The Book of Master Mo, the core book of Mohism, is available in the public domain. It's fractured and some parts are missing, but it's definitely there. m.barnesandnoble.com/w/The-Book-of-Master-MoMo-Zi/1116031593?ean=9780141392110
If you're interested, consider watching the Chinese animation "Qin's moon". It is a historical-based series with epic scale, tons of ancestral knowledge and some fantasy elements. It also features many philosophies such as Mohism (the philosophy that the protagonist practiced), Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, the School of Yin Yang, and the School of Names, etc. One of the drawbacks is that it has been dragging on like forever 😅 Still worth a try imo
I think Confucianism winning was no fluke. The Hundred Schools made sense in a fragmented China with peer competition. Different people had different ideas how to build the most effective state. It’s no surprise Legalism won because it could mobilize the nation for conquest. However Legalism is too harsh to be sustainable in peace time. Once China was unified under the Han dynasty there was no peer competition and Confucianism was a more stable system. Other schools were counterproductive as a unified society is better off being conformist than having rival ideologies. What’s interesting is the rise of Communism can be interpreted as a return to Legalism caused by the return of peer competition during the century of humiliation. Once China found it had to compete with more powerful countries Confucianism took a backseat. China copied Stalinism because the Soviets were able to rapidly industrialize an agrarian society and turn it into a superpower. Stalin and Qinshihuandi had a lot in common. Even if China did not become Communist it would have turned toward Legalism as it looked for ways to modernize rapidly.
I agree! and Of course, the point of the Hundred Schools of Thought is also that because each country has different circumstances, the route chosen can be very inconsistent, with some leaning towards Legalism and some towards Mohism. But it is interesting to note that no country really bothered to study Confucianism (I guess Confucianism had requirements for rulers as well). At a later stage, Confucianism developed into more of a religion used to govern the population. In fact, after the fall of the Qin dynasty, the succeeding Han dynasty first used Taoist ideas, such as reducing taxes and military service to allow the people to recuperate; and later, after the country grew rapidly stronger, the central government was desperate for a unified ideology, so they adapted Confucianism and even used it as a tool for ruling.
Confucianism is an excellent ideology for social and political cohesion at the cost of innovation and competition, which makes it suitable for maintaining a hegemonic polity. China has been a hegemonic entity for much of its imperial history. But Confucianism is terrible when the polity actually needs to compete with a peer or superior polity, which is typically when Legalism and pragmatism takes over.
I agree. The government always controlled religion and philosophy in the country and legalism taught rule of law (which helped people to obey more often) and Confucism taught harmony. They're both pretty much what you'd get if you asked a politician to come up with their own religion from scratch.
@@arthas640 Yes. I think an explaination of why Communism survived in China while it failed elsewhere is perhaps what is being practiced is in fact indigenous ideology cloaked in Communist vocabulary. There are obviously limitations to how much Legalism the population will accept, case in point the recent anti-lockdown protests. Confucianism is still there in the backseat.
@@johnyricco1220 I kind of hate the term since it's overused and heavily deluded, used kind of a catch all term but the PRC reminds me a lot of state capitalism and has many parallels with the Nazi's (mainly from an economic standpoint). They combine populist, socialist rhetoric with capitalism, they use the same mega corporations as the west (which they shamelessly copy) but rather than giving those companies autonomy the government retains a stranglehold on those corporations, disposing of CEO's as needed to maintain control. They promise a utopia that's eternally just over the horizon, they tell their people that their lives are better then their enemies like the US, they use capitalists more as a tool of the regime than independent entities, they create external threats that are framed as enemies poised to take over the country (communists, Jews, the US/UK to the Nazis; liberal democracies, the Japanese/Indians, and the US to the PRC). I've always found PRC leaders, especially Xi and Mao, very interesting. Listening to their speeches is a bit like listening to someone give a speech during opposite day: everything they say has different, hidden meaning. They talk about the working class, use populist rhetoric, and talk about equality while the leaders rule like kings with lavish lifestyles (Mao operated out of the Imperial palaces after he won the Civil War for example) and even as the wealth and income disparity skyrockets. It's a bit like America's habit of ranting about liberties and freedoms even as they build dictatorships or take authoritarian measures, only cranked up to 11.
Some would argue even with Confucianism being officially adopted since the Han, it's always been Legalism that ruled. Confucianism sounds nice as a concept to the subjects just as the Mandate of Heaven does. When it really does come down to it, it's always been the draconian authoritarian rule that defined Chinese history.
Thanks for the research. I am actually very interested on this many schools of thought and I was even planning to write a book detailing a China where Confucianism was not the main ideology.
It's quite a shame that ancient Chinese philosophy isn't studied more in Western curriculum. Many ideas and philosophies that we consider "Western" can actually be found in these ancient Chinese schools. For example: - Laozi and Taoism = libertarianism - Mozi and Xunzi = classical realism - Mozi's Universal Love = social contract theory (Hobbes and Locke) - School of Diplomacy = structural realism - School of Agriculture = agrarianism a la Thomas Jefferson - Legalism = realism/realpolitik (Machiavelli) - Etc. This is a very rough and the comparisons may not be accurate, but you get the idea. Obviously I'm not saying that these Western philosophies "copied" their much older Chinese counterparts, but ancient Chinese philosophy deserves a place in even Western curriculum if we really want to learn these different ideas from a diverse set of sources, regardless when and where they came about.
Here's my guesses for what China would have been like with Taoism or Mohism at the fore: A Mohist influenced China would mean a more communitarian China. Families would be loose and broad, and the notion of rule by blood or alliance by blood would be far less influential, though probably still practiced. I imagine a Mohist China would be collection of states that never unify, but practice a balance of horizontal and vertical strategies espoused by the diplomats. If China does eventually unify it's because it's deemed more useful to than not. I can see a kind of constitutional monarchy being implemented, with policies passed for a welfare state. The Mohists promoted scientific innovation and rationalism, so I can see the development of a Scientific Method that spreads via trade into Persia and Arabia by the mid 1st Millenium CE. I think China would probably industrialize early on by around 1200 CE. Its base would still be located in the north rather than the south, and it would expand north into Siberia to take advantage of the oil fields there. Persia would probably industrialize early as well. I'm not sure how Europe would evolve with such a prosperous East Asia, but China would probably have made landfall on the European Coastlines, reinvigorating trade. I could see Europe being rather inspired by East Asian philosophy and moving towards an Enlightenment of sorts based in constitutional government and egalitarianism. Eventually a Technocratic order would probably take over, and I don't see this line using money as currency past a certain point; making the economy as efficient and streamlined and equal as possible would be the goal, and bureaucratic banks as well as class divides would curtail that. A Taoist influenced China would mean that leaders would no longer be torn by the drive to pursue power at the expense of the natural rise and fall of civilization. It would be built into education that rulers, people, things, societies, life itself etc. has its cycles and we live within these with a certain amount of control only. This means the pursuit of absolute power would not be instilled. The pursuit would be for wisdom, and people would be elected into rulership based on their wisdom. Surrender would be taught towards everyone from a young age, because the goal of life is to grow and learn and take what you will from it, not to control what you cannot control. I can see a lot of traveling teachers and wisdom circles growing. Greece had ideas at the time of a Philosopher King model and I can see China pursuing that as well. There would be less book burning and more elegant learning, with vast sprawling schools and libraries. The focus on the accuracy and integrity of knowledge and teaching would mean technology and trade spread faster, so the world may be hundreds or thousands of years advanced to ours today. I don't see organized religion being instilled in a taoist world. It wouldn't stick in a collective taught about the flexibility of lifestyle and interpretation. Plus, religions like Christianity and Islam arose because of classism and dogmatic oppression and desires for salvation from these forces. In a taoist world, there is less holding to hierarchy or control, so there are less violent rebellions and scriptures to live by. Though they would still exist.
