Confucianism and Taoism

Centuries ago in China children were first educated in philosophy by studying the Four Books: Confucian Analects, Book of Mencius, The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean. These texts were considered to be the base for Neo-Confucianism (1). Today Westerners often mistake Confucianism as a religion failing to consider that the Four Books contain no creation story, heaven or hell (1). Confucius (551-479 B.C.) lived as a philosopher and teacher who based his system of thought on ethics (4) desiring not positive knowledge, but an elevation of the mind or a reaching beyond the present world (5).

Mencius (371-289 B.C) used within his philosophy the foundational principle that "the nature of man is originally good" (1). Linked to Confucius by studying under a disciple of Tzu-ssu who was the grandson of Confucius, Mencius was regarded as a prestigious scholar who struggled to forge an "idealistic wing of Confucianism" (68). Laboring in retirement, he composed the seven books of the Mencius, a record of dialogues between feudal lords, his disciples and himself (68). These writings were later incorporated into the Four Books.

Mencius' importance is that he developed the famed theory of the original goodness of human nature. Whereas Confucius insisted upon the need for jen (human-heartedness) and argued for the importance of distinguishing between yi (righteousness) and li (profit), he did not explain why human nature should be conceived as e

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Category: Philosophy - C