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Home › Forums › Core Seminars › East Asia Origins to 1800, Spring 2022 › session 2 (4/4) - Early China, Chinese Philosophy
Ying Yu.
stubingRegister for the discussion session on Zoom here.
For this session, let's explore early East Asia. Where did East Asians come from? Where did their civilizations begin? What were the key characteristics of those early cultures? How were the societies organized? With regard to the most influential Chinese philosophies of the formative period, what problems did these schools of thought seek to address? What sorts of societies did they wish to build? What kinds of knowledge were most respected?
For early China, there are two readings and an outline below. The first is a collection of translated "oracle bones" texts. What did the Shang rulers hope to learn from heaven? The second is a teaching guide for Chinese philosophy. For our discussion, we'll start with a four-sided debate and each of you will need to speak in favor of one of the schools (Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism) and against the others. Please read the philosophy unit carefully and prepare to take a side. Come back here to see which school of thought you will need to represent. The questions on pages 46-47 of the curriculum unit are among those we'll take on in the debate.
Video #1: Early Chinese Philosophy
Required readings (pdf below) for origins to early empire:
Dube, Chinese philosophy (outline and curriculum unit)
Ebrey, Oracle Bones
"Peach Blossom Spring"
Optional readings:
Ebrey, Salt and Iron Debate
Video #2: Unification, Disunion and Reunification: Qin through Tang
Required readings (pdf below) for cosmopolitan China:
Ebrey, Attractions of the Capital
Optional readings:
Birch, Tang poetry
Ebrey, Zhu Xi disciples
clay dube
clay dubeHi Folks,
Here's the line up for our four sided debate. You can choose the "role" you play (scholar, official, merchant, soldier, farmer, carpenter), including your age, gender and family status. Try to make your comments as authentic as possible. That means as appropriate to the time period (so no phone references, etc.) and to your concerns and status in society as possible. No accents. Draw on the texts wherever it makes sense, including criticizing the ideas of opposing schools.
It's about 270 bce and there's disorder across the land. War and suffering are widespread. What is the source of the trouble? What should our government and society look like, what should it do? How do we get from where we are to where we want to be? What principles do we need to follow? What policies should we implement?
Confucian
Molly, Hannah, Jennifer M, Lingjing
Mohist
Heather, Angie, Brigette, Anatastia
Daoist
Yi, Langhong, Peggy, Xiaoyuan
Legalist
Jennifer K, Yan, Betsy, Ying
You can consult a variety of sources, but most of what you need is in Chinese philosophy unit.
Anastasia BrownWhen watching the lecture and reading the philosophy unit. I didn't know about the Mohist and now that I have read about them they seem more down to earth than the other philosophies. I teach to my 9th graders or used to before they changed our curriculum about the Eastern Philosophies and how the people reacted or engaged with them. My students often ask me if China still follows the Confucian way of thought. When looking at each of them I often ask which of the philosophies do my students agree with and more often than not a lot like Legalism. Surprising because they agree with the stringent way of the Emperor, but they also agree with Confucian with all the reciprocal of father to son, big brother to younger brother. I think especially in some cultures they see this familial relationship.
Molly Cowan-JohnsonI want to state from the beginning....I am not a philosophy fan of any kind. I find these Chinese philosophies easier to digest than some existentialism from other philosophies. I understand thoroughly that these were a reaction to the Warring States era and basically looking to answer the question “How do we create an orderly society?” So I understand the basis for these philosophies trying to tackle the idea of setting up an order to society. It explains why each of these deal with social setup, law, and order. I get the overall picture but I struggle with the finer interpretations and purposes with some of these.
Angela GranataI have always found Chinese Philosophy to be so interesting. Thanks to the resources review I have to say, I learned more so I can explain to my students not just differences but how to appreciate Ancient Philosophy and why we still need to have this history. I have taken my students through Augustine and Acquinas and well, I think Chinese Philosophy will be more interesting to them! I have had the privilege of learning Chinese philosophy from the late Dr. Shary Ratliff and one of my favorites was the School of "Mo" or Mohism. Most Chinese Philosophy can be summed up by saying it believes in a concern for all people and the virtues of Utilitarism (that which promotes happiness).....thank you Jeremy Bentham! Anyways, love this time period!
