Confucianism vs Taoism

8/10/2019 Confucianism vs Taoism

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Chris Hart

Richard Trussel

RC220A

3 August 2007

The Concept of the Superior Man in Confucianism and Taoism

The concept of the Superior Man is presented in !oth Confucianism and

Taoism" #hile !oth religions share roots in earl$ Chinese !eliefs and ha%e some general&

!road themes in common the$ are also di%ergent in some !eliefs& customs and practices"

't is through this lens that ' (ill e)amine the idea of the Superior Man in !oth !elief

s$stems"

'n order to compare and contrast this concept& (e must first understand ho( each

religion defines a Superior Man" 'n Confucianism& this idea is presented in theAnalects

of Confucius& the first of four !oo*s la$ing out Confucian teachings" 'nAnalects& se%eral

%irtues are descri!ed through dialogue" The importance of learning is descri!ed in

Analects 1& 's it not pleasant to learn (ith a constant perse%erance+ ,ater& the

philosopher Tsang continues this theme !$ sa$ing that he e)amines himself on three

points& the third of (hich is (hether ' ha%e mastered and practiced the instructions of

m$ teacher"

'n the ne)t passage& the philosopher -u is .uoted/ e( are fond of offending

their superiors" ilialit$ and fraternal su!mission are the$ not the root of all

!ene%olent actions+ The Master continues this discussion inAnalects / A $outh& (hen

at home& should !e filial& and a(a$ from home should !e respectful to his elders"

#hen he has time and opportunit$ he should emplo$ 4his s*ills5 in the arts" Thus&


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this dense passage con%e$s the importance of respecting one6s famil$& elders and teachers

as (ell as the need to practice the arts"

Tsang responds to the Master later in the same passage that there should !e

careful attention to perform the funeral rites for parents& and let them !e follo(ed (hen

parents are long gone (ith ceremonies of sacrifice" 'n other (ords& the parentchild

relationship is so important it is not enough to respect one6s parents in life the$ must

also !e honored in and after death"

The foundation of the importance placed on relationships and respect (as that

personal e)cellence (as not a naturall$ emergent .ualit$ of societ$" 'nstead& each

indi%idual needed to ta*e care of others and themsel%es !$ li%ing %irtuousl$" A hierarch$

of relationships is defined in Confucianism and (ithin these hierarchies !oth the superior

and the su!ordinate ha%e a dut$" Through fulfillment of those duties& e%er$ indi%idual

ensures that e%er$one is cared for and that the societ$ is pleasant"

'n order to understand the Taoist concept of Superior Man one must first

understand the Tao" The !oo* Tao Te Chingis seen as the central scripture of Taoism"

8arado)icall$& the !oo* states that the Tao is !e$ond an$ description" 9onetheless& some

description is attempted in the !oo*& sa$ing that that Tao is formless" 't can !e

e)perienced !ut is not directl$ o!ser%a!le" All things that e)ist are manifestations of

the Tao" :espite this fact& the Tao is not a supreme !eing; in fact& it has no personalit$"

The Tao is essentiall$ nature& !ut e)ists at a deeper& eternal and completel$ unified le%el"

't is (ithin this conte)t that the Superior Man e)ists in Taoism" The Taoist

definition of the Superior Man is e)plained in the !oo* Chuang-tzu& named so after its

author" 'n !oo* 12& Changt


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Hea%enli*e" Conduct free from the am!ition of !eing distinguished a!o%e others is

(hat is called !eing generous" 'n other (ords& the actions of a Superior Man should !e

effortless"

Changt


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opportunities than others" The ?perhaps inad%ertent@ result of these realities is the

emergence of elitism"

Taoism challenges this elitism through the %alue it places on effortlessness" The

constant stri%ing promulgated in Confucianism is completel$ counter to this concept" 'n

fact& the Tao Te Ching addresses the matter directl$ in chapter 20/ i%e up learning& and

put an end to $our trou!les" This le%els the pla$ing field for e%er$one (hereas the

Confucian !elie%e ?(hether intentional or not@ gi%es preference to those (ho ha%e a

greater capa!ilit$ to pursue education"

Another distinction is (ith personal relationships" The hierarch$ in Confucianism

is intended to pro%ide structure to societ$" 'n doing so& it creates a form of relati%it$; this

distinction is counter to the singularit$ of the Tao" Such a distinction is artificial acting

in a (a$ that encourages such a distinction is counter the Tao and thus not the action of a

Superior Man in the Taoist !elief"

At root& the Taoists !elie%e that humans are essentiall$ (hat the$ should !e" The

onl$ o!ligation is to act in harmon$ (ith nature& and this naturall$ occurs through

effortless action" 'n Confucianism& humans are distinct from the rest of nature unli*e

other natural manifestations humans must (or* to(ards perfection"

'n some sense& the differences !et(een these t(o religions are complementar$"

Bie(ing them as $in and $ang (ith each ha%ing a shared foundation in earl$ Chinese

!eliefs& in some (a$ the$ can (or* together" Taoism reminds us of a common& natural

force that !inds us together" The effortlessness of our harmon$ (ith nature encourages a

(a$ of life that (or*s in concert (ith our surroundings"


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'n parallel to the Taoist practices& (e can follo( Confucian teachings of %irtuous

li%ing in societ$" The Superior Man in Confucius6 %ie( li%es in harmon$ (ith e%er$one

else& ensuring that (e care for each other" #hereas (e ma$ !e a!le to li%e in harmon$

(ith nature (ithout education& stri%ing to !etter oursel%es (ithin societ$ ma$ !e helpful"

'n particular& as Confucian thin*ing e%ol%es and more opportunities are afforded to

(omen and those (ith less economic means& a trul$ !etter societ$ ma$ emerge"

Com!ined (ith Taoism6s harmonious li%ing (ith nature& the (hole of these !eliefs ma$

!e more than the sum of the parts"

Confucianism vs Taoism

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