Confucianism In The Han Dynasty

Confucius and his disciple Mencius had an influence on Chinese thought and social practice. Chinese traditions of worshiping deceased ancestors and exceptional leaders inspired the growth of Confucianism as a philosophic custom and religion. Confucianism was established as the state’s official doctrine by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. However, both philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism believed that anyone can develop wisdom or skill, regardless of social status or birth.

Many people have mistaken Confucianism as a religion. However, it is a system of belief, a philosophy. This belief emphasizes on respect and harmony of relationships. Moreover, it pushed for a well-ordered society by accentuating human relationships, a righteous leader and a good education. Confucius, a philosopher and a teacher, founded Confucianism. He grew up in the period of warring states, a time of chaos and internal hostilities during the Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, Confucius’ ultimate goal was to transform the Chinese society into a state of unity and righteous. However, Confucianism did not flourish until the Han Dynasty. It also played a different role in the Song Dynasty.

Family by Pa Chin is a captivating novel that describes what life in China was like in the twentieth century. Confucianism, a big religion in China at the time, was heavily focused on filial piety. Filial piety is the relationship of obedience, in which the elders are to be respected by the younger generation (Wu, lecture notes, 2015). This religion was one of the main structures on how the society was ran. Chin represents how the younger generation was upset with how the old traditions of the Confucian system were ran and that they were ready to change it.

This created order in society by establishing the empire’s values and what type of character each individual has to have: and educated bureaucrat in Han China or a military-based official in the Roman Empire. So, from 300 BCE to 300 CE, the Han and Roman both created order and society by having an ideology shape their

In ancient china there were two widely different philosophes being so excepted within the same culture. The two philosophes were Confucianism and Legalism. Confucianism was during 55 B, in China. Legalism was during 475-221 BC, also in China. Confucianism is a belief or an idea. The purpose of this was to show people how to be in harmony with their place in life. Legalism is a ruling made by Shi Huangdi, who was a strict ruler in china. The purpose of this ruling was to get the people of china to follow the rule, and if they didn’t there was a very harsh punishment. Although confucianism and legalism have some similarities, but the differences between the two are amazingly clear.

Next, Confucianism had five basic relationships that they taught. They were: husband to wife, ruler to subject, older sibling and younger sibling, father and son, and friend and friend. By looking at this, we see that Confucianism wanted people to have someone there for them. This religion wants family members and friends to have a close relationship so that they can have a happy life. This proves

Confucianism originated in China, with the teachings of Confucius. Confucianism was spread through relocation diffusion and contagious diffusion spread Confucianism more than hierarchical diffusion. Confucianism is practiced in China, Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan. It has the most influence there. There are approximately 6,111,056 people practicing Confucianism. There isn’t necessarily a deity in Confucianism. It revolves around ancestor worship. Confucius (551 BCE -- 479 BCE) founded Confucianism on his philosophies during his life. Confucianism has five holy books: "The Book of History," "The Book of Poetry," "The Book of Changes," "The Book of Rites," and the "Spring and Autumn Annals." “Confucianism is often characterized as a system of social

Confucian ideas highlight the need to have a heir, thus the Emperor need to be sexually active, which explains the very large number of women in the inner court. However, according to Confucian ideals, the Emperor was not supposed to retain any pleasure from this encounters. therefore leading to a paradox hard to overcome by the Emperor and even harder to enforce by the outer court officials depute their moral concerns. Song women were also granted for the first time considerable legal rights. In fact, Song Dynasty is seen as a high point for women property point in China, further challenging Confucian traditional patrilinality.

The Three Obediences and Four Virtues still have an effect on modern Chinese society. Traditional Chinese society is polygamy family that men have

The scholar gentry became such a dominant force in Chinese politics and society because they held a high status and prominent role. Those who were able to pass the difficult exams and earn position in high offices were treated with reverence and achieved special social status. They were also granted access to refined pleasures the elite could enjoy and had a great influence in the revival of Confucian ideas and values. 7. In what ways did relations between Chinese and Nomadic peoples to the North shape Chinese dynasties?

Confucianism had a vital role in how the Han was able to maintain political authority for four centuries. Although the early Han rulers adopted from the Qin the harsh enforcement of law and consequences, the reign of the Han Dynasty was moral and practical. Lu Jia wrote about how the Qin failed to rule humanely placing fear of the law in those under rule. Lu Jia compared the Han to the Qin writing, “One who is rich in virtue has far-flung influence; one who is ample in brute strength may be merely overbearing,” and in the Xinyu he blames the absence of disorder on human and righteous rule. The people of China grew weary of tyranny and rebellion struck the region resulting in the Shi Huangdi dying with China in a period of warring states and his successors giving in to Han rule.

Many of his teachings implemented filial piety, or in a broader sense, the relationships between man and society. Confucius often examines the duty of one man being ruled by a government. Yet, he focuses on a balance between individuals and government, suggesting that they maintain a symbiotic relationship. Confucius explores the role one plays in society, and vice versa.

Different periods throughout China’s history have different names, known as dynasties, for the diverse positions within its society. Theoretically, all of the periods are similar, with the government and military officials ranking high in the hierarchy, and the average everyday people being under regular Chinese law. Throughout China’s history, the society has been organized into a hierarchic system of socio-economic classes, known as the four occupations. The four occupations system seems to have become distorted after the commercialization of Chinese culture during the Song Dynasty. Even though the social rankings within the country are not as predominant as they once were, the people living within the country still know their “place” within the society.

What can we learn about Confucianism from this excerpt? Master wants people to follow the rules. Master has three good ideas sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment, and the confidence of the people in their ruler. Master says that military equipment is the most important. The goverment will not do anything if their is no order.

The Chinese government is trying to integrate some of the Confucian principles into the lives of the Chinese by creating TV shows based on “good Confucian emperors” (Benjamin 7). The Confucian ideology as a whole was considered the main ideology of China for over a millennium, and it was accepted by the majority of Chinese until the 20th century (Benjamin 7). Confucianism has had a powerful influence on Chinese culture, and will likely continue to as long as the Chinese people adopt the values into their everyday lives. Although there pure Confucians may not exist in abundance, many others still practice certain aspects of this ideology. As long as humans desire to become better, more respectful people, the centuries old Confucian ideology will continue to have an influence on modern