@@testtestman2355 Tang was still heavily authoritarian and based around the centralization of power. It certainly had “liberal” culture relatively compared to other states in Chinese history, but it still followed old-fashioned Confucianist and Legalist thoughts. Christianity in contact with Mohism or Taoism (as opposed to becoming distorted by the elites) would have been interesting, considering its early branches as of what we know had strong flavors of individualistic and egalitarian thoughts, as well as focusing on social justice. Various beliefs related to or similar to Gnosticism may have also become popular.
@@adenyang4398 Christianity believe in Right or Wrong, No Middle Ground, so either their right or wrong, there's no room in the middle, that kind of mentality, is destructive, especially when they think what they do is right. though they have many good moral teaching, I just can't help criticize, their wrong doing. plus they are taught by their environment. one belief isn't usually correct in other places.
@@testtestman2355 Such trends of dogmaticism and narrow-mindedness focusing on rituals didn’t only trend among Christianity and Islam though, such cases happened to other religions and philosophies as well. It’s certainly true that Taoism and Mohism have far better track records in terms of staying away from such dogmaticism compared to others though. If we see early Christianity before the Romans and elites turned it into their official religion, they came in numerous different forms and beliefs, and some even spread to the East to coexist alongside the likes of Zoroastrianism and Islam. The attempts of early Christians to survive continued post-Roman era, although they were more often than not crushed to the ground by both Roman Catholics and mainstream Protestants.
So a mohist china would be a Chinese Union (CU, akin to the EU)? Interesting. Of course, Song would want to Songxit. 😋 I would definitely like to watch videos about thst.
Actually, the school that won was Syncretism. The Han Dynasty used Confucianism to regulate social fabric, Legalism for crime and punishment, Yinyang and Dao as the country's theology, mohist and logician became the R & D people, providing the empire with science and technical innovation (look at all the jaw dropping magic mirrors, porcelain. It is impossible without mohist involvement), diplomacy the foreign affairs department and the small talk became the dynasty Mainstream media. This was the blueprint from Lv Bu Wei and set into actions by Han Dynasty.
Wow this is strikingly similar to the various school of thought in Islamic history! Just like Chinese history, in Islamic history there ulexisted a wide diverse range of philosophies such as those who encouraged rationality over fatalism (e.g. the Mu'tazilites), those who endorsed a combination of rationality and strict teachings (Ash'arites) and other sects like the ones who always rebelled against rulers (Zaydis) and crazy fundamentalists (Khawarij). Also, similar to legalism being endorsed by the emperor, The abbasid ruler Al Mamun made Mutalizilism the official state version of Islam. Anyway, apart from identifiying this similarity, I wanted to thank you for such engaging videos. I am really interested in East Asian history.... my personal favourite Chinese philosophical school of thought would be Mohism, I think we should love all humanity equally and should not be driven by cult mentalities as this is dangerous. The only thing I would disagree with Mozi on is music haha.
The Omanis might disagree with the characterisation of the Khawarij but there are many interesting parallels there for sure, it'd be cool to see a video essay comparing these schools of thought and the various Islamic schools of thought, maybe a collab project between this channel and a channel that specialises in Islamic studies. Another religious philosophy that Mohism reminds me of but which loves music instead of rejecting it is Sikhi, encouraging everyone to love, take care of, and come to the defence of everyone, building fortified Gurdwaray to act as mutual aid hubs
Is there an equivalent of Cool History Bros for Islamic history and philosophy? It would bring down so many myths about Islamic culture and it would be fun to see 😁
There are cycles in history where similar philosophies exists in a sort of parallel, like Spengler more or less outlined. Confucius roughly correllates to Muhammad in cyclical cvillizational development, both were traditionalist reformers for their respective civilizations.
I definitely fall into Syncretism. I take ideas from the School of Small Talk with a mix of Logican and Mohism - the distaste for music. It was very interesting learning about these schools! China would definitely be a vastly different place without the strong influences of Legalism and Confucianism
I've come to the conclusion that Confucianism indirectly contributed to the palace intrigues that confounded several later dynasties. The problem appears to be the palace eunuchs. My understanding is that they were essentially volunteers, under the assumption that - without the ability to start families they would be selfless administrators, yet clearly this was not the case. Scheming eunuchs have been at the heart of corrupt intrigues, the An-Lushan rebellion comes to mind, as an example - dooming the Tang dynasty. The very fact that the highest positions in the palace required a man to be a eunuch ensured they would embody the ruthless ambition they were supposed to eschew. If a man would go through that... for power in the palace... yikes. The problem of scheming eunuchs could have been 'neutered' if a selection of older, responsible women could have been trained as palace administrators, less likely to have the same degree of ambition, and no threat to the Emperor's harem. But this was apparently unthinkable, because classical Confucianism would relegate these women to home life exclusively.
@@mobeenkhan824 yeah and the part unmentioned here is the unification of china was arguably contributed by a major Syncretism figure, dubbed "Xun ZI" despite he himself was a disciple of joint renegade Confucianism (who justified the execution of King and for king to do anything to stay in power), and HuangLao (a proposed Taoism sect whose variation constitutes core legalism value). Xun Zi was taken as the prime counselor of the first Emperor of China, who allegedly poisoned him out of fears of his supreme talent, a decision he regretted for decades during his reign. Xun Zi is also known as the "Endgame of Hundreds School of Thoughts", a later chinese idiom attributed to him would emphasize his resounding contribution in concluding the academic thoughts of this period, if you are curious: "Gathering the knowledge of each school and forge it into one theory" , quite practical indeed.
