather than being religious his philosophy parallels [[utilitarianism]].

==== Logicians ====

{{Main|School of Names}}

The logicians (School of Names) were concerned with logic, paradoxes, names and actuality (similar to Confucian rectification of names). The logician [[Hui Shi]] was a friendly rival to [[Zhuang Zhou|Zhuangzi]], arguing against Taoism in a light-hearted and humorous manner. Another logician, [[Gongsun Long]], originated the famous [[When a White Horse is Not a Horse]] dialogue.

==== Agriculturalists ====

{{main|Agriculturalism}}

[[Agriculturalism]] was an early [[Agrarianism|agrarian]] social and political philosophy that advocated peasant [[utopian]] communalism and [[egalitarianism]].<ref name="wp">{{cite book|last= Deutsch |first=Eliot |author2=Ronald Bontekoei|year=1999 | page= 183|title=A companion to world philosophies|publisher=Wiley Blackwell}}</ref> The philosophy is founded on the notion that human society originates with the development of [[agriculture]], and societies are based upon "people's natural propensity to farm."<ref name="js">{{cite book|last= Sellmann |first=James Daryl|year=2010 | page= 76|title=Timing and rulership in Master Lü's Spring and Autumn annals|publisher=SUNY Press}}</ref>

The Agriculturalists believed that the ideal government, modeled after the semi-mythical governance of [[Shennong]], is led by a benevolent king, one who works alongside the people in tilling the fields. The Agriculturalist king is not paid by the government through its treasuries; his livelihood is derived from the profits he earns working in the fields, not his leadership.<ref name="dw">{{cite book|last= Denecke|first=Wiebke|year=2011 | page= 38|title=The Dynamics of Masters Literature: Early Chinese Thought from Confucius to Han Feizi|publisher=Harvard University Press}}</ref> Unlike the Confucians, the Agriculturalists did not believe in the [[division of labour]], arguing instead that the economic policies of a country need to be based upon an egalitarian [[self sufficiency]]. The Agriculturalists supported the [[price fixing|fixing of prices]], in which all similar goods, regardless of differences in quality and demand, are set at exactly the same, unchanging price.<ref name="dw" />