CHINESE PHILOSOPHY

PRE- HISTORIC CHINA Neolithic 12, bce Yangshao Culture bce Hongshan Culture bce Lung-shan Culture bce Xia Dynasty 21 st –16 th c. bce

ANCIENT CHINA Earliest Dynasties Xia Dynasty 21 st -16 th c. bce Shang Dynasty 16 th -11 th c. bce first writing Zhou Dynasty 1027 bc-221 bc Confucianism Taoism

Shang Dynasty 16th-11th c. bce

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 bc) Ornament of the late Shang, 7 cm The figurine shows the costume and headdress usually worn by people in the Shang Dynasty

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 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

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.

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

ZHOU (CHOU) DYNASTY 1027 bce-221 bce

Periods of Zhou Dynasty 771 bce -- Zhou invaded by barbarians allied with rebel lords; king killed. Capital moved eastward to Luoyang in Henan Province Western Zhou: bce Eastern Zhou bce bce: Spring and Autumn Period bce: Warring States Period

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

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.

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 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)

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

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

YIN YANG Negative Female Dark Earth Positive Male Light Heaven

Three Jewels Compassion - leads to courage Moderation - leads to generosity Humility - leads to leadership

Confucius K’ung fu-tzu or Kongfuzi bce Son of aristocrat, raised in poverty Itinerant teacher Sayings collected in The Analects Possibly edited The Book of Songs

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.

Followers of Confucius

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

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.

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. RulerTeacher Older Friend SubjectStudentYounger Friend

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.

Taoist Response to Confucianism

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

"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."