Hundred schools of thought
- Confucism
- Legalism
- Taoism
- Mohism
Qin dynasty’s failed attempt to lock in legalism
Han dynasty’s success in locking in Confucism
Highlights
Confucians focused on promoting self-cultivation and moral refinement. They thought that, if you made a lifelong commitment to self-improvement, you could transform spiritually into a sage.
Blue highlight | Location: 1,315 Confucians encouraged obedience to authority, respect for your parents, and partiality to your family, rulers, and state.
Blue highlight | Location: 1,316 Confucian legal principles punished wrong relationships: a son beating a father was a serious crime; a father beating a son was not.
Pink highlight | Location: 1,318 Legalism took a dim view of human nature, regarding people as innately wicked and selfish. It emphasised the necessity of heavy punishments to prevent wrongdoing and the political importance of a wealthy government and a powerful military.
Yellow highlight | Location: 1,322 Daoists believed that the Confucian attempt to control the world by promoting a rigid and unchanging set of social norms was foolhardy. They instead advocated spontaneous, noncoercive action that anticipates and responds to the ebb and flow of the world.
Blue highlight | Location: 1,328 Mohists argued that we should care about others just as much as we care for ourselves and that we should pursue whatever policies will produce the most benefit for all people.