Chinese philosophy

Chinese philosophy, the thought of Chinese culture, from earliest times to the present. The keynote in Chinese philosophy is humanism: man and his society have occupied, if not monopolized, the attention of Chinese philosophers throughout the ages. Ethical and political discussions have overshadowed any metaphysical speculation. It must quickly be added, however, that this humanism does not imply any indifference to a supreme power or to Nature. Instead, the general conclusion represented in Chinese philosophy is that of the unity of man and heaven. This spirit of synthesis has characterized the entire history of Chinese philosophy.

Roots of Chinese humanism

During the transition from the Shang dynasty (17th–11th century bce) to the Zhou dynasty, China was changing from a tribal to a feudal society and from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. A new economy and a new society required new tools and new talents. The Shang people had prayed to their ancestors for the solution of their problems, but the Zhou people turned to man, though they honoured their ancestors no less than the Shang people did. Prayers for rain, for example, gradually gave place to irrigation. Man was in the ascendency. The Shang people had believed in Shangdi, the tribal “Lord,” who was the greatest ancestor and the supreme deity who protected them in battles, sanctioned their undertakings, and sent them rewards and punishments. During the Zhou, however, Shangdi was gradually supplanted by heaven (tian) as the supreme spiritual reality. Its anthropomorphic (or human-patterned) character decreased, and its wishes were now expressed not in unpredictable whims but in the mandate of heaven (tianming). This mandate was absolute and constant, beyond man’s control. In time, however, as man grew in importance, it was felt that rewards and punishments depended on man’s virtue (de), for “Heaven is always kind to the virtuous.” Thus, man’s virtue became the determining factor; man could now control his own destiny (ming). Religious sacrifices continued to play a great role in the lives of the people; the meaning of sacrifice, however, was changing from a magical to an ethical one—that is, from ways to placate spiritual beings to pure expressions of reverence. It was in this atmosphere that the so-called Hundred Schools (baijia) of thought emerged (6th–3rd century bce).

All of the Hundred Schools arose in response to practical conditions. Their philosophers were either government officials or scholars, traveling from one feudal state to another and offering ideas for social reform. Expressing their ideas in conversations, official documents, or short treatises, they set the pattern for later philosophers.

Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.

SIGN UP

" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">

Thank you for signing up!"

Back to homepage

By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

More From Britannica

Ethics: China

The existential character of Chinese philosophy has created the erroneous impression, however, that it is purely ethical and social and devoid of metaphysics. Though seemingly random and unsystematic, the philosophy of every school was the result of years of serious thinking and formed a coherent and logical whole. It was in each instance built on definite concepts about man and heaven, whether the latter was interpreted as the Supreme Being or simply as Nature.

Periods of development of Chinese philosophy

Historically, Chinese philosophy has gone through four periods: (1) the classical, (2) the neo-Daoist and Buddhist, (3) the neo-Confucian, and (4) the modern. In the classical period (6th–3rd century bce), the chief concepts were Dao (“the Way”), de (“virtue”), ren (“humanity,” “love”), yi (“righteousness”), tian (“heaven”), and yinyang (cosmic elements of tranquility and activity, or weakness and strength, respectively). Every school had its own Way, but the Way of Confucius (551–479 bce) and that of another traditional sage, Laozi (6th century bce), were the most prominent. To Confucius, Dao is the Way of man, the Way of ancient sage-kings, and the Way of virtue. To Laozi, however, Dao is the Way of nature. His concept was so unique that his school later came to be called the Daoist school. For all schools, Dao possesses the two aspects of yin and yang, the Dao endowed in man is his virtue, and the greatest virtues, especially for the Confucianists, are ren and yi. Clearly, some concepts are ethical and others metaphysical.

In the neo-Daoist and Buddhist period (3rd–9th century ce), there was a radical turn to strictly metaphysical concepts. Going beyond Laozi’s characterization of Dao as Nonbeing, the neo-Daoists concentrated on the question of whether Ultimate Reality is Being or Nonbeing and whether the principle (li) underlying a thing was universal or particular. Under their influence, early Chinese Buddhist philosophers directed their attention chiefly to Being and Nonbeing. Subsequently, Buddhist schools introduced from India were divided into corresponding categories, namely, schools of Being and schools of Nonbeing. The question of universality and particularity, or of one and many, led to the development of truly Chinese Buddhist schools, whose concern was the relationship between principle, which combines all things as one, and facts, which differentiate things into the many.

In the neo-Confucian period (11th–early 20th century), the influence of Buddhism and Daoism prompted Confucianism to find metaphysical and epistemological foundations for its ethics. Two basic concepts of neo-Confucianism are nature and principle—nature, especially human nature, because Confucianism was still primarily concerned with man, and principle because the neo-Confucianists rejected the Buddhist void and Daoist Nonbeing as negative and mystical, substituting their own metaphysical principle, li (“pattern”), the positive, concrete, and rational laws that form the universe and that are always good. According to neo-Confucianism’s greatest proponent, Zhu Xi (1130–1200), li is the principle or pattern that makes things what they are. Human nature is the li that is universal among all people. Coupled to this universal essence is qi (“vital breath,” “pneuma”), the particular material force that makes each person unique. Qi obscures human nature and its inherent goodness; therefore, metaphysical speculation, or inquiry into the laws of human nature and of the universe, is for the neo-Confucian the path of ethical conduct.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

It is interesting to note that these three periods represent a dialectical movement: the classical period was concerned chiefly with mundane problems; the neo-Daoist and Buddhist period was concerned with the transcendent; and the neo-Confucian period was a synthesis of the two.

The modern period (beginning in the 20th century), on the other hand, does not seem to conform to any previous pattern. Twentieth-century Chinese philosophy went from westernization, through a reconstruction of traditional philosophy, to the triumph of Marxism. In the second and third decades, the works of Darwin, Spencer, and others were translated, and the doctrines of Haeckel, Kropotkin, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Bergson, Eucken, Descartes, and James, in addition to Plato, Kant, and Hegel, were introduced, each with his special advocates. Later, Whitehead, Royce, Carnap, and others were promoted by earnest if small groups. This movement revealed to the Chinese new philosophical vistas in metaphysics, logic, and epistemology (theory of knowledge). The general tone was scientific, positivistic, and pragmatic. Of all Western systems, the most influential was pragmatism, introduced and promoted by Hu Shi (1891–1962), leader of the intellectual revolution of 1917. In the “polemic of science versus life” in the 1920s, leading Chinese intellectuals debated the question as to whether or not science could form the basis of a philosophy of life. The debate served to question the supremacy of Western philosophy, which, as understood by the Chinese, was regarded as essentially scientific as opposed to metaphysical.

In contemporary China, Marxism is the official philosophy. Marxist thought had been growing in China since the mid-1920s, and by the time of the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949, it had gone through Leninism to Maoism. The official ideology does not prohibit the study of traditional Chinese philosophy but has subjected it to critical evaluation and severe criticism. From 1957 on, many debates were carried on and many books and journals published. One topic of debate centred on the nature of the history of Chinese philosophy. Though there was no unanimity of opinion, the “correct” viewpoint was that the history of Chinese philosophy is but a part of the world history of philosophy and as such is a history of the struggle between materialism and idealism. The conflict between the theories of the original good and evil character of human nature, the opposition between principle and material force, the contradiction between Being and Nonbeing, and the conflict between names and actuality were given as evidence of this continuous struggle. As such, the history of Chinese philosophy is but the development of Marxism-Leninism in Chinese history. That part of China’s philosophical heritage that is materialistic and possesses a class nature must be continued and promoted.