Compare and Contrast Essay on Confucianism and Taoism

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China has a diversity of religions. But the main religions are Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

Buddhism:

Buddhism was brought into China 2,000 years ago. It was widely accepted by most Chinese people. Eventually, it spread into three sections: Han, Tibetan, and Southern Buddhism. It influenced three main aspects of local culture: literature, art, and ideology. 185 million people believe in Buddhism. Buddhism is one of the most important religions in China. In mainland China, there are about 13,000 temples, and about 180 monks and nuns. Buddhism has maintained its education. There are 34 different levels of Buddhist academies, and,b 50 magazines can be found in the Buddhism Association of China.

Taoism:

Taoism has been around for more than 1,8000 years. It originated in the Warring Period. There are about 300 Taoist Temples scattered throughout China. 12 million people are Taoists, but more than 100 million have participated in Taoist activities. There are about 5 Taoism schools. Taoism has influenced culture, especially medicine, and literature. For instance, during the Han Dynasty, Sun Somiao and other doctors created different kinds of medical prescriptions. As for literature, a lot of the fictional characters they create are related to Taoism, such as the Jade Emperor. Besides mainland China, Taoists also live in Hong Kong and Macau.

Confucianism:

Confucianism was a philosophical and ethical system, which developed from Confucius’s thoughts. This later became a way of educating common people. It became the ideology of society after it remained stable under the reign of Emperor Wing during the Han Dynasty.

According to the Four Books and Five Classics, the principles and traditions of Confucianism played an important role in people’s way of thinking patterns and teaching methods. You can find a lot of Confucius temples in China. These temples are used for candidates to take important exams. They would also hang red wooden plates with lucky words, in hopes to get high marks and a good future.

In their leisure time, Chinese people would entertain themselves with music, tea drinking, talking with friends, and smoking. Gambling and opium were also brought by Europeans. During the 1860s, Chinese Opera and acrobatic troupes would tour the Victorian goldfields. Large crowds would gather to watch. In the Chinese camp in Cooktown in 1877, large crowds would also gather to listen to music, in a hall that was used for the purpose.

Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism are sometimes called philosophies rather than religions What is your opinion based on historical evidence?

Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism establish the core of conventional Chinese values. In history, the relationship between the three philosophies has been riddled with both complementations together with disagreements with the doctrine of Confucianism taking center stage. The creator of Confucianism Confucius (551-479 B.C.) accentuates the idea of love or kindness, together with customary observances, denoting reverence for the principle of social differentiation. Confucius placed predominance on education and was a revolutionary supporter of private schools. He is predominantly well-known for instructing his students based on their intellectual predispositions. His pearls of wisdom were well along documented by his apprentices in ‘The Analects.’ One of his chief exponents Mencius advocated a course of action of the benevolent administration and thinking that human beings are upright by nature. Confucianism turned out to be the conventional philosophy in old-fashioned China and, in large part of its history; it anchored its tenets on Buddhism and Taoism. Confucianism had advanced by the end of the 12th century into firm thinking that demanded the devotees preserve heavenly commandments and suppress human yearnings.

Lao Zi was the founder of Taoism in the sixth century B.C. His famous writing is found in his work of art ‘The Classic of the Virtue of the Tao.’ In it, Tao posits the dialectical thinking of not taking any action. His exponents established a doctrine demanding utter freedom of the individual mind. Taoism has momentously swayed many Chinese philosophers, artists, and writers. Buddhism was created by an individual called Sakyamuni in Asia in about the 6th century B.C. The philosophy comes from religion believes that the life of a human being is forever despondent and divine deliverance is the prime objective to pursue. The philosophy was familiarized in China from India via Central Asia about the time Christ was born.

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