Comprehensive Guide to Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto Symbols and Virtues

Confucianism at a glance

Problem: social chaos; solution: social harmony; techniques: ren, li, and self-cultivation; exemplars: junzi and shengren.

Daoism at a glance

Problem: lifelessness; solution: flourishing and ziran (naturalness); techniques include meditation, breathing, visualization, and alchemy; exemplars are sages and immortals.

Shinto at a glance

Problem: kegare (impurity and imbalance); solution: purity and harmony with kami; techniques include tradition, nature, cleanliness, and matsuri; exemplars include kami and kannushi.

Confucian symbol

Wooden clapper bell.

Shinto symbol

Torii gate, marking the entrance to a sacred shrine area.

Daoist symbols

Yin-yang imagery represents complementary forces and their relationship.

Yin

Dark, feminine, cold aspect in Daoist cosmology; your Confucian notes associate yin with white.

Yang

Light, masculine, hot aspect in Daoist cosmology; your Confucian notes associate yang with black.

Qi

Vital energy or life force that can be cultivated.

Dao: Confucian understanding

The Way of social reality, moral conduct, and proper relationships.

Dao: Daoist understanding

The Way of the natural order and primal force underlying the universe.

Ru

Soft, gentle, and enduring; also means scholar or refined person.

Ren

Humaneness or benevolence; treating others with consideration.

Li

Ritual propriety, etiquette, customs, morals, and proper behavior; social glue that maintains harmony.

Xiao

Filial piety: honoring and caring for parents and ancestors.

Junzi

Exemplary person who cultivates virtue, acts rightly, and benefits others.

Shengren

Confucian sage; the highest form of authentic human being.

Zhenren

Daoist perfected or real person who lives in harmony with the Dao.

Tian

Heaven; source of moral order and the mandate of heaven.

Tianming

Mandate of Heaven; Heaven's authorization of a ruler.

Tianzi

Son of Heaven; title used for the Chinese ruler.

Ziran

Naturalness or spontaneity; allowing things to be as they naturally are.

Wu wei

Non-forcing or non-action; acting without selfish striving and in accordance with the Dao.

Flourishing

Thriving and living fully; the desired outcome of Daoist practice.

Animism

The belief that beings and objects can possess spirits or souls.

Shamanism

Religious practice involving mediation between the physical and spiritual worlds.

Kami

Spirits or sacred forces associated with nature, ancestors, heroes, places, and other phenomena.

Kegare

Impurity or pollution that disrupts Shinto purity and harmony.

Matsuri

Shinto festivals and rites honoring kami and ancestral spirits.

Kannushi

Shinto shrine priest who performs rituals.

Miko

Female assistant at a Shinto shrine.

Shintai

A sacred object or divine body through which a kami is represented.

Torii gate

Gate marking the transition into a sacred Shinto space.

Shinbutsu-shugo

The historical blending of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan.

Tao-Te-Ching / Daodejing

The foundational Daoist text traditionally attributed to Laozi; teaches the Dao, virtue, naturalness, and wu wei.

Analects

Collection of sayings and anecdotes of Confucius recorded by his students.

The Book of Changes / I Ching

One of the Five Confucian Classics; used for divination and interpreted as a philosophical representation of the cosmos.

Five Official Religions in China

Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism.

Confucius / Kongzi

Chinese teacher and founder of Confucianism; lived 551-479 BCE during the Zhou Dynasty.

Why did Confucius teach?

He lived during social disorder and sought to restore harmony through moral education and proper relationships.

What does Kongzi mean?

Master Kong.

What does Laozi mean?

The Old Master.

Confucius's years on the road

He left government service in his early 50s, traveled for about 13 years, then returned to Lu to teach.

Confucius's attitude toward originality

He claimed to transmit the wisdom of ancient sages rather than invent an entirely new teaching.

Analects' central focus

The junzi, social and political philosophy, education, and moral conduct.

Does the Analects focus on gods and worship?

No; it mainly focuses on human relationships, ethics, education, and government, although Tian is mentioned.

The Five Confucian Virtues

Ren (humaneness), righteousness, li (ritual propriety), wisdom, and integrity.

Ren: Confucius's central teaching

Humaneness or benevolence; do not impose on others what you would not want imposed on yourself.

Li: why is it important?

It governs rituals, etiquette, customs, and proper behavior, helping hold society together.

Xiao (filial piety)

Children honor and care for parents as they age; the family is the basic unit of society.

The Five Relationships

Father-son; elder brother-younger brother; husband-wife; older friend-younger friend; ruler-subject.

Purpose of the Five Relationships

Responsibilities and appropriate roles create social order, security, and harmony.

Differentiated love

Love those closest to you more than those farther away; obligations vary with the relationship.

Three characteristics of the junzi

Manifests virtue for the people's benefit; earns respect through respectful conduct; observes right social and religious forms.

