The Warring States Period is
also frequently referred to as the "A Hundred Schools of
Thought", generally meaning that numerous philosophical schools
evolved. These were hard times with incessant wars and deaths -a fertile
social situation for accelerated search for answers in beliefs. Below is merely a pocket guide to the main teachings. Much
excellent literature exists with thorough and authoritative descriptions
of the various philosophies and philosophers.
| School |
Chief
Representative(s) |
Primary
Teaching and Philosophy |
| Confucianism |
Kong Qui
(aka. Confucius), Meng Ke (aka Mengzi aka. Mencius), Xun Kuang.
|
|
| Kong
Qui
(551-479 BC) (aka.
Confucius).
|
|
|
|
Meng
Ke (372-289 BC), a classical thinker of the
Confucian school in the late Warring States Period. His
premise of "all humans are born good" led him to
stress the cultivation of the individual's mind and character. |
|
Moral,
honesty, correct behavior, harmony, good manners, patience,
pacifism, compromise etc. Kong Qui
(551-479 BC), better known as Kongzi was the founder of Confucianism.
In the West he is well known as Kong Fuzi or, simply Confucius.
Kong Qui indeed stood for all the good virtues of
man perfectly reflecting the troubled times he lived in.
Confucianism appeared in the state of
Lu and spread to Qi, Jin and Wei.
His ideal 'gentleman' or the junzi
is superior because of his moral accomplishments and not because of
breeding. The junzi's
essential quality is jen,
benevolence, or how a human should ideally deal with other humans.
This particularly pertained to the conduct of head of states.
Conduct of the common people was a concern of the Daoists (see
below).
Li,
or "proper behavior according to status", guided the junzi.
A ruler's li
gave moral status or prestige in turn giving influence over people.
It is unique that
the cultural unity of the people is far more important than the
political powers
that may be.
Ritual and ceremony
was important as also obedience to- and care for one's parents.
Incorrect behavior was a loss of face. Confucius had little to say about
religion -Man was the center of the universe and not God.
The Confucian view of
life, esteem for age over youth, past over present, established
authority over innovation has in historical fact proved a successful
answer to the problem of social stability.
Confucianism is a
perfect philosophy for bureaucrats but not for rulers. This explains
why Confucianism did not fare well in its initial years all the way
to the fall of the Qin dynasty, a purebred Legalist regime. The
subsequent Han dynasty however embraced Confucianism.
Confucianism was well
described and preserved during the Warring States period by Meng Ke
in his famous work, Mencius,
in seven chapters. His assertion that a king ruled only with a
"Mandate
of Heaven"
more than implied that if a ruler did not benefit the people then it
was their right to overthrow him. Every Chinese Emperor was keenly
aware of this very prevalent belief amongst the people. Natural
catastrophes were frequently interpreted as signs of Heaven's
displeasure with the emperor and the emperor held personally
responsible!
|
| Daoism
(Aka. Taoism)
|
Laozi (Li Er),
Zhuang Zhou (Zhuangzi)
|
|
|
Laozi, a native of the state of
Chu, alleged founder of Daoism. |
|
|
|
Zhuang
Zhou, a native of the state of Song, also advocated a
passive non-action and absolute spiritual freedom. |
|
The Daoists
were as preoccupied with nature as Confucius was with morality. The dao
was a metaphysical concept impossible to define but sometimes referred
to as the 'absolute'. A ruler's most important principle was wuwei,
meaning that the ruler should avoid interfering in people's lives.
Daoism originated in the south of
China and later branched to Chu, Qi and Yan.
|
|
|
The Laozi
found in 1973 handwritten on silk.
|
In promoting passivity Daoism
provided an escape from Confucianism for the common people. Wuwei
or "action by inaction" (laissez-faire) allowed the
commoners to accept without struggle the experiences of life and
follow their unrationalized inner-self.
The oldest Daoist text, the Laozi,
was originally believed written by a philosopher of the same name,
but it is now generally accepted that no such person existed. He was
to have been a native of the state of Chu during the last part of
the Spring and Autumn Period. He served as an official librarian of
the Zhou royal archives but later returned to his native place
discouraged by the decline of the Zhou dynasty.
The
other main Daoist text, the Zhuangzi,
however is clearly attributed
to Zhuang Zhou whose supposed dates are 369-280 BC. His
central theme was how man should free himself from earthly
constraints. |
| Legalism |
Shang Yang, Li Kui, Han
Fei, Xun Kuang.
|
|
| Xun
Kuang or Xunzi
(298-238 BC),
a famous thinker of the late Warring States Period. He held that
"man is born evil" and stressed the need for strong
rule. |
|
Xun
Kuang (aka. Xunzi). Originating in
the Confucian school he also absorbed Legalism. He held the
by legalists favored theory that "humans were born evil" whereas goodness was
acquired. Since man is born with desires and passions then man must be curbed
to avoid disorder. In stark contracts to the Daoists Xunzi promoted
that "action is more important than knowledge" and in
equal contrast to the Confucianists that "using
power to enforce the law" was the way forward.
Legalism originated in Han, Zhao and
Wei (formerly areas in the state of Jin) but was most prevalent in
the state of Qin.
Shang Yang
would become the first exponent of pure legalism arguing that the
interest of the state came first and that the state should be
organized rationally to optimize its power potential. This was the
underlying principle for his total reorganization of the Qin
State.
The legalists relied on hard rules (fa)
with rewards for good behavior and severe punishments for
transgressions. Rulers typically like legalism whereas bureaucrats
like Confucianism. The early emperors of the Han dynasty understood
this well and relied heavily on an amalgamation of the two, Imperial
Confucianism.
|
| Yin-Yang |
Zou Yan |
The Yin-Yang
or dualists were
concerned with the order of nature rather than philosophical issues.
Dualist theory classified all matter into the negative yin
(female or yielding principle) or the positive yang
(male or active principle) -see symbols on top of this page. Yin and
yang are complimentary and their relationship is necessary for
cosmic harmony. This "egg of chaos" symbolizes how yin and
yang flow into each other and contain the seed of the other.
The dualists also defined the 'five
elements' of nature: wood, fire, earth, metal and
water. They asserted that these were the five permanently active
principles of nature.
This school of "Positive and
Negative" became most active in the state of Qi and later
exerted a profound influence on the Chu and Qin states.
|
| Mohism |
Mo Di |
Mohism
appeared in the weaker state of Song and spread to Lu, Chu and Qin. |
| Logicians |
Hui Shi, Gongsun Long |
|
| Political Strategists |
Zhang Yi, Su Qin |
|
| Military Strategists |
Sun Wu, Sun
Bin, Wu Qi
|
|
| Sun
Wu or Sunzi. Wrote China's first book on military
strategy and warfare. |
|
Sun Wu,
courtesy name Changqing aka. Sunzi, was an aristocrat born in the late
Spring and Autumn period. While in exile in the southern state of Wu
he presented his work "The Art of War" to He Lu, the
prince of Wu. The book gives an in-depth view on warfare, strategies,
tactics and military principles. It is China's earliest military
work and enjoys high repute in world military history. The work
covers 13 chapters and consists of more than 6,000 characters. A
version written on bamboo slips were unearthed in a Han tomb 1972; a
printed version was made in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Sun Wu practiced what he preached. As
a general of Wu and with only 30,000 Wu soldiers he defeated a Chu army of 300,000 men and stormed
the Chu capital of Ying. From then on, Wu was strong and held in
great esteem by other vassal states.
|
| Agriculturists |
Xu Xing |
|
| Eclectics |
Lu Buwei |
(Eclectic:
Selective, well-rounded,
versatile) |
|
