Confucius believed that social order, harmony, and good government could be restored in China if society were organized around five basic relationships. What did the Legalists see as the key to restoring order?

Confucianism, the teachings of Confucius during 500 BC, has played an important role in forming Chinese character, behavior and way of living. (Eliot 2001; Guo 1995) Its primary purpose is to achieve harmony, the most important social value. Confucianism strongly emphsizes: Mercy.

Confucianism believes in ancestor worship and human-centered virtues for living a peaceful life. The golden rule of Confucianism is “Do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you.” There is debate over if Confucianism is a religion.

Confucius believed that to restore order, societies had to encourage certain virtues, such as loyalty, trustworthiness, and respecting your elders. He believed people were capable of attaining these and other virtues through education. By learning history, literature, and philosophy, people could gain insights.

The ruler’s main function in the Confucian state was to educate and transform the people. This was ideally accomplished not by legal regulation and coercion, but by personal rule, moral example, and mediation in disputes by the emperor and his officials.

The worldly concern of Confucianism rests upon the belief that human beings are fundamentally good, and teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor, especially self-cultivation and self-creation. Confucian thought focuses on the cultivation of virtue in a morally organised world.

The Five Classics (except for the Yi Jing) became the sole province of Confucianism. Other schools of thought created their own works. Confucius died in 479 B.C. Many years after his death, his students (or the students of his students) wrote down Confucius’ teachings in a book called the Lun Yu.

Key Takeaways: The Four Tenets of Confucianism

• The four tenets of Confucianism are Rites and Rituals, the Five Relations, Rectification of Names, and Ren.
• All rites and rituals are intentional acts of social unification.

In Confucianism man is the center of the universe: man cannot live alone, but with other human beings. For human beings, the ultimate goal is individual happiness. The necessary condition to achieve happiness is through peace.

The goal of Confucius was to bring peace and order to China. He lived during a time where Chinese kingdoms were fighting for control. Confucius believed that if people could behave correctly toward one another, peace would come. Confucius taught that people should know their place in life and society.

The ultimate goal Taoism is definitely to become a God! No matter if you are human, animals, or non-life stuff. The ultimate goal of each Taoist is to practise to become a God one day! To escape the painful reincarnation, and being a God for eternity!

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• Physical practices. Because Taoism doesn’t make a rigid division between body and spirit, it recognises that physical actions have a spiritual effect.
• Purity. Taoist texts teach the importance of keeping the body pure in order to ensure spiritual health.
• Meditation.
• Breathing.
• Energy flow.
• Martial arts.
• Diet.

Contemporary Taoism According to Master Wang, one version of the taoist diet includes bigu, veganism, as well as refraining from eating garlic, onion, or other alliums. Additionally, nightshades are avoided.

Lao Tsu

Today the deities are identified as: Yüan-shih t’ien-tsun (Original Beginning Heavenly Worthy), Ling-pao t’ien-tsun (Numinous Jewel Heavenly Worthy; also known as T’ai-shang tao-chün, or Grand Lord of the tao), and Tao-te t’ien-tsun (Tao and Its Power Heavenly Worthy; also known as T’ai-shang Lao-chün, or Grand Lord …

The first Pure One is universal or heavenly chi. The second Pure One is human plane chi, and the third Pure One is earth chi. Heavenly chi includes the chi or energy of all the planets, stars and constellations as well as the energy of God (the force of creation and universal love).