Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, what is this? What is the difference?

Many people are fascinated by Chinese studies because it is the most traditional culture of the Chinese nation. Sinology covers a wide range of contents, including historical philosophy, human geography, art and music, and even medical astrological architecture. What we are talking about today is actually a general term for China's ancient theories.

However, when some people mention Chinese studies, they use Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism to summarize them. In fact, the "Buddha" in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism is not orthodox China culture, because Buddhism belongs to foreign culture, and Buddhism is classified as a national study because it has a history of nearly two thousand years in China and has a great influence on China culture.

The real representative of local culture should belong to Confucianism, France and Taoism, that is, Confucianism, France and Taoism. You may be familiar with Confucianism and Taoism. In fact, the role and influence of Legalists in history is no less than that of Confucianism and Taoism. It can be said that legalist thought has been affecting our lives until today.

Although Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are cultural genes engraved in the bones of China people, there are still many people who don't understand what Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are and what is the difference, so let's discuss this issue today.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, various schools of thought emerged during this period. Throughout the five thousand years, why is there only the big bang in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period? This is because at that time, the society was in a rare era of great change, and the ceremony collapsed and the princes competed for hegemony. The land of China was divided and the war continued. The most familiar five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Seven Heroes in the Warring States Period were the representatives at that time.

But the real situation is not only five tyrants and seven chivalrous men, but dozens or even hundreds of princes, large and small. In this long period of turmoil, both the people and the nobility actually want to achieve peace as soon as possible, and there is only one way to achieve peace, that is, a super strong will defeat other opponents and then unify the whole country, so that there will be real peace.

As a result, all families are desperately studying how to make themselves strong and how to defeat other forces. Some of these methods are useless, eliminated, and some are useful, recorded and spread. Representatives also actively lobbied around, eventually forming a "hundred schools of thought contend".

The so-called schools of thought contend, in the final analysis, is essentially to study how to win in the life-and-death struggle. Professionally speaking, it is called the idea or proposition of how to govern the country, which is the origin of "a hundred schools of thought contend".

The background of the contention of a hundred schools of thought is mainly "the ritual collapses and the music is bad", which means that the feudal ethics and system have been greatly destroyed, everyone no longer abides by the rules, and all traditional things have been challenged as never before, so the social order has become serious and the wheel of history has entered a turbulent era of great change.

In order to solve this situation, there are three ways before people. The first way is to continue to adhere to the traditional line and restore the ritual system; The second way is to completely abandon tradition and find another way; The third way, it doesn't matter if tradition is not traditional, as long as everyone lives their own lives.

These three choices have created Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism. Confucianism advocates retro tradition; Legalists advocate change and subvert tradition; Taoism holds that once we are born, everyone will stop and everything will be fine naturally.

Confucius, the sage of Confucianism, traveled around the world with his retro theory, trying to find a better job, but his ethical road of three cardinal guides and five permanents was neglected in troubled times, because there was a life-and-death struggle in the world, how could he have time to talk about these elegant manners and truths? Therefore, after Confucius traveled around the world, he was deeply hit and very disappointed.

The representative of Legalism is Han Feizi. In the eyes of legalists, Confucianism is like a bookworm. If you want to manage troubled times, you have to use "law" instead of "ceremony". Times have changed, and society needs innovation. Wei took the lead in reform and soon became a powerful country, so everyone followed suit. For a time, Shang Yang, Wu Qi, Shen Buhai and others all became hot talents.

The Taoists looked on coldly. They think it's really funny that you fight. The world is so big, why are you fighting? Taoism takes a detached attitude towards problems. They think that the world is already good, and you have to make some traditions or reforms before it becomes a mess. Therefore, Taoism advocates natural inaction.

Later, after a period of verification, by the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, China had completed reunification and moved towards a period of peaceful and stable development. Confucianism, which pays attention to tradition and etiquette, re-entered the historical stage. Dong Zhongshu "ousted a hundred schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone", and Confucianism has since shined brilliantly.

Please note, however, that Legalism has not declined, because since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, all previous dynasties have ruled the world by the way of "Confucianism outside and Legalism inside", and the general public has been influenced by Confucianism to abide by the ethics of the Three Cardinals and the Five Permanent Principles, and the court has also ruled behind the scenes by the means of legalists, while Taoism is indifferent to people and animals, so monarchs in all previous dynasties have also allowed them to develop freely. The above is a simple exposition of Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism, which may not be right, but it should be regarded as a brick and a jade. Welcome to leave a message to discuss criticism and correct me!