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China has had many schools of philosophy in its history, especially in the Warring States Period, when the proper way of governing the people was put into question. Two of these schools stand out, and have become important religions, the religions of Confucianism and Taoism. These religions stand out from typical Western religions in that they concentrate on the people instead of Heaven and the Gods. Confucianism and Taoism could be seen as completely opposite in their ideologies, and the way to develop into a proper human being. However, there is one paradigm to which both religions relate, this being music. This paper discusses this paradigm, and how they are similar in the religions of Confucianism and Taoism, but also how they differ. We will begin by shortly describing each religion’s main ideologies, starting with Confucianism. This religion is believed to have been started by a man named Kung Fu-tzu (Confucius) in the 4th century BCE. He travelled around for around 13 years with his disciples, teaching anyone who would listen his philosophy, and visiting royalty to give them advice on rulership. The Analects might have been written by his disciples during a long period of time. Confucius’ main ideas revolved around appropriate moral behaviour, through ritual. Confucius also speaks of the Tao, or Way, which “covers the sum total of truths about the Universe and man” (Lau, 1979). The way is often defined in relative terms, such as “the Way of the Emperor”. It is a “highly emotive term and comes very close to the term “Truth”(Lau, 1979). The Tao could be transmitted from teacher to disciple. Next to Tao, there was also Te, or virtue. This is defined as “an endowment men get from Heaven” (Lau,1979). It is something that one cultivates, and it enables one to govern a state well. To be defined as a gentleman according to Confucius, a man needs to have a number of virtues, which are benevolence, wisdom and courage. To sum this all up, Confucius is stated as saying: “ The gentleman has morality as his basic stuff and by observing the rites puts it into practice, by being modest gives it expression, and by being trustworthy in word brings it to completion. Such is a gentleman indeed!” (Analects XV, 18). A proper ruler would rule through wu-wei, or non-action. Because the ruler always performed the right rituals, they became so natural that you do not need to do anything else than the ritual to accomplish an action.
Approximate Word count = 1580
Approximate Pages = 6.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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