I kinda fall between Mohism and Confucianism, I like the ideals of compassion in Mohism but I also see the value of preserving culture and music though I'm not a big fan of sticking to traditions and rituals just because they're traditions. Though well intentioned, confucianism sticks far to much to rigid morality and doesn't take into account the personal needs and emotions of individuals and punishes them for not fitting the norm. I do appreciate confucianism for influencing chinese rulers to be more benevolent, even though it really almost always is just a mask. Confucianism really tries to improve society by forcing those on top to act more benevolent but also keep everyone else loyal and pretty much indoctrinated through cultural rituals and traditions. Taoism is another interesting one I'm rather fond of but I think it falls short because it is too undefined. It's not exactly a school of thought that a leader will pick up and lead his nation based on that because it is, I think, antithesis to the very structures of society itself. I like music tho. Honestly nobody really had it figured out I think. But it's impressive how some of these scholars were capable of (ever so slightly) rising above the restraints of their cultural upbringing to contemplate these ideals.
I believe that a mixture of Taoism and Mohism could make China (or any other country) a better places. Mohism would provide a logical vision of the world and Taoism great flexibility.
I read that Mohism eventually died out after China was unified because the engineering skills of its members were no longer needed (because warfare was no longer prevalent). However, what if they adapted their mathematical and engineering skills for other uses? Later Chinese dynasties included a "Department of Works" that planned and built the country's infrastructure (bridges, canals, etc.). What if Qin Shi Huangdi used them to start an engineering corps for this purpose? Also, Logicianism was an early investigation of modern formal logic. If it had been allowed to continue, China could have developed the Scientific Method independent of the west. While the Chinese were always strong in applied engineering, they lacked a firm theoretical basis behind it. This is part of what led to their technology eventually falling behind the west. Instead of outlawing and destroying different schools of thought, what if Qin Shi Huangdi put them to use for different functions of his dynasty?
I've always preferred the Mojia (Mohism) followed by Daojia (Taoism). I believe Rujia (Confucianism) was promoted by the Han mainly because it loved hierarchy and preached traditionalism which appealed to the Han court. If your emperor that's what you want a people to take your word for it not some logician like Mozi who would raise embarrassing and possibly dangerous questions.
@@zhubajie6940 You do get Mengzi later on who promoted certain individualistic aspects and promoted those in “lower” positions to ensure those in power held up justice. Obviously, this led to his philosophy being oppressed for many centuries - or even become abused by those who craved power. Mengzi’s moral belief and philosophy were still very much limited to patriarchal hierarchical order though, and he denigrated Mohism as being “unruly” for disagreeing in this aspect.
That white horse content though... I had a colleague say white isn't a colour and is colourless... I think I wanted to be the "well actually" guy but it was a Christmas party.
Better than one school of thought for alternate history China, there should be a strategy game set in period in which scholars from each of the schools of thought exist in the world and as a leader you can choose which of them to hire, bribe, exile, execute, etc, leading to emergent interactive possibilities as the AIs or other players share the recruiting pool, so eliminating those you aren't hiring will deny them to your opponents, whereas promoting a school you're already strong in in their court could lead to more ideological harmony between your states
I wish Taoism and Mohism had combined instead of Yin Yang, sometimes. I think China would have become a much different nation in some interesting ways.
I think some schools where always doomed, Mohism, for example, always sided with small states against large ones so it was never going to be the state philosophy of a unified empire which is how Confucianism became so influential. You could even speculate that many of legalisms strengths in uniting an empire became liabilities in governing one, dooming it as well
I'm not sure if you're giving mohism enough credit, I've read the classic of mohism and I was very impressed by how contemporary it seemed, guy seemed to be what would today be a utilitarian as well as had an interesting epistemology which seemed somewhat scientific and had the ethical dimension of not believing shit that would cause horrible things to happen if true (which at first glance is terrible epistemology, but when you look back on the history of science and how many terrible things have been done based on what seemed like totally sound ideas at the time, it actually kind of seems like a good thing to be prudent about)
I love Legalism. History proved that it needs to be accompanied with other more humane philosophy to make it out in the long term. Moreover, it could also be argued that the more humane philosophy is just a facade for a Legalistic state. In my opinion, China today is ruled by this notion.
Look into pragmatist ethics as applied to politics. Politics can't be applied ethical first principles, but values and interests can inform each other as a two-way street.
Legalism is still the most powerful philosophy. Mao hated Confucius, but even he used legalism. And what else is the social credit system but pure legalism?
I don't agree with your assessment that it was fluke that Confucianism came out on top. The thing about all these schools of thought is that in order to become dominant in a pre-industrial world they had to achieve three things. If it did not achieve all three, it was doomed to take a supportive role in the long run. 1) It had to provide doctrine that could be applied in many different environments. The schools other Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism immediately become the top three. The other schools had useful teachings but they were too narrow. 2) It has to provide a justification for hierarchy. While Daoism comes across as much more enlightened than Confucianism, it lacks any sort of justification for why those in charge should be in charge. That means that while rulers might believe that Daoism is true, them more ambitious in their ranks will realize Legalism and Confucianism were more useful in statecraft and will take out those that don't. 3) Finally, it must provide source of legitimacy for a regime other than raw might. In Legalism the reason a rulers should rule tomorrow is because they rule today. That is a pretty flimsy form of legitimacy. For a regime to last, your people need a reason to support it even when things aren't going in the state's favor. Only Confucianism had an answer. The people in charge should remain in charge as long as they are moral and making a good faith effort to care for those beneath them.
Can you make a Chinese version of this video? I feel like a lot of content were lost in translation and made it even more confusing for people who have basic knowledge from "back home" but want to learn more.
I've read a bit about Confucianism (but am still trying to wrap my head around it metaphorically speaking), and consider myself both a Daoist and a Buddhist. Looking at the "Hundred Schools of Thought" playlist I see there's no video on Ch'an or Buddhism in general, unless its wrapped into the Taoism vids. Just wondering if there were any plans to make such a video? Mohism has my hippie heart intrigued. Any recommendations for books/YT vids/podcasts?
5:46 Agriculturalist school sounds like the inspiration for Maoism. From what I've read is more or less a different version from Leninism that the focus was to reach the countryside as opposed to the urban areas. And it sees that the main game changer in Chinese history is the peasants revolt, like the many dynasties that had fallen by the agrarian rebels. I know the channel doesn't cover recent China history (it could bring chaos and UA-cam may forbid them), but would you guys think that agriculturalists had a kind of revival recently? (Not picking sides, just out of curiosity)
Syncretism reminds me of the ancient Romans. They borrowed what they thought were the best ideas and methods from other people around them and put those ideas into practice. They were not stubborn idealists and would ditch things if they did not get the results they wanted. They borrowed culture and philosophy from Greece, sword design from Spain, armor and shield design from Gaul, chariot racing from Etruria, etc.
