Research Of The Ideal Personality Of Pre-Qin Confucian And Taoism And Its Modern Inspiration

The issue of ideal personality has been one of the major concerns of traditional Chinese philosophies about life. In the era of"a hundred schools of thought contending", the various philosophical schools in the age of Pre-Qin have their different views on the ideal personality, especially the Confucianism and the Taoism which express their systematic ideas about ideal personality. Although there are some differences, the ideal personality patterns of the two schools are closely related and complementary. They have worked together to shape the spiritual world of Chinese people and to form the characteristic Chinese culture of"Confucian and Taoist complement".This paper focuses on the systematic study of the Confucian and Taoist thought about the ideal personality, the nature of"Confucian and Taoist complement"and the contemporary value of the two schools'ideal personality pattern. Based on some historical data and the classical works of Confucianism and Taoism, the paper uses comparative analysis and combines the logic and historical study method to make a thorough survey on the origin and changes of the ideal personality thought in these two schools. Dividing the different phases about their occurrence and development, the paper explores and explicates the primary implication of the two schools'thought on ideal personality and discusses their respective reasonableness and limitations. On the basis of the discussion, the paper distinguishes the similarities and differences between the ideal personality thinking of the two school, reveals their respective philosophical basis and explicates the necessity and the theoretical basis for the complement of Confucianism and Taoism. Finally, the paper discusses the contemporary value of Pre-Qin ideal personality ideas, based on the criteria of ideal personality at present. The study shows that the socialist concept of honor and disgrace put forth in this new era not only inherits the essence of traditional ethics and values in Chinese culture, but also develops and surpasses it.The uniqueness of the paper lies in the fact that it uses comparative analysis to compare the ideal personality thinking of Confucianism and Taoism and thus explores their complementary features and their contemporary values. Since the reform and the opening policy, many new contents of socialist spiritual construction have been advanced, such as"cultivating a new generation of people with lofty ideals, moral integrity, good education, and a strong sense of discipline","people-oriented","constructing a harmonious society"and"the socialist concept of honor and disgrace", etc. All those aim to perfect people's personality, coordinate people's relationship and they reflect the wisdom of the philosophical ideas of Confucianism and Taoism in Pre-Qin period. These new criteria develop from traditional Chinese personality philosophies and form the characteristic assessment system for ideal personality. The new theory about ideal personality is guided by historical materialism and is characterized by Marxism in new times.