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diff --git a/wroblewski-world/reading-notes/compile.tex b/wroblewski-world/reading-notes/compile.tex index e5d9108..96e790b 100644 --- a/wroblewski-world/reading-notes/compile.tex +++ b/wroblewski-world/reading-notes/compile.tex @@ -10,5 +10,6 @@ \file{day5.tex} \file{day6.tex} \file{day7.tex} +\file{day8.tex} \bye diff --git a/wroblewski-world/reading-notes/day8.tex b/wroblewski-world/reading-notes/day8.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9d15bae --- /dev/null +++ b/wroblewski-world/reading-notes/day8.tex @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +%August 21 +%78-79, Confucianism 82 (Textbook); https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bLpR7V3mFRsCDmSE51TAm4XTvLO4sWsK/view?usp=drive_open + +The Zhou dynasty defines a period of the same name. Between 1045 and 221 B.C.E., they maintained a line of kings longer than any other Chinese dynasty. Wen's (a vassal ruler imprisoned by Di of Shang---leading to his revolt) son Wu attacked the Shang capital and seized power. He justified his conquest to the people with the Mandate of Heaven. He claimed that the last Shang was corrupt, and the Zhou deity of Heaven (Tian) can give a new monarch authority if the new monarch protects his subjects' welfare. +\term{Mandate of Heaven}{Chinese religious and political ideology developed by the Zhou, according to which it was the prerogative of Heaven, the chief deity, to grant power to the ruler of China and to take that power if the ruler failed to conduct himself justly and in the best interests of his subjects} + +Like karma validated the Hindu Brahmins, this religiously validated the Chinese monarchy in Chinese philosophy and politics. The Mandate of Heaven allowed Zhou to set up a system similar to European feudalism---Wu distributed land to loyal relatives and allies, themselves distributing land to smaller vassal leaders (both at a profit). After Wu's death, a regent (the Duke of Zhou) took over in lieu of Wu's heir Cheng, but he returned the power when Cheng came of age. Confucius celebrated this act of selflessness. + +Confucius or Kong Fuzi was an aristocrat-born minister who yearned for a prestigious position on a court in China. However, his unwillingness to compromise his beliefs for politics prevented his success. Instead, he left an imprint on Chinese political thought, Confucianism. His disciples compiled Confucian teachings in the book {\it Analects}. + +Those teachings focused on individual's relationships and forming {\it junzi} (unbiased ``big picture'' thinkers) as government leaders. He also created a teaching style---reading Zhou literary, poetic, and historical works carefully analyzing their utility to his students looking to become administrators---which stayed mostly intact through the early twentieth century. This was coupled with his admonition to develop high ethical standards and high-quality judgement. + +Specifically, those qualities included {\it ren} (kindness and benevolence), {\it li} (basic courtesy and respect to elders and superiors), and {\it xiao} (filial piety or deference to one's ancestors). He thought these qualities were valuable because they would allow their practicioners to gain political power and lead (restabilize) China by example. + +Confucianism, as a general philosophy, lent itself to later development---which happened with Mencius and Xunzi. Mencius believed that humans were innately good, so he developed administrative policies reflecting trust in leaders to help the people. Xunzi, in the same era, worked as an administrator, allowing him to develop the belief that humans typically acted in self-interest, so social discipline (relying on {\it li} instead of {\it ren}) could affect people to be moral and solve political-social problems during the Period of the Warring States. +\term{Confucianism}{a group of political teachings designed to allow an individual to work for order and organization of society through three virtues---{\it ren}, good moral character compassionate and empathetic to other humans, {\it li}, socially normative courtesies and practices including respect to elders/superiors, and {\it xiao}, filial piety or deferenc and extreme respect to ancestors---believed to lead to social power and good moral character} + +Daoism is a more introspective philosophy in opposition to Confucian social practice. Instead of seeking to teach political success and morality, it's an effort to understand the forces which control the world. The central force was believed to be {\it dao}. Dao is a nebulous concept, not well-defined even by Daoists themselves. It is a passive force which acts harmoniously with other forces of nature, believed to govern the world. It extends this to human behavior---people should be passive and yielding, staying away from politics and the ambitious greed which necessarily follows. + +This doctrine of alignment with dao is {\it wuwei}, precisely why Daoism is so critical of Confucianism: anyone with political ambition must necessarily be over-invested in worldly affairs. +\term{Daoism}{an introspective apolitical philosophy teaching people to act in accordance with nature and its {\it dao}, a passive force between active element, through {\it wuwei}---the avoidance of Confucian extroversion and ambition in favor of small self-sufficient communities with minimal power hunger.} |