I think a great alternate history would be where confucianism was lauded but the other schools of thought weren't banned. I found the mixing of ideas to be interesting.
It's older now but A.C. Graham's book Disputers of hte Tao is a good look at the 100 schools, primarily Confucianism, Moism, Legalism, and Ying-Yang, as I recall
So... Legalism was the Ancient Chinese version of Totalitarianism. Oh, wait, maybe it's the other way around, Totalitarianism is the modern version of Ancient Chinese Legalism.
The problem with Legalism is that the punishment for minor crimes is the same for major crimes. Once a ton of people commit a minor crime that is easy to break, they might as well commit a major one, such as, oh I don’t know, rebellion?
Legalism thoroughly transformed China, ending feudal inherited rule and regional/local interests, and replacing it with a system largely run by the administrator class, with the emperor largely a figurehead taking the administrators' lead. Confucianism had no real solution to resolve the crisis of the warring states period. Legalism did. After unification, with some periods or efforts at reversal, China was generally "'exteriorly Confucian, interiorly Legalist" i.e. "Confucian in name, Legalist in principle".
Syncretism was actually the greatest school since it borrow the good point of all other school .It like mma in philosophy. Legalism is great school since it motivate people the best . But use it to extreme would lead to force labor that lead to revolt. Monism have a great point since it deny fate and also against expensive ceremonial burial that make people poor . But this philosophy say to love everyone the same that is communist idea which reduce motivation . Like you pay everyone the same no matter what they do.And that make people poor the most. Confucian have some bad point since it lead to expensive ceremonial burial that make people poor. But adapt version teach people to loyal to their master. That prevent civil war .The thing that destroy China the most .It not worst or greatest school . It win because most of people in that time love them .And it benefit the ruler the most.But go as far as ban all other school destroy China potential greatly.
I think we all know that if Legalism would've been the dominant idiology not only China would be different but the world. I can even imagine that my first language would probable be Mandarin and not Spanish hahaha
China has always been hemmed in too much to be a colonial power. India and the vast steppes kept them from moving to far west, to the south is a sea with a million islands many of which had their own ruler or multiple rulers, to the north they have nomadic tribes and more steppes and an insanely hostile landscape, and they never had the navy to sail the open waters and they've got Japan to contend with. That's why China hit the Gobi and Himalayas and never really went past them. They traded a ton but they relied heavily on foreign merchants to bring trade to them rather than sail themselves, especially as they already had the resources locally and their ideology as rulers of the middle kingdom made the idea of foreigners coming to China rather than traveling to the foreigners kingdoms more appetizing.
Wherever the mongols invaded, when the people rebelled and kicked them out they would become ultra conservative because of the horrors of the Mongolian invasion, Islam became sexist and cracked down on scientists, Eastern Europe cracked down on the peasantry, and china decided to close itself from the outside world completely. So if China was logistic, what would their ultra conservatism look like? My guess is that the logistic people would say that they need to become more technologically advanced and make their generals wiser to beat back invaders. Of course the modiste would say they need better siege warfare and would thus invest in it.
@@mobeenkhan824 That presumes the Mongol Empire would still arise. With a Logician China instead of a Confucian one, maybe they have a different foreign policy. Just saying. Still that sounds like a pretty cool timeline. With better generals and technology, perhaps China would never have suffered the Century of Humiliation, instead remaining a powerful political player through the 19th and 20th centuries. That could seriously wreck havoc on power politics, like Russia, Britain, and Japan.
@@howardlanus8467 Take into account that Communism eventually took over China, would a high-tech China remain high-tech if Communism took over? and if it did, is that a good thing?
@@alan5496 Probably not. Communist countries tend to look down on high-tech, as it encourages critical thought and gives workers more free time. But then again, would the Communists have taken power? We're talking about a change that took place centuries before. This is akin to asking what if Christianity never existed. Christianity was such a powerful historical force in Europe that its absence would radically change things.
In history on warring states , one Mohism arch member who went to help small state fought to big state in protecting themself finally got back stab by that small state king who worried his people would love this guy i his merit. So Mohism is so idealistic that it would not survive human's evil mind.
I feel like neighboring countries would get really upset if China had adopted logicism - It probably wouldn't have been very successful in history and another school of thought would have been adapted by whoever took command.
@@TK-my7jg maybe that's the reason for Taoism relying on abstractions and analogies, rather than developing formalised doctrines. Libertarian lunacy would not withstand any critical scrutiny, when applying its assertions to real world scenarios.
@@schong163 Here's a better run down on how they want to achieve social order and harmony: A Legalist would say that the state has to mandate laws in order to keep individuals in check and ensure they behave well, effective mandates = social order and harmony. A Confucian would say that if families do a good job of raising children to abide by social rituals and rules, the state won't have to work so hard to maintain social order because families and the community would keep individuals in check. People of East Asian descent have the lowest crime rates in the West because that's exactly what's happening. Cops don't have to arrest Asian kids because parents beat them and keep them busy with family, studies, and extracurricular activities. A Taoist would say that if an individual exercises self-control and surrenders to the laws of the universe, harmony and social order will be maintained without the need for families, communities, and the state to keep a Taoist in check.
@@alan5496 in the end the state/sociopolitical matrix would be the entity/institution that defines the reference for law, morality, and "natural" harmony for members of a society. It would seem that fajia/legalism is the only correct political philosophy. Confucianism can be adapted to work within the frame of fajia/legalism, but Taoism with its emphasis on "individual" values and interpretations have no place in a functioning sociopolitical matrix.
@@schong163 You could have a Taoist theocracy, although I wouldn't know how they would enforce rules when they don't really believe in using much force
@@dr.gaosclassroom Cool, The magazine I edit will (probably) publish an article on Mohist Just War Theory in a couple of months. Keep an eye out for Philosophy Now 153 around Christmas.
Legalism has never completely left the political space to be honest. LOL! Most emperors had always applied some form of it it while preaching other more benevolent ideals.
Mohists are nothing like Anarchists. Mozi values meritocratic and authoritanian government which is ruled by a wise king. They want effective, righteous government and bureucracy, composed of righteous officials, rulers and citizens.
Taiwan is just an island of R.O.C And R.O.C is still in civil war with P.R.C That's why Taiwan's airforce can bomb mainland Shanghai legally in 1952，because it's just China's civil war.
I've read about Confucianism and Daoism, but it saddens me that there isn't more out there on Mohism. That sounds like a really neat philosophy!