The Five Confucian Classics

Book of Changes (I Ching); Book of Odes; Book of History/Documents; Classics of Rites; Spring and Autumn Annals.

Book of Odes / Shih Ching

One of the Five Confucian Classics.

Book of History / Shu Ching

One of the Five Confucian Classics; also called the Book of Documents.

Classics of Rites / Li Chi

One of the Five Confucian Classics.

Spring and Autumn Annals

One of the Five Confucian Classics; associated with historical records of the state of Lu.

Mencius / Mengzi

Confucian thinker who argued that human nature tends toward goodness.

Xunzi

Confucian thinker who argued that human nature tends toward evil and needs discipline and learning.

Mencius versus Xunzi

Both valued learning, ren, and li; they disagreed over whether human nature is originally good or evil.

Flourishing in Mencius's thought

Human goodness can develop when people are nurtured in favorable conditions, like plants in fertile soil.

Qin Dynasty and Confucianism

The Legalist Qin regime persecuted Confucians; books were burned and scholars targeted.

Han Dynasty and Confucianism

The Han Dynasty was more supportive of Confucianism; Buddhism also entered China during this period.

When did Confucianism become dominant in China?

After later periods of political division, it became dominant for roughly a thousand years, especially under the Song and later dynasties.

Neo-Confucianism / Daoxue

A movement developing around the 11th century CE that expanded Confucian metaphysics and self-cultivation, partly responding to Buddhism.

Neo-Confucian self-cultivation

A structured effort to become a sage by realizing and developing one's original human goodness.

Jing zuo

Quiet sitting; quiets discursive thought to realize one's original human goodness, rather than Buddhist emptiness.

Two additional Confucian texts

The Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean.

Confucianism and government

From 141 BCE, Emperor Wu promoted Confucianism in government; civil service candidates studied the classics.

Confucian civil service examinations

Examinations based on Confucian classics helped select government officials; the system ended in 1905.

Confucianism among ordinary people

Filial obligations, schooling, patrilineal families, ancestral offerings, home altars, and lineage temples.

Confucian life-cycle rituals

Infancy, education, capping and pinning, weddings, funerals (xiong li), and ancestral rites (ji si).

1905

Confucian civil service examinations ended.

1911

The Qing Dynasty fell.

1912

The Republic of China was established.

1949

The People's Republic of China was founded under Communist rule; five official religions were recognized.

Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)

A campaign under Mao that attacked traditional culture and Confucianism, including the slogan to annihilate the Kong family legacy.

Confucian revival after Mao

Mao died in 1976; reform under Deng Xiaoping and renewed interest brought Confucius back into schools and public life.

2008 Beijing Olympics and Confucianism

The Analects were publicly chanted, symbolizing renewed interest in Confucian heritage.

New Confucianism

A modern movement seeking to preserve Confucianism while incorporating useful influences from the modern world.

Tu Weiming's three Confucian epochs

Classical Confucianism; Neo-Confucianism; New Confucianism.

Tu Weiming on modernity

Values aspects of the Enlightenment while criticizing European chauvinism, capitalism, and politicized Confucianism.

Confucianism's women problem

Women are rarely mentioned in the Analects; traditional Confucian hierarchies often gave women subordinate roles.

Roger Ames on women

Associated with a "separate but equal" approach, with men in public life and women in private life.

Alice Hu on women

Argues that "separate but equal" is insufficient and Confucianism itself needs to change.

New Confucian feminism

The effort to develop an authentically Confucian feminism rather than simply preserve traditional gender roles.

Confucianism today

Has a small self-identified following but continues to influence Chinese ethics, family life, education, and culture across East Asia.

Dao Chia

Philosophical Daoism, emphasizing the Dao, naturalness, spontaneity, and harmony with the natural order.

Dao Chiao

Religious Daoism, emphasizing ritual, deities, immortality, morality, and religious practice.

Laozi / Lao Tzu

Traditional founder of Daoism; the historicity of the figure is uncertain. His name means "Old Master."

Zhuangzi / Chuang Tzu

Daoist thinker of the late fourth century BCE; emphasized freedom, individuality, and questioning conventional distinctions.

The Six Schools of ancient Chinese philosophy

Yin-Yang, Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism, School of Names, and Daoism.

What is the Dao?

An everlasting, formless principle beyond definition that directs the transformation of all things.

Does Daoism have a creator god?

No; the universe emerges from the Dao rather than being created by a supreme creator.

Dao and harmony

Harmony follows alignment with the Dao; disorder arises when the Dao is neglected.

Daodejing's authorship

Traditionally attributed to Laozi, although its authorship and historical development are uncertain.

Daodejing's structure

81 chapters: traditionally 37 associated with the Dao and 42 with virtue.

Daodejing's main teachings

Naturalness, spontaneity, virtue, and wu wei.