Aren't Daoism and Confucianism the Same?

            Both Daoism and Confucianism spawned forth from ancient Chinese practices and beliefs about spirits. The ancient beliefs eventually migrated to Korea and Japan, but we can see the ancient beliefs having there largest impact on China. The ancient beliefs manifest themselves mainly in the form of ancestor worship and the belief that humans are closely connected with the powers of the spirit world. In order to appease and gain favor with the ancestors or spirits one must honor them through rituals and rites. Instruction on how to conduct these ceremonies is found in the texts of the “Li”; one does this either for protection or for favor, the ancestors and spirits can be vindictive when not properly honored or they can reward when pleased. The ancients then went on to develop to more major ideas, the “Shang Ti”, which is the lord of all the ancestors and the “heaven’s gate” or simply “heaven”, the belief that the universe is made up of an impersonal force (Fisher, p 183). The latter concept mentioned influenced one of the more popular and well known beliefs in ancient china, which is called the “Chi”. Chi is the manifestation of the impersonal cosmic force that is in everything; it is made up of two characteristics, the “Yin”, which is dark, receptive, feminine and the “Yang”, bright, assertive and masculine. Many scholars and believers of Daoism and Confucianism take a pluralistic approach to their differences in beliefs. In that they see the contradictory teachings not as two separate teachings, but as two complementary teachings of the Way or Dao.

Contrasts between Daoism and Confucianism:

            After belief in ancestor worship, spirit appeasement, “Shang Ti”, “Heaven’s gate” and Chi had been established by the ancient Chinese two divergent paths of following the ancient traditions began to form. The Dao, which means “the Way”, was first developed by the writings of a sage named Lao Zi, he wrote down 5,000 characters constituting into the “Taote Ching” meaning “the Classic of the Way and its Power” (Fisher, p. 187). This work and many others make up the texts from which the Daoists derive their beliefs, which is a belief that there is no right or wrong only harmony with the Way or natural flow of all things into a unity of oneness. The Way or the Dao cannot be known or understood and it is incredibly elusive, if one thinks he has it he does not or if one is filled with any type of anxiety, happiness, sadness, greed or desire he is not in harmony with the Dao.

            At the same time that Lao Zi was writing the “Taote Ching” there was another philosopher who took seriously the beliefs of the ancients, his name was Confucius. He was born into a time of extreme political turbulence and national chaos, where political leaders were seeking their own gain and advancement. As a young man, Confucius pleaded with political leaders to return to the practices of the “Li” and a lifestyle of virtue, but none would listen to him. Confucius then turned to the youth of the nation and began to teach, his teaching focused around perfecting the world through moral living and political justice and order. He didn’t center his teachings on having mystical harmony with the cosmic forces, he was more concerned with the here and now, that in order to be good one must live morally, honoring relationships (most important the relationship between ruler and subject) and practice filial piety.

References:

Fisher, Mary Pat. (2008). Living Religions. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

            Bockover, Mary I. (October 2007). Metaphors of Self in Confucius and Descartes. Religion East and West, Volume 7, 107-120.

            Poskaite, Loreta. (2003). The Problem of Identity and Difference in Classical Chinese Philosophy. Dialogue and Universalism, 1, 177-197.

            Li, Li. (2007, May 17). Taoism Opens the Way: China Looks to the Wisdom of its Ancient Philosophy to Spread the Message of Harmony. Nation, 28.

            Tsai, PhD., Julius N. (December 2006) Eye on Religion: By the Brush and by the Sword: Daoist Perspectives on the Body, Illness and Healing. Southern Medical Journal, 99, 1452-1453.