History of chinese thought: an introduction

One of the four most ancient civilizations in the world, China has contributed to the world much in terms of intellectual thought.  You may have heard of Confucian thought, Daoism, the yin and the yang, among others.  The Chinese have contributed to the world a blend of pragmatism, tolerance, focus on this world yet self-transcendence through daily conduct, and humane, courteous conduct in place of legal litigations.  This by no means forms a static picture of Chinese intellectual thought.  In fact, these descriptive terms only indicate the kind of dynamic relationship the various Chinese schools of thought formed with one another during certain periods of Chinese history.  They especially stand out from a macroscopic point of view, like a view from an airplane.  A closer look at different historical periods shows much variation and the prominence of different schools of thought as well as different government policies toward various schools of thought.  Through the readings of this semester we will be able to examine the variations as well as continuities in Chinese thought.

1. Prominent characteristics of Chinese thought in history.

1. Ancestral worship and a some time conflation between ancestors and god (di, or ti) In the largely agricultural ancient Chinese society, like in other ancient societies such as ancient Egypt and ancient Rome, a cyclical view of life and death existed.  Deceased ancestors continued to exert authority on the living and cast blessings or disaster on the latter.  Ancestral worship, which one also sees in ancient Rome, reflected a conservative attitude toward life--the preservation of tradition, which one often finds in agricultural rather than commercial societies. This worship of ancestors seems to replace the need for a more transcendental god.  Although the word god existed in ancient China, he was not anthropomorphic (like the Jewish god) and it was the dead ancestors who seemed to be more in a position to communicate with him.  China was not a monotheistic society.  There were many gods and demons in Chinese mythology.  But the highest god was only referred to in vague and impersonal terms. 2. The development of Confucian learning that replaced litigation with humaneness and moral decorum. One of the greatest achievements in Chinese history was the development of Confucian learning.  Again, Confucian learning was not developed by Confucius alone, but by a large number of people, and it was really a blend of different schools of thought over the centuries.  Early Confucian learning (before a heavy influence of Buddhism) is sometimes compared with the Judaic culture, with an emphasis on the preservation of tradition, tolerance, and focus on this world.  Although the contents of Judaism and Confucian learning may be different, the contexts in which they were developed bore some resemblance.  Confucius's ancestors were members of the Shang Dynasty(c.1523-1027 BC), a dynasty in present-day eastern China that was overthrown by the Zhou Dynasty (c.1027 BC to 256 BC), led by a different ethnic group who came from what is now western China.  The Shang descendents, a people of higher civilization than the originally nomadic people of the Zhou Dynasty, often became tutors to children of the Zhou Dynasty and imparted the Shang traditions to them.  Confucius was one of the most creative to blend the Shang and Zhou traditions and advocated tolerance, just as the Jews, conquered by a series of states, while no longer able to preserve their territorial integrity, tried to preserve their cultural integrity as a weak people with strong neighbors.  Confucian learning was further developed in the hands of Confucius's students and later followers of Confucius, such as Mencius.  It does not consist of only one doctrine, but many strands of thought within the same doctrine, and different people emphasize different aspects. 3. The development of naturalistic visions of the world, Lao Zi, and Zhuang Zi, and the failure to develop a definitive transcendental being such as Jehovah in Judaism or Christianity. While Confucian learning was largely this worldly, not all Chinese thinkers adopted this approach.  Lao Zi(Tzu) and Zhuang Zi(Tzu) adopted different approaches to the understanding of the world and nature.  They developed a more metaphysical approach to nature.  But neither of them developed a definitive transcendental being such as Jehovah in Judaism or Christianity. 4. The introduction of Buddhism in China. Starting from around 200 B.C., Buddhism was introduced to China, although the height of Buddhist influence in China was around 600-700 A.D.  Buddhism has left an indelible impact on Chinese culture, including in the interpretation of Confucian learning.  Buddhism differed from Confucian learning in its metaphysical emphasis and call for abstention from this worldly activities. 5. The reinterpretation of Chinese (especially Confucian) learning in light of Buddhism and the development of Neo-Confucian learning. Starting from 800 A.D. and on, Chinese scholars tried to fight the metaphysical approach of Buddhism through a reassertion of Confucian learning.  But their very interpretation of Confucian learning was infused with Buddhist influences, leading to a more metaphysical approach to Confucian learning.  These new interpretations of Confucian learning, together, were called the Neo-Confucian schools of thought.