The Book of Master Mo, the core book of Mohism, is available in the public domain. It's fractured and some parts are missing, but it's definitely there.
m.barnesandnoble.com/w/The-Book-of-Master-MoMo-Zi/1116031593?ean=9780141392110
If you're interested, consider watching the Chinese animation "Qin's moon". It is a historical-based series with epic scale, tons of ancestral knowledge and some fantasy elements. It also features many philosophies such as Mohism (the philosophy that the protagonist practiced), Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, the School of Yin Yang, and the School of Names, etc. One of the drawbacks is that it has been dragging on like forever 😅 Still worth a try imo
Its insane this channel is still under the radar...good stuff
Some people just don't enjoy history. Some rather work on their gaming or watching a beauty product reviewe. Different strokes for different folks.
The best stuff is always under the radar. Finding them is the hardest part.
@@wolfenstien13 So when they grow they aren't the best stuff anymore?
I think Confucianism winning was no fluke. The Hundred Schools made sense in a fragmented China with peer competition. Different people had different ideas how to build the most effective state.
It’s no surprise Legalism won because it could mobilize the nation for conquest. However Legalism is too harsh to be sustainable in peace time. Once China was unified under the Han dynasty there was no peer competition and Confucianism was a more stable system. Other schools were counterproductive as a unified society is better off being conformist than having rival ideologies.
What’s interesting is the rise of Communism can be interpreted as a return to Legalism caused by the return of peer competition during the century of humiliation. Once China found it had to compete with more powerful countries Confucianism took a backseat. China copied Stalinism because the Soviets were able to rapidly industrialize an agrarian society and turn it into a superpower. Stalin and Qinshihuandi had a lot in common. Even if China did not become Communist it would have turned toward Legalism as it looked for ways to modernize rapidly.
I agree!
and Of course, the point of the Hundred Schools of Thought is also that because each country has different circumstances, the route chosen can be very inconsistent, with some leaning towards Legalism and some towards Mohism. But it is interesting to note that no country really bothered to study Confucianism (I guess Confucianism had requirements for rulers as well). At a later stage, Confucianism developed into more of a religion used to govern the population.
In fact, after the fall of the Qin dynasty, the succeeding Han dynasty first used Taoist ideas, such as reducing taxes and military service to allow the people to recuperate; and later, after the country grew rapidly stronger, the central government was desperate for a unified ideology, so they adapted Confucianism and even used it as a tool for ruling.
Confucianism is an excellent ideology for social and political cohesion at the cost of innovation and competition, which makes it suitable for maintaining a hegemonic polity. China has been a hegemonic entity for much of its imperial history. But Confucianism is terrible when the polity actually needs to compete with a peer or superior polity, which is typically when Legalism and pragmatism takes over.
I agree. The government always controlled religion and philosophy in the country and legalism taught rule of law (which helped people to obey more often) and Confucism taught harmony. They're both pretty much what you'd get if you asked a politician to come up with their own religion from scratch.
@@arthas640 Yes. I think an explaination of why Communism survived in China while it failed elsewhere is perhaps what is being practiced is in fact indigenous ideology cloaked in Communist vocabulary. There are obviously limitations to how much Legalism the population will accept, case in point the recent anti-lockdown protests. Confucianism is still there in the backseat.
@@johnyricco1220 I kind of hate the term since it's overused and heavily deluded, used kind of a catch all term but the PRC reminds me a lot of state capitalism and has many parallels with the Nazi's (mainly from an economic standpoint). They combine populist, socialist rhetoric with capitalism, they use the same mega corporations as the west (which they shamelessly copy) but rather than giving those companies autonomy the government retains a stranglehold on those corporations, disposing of CEO's as needed to maintain control. They promise a utopia that's eternally just over the horizon, they tell their people that their lives are better then their enemies like the US, they use capitalists more as a tool of the regime than independent entities, they create external threats that are framed as enemies poised to take over the country (communists, Jews, the US/UK to the Nazis; liberal democracies, the Japanese/Indians, and the US to the PRC).
I've always found PRC leaders, especially Xi and Mao, very interesting. Listening to their speeches is a bit like listening to someone give a speech during opposite day: everything they say has different, hidden meaning. They talk about the working class, use populist rhetoric, and talk about equality while the leaders rule like kings with lavish lifestyles (Mao operated out of the Imperial palaces after he won the Civil War for example) and even as the wealth and income disparity skyrockets. It's a bit like America's habit of ranting about liberties and freedoms even as they build dictatorships or take authoritarian measures, only cranked up to 11.
Some would argue even with Confucianism being officially adopted since the Han, it's always been Legalism that ruled. Confucianism sounds nice as a concept to the subjects just as the Mandate of Heaven does. When it really does come down to it, it's always been the draconian authoritarian rule that defined Chinese history.
你很懂哦
I genuinely love your content and editing style, I have no clue why you're so underrated you include funny jokes in your explanations and its amusing!
Thanks for the research. I am actually very interested on this many schools of thought and I was even planning to write a book detailing a China where Confucianism was not the main ideology.
Through ages，China was(is) always "外儒內法"(External Confucianism, or Outside Confucianism Inside Legalism). So I think Han Fei Tzu is the actual winner.
Yeah, I think the same!
That's what I learned as well. It's basically "Legalism with a Confucian face"
@@thewanderingrey8830 yes it is
Confucianism with Legalism characteristics
we practice Confucianism on weekdays and Daoism on weekends bro
It's quite a shame that ancient Chinese philosophy isn't studied more in Western curriculum. Many ideas and philosophies that we consider "Western" can actually be found in these ancient Chinese schools. For example:
- Laozi and Taoism = libertarianism
- Mozi and Xunzi = classical realism
- Mozi's Universal Love = social contract theory (Hobbes and Locke)
- School of Diplomacy = structural realism
- School of Agriculture = agrarianism a la Thomas Jefferson
- Legalism = realism/realpolitik (Machiavelli)
- Etc.
This is a very rough and the comparisons may not be accurate, but you get the idea. Obviously I'm not saying that these Western philosophies "copied" their much older Chinese counterparts, but ancient Chinese philosophy deserves a place in even Western curriculum if we really want to learn these different ideas from a diverse set of sources, regardless when and where they came about.
- Confucianism = Secularism and meritocracy (Voltaire)
They should be studied more with comparisons like that to look at there nuanced differences
Hey, I recognize this voice! You taught me how to play D&D! I love this new content and I’m excited to see more!
Here's my guesses for what China would have been like with Taoism or Mohism at the fore:
A Mohist influenced China would mean a more communitarian China. Families would be loose and broad, and the notion of rule by blood or alliance by blood would be far less influential, though probably still practiced. I imagine a Mohist China would be collection of states that never unify, but practice a balance of horizontal and vertical strategies espoused by the diplomats. If China does eventually unify it's because it's deemed more useful to than not. I can see a kind of constitutional monarchy being implemented, with policies passed for a welfare state.
