I've got a compare and contrast essay due tomorrow on the difference between the japanese and chinese religions confucianism and doaism. can anyone help me? I know what the religions are. but what are some things that they have in common? and things that separate them? This would be a great help. Thank you guys so much
It may be pronouced "dow-ism", but it's spelled Taoism, man. Google "differences between taoism and confucianism". I'm not going to do your homework for you but here are some notes from last year: Taoism and Confucianism share some superficial similarities, such as the fact that they both are ancient Chinese traditions, that followers of both systems have a book which lays out their respective philosophies, or that they both have one single founder. Studying Taoism may recall some aspects of Confucianism - like that of how both traditions lean closer to ethics than a religion. Beyond that, however, the two are truly different from each other. Taoism is a philosophy that deserves to be examined for its own worth." If you need some specific information, ask me.
It can be spelled both ways I think I am not asking you to do my homework, its just good insight for future reference because my teacher fails at teaching certain points of these subjects. What are some of the separating points between the two religions? If they were both practiced china, who practiced which? did the farmers and the peasants practice one while the higher classes practiced another? did it differentiate between certain areas of china?
I've studied the Tao a bit, from my understanding, it is more a theory of what goes on in the universe, vs. confusionism which is more of a way of doing things. A theory of how one should live.
If I remember correctly, Taoism is basically a belief in nothingness, Buddhism is a belief in transcending beyond the recurring cycle of life & death
Okay then, I would start off by saying that Confucianism and Taoism are both not truly religions - they lean towards ethics. However, Confucianism does deal with the subjects of God, heaven and the afterlife in that sense. My World Religions professor once pointed out that a person could hypothetically be a Buddhist, a Taoist and a Confucist all at once. Here are quick differences: Confucius has been proved to have been an actual person; Lao-tzu is thought to be fictional by some scholars. Confucius deals more with society and functioning in daily life; Taoism is literally about "the way" of the universe, of nature, and of ultimate reality. There are differing schools of thought in Taoism - basically, there are religious taoists and philosophical taoists. Some sects of Taoism try to preserve their energy, while others work to expand their reserves. Confucius' students complied some of his work into The Analects after his death. Lao-tzu is said to have written Tao Te Ching in 3 days before leaving society forever and traveling off on a water buffalo's back towards modern-day Tibet. Confucius did speak a little on the afterlife & god, and did express a belief in heaven and monotheism, however these subjects were not a primary concern of his. Taoism, as far as I know, speaks very little of the afterlife. Confucius accepted society and worked in politics in his younger days to try to change the violence and chaos that China existed under then - The Period of Warring States. Lao-tzu rejected society and worked outside of it. Confucius is regarded as a intellectual and "China's First Teacher". Confucius was fond of contrasting the acts of a superior person, or "Chun-tzu", with that of an inferior man. While the superior man represented the best of humanity, the inferior man acted selfishly, arrogantly and fearful. Confucianism also stressed The Doctrine of the Mean - a warning against both behaving over-indulgently and also against life as an ascetic. Confucius supposedly said that to go too far is as bad as to fall short. Lao-tzu is said to be the first libertarian, as shown in his suppoused writings. Confucius denied both the Realists and Mohists schools of though in China at the time - he did not belief that the violence in a society could be solved by either the rule of law as Realists suggested or by universal love or "chien ai" like Mohists believed. So they would have disagreed a little on solving society's issues. I don't know much about Confucianism and Taoism's early practitioners, but it can be said that Confucian's followers would be more people who are part of the "establishment", while Taoists might be more resistant to authority and power. It said that Confucius would be paid to teach higher class individuals, but it is known that he would teach a student who could not afford his teachings with for little or no money. So he would be open to teaching pretty much anyone. he often gave two different answers to the same question, depending on who asked the question. I hope that helps. If you have any more specific questions, I'll try to help out. This is all from memory of a class I took last semester.