What are the three mainstream thoughts in ancient China?

Confucianism, the most representative thought of China in ancient times, has been affecting everyone's life until now. In addition, Laozi's Taoist thought and foreign Buddhist thought also have a far-reaching impact on everyone.

first, Confucianism.

The only thought that didn't form a religion but had a profound influence on everyone in China, China people respected Confucius as the most holy teacher, and the Confucianism he founded went deep into everyone's bone marrow.

The essence of Confucianism lies in the word "benevolence", which means both benevolence and morality, and represents the attitude of being a man and doing things.

Of course, when we talk about Confucianism, we have to mention another representative of Confucianism, that is Mencius. Although Mencius and Confucius have never met at all, later generations agree that Mencius is the successor and developer of Confucius' thought, especially the emergence of Mencius, the Confucian school will be more perfect.

second, Taoist thought.

Laozi, the founder of Taoism, surnamed Li Minger, was a thinker at the same time as Confucius.

the essence of Taoist thought is that Taoism is natural, doing nothing, and living in harmony with nature. In fact, many scholars in ancient China were influenced by Taoist thought. "If you are rich, you can help the world, and if you are poor, you can be immune to it." Among them, Taoist thought is influencing.

With the development of history, part of Taoist thought has penetrated into everyone's life, while the other part has been deified by people and turned into a religious belief. Up to now, the founder of Taoism is actually Laozi. Although Taoist immortals can list a lot, the core is still in Laozi's place.

third, Buddhist thought.

It is well known that Buddhism was introduced from India. However, Buddhism was localized by generations of China people in the process of spreading in China, and basically became a religious belief of China people.

The representative spirit of Buddhist thought should be to do good. Zen master Bird's Nest put these three words into sixteen words in an easy-to-understand way: all evils should be avoided, all good should be pursued, and self-purification should be all Buddhism.

To put it simply, Buddhism draws a blueprint for people, so that people can do good deeds and bear good fruits in this life, and then people can be happy in the next life.

In fact, there were many schools of thought in ancient China. In addition to these three mainstream schools, there were Mohism and Legalism, especially the flourishing situation in which a hundred schools of thought contended during the Warring States Period. At that time, it was really a collision of various schools of thought, which made people dizzying. It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that Confucianism gained the upper hand.

After thousands of years, China people's thoughts were occupied by Confucianism. However, in fact, the school of thought has not completely disappeared, or it has influenced everyone more or less.