During the Spring and Autumn Period, why did the ruler's thought shift from the religious Tao of Heaven to the philosophical Humanity?

In the Spring and Autumn Period, the reason why the ruler's thought shifted from the religious heavenly way to the philosophical humane way can be explained from the following aspects:

1. Influence of social changes: The Spring and Autumn Period was an era full of changes, and the social structure underwent a great transformation. The original feudal system gradually disintegrated and social relations became more complex. This change made the rulers face more political, economic and social problems and need to find more suitable solutions.

2. The Rise of Confucianism: Confucianism came into prominence during the Spring and Autumn Period, proposing moral relationships among people and principles of governance. Confucianism emphasized the goodness of man's nature and the practice of cultivating one's moral character and ruling the country and the world to achieve social harmony and governance. The emergence of this ideology led rulers to focus on the needs and interests of people rather than relying solely on the heavenly principles of religion.

3. Competition among various schools of thought: A variety of philosophical schools emerged during the Spring and Autumn Period, such as Confucianism, Mohism, and Taoism. These schools of thought put forward different views and theories in exploring human existence and social governance. The rulers, when confronted with different schools of thought, began to think about how to better govern the country and solve social problems, and therefore turned to philosophical humanism.

4. Philosophical humanity also provided a wider range of ideological resources, and rulers could draw useful ideas from different schools of thought to form their own ideas and policies of governance. By thinking about human nature, moral behavior and social relations, rulers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of human society and the laws of its operation, and thus have a better grasp of social change and development.

Derivation of the Tao

The Tao is an important concept unique to the history of ancient Chinese thought. In traditional Chinese thought, there is no more localized thought that has had a greater impact on the Chinese people than the Confucian and Taoist schools represented by Confucius and Lao. Generally speaking Taoism predates Confucianism,? Confucianism aimed to explore the way of human relationships with a strong ethical outlook, while Taoism placed more emphasis on the way of nature?

The original meaning of Taoism has been gradually derived from many derivations in people's life practices, which are summarized as: purpose, law, rule, reason, and method. These universally meaningful and abstract cognitions are not achieved overnight, but? Through countless times in the process of life practice of previous generations and constantly thinking, groping and summarizing gradually generalized?