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Exploring China

Early Philosopher

T he Zhou Dynasty survived longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history (c. 1100-221 bce ). But the last 300 years of the dynasty’s reign were very violent and are called the Warring States Period. From the seventh century bce onwards, China was in a constant state of unrest. The Zhou kings lost control of the country and semi-independent lords and dukes fought each other to gain more land. Early Chinese scholars reacted to this situation by creating new ways of thinking about the world, called philosophy. New theories of philosophy and hundreds of different philosophical schools flourished. The Philosophy of Confucius Confucius (551-479 bce ) was born into a family of officials in the state of Lu, in the modern-day province of Shandong. He admired earlier wise men and felt sad about the lost “paradise” of previous Chinese societies. He tried to restore old customs and ceremonies through his teachings. His pupils recorded his teachings which later became the state religion of the Chinese government and were followed by every Chinese official. T his eighteenth-century drawing hy a Japanese artist is based on the legend that Confucius was once Laozi’s student.

Confucius’ Rivals Laozi (c.604-531 bce ) was the founder of the Daoist (or Taoist) religion. Laozi thought that non-action is the best solution to any problem and that returning to nature is the Right Way to Live, or the Dao of things. Legend says that Laozi was traveling on an ox-cart and a gatekeeper stopped him and persuaded him to write down his philosophy. Laozi’s book has been translated into many languages. Mozi (c.479-381 bce ) was Confucius’ main rival. Unlike Confucius, Mozi opposed music and lavish ceremonies, such as elaborate burials. He hated war and believed in “love-all”—loving everyone regardless of their social status, age or sex. Mozi had many students and all their writings were published under his name. Mozi and his followers were very interested in science and probably made the first kites.

T his is the Daoist Symbol of the Cosmos. It represents a symbolic balance between the Yin (dark section) and Yang (light section) aspects of the world. A later philosopher, Zhuang Zhou (c.369-290 bce ), refused to take any official government posts, preferring to live in poverty. He believed that people should respect nature and once dreamt he had become a butterfly. He then asked his students if they thought he was Zhuang Zhou dreaming he was a butterfly, or whether he was a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuang Zhou.

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