Jennifer MarquezI grew up in Catholic education from Kindergarten to 12th grade and it was around the age of 10 that I stopped agreeing with most of the basic principles of the Catholic faith. What has continued to fascinate me is how so many different dominant religions and philosophies have so many parallels between morals and social constructs of how people should live their lives. The Confucius philosophy of hierarchical relationships between people and the primary loyalty to a father figure is similar to the Catholic and Christian hierarchical relationships between people as well. Another comminality of the two philosophies is that Confucianism claims that human nature is basically good but when born a man's nature is evil and wants profit, and Catholicism claims that humans are born with original sin and that they have to go through baptism and repentance throughout their lives to be considered good.
Jennifer KapralI really enjoyed the overview of the expansiveness of the yin/yang. Especially as a millenial who was a teen in the 90s, I recall the yin and yang being extremely prolific in pop culture! Jewlery, t-shirts, etc.
Your question also makes me think about the "Pier 1" mass importation of South Asian and East Asian culture for home decor. This goes beyond Pier 1 and is in many high end home decor stores. The idea that a Westerner would buy a statue of a buddha, of Chinese gods and goddesses, and even a garden statue of Confucius without any sort of connection or knowledge of the culture and philosophy behind it is definitely reflective of values of consumerism and image over actual study and knowledge.
Hannah KleinI love bringing in Tangram puzzles to engage my students in inquiries around geometry and give them opportunities to develop their problem solving and collaboration skills. I've read this story to introduce tangrams to my students and I wonder what connections I could make to chinese philosophy. What is the origin of the tangram story and what school(s) of thought is it connected to?
https://tasks.illustrativemathematics.org/content-standards/tasks/1311
Hannah KleinWhat a silly idea! It is not my place to judge whether my dad did something bad. It is my place to honor him and follow his guidance. I respect his authority 100% and I'm sure there was a good reason for the choices he made.
Jennifer MarquezMencius states " A warped piece of wood must wait until it has been laid against the straightening board, steamed, and forced into shape before it can become straight; a piece of blunt metal must wait until it has been whetted on a grindstone before it can become sharp. Similarly, since man's nature is evil, it must wait for the instructions of a teacher before it can become upright, and for the guidance of ritual principles before it can become orderly. If men have no teachers to instruct them, they will be inclined towards evil and not upright; and if they have no ritual principles to guide them, they will be perverse and violent and lack order..."
My father who has shamed our family greatly has been issued an option in punishment. One he can choose a sentence of death, or two he can relinquish his rights to his personal belongings and family and live out the rest of his life in a monastery devoting himself to the teaching of Confusian Thought and never see our family again.
Yi Lian
Lingjing LuoI feel like the tamgram is align with the Taoism in some way that the opposite aspects of a unity and can be transformed into each other. The tamgram is composed of seven seperated pieces and the seven pieces can be put into one united shape.
Moreover, I read the attached article saying the tamgram is related to the natural philisophy in the Ancient Greek. The main idea is people are trying to use the known things to explain the unknown. It mirros the application of seven basic shapes to puzzle out unlimited shapes.
https://m.wenxuecity.com/book/?act=view&chapterID=5859549&bookID=60486129
Lingjing Luo
Yan TongI am impressed by the underlying wisdom of Yin-Yang. By digging further, I found out that "If you want something to weaken, you must first allow it to become strong. If you want something to be removed, you must first allow it to flourish. If you want to possess something, you must first give it away." Life is not easy. This theory shed light on my life when facing obstacles and failure.
Prepare by reading your school's section of the Philosophy Unit carefully. You should also at least skim the sections on your competing schools of thought.
For the debate, you and your schoolmates (fellow Confucians, Mohists, Daoists or Legalists) will need to argue in support of "your" school of thought and against those of others. Here are some of the questions we'll look at:
1. What is the basic nature of human beings?
2. Describe the organization and conduct of an ideal society. How is it organized? What are aims of the state and how do the people and the state interact? To whom do we owe loyalty?
3. What are the core components of education in that ideal society? How are people taught? What are they taught?
4. How can we move from the society we have to the ideal one? What is to be done?
As you prepare, try to answer the questions on pages 46-47 of the philosophy teaching guide for each of the schools.