Comparison On The Philosophy Of Confucian And Taoist In The Pre Qin

The source of Chinese culture is made of the philosophy of Confucian and Taoist in the pre Qin Period.Since then,Chinese culture has been dominated by Confucianism and Taoism,and the study to the interrelationship between Confucianism and Taoism is on going.The words,generally speaking,"homologous varies flow,different routes to the same",can sum up it.This paper attempts to demonstrate the differences and the same in the two philosophy sects through analyze the six key terms,"Tao","Virtues","Benevolence","Righteousness","Manners","Interest",in detail,which construct the philosophy system of Confucian and Taoist basically.This paper argues that the Confucian philosophy is popular among the class of superior man,elite and the people who pursue to being the official in feudal China.Its system of philosophy can be summarized as a kind of Metaphysics based on the structure that "Interest" as its philosophical starting,"Manner" as its external form;"Benevolence and Righteousness" as the source of the nature of human-being,"Tao and Virtue" as the metaphysical basis,which both serve to "Interest".In according with the primary principles of "Manner","benevolence and Righteousness","Tao and Virtue",they will maximize the interest among people,families and countries,and ultimately beyond the utilitarian,to achieve world with harmony and unity that once existed in the early ancient China.The Taoist philosophy is popular in the elite who penetrated the knowledge of"Manner","Benevolence and Righteousness","Intelligence","Tao and Virtue" with depth.Therefore,the main way of philosophy of Lao-tzu is to "abolish knowledge and wisdom",to "abolish duty and justice" and to "abolish artifice and profit",then return to "Tao",which is also the basic structure of the Taoism.Nevertheless,the"abolish" in Taoism is not so-called "give up" in the sense of simply,but a kind of"abandon" that achieved the intelligence completely,also similar to a kind of extension and upgrade that achieved the natural characters of existence.Therefore,the Taoism philosophy is in the way of critic and beyond the reality.By contrast the ideals of two sects,this paper argues that the starting point and final destination are same in the philosophy of Confucianism and Taoism in the pre Qin period.They both stem from self-reflection on the society that time,and contribute to the goal of return to "Tao".Yet they choose the seemingly opposite roads for their different audiences.Confucian who emphasis on "to knowledge" is "the follower of knowledge learns as much as he can every day;Taoism advocates who emphasis on "to Tao" is "the follower of the Way forgets as much as he can every day." However,the interrelationship between "to knowledge" and "to Tao" is not opposite thoroughly.Among them,"to knowledge" is the basis of "to Tao",and it is impassible to access "Tao" without "knowledge";"to Tao" is deeper and higher than"to knowledge",and it is impossible to return to the great "Tao" without "to Tao".So they are mutual depend on and interact with each other.