Kongzi Vs Confucius Analysis

Improved Essays
In the East, particular within the great ancient Chinese civilizations, two very different kinds of point to view of being Human had come to flourish in the Chinese culture. Which till this very day influences the day by day tasks and challenges faced by many. On one side there is the world renowned teachings of Confucius (Kongzi) which talks of becoming the perfect society via men who become the perfect gentlemen that followed his teachings in his Analects. On the other side we have the life lessons and guides of another by the name of Laozi. Whose approach on life was drastically different compared to Kongzi’s perfect society, in which he preached the Dao (the way). The nonchalant approach of the Dao was simply and was shared with others by the Daodejing (also known as the Laozi). Although each of these views on what it means to be human has many differences, they both hold many similarities.
Confucianism is a NONTHEIST religion in which people act more ethical on decisions rather than metaphysical. The main goal was to develop the perfect gentlemen (junzi) through acts of moral cultivation. If a man had a guest
…show more content…
However, the Daodejing recognizes that it is possible to become an immortal through strict qi and dietary practice. These Daoist also believed that doing something to improve a situation usually ends up making matters worse than they were in the first place. Instead the method of the Dao was to be more like water or wuwei (actionless action), motionless and at the mercy of elements at all times “Water benefits all creatures but does not compete. It occupies the places people disdain and thus comes near to the Way” (Ebrey and Walthall, 2014, p30). For the Daoist, it was better to remain ignorant and not to interfere with events that comes your way. Oddly enough even though the goal is to help others, advocates of the Dao did not want kings to interfere with the lives of their

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In the year 517 B.C, a man named Laozi (Lao Tzu), a contributor of Taoism (Daoism), was born. Not a lot was known about his life, but it was known that he worked at the royal court during the Zhou dynasty. Because of the growing corruption in the palace, Laozi decided to leave, but before he left, Laozi left behind his will, widely recognized today as the Tao Te Ching. Throughout history, there has been a battle for China’s most dominant religion. The two contenders were Taoism and Confucianism.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Confucius’ mis-representation of the concept of chivalry portrays his lack of ethical understanding of the society around him. Certainly, Confucius’ and Lao Tzu’s ideologies have guided humanity’s roadmap since ancient history. Their long-lasting works have allowed people all over the world find the one truth that encompasses us all. The difference that promotes Lao Tzu’s teachings over Confucius, however, is the classification of people below or above us, the ultimate flaw in ethical…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Daodejing Themes

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Daodejing we read is the first book of two. This book focuses on the Way while the second book focuses on Virtue. In this first book there are thirty-seven chapters. Each chapter is its own lesson and contains a meaning separate and independent from the other chapters. The first book has some themes that each of these chapters fall under: the Dao, nothingness, non-desiring, nature as a model, wuwei-nonaction, and knowledge and value.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Origins of Daoism It is explained in three different theories listed below. Attitudinal Daoism I: Anarchism Attitudinal Daoism II: Authoritarian Intuitionism Pre-Laozi Daoist Theory…

    • 1970 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moral virtue and the purpose of life have been the theme of ancient philosophical writings and the center of life debates, with a diversity of perspectives that reflect time and culture. The earliest great thinkers include Kong Qiu 孔丘, who is more commonly referred to as Confucius; and Daoist sage, Lao Tzu 老子, commonly referred to as the Daodejing (Penny & Ryden, 2008). Here, intellect and logic combined to produce profound, guiding principles that have expanded beyond the Asian culture and remained as models of wisdom in disciplines of thought, behavior, and purpose throughout time. The Goudian Laozi, dated back to the fourth century, contained bamboo slips of texts from both Confucius and Dao (Allen et al 2000). Penny & Ryden’s (2005) translation of Laozi in Daodejing provides a simpler way to understand the classical language and the meaning of the context.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Later in the text Confucius also clarifies this difference of interpretation. “Those men occupy and enjoy themselves in what is outside the (common) ways, while I occupy and enjoy myself in what lies within those ways.” To put this quote in other worlds Confucius says that for Daoism following rituals and rules (ways of the world) aren’t important simply because they enjoy themselves in metaphysical (“formless condition of heaven and earth”) interpretation of the…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Lao-Tzu once mentioned that it is possible to understand the real Dao without leaving the house. It actually became a classical statement of Daoism. Confucianism was an attempt to release tension between a man and society, to strengthen a social-political system of China by improving it. Daoism, in its turn, worked out its own quite unique system of person’s cultural development. Confucianism was the elite doctrine of well-educated, intellectual stratum of society.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Zhuangzi Argument Analysis

