Confucianism vs Daoism in Chinese Philosophy
Although Confucianism and Daoism share a few ideas about the universe and humans, they are different. The two perspectives are like two sides of the same coin. Confucianism emphasizes human relationships and institutions such as the family, school, community, and the state. Daoism focuses on nature.
Laozi founded Daoism while Confucius founded Confucianism. Confucianism focuses on the behavior of human beings and how they affect interactions with others. It aims at ensuring there is social harmony by focusing on five key relationships; ruler and subject, wife and husband, friends, father and son, and siblings. Daoism concentrates on the individual. It discards all relations to enable people to focus on nature.
Unlike Confucianism, Daoism developed into a religion with doctrines, cultic practices, and hierarchical leadership. Daoism originated from Henan province while Confucianism began in Shandong province. Both of them started around the 5th and 6th BCE. Confucianism is more into morality, while Daoism emphasizes spontaneous human experiences; it does not focus on Chinese advanced culture and learning.
While Daoism neglects planning and purposeful action by advocating for animals like unplanned responses, Confucianism insists on plans and structure. Although Confucianism recognizes the significant role mothers play in society, it regards women as inferior to men. In Daoism, men and women have the same status. Daoism has rules for the individual, while Confucianism has society rules.
Both Daoism and Confucianism have two similar holidays; Ancestor Day and Chinese New Year. However, Confucianism also celebrates the New Year Teacher Day and Daoism 3 Day Festival of the Dead. Confucianism aims at achieving harmony through expressing humanness and benevolence to others, while Daoism targets gaining a balance in life.
Confucianism discourages people from individual goals and desires; it encourages them to focus on social obligations and abide by social norms. Daoism is about achieving personal independence. It focuses on getting balance and virtue. Daoism assumes that a government can become unfair even when its foundations have good intentions. It also argues that extreme action brings about another counteraction of equal measure. Confucianism concentrates on righteousness, loyalty, and social roles.
Although the Communist People’s Republican was against some philosophies and religions, Daoism and Confucianism were able to withstand. Also known as Taoism, the Daoism religion complements its philosophical ideas. Laozi composed Dao De Jing (The Book of the Way and Its Power); it has philosophical texts of Daoism. Laozi’s biography had some legendary aspects.
References
De Meyer, Jan. “Confucianism and Daoism in the Political Thought of Luo Yin.” Tang Studies 1992.10-11 (1992): 67-80.
Chen, Chao-Chuan, and Yueh Ting Lee. “Introduction: The diversity and dynamism of Chinese philosophies on leadership.” Leadership and management in China: Philosophies, theories, and practices. Cambridge University Press, 2008. 1-28.
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