The Mohists promoted scientific innovation and rationalism, so I can see the development of a Scientific Method that spreads via trade into Persia and Arabia by the mid 1st Millenium CE. I think China would probably industrialize early on by around 1200 CE. Its base would still be located in the north rather than the south, and it would expand north into Siberia to take advantage of the oil fields there. Persia would probably industrialize early as well. I'm not sure how Europe would evolve with such a prosperous East Asia, but China would probably have made landfall on the European Coastlines, reinvigorating trade. I could see Europe being rather inspired by East Asian philosophy and moving towards an Enlightenment of sorts based in constitutional government and egalitarianism.
Eventually a Technocratic order would probably take over, and I don't see this line using money as currency past a certain point; making the economy as efficient and streamlined and equal as possible would be the goal, and bureaucratic banks as well as class divides would curtail that.
A Taoist influenced China would mean that leaders would no longer be torn by the drive to pursue power at the expense of the natural rise and fall of civilization. It would be built into education that rulers, people, things, societies, life itself etc. has its cycles and we live within these with a certain amount of control only. This means the pursuit of absolute power would not be instilled. The pursuit would be for wisdom, and people would be elected into rulership based on their wisdom. Surrender would be taught towards everyone from a young age, because the goal of life is to grow and learn and take what you will from it, not to control what you cannot control. I can see a lot of traveling teachers and wisdom circles growing.
Greece had ideas at the time of a Philosopher King model and I can see China pursuing that as well. There would be less book burning and more elegant learning, with vast sprawling schools and libraries. The focus on the accuracy and integrity of knowledge and teaching would mean technology and trade spread faster, so the world may be hundreds or thousands of years advanced to ours today.
I don't see organized religion being instilled in a taoist world. It wouldn't stick in a collective taught about the flexibility of lifestyle and interpretation. Plus, religions like Christianity and Islam arose because of classism and dogmatic oppression and desires for salvation from these forces. In a taoist world, there is less holding to hierarchy or control, so there are less violent rebellions and scriptures to live by. Though they would still exist.
actually there had been a time china is taoist,
REMEMBER TANG!
@@testtestman2355 Tang was still heavily authoritarian and based around the centralization of power. It certainly had “liberal” culture relatively compared to other states in Chinese history, but it still followed old-fashioned Confucianist and Legalist thoughts.
Christianity in contact with Mohism or Taoism (as opposed to becoming distorted by the elites) would have been interesting, considering its early branches as of what we know had strong flavors of individualistic and egalitarian thoughts, as well as focusing on social justice. Various beliefs related to or similar to Gnosticism may have also become popular.
@@adenyang4398 Christianity
believe in Right or Wrong, No Middle Ground,
so either their right or wrong, there's no room in the middle,
that kind of mentality, is destructive,
especially when they think what they do is right.
though they have many good moral teaching, I just can't help criticize, their wrong doing.
plus they are taught by their environment.
one belief isn't usually correct in other places.
@@testtestman2355 Such trends of dogmaticism and narrow-mindedness focusing on rituals didn’t only trend among Christianity and Islam though, such cases happened to other religions and philosophies as well. It’s certainly true that Taoism and Mohism have far better track records in terms of staying away from such dogmaticism compared to others though.
If we see early Christianity before the Romans and elites turned it into their official religion, they came in numerous different forms and beliefs, and some even spread to the East to coexist alongside the likes of Zoroastrianism and Islam. The attempts of early Christians to survive continued post-Roman era, although they were more often than not crushed to the ground by both Roman Catholics and mainstream Protestants.
So a mohist china would be a Chinese Union (CU, akin to the EU)? Interesting. Of course, Song would want to Songxit. 😋
I would definitely like to watch videos about thst.
"And the irreconcilable dichotomy between opposing equals drives all conflict in the universe. Your thoughts, majesty?"
"May I see your hat a moment?"
Good Vs Evil
Could you go more in-depth with the other schools? I'd love to hear more about the logicians.
I would love to hear that too since he got wipe out fast because of judging with true word
Actually, the school that won was Syncretism. The Han Dynasty used Confucianism to regulate social fabric, Legalism for crime and punishment, Yinyang and Dao as the country's theology, mohist and logician became the R & D people, providing the empire with science and technical innovation (look at all the jaw dropping magic mirrors, porcelain. It is impossible without mohist involvement), diplomacy the foreign affairs department and the small talk became the dynasty Mainstream media. This was the blueprint from Lv Bu Wei and set into actions by Han Dynasty.
Wow this is strikingly similar to the various school of thought in Islamic history! Just like Chinese history, in Islamic history there ulexisted a wide diverse range of philosophies such as those who encouraged rationality over fatalism (e.g. the Mu'tazilites), those who endorsed a combination of rationality and strict teachings (Ash'arites) and other sects like the ones who always rebelled against rulers (Zaydis) and crazy fundamentalists (Khawarij).
Also, similar to legalism being endorsed by the emperor, The abbasid ruler Al Mamun made Mutalizilism the official state version of Islam. Anyway, apart from identifiying this similarity, I wanted to thank you for such engaging videos. I am really interested in East Asian history.... my personal favourite Chinese philosophical school of thought would be Mohism, I think we should love all humanity equally and should not be driven by cult mentalities as this is dangerous. The only thing I would disagree with Mozi on is music haha.
The Omanis might disagree with the characterisation of the Khawarij but there are many interesting parallels there for sure, it'd be cool to see a video essay comparing these schools of thought and the various Islamic schools of thought, maybe a collab project between this channel and a channel that specialises in Islamic studies. Another religious philosophy that Mohism reminds me of but which loves music instead of rejecting it is Sikhi, encouraging everyone to love, take care of, and come to the defence of everyone, building fortified Gurdwaray to act as mutual aid hubs
Is there an equivalent of Cool History Bros for Islamic history and philosophy?
It would bring down so many myths about Islamic culture and it would be fun to see 😁
There are cycles in history where similar philosophies exists in a sort of parallel, like Spengler more or less outlined. Confucius roughly correllates to Muhammad in cyclical cvillizational development, both were traditionalist reformers for their respective civilizations.
@@iagohauchi3694 al muqaddimah comes to mind
I definitely fall into Syncretism. I take ideas from the School of Small Talk with a mix of Logican and Mohism - the distaste for music. It was very interesting learning about these schools!
China would definitely be a vastly different place without the strong influences of Legalism and Confucianism
Excellent video, as usual.
Greetings from Mexico.
loving these series...good job
I've come to the conclusion that Confucianism indirectly contributed to the palace intrigues that confounded several later dynasties. The problem appears to be the palace eunuchs. My understanding is that they were essentially volunteers, under the assumption that - without the ability to start families they would be selfless administrators, yet clearly this was not the case. Scheming eunuchs have been at the heart of corrupt intrigues, the An-Lushan rebellion comes to mind, as an example - dooming the Tang dynasty.
The very fact that the highest positions in the palace required a man to be a eunuch ensured they would embody the ruthless ambition they were supposed to eschew. If a man would go through that... for power in the palace... yikes.
The problem of scheming eunuchs could have been 'neutered' if a selection of older, responsible women could have been trained as palace administrators, less likely to have the same degree of ambition, and no threat to the Emperor's harem. But this was apparently unthinkable, because classical Confucianism would relegate these women to home life exclusively.
Empress dowager lu zhi has entered the chat , Wu Zetian has entered the chat , Princess Ping Yang has entered the chat .
Wonderful video! I learned alot about chinese history thanks to you. Keep it up! I wish you the best!
Damm, Anarcho-primitivism is just agriculturalism
What school? Syncretism. It has the most to choose from and the most to say.
Yeah, to take knowledge from multiple sources and combine the best parts of them is undeniably the most practical idea.
@@mobeenkhan824 yeah and the part unmentioned here is the unification of china was arguably contributed by a major Syncretism figure, dubbed "Xun ZI" despite he himself was a disciple of joint renegade Confucianism (who justified the execution of King and for king to do anything to stay in power), and HuangLao (a proposed Taoism sect whose variation constitutes core legalism value). Xun Zi was taken as the prime counselor of the first Emperor of China, who allegedly poisoned him out of fears of his supreme talent, a decision he regretted for decades during his reign. Xun Zi is also known as the "Endgame of Hundreds School of Thoughts", a later chinese idiom attributed to him would emphasize his resounding contribution in concluding the academic thoughts of this period, if you are curious: "Gathering the knowledge of each school and forge it into one theory" , quite practical indeed.
They love Confusius so much in china they made his birthday National Teacher's Day.
I kinda fall between Mohism and Confucianism, I like the ideals of compassion in Mohism but I also see the value of preserving culture and music though I'm not a big fan of sticking to traditions and rituals just because they're traditions. Though well intentioned, confucianism sticks far to much to rigid morality and doesn't take into account the personal needs and emotions of individuals and punishes them for not fitting the norm. I do appreciate confucianism for influencing chinese rulers to be more benevolent, even though it really almost always is just a mask. Confucianism really tries to improve society by forcing those on top to act more benevolent but also keep everyone else loyal and pretty much indoctrinated through cultural rituals and traditions. Taoism is another interesting one I'm rather fond of but I think it falls short because it is too undefined. It's not exactly a school of thought that a leader will pick up and lead his nation based on that because it is, I think, antithesis to the very structures of society itself. I like music tho.
Honestly nobody really had it figured out I think. But it's impressive how some of these scholars were capable of (ever so slightly) rising above the restraints of their cultural upbringing to contemplate these ideals.
i agree with your conclusion, very useful!
I believe that a mixture of Taoism and Mohism could make China (or any other country) a better places. Mohism would provide a logical vision of the world and Taoism great flexibility.
I read that Mohism eventually died out after China was unified because the engineering skills of its members were no longer needed (because warfare was no longer prevalent). However, what if they adapted their mathematical and engineering skills for other uses? Later Chinese dynasties included a "Department of Works" that planned and built the country's infrastructure (bridges, canals, etc.). What if Qin Shi Huangdi used them to start an engineering corps for this purpose?
Also, Logicianism was an early investigation of modern formal logic. If it had been allowed to continue, China could have developed the Scientific Method independent of the west. While the Chinese were always strong in applied engineering, they lacked a firm theoretical basis behind it. This is part of what led to their technology eventually falling behind the west.
Instead of outlawing and destroying different schools of thought, what if Qin Shi Huangdi put them to use for different functions of his dynasty?
I've always preferred the Mojia (Mohism) followed by Daojia (Taoism). I believe Rujia (Confucianism) was promoted by the Han mainly because it loved hierarchy and preached traditionalism which appealed to the Han court. If your emperor that's what you want a people to take your word for it not some logician like Mozi who would raise embarrassing and possibly dangerous questions.
@Ben Louis 墨家 Mohist School founded by the philosopher Mozi
@@zhubajie6940 You do get Mengzi later on who promoted certain individualistic aspects and promoted those in “lower” positions to ensure those in power held up justice. Obviously, this led to his philosophy being oppressed for many centuries - or even become abused by those who craved power.
Mengzi’s moral belief and philosophy were still very much limited to patriarchal hierarchical order though, and he denigrated Mohism as being “unruly” for disagreeing in this aspect.
Can’t wait for the next videos, fellas!!
That white horse content though... I had a colleague say white isn't a colour and is colourless... I think I wanted to be the "well actually" guy but it was a Christmas party.
Uh. white is not colorless. It is all colors. Black in colorless. The absence of colors.
this video is very useful for me to learn all about East Asia
Wow! I learnt so much in this channel thank you
As I never heard about Mohism, this will be the school I think would have made China's history different
Thanks for the video.
Excellent video!
Better than one school of thought for alternate history China, there should be a strategy game set in period in which scholars from each of the schools of thought exist in the world and as a leader you can choose which of them to hire, bribe, exile, execute, etc, leading to emergent interactive possibilities as the AIs or other players share the recruiting pool, so eliminating those you aren't hiring will deny them to your opponents, whereas promoting a school you're already strong in in their court could lead to more ideological harmony between your states
but you forgot those schools based on wars and killings
that's why they named that time as Warring States Period
I wish Taoism and Mohism had combined instead of Yin Yang, sometimes. I think China would have become a much different nation in some interesting ways.
Great videos man, keep up the good work
This is very educative
I think some schools where always doomed, Mohism, for example, always sided with small states against large ones so it was never going to be the state philosophy of a unified empire which is how Confucianism became so influential. You could even speculate that many of legalisms strengths in uniting an empire became liabilities in governing one, dooming it as well
I'm not sure if you're giving mohism enough credit, I've read the classic of mohism and I was very impressed by how contemporary it seemed, guy seemed to be what would today be a utilitarian as well as had an interesting epistemology which seemed somewhat scientific and had the ethical dimension of not believing shit that would cause horrible things to happen if true (which at first glance is terrible epistemology, but when you look back on the history of science and how many terrible things have been done based on what seemed like totally sound ideas at the time, it actually kind of seems like a good thing to be prudent about)
I love Legalism. History proved that it needs to be accompanied with other more humane philosophy to make it out in the long term. Moreover, it could also be argued that the more humane philosophy is just a facade for a Legalistic state. In my opinion, China today is ruled by this notion.
Legalism is too rigid. Like you said, it needs a mix of more humane philosophy but at that point you would be better off using a different ideology
Look into pragmatist ethics as applied to politics. Politics can't be applied ethical first principles, but values and interests can inform each other as a two-way street.
Legalism did one good thing is truely united China 2000 years ago.
Logicianist be like: Checkmate Mohist!
Legalism is still the most powerful philosophy. Mao hated Confucius, but even he used legalism. And what else is the social credit system but pure legalism?
4:18 Basically, a sophist.
That whole white horse versus horse thing sure as hell felt like the classic caricature of an Ancient Greek Sophist. LOL
I don't agree with your assessment that it was fluke that Confucianism came out on top.
The thing about all these schools of thought is that in order to become dominant in a pre-industrial world they had to achieve three things. If it did not achieve all three, it was doomed to take a supportive role in the long run.
1) It had to provide doctrine that could be applied in many different environments. The schools other Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism immediately become the top three. The other schools had useful teachings but they were too narrow.
2) It has to provide a justification for hierarchy. While Daoism comes across as much more enlightened than Confucianism, it lacks any sort of justification for why those in charge should be in charge. That means that while rulers might believe that Daoism is true, them more ambitious in their ranks will realize Legalism and Confucianism were more useful in statecraft and will take out those that don't.
3) Finally, it must provide source of legitimacy for a regime other than raw might. In Legalism the reason a rulers should rule tomorrow is because they rule today. That is a pretty flimsy form of legitimacy. For a regime to last, your people need a reason to support it even when things aren't going in the state's favor. Only Confucianism had an answer. The people in charge should remain in charge as long as they are moral and making a good faith effort to care for those beneath them.
Can you make a Chinese version of this video? I feel like a lot of content were lost in translation and made it even more confusing for people who have basic knowledge from "back home" but want to learn more.
Great video! Thank you.
I've read a bit about Confucianism (but am still trying to wrap my head around it metaphorically speaking), and consider myself both a Daoist and a Buddhist. Looking at the "Hundred Schools of Thought" playlist I see there's no video on Ch'an or Buddhism in general, unless its wrapped into the Taoism vids. Just wondering if there were any plans to make such a video?
Mohism has my hippie heart intrigued. Any recommendations for books/YT vids/podcasts?
Mochism is my favorite so far. they were absolute punks.
兼相爱 交相利
“If you're not a Mohist when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a Confucian by the time you're 35, you have no brain.”
-Confucius, probably
5:46 Agriculturalist school sounds like the inspiration for Maoism. From what I've read is more or less a different version from Leninism that the focus was to reach the countryside as opposed to the urban areas. And it sees that the main game changer in Chinese history is the peasants revolt, like the many dynasties that had fallen by the agrarian rebels.
I know the channel doesn't cover recent China history (it could bring chaos and UA-cam may forbid them), but would you guys think that agriculturalists had a kind of revival recently?
(Not picking sides, just out of curiosity)
Syncretism reminds me of the ancient Romans. They borrowed what they thought were the best ideas and methods from other people around them and put those ideas into practice. They were not stubborn idealists and would ditch things if they did not get the results they wanted. They borrowed culture and philosophy from Greece, sword design from Spain, armor and shield design from Gaul, chariot racing from Etruria, etc.
The Syncretists resemble the Greek Eclectics too.
08:40 - Dang Liu Bang you are shameless.
I came here searching for copper and i found Gold.
I think a great alternate history would be where confucianism was lauded but the other schools of thought weren't banned. I found the mixing of ideas to be interesting.
It's older now but A.C. Graham's book Disputers of hte Tao is a good look at the 100 schools, primarily Confucianism, Moism, Legalism, and Ying-Yang, as I recall
So... Legalism was the Ancient Chinese version of Totalitarianism. Oh, wait, maybe it's the other way around, Totalitarianism is the modern version of Ancient Chinese Legalism.
The legist were quite brutal in implementing the punitive laws. Their major points are laid out in the Book of Shang Yang or 商君书！
Logicians and Mohism would be kinda cool as alternative history dominant philosophies
6:18 number 1
What do you use to make the animation for these videos? It's awesome! I just found your channel and I really love it
Thanks Zoe, I use After Effects.
@@CoolHistoryBros please do one on each 100 schools of thought summary
@@CoolHistoryBros and on chinese jurisprudence
@@CoolHistoryBros aasai jurisprudence with philosophy and how it relates to morden jurisprudence
The problem with Legalism is that the punishment for minor crimes is the same for major crimes. Once a ton of people commit a minor crime that is easy to break, they might as well commit a major one, such as, oh I don’t know, rebellion?
Legalism thoroughly transformed China, ending feudal inherited rule and regional/local interests, and replacing it with a system largely run by the administrator class, with the emperor largely a figurehead taking the administrators' lead. Confucianism had no real solution to resolve the crisis of the warring states period. Legalism did. After unification, with some periods or efforts at reversal, China was generally "'exteriorly Confucian, interiorly Legalist" i.e. "Confucian in name, Legalist in principle".
what school is Socialism with Chinese Characteristics? seems legalist and logician (with a hint of moism).
my personal opinion is that modern china is slightly more legalism leaning than confucianism...
nice information... 5 stars
Syncretism was actually the greatest school since it borrow the good point of all other school .It like mma in philosophy.
Legalism is great school since it motivate people the best . But use it to extreme would lead to force labor that lead to revolt.
Monism have a great point since it deny fate and also against expensive ceremonial burial that make people poor . But this philosophy say to love everyone the same that is communist idea which reduce motivation . Like you pay everyone the same no matter what they do.And that make people poor the most.
Confucian have some bad point since it lead to expensive ceremonial burial that make people poor. But adapt version teach people to loyal to their master. That prevent civil war .The thing that destroy China the most .It not worst or greatest school . It win because most of people in that time love them .And it benefit the ruler the most.But go as far as ban all other school destroy China potential greatly.
I was never into the small talk school.
- I'd say a fully taoist China would look very different, possibly the opposite, if what we have today!
can someone paint The Hundred Schools of Thought? thanks
I think we all know that if Legalism would've been the dominant idiology not only China would be different but the world. I can even imagine that my first language would probable be Mandarin and not Spanish hahaha
China has always been hemmed in too much to be a colonial power. India and the vast steppes kept them from moving to far west, to the south is a sea with a million islands many of which had their own ruler or multiple rulers, to the north they have nomadic tribes and more steppes and an insanely hostile landscape, and they never had the navy to sail the open waters and they've got Japan to contend with. That's why China hit the Gobi and Himalayas and never really went past them. They traded a ton but they relied heavily on foreign merchants to bring trade to them rather than sail themselves, especially as they already had the resources locally and their ideology as rulers of the middle kingdom made the idea of foreigners coming to China rather than traveling to the foreigners kingdoms more appetizing.
Is Ancient Chinese philosophy more of a philosophy than religion
I get confused