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “I have heard Confucius say that the sage does not work at anything, does not pursue profit, does not dodge harm, does not enjoy being sought after, does not follow the Way…” (Zhuangzi, pg 41). It is apparent that Confucius is being critical of the Daoist sage, observing his actions as ineffective, or rather denying actions of the sage at all. With this small conversation the reader sees the way Confucius calls Daoism into question. He is critical of the way that the sages practice their religion, wanting more activity from them and, in some fashion, comparing it to his view of the world - that the purpose of life is right living and living meaningfully, playing an active role in the…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Confucius Vs Laozi

    • 1594 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In China's ancient culture, there were many schools of thought, but the most important two thoughts are Ru tradition from “The Analects” and Daoist School from “Tao Te Ching”, which were created by Confucius and Laozi. Confucius promotes a hierarchical and moral society based on propriety while Laozi promotes a classless and simple social life. Although they seem to be two contradictory propositions, they both claim to go back and rebuild the lost Golden Ages through the way. Confucius advocated going back to an ideal society where people followed propriety. This is shown in the text when Duke Jing of Qi asks Confucius about governing.…

    • 1594 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While analyzing the Tao-te-Ching, many major themes are apparent. From the inevitability of change to the importance of non-action, the Tao-te-Ching is truly full of life lessons that deserve extensive analysis; however, one of the most prevalent and recurring themes is balance and its importance. Throughout Cultural Perspectives, many authors have addressed this same theme. Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, Plato, and Saint Augustine have all discussed this important topic; however, Aristotle best complements and contrasts Lao Tzu’s Tao-te-Ching in his work Nichmachean Ethics. When comparing and contrasting these two texts, one can see that these two authors had very similar ideas on the concept of balance. When comparing the two texts’ thoughts…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Daoism Research Paper

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Daoism also known as Taoism is a religion-philosophical tradition and culture which bring an enormous influence to all over the world. Daoism was originally found in the Daodejing which was written by the first philosopher of Chinese Laozi, (Chinese name “Mater Lao” or Old Master) which gave explanation as to the reason of why the central writing of Daodejing was in Chinese. Laozi was well-known as a philosopher and he was worshipped by many Chinese as an imperial ancestor during the period of Tang dynasty up until recent age(Edward 2005). He was consider a central figure in Chinese history, culture and philosophy. Before the noticing of Laozi by SI Maqian, Laozi was also a historian, his wrote a book which has five thousands characters about his ideas of Dao (…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    During and following the Spring and Autumn period (771-481 BC) of ancient China, there was much debate and conversation about “the Way,” or Dao, and “virtue.” Although there were many different schools of thought that all taught different philosophies, according to Ge Zaoguang, most of them stemmed from similar core beliefs relating to Dao. One core belief that unites many of the schools of thought, and is an underlying concept of Confucianism, is “the concept of [a] universal order embracing both Man and Heaven,” and an overall concept of inherent order. Confucius taught that to follow “the Way” means to practice and cultivate goodness in every aspect of life. According to Confucius, there is one main thread running through all of his teachings.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Confucius would respond to Taoist’s ways of “simply letting things be,” by saying that as an individual, one must follow the rules based on how society portrays them, and to simply let humans learn how to be natural human beings on their own, through self-development and through the society as a whole. By doing this, Confucius believed that, “Each person should act with virtue in all social matters; family, community, state, and kingdom, to ensure order and unity.” Confucians believed in rituals/traditions and certain procedures were used for birth and death. Confucius argued that, “Not to teach a man who can be taught, is to waste a man; to teach a man who cannot be taught, is a waste of words. The wise will lose neither men nor words.”…

    • 179 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Introduction During the age of the Hundred Schools of Thought, a term coined for an era from 770 to 221 BCE of significant cultural and intellectual expansion in China, a time when philosophers and schools flourished, Mohism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism each wanted to make a claim as to how Chinese civilizations should run. Mohism was founded by Mo Tzu (470 – 391 BCE), a Chinese philosopher whose thoughts were driven by notions of utilitarianism, who also established the School of Mo (墨家, Mòjiā). Daoism was invented by Laozi (604 – 531 BCE), a Chines philosopher and writer, mostly known for his book, the Dao De Ching, who founded the School of the Way (道家, Dàojiā)— note that this paper will primarily be discussing the branch of Daoist philosophy (道家) risen from the teachings of Chuang Tzu (370 — 287 BCE). Confucianism was the child of Confucius (551 – 479 BCE), a political philosopher and educator who founded School of Scholars (儒家, Rújiā), sometimes referred to as the Ru School. Legalism was founded by Han Feizi (279–233 BCE), a Chinese philosopher who founded the School of Law (法家, Fǎjiā).…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The system of honor and filial piety played an important role in shaping young Dapeng’s life. Dapeng’s beliefs were rooted in the beliefs of Confucianisms where the “ system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct”. (AP World History). This system where parents were regarded as the highest admiration was Dapeng’s most important belief. Dapeng sought harmony from nature and from his relationships during a time of turmoil in Chinese history.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays