China Philosophy

1. China’s philosophy plays an important role in China’s culture system. In the western culture, religion plays the dominant part, while in China; the religionary function is mainly replaced by philosophy.   

2. The germination of China’s traditional philosophy revealed in the period of Shang and Zhou Dynasties. In the early period of Western Zhou Dynasty, the five-element theory appeared, and in this theory, metal, wood, water, fire and earth were considered as the five basic elements to form this world. 

3. Zhouyi is a divination book. This book is the integration of original religion, original philosophy and social custom at that time. The natural phenomena and social relations were both shown in the Eight Diagrams---an extremely mysterious book in the field of immortality and auspiciousness prediction.  

4. The Eight Diagrams means: Qian( heaven ), Kun( earth ), Kan(water), Li( fire ), Gen( mountain or hill), Dui(swamp), Zhen(thundering), Xun(wind).

5. Four thought resources and thought traditions: original Confucianism, original Taoism and Chinese-style Buddhism as well as Neo-Confucianism of Song and Ming dynasties.    

6. The Five Classics mean: Classic of Changes, Classic of Poetry, Classic of Rites, Classic of Books and Spring and Autumn Annals.

7. The four Books mean: Great Learning, Doctrine of the Means, Analects of Confucius and the Mencius.  

8. The essence of original Confucianism: the root spirit of creation, the root sensation to human and universe, and the spirit of the means shown in sky-high sagaciousness, namely expressing the greatness in commonness and showing ideality in reality.  

9. The essence of Confucianism is benevolence. Benevolence is the root to be a human.  

10. The conception of Taoism: Tao is an ultimate and realistic conception. Tao is the Tao, but not a common one. The things are things but not the average ones.

11. The localized Buddhism was generally divided into three parts, namely, Taintai Branch, Huayan Branch, and Zen Branch.  

12. The Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties is the new integration between three resources of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The body of this theory is Confucianism, mixed with Taoism and Confucianism and eventually formed the Qi theory and moral metaphysics system centralized with Heart and nature. 

13. Zhuxi was the greatest master of the Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties, and he thought of reason (Li) was the essential regulations of human.             

14. Wang Yangming was the greatest master of heart study of the Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties. The integration of understanding and practice was a characteristic study. 

15. The universe of China’s philosophy means the infinite time and space as well as all they include. 

16. The relationship between nature and human is the harmonious integration between human and nature.  

17. Human in China’s philosophical system was considered as the most-important element among the heaven, earth and human. 

18. Feeling theory is another characteristic of Chinese people’s life philosophy. Such a theory is a spiritual condition of the extreme pursuit for ideal selfhood in China’s philosophy. 

19. Three conditions are basically needed for China’s philosophical formation: Semi-enclosed areas of the mainland, agricultural economic structure and authoritarian and patriarchal social structure. The existence system and relative ethic-style traditional culture of China are both appeared along with. 

20. Morality culture means Chinese culture emphasizes the importance of morality in personal cultivation and social improvement. While in the western community, it emphasizes the intelligence lying on the western religion and philosophy. 

21. The ethical characteristics of China’s Culture are expressed: the ethical view-point was thoroughly extended towards the universe.

22. The ethical features of China’s culture mainly originated from the perfection of China’s ancient social patriarchal clan system and influence, as well as the long-standing impact. 

23. Ethical morality academics are the first core of China’s learning and study.

24. The positive role of China’s ethical culture is to highlight the equality among people in morality and encourage the people to take more notice of the moral cultivation. 

25. Mencius thought that each man could be sage like the ancient saints and Wang Yangming considered the commoners could be sage through self-cultivation.  

26. The general features of China’s culture are ethical style. Besides there are also more like below: powerful vitality and utility, sense of pragmaticism and stability from agricultural culture, collectivistic culture of patriarchal clan system, the political culture harmonized with respecting lord and emphasizing people, breakaway from life faith of divinity arbitrariness, academic liability of paying more attention to interpersonal relationships and neglecting the nature, and the five classics are enjoying the top priority in the cultural region.

27. The vitality of China’s culture expressed in its assimilation, amalgamation, continuity and coherence. The nationalization of Buddhism is the typical example to show this essence. Meanwhile, China’s culture is based on Han culture and absorbs the cultures of other ethnics  

28. Agglomeration of China’s culture specifically releases in self-identity and boundary-crossing adscription sensation.  

29. Assimilation and synchronization of China’s culture are based on its incomparable life continuity. 

30. China’s culture strictly is an agricultural culture. The dominant and ruling power of whole cultural material basis is the agriculture operating on economic track.  

31. Mencius think that there are four ends for benevolence: heart of compassion, heart of shaming and badness, heart of self-effacement and heart of right and wrong, and four moral characters are formed, that is benevolence, politeness, righteousness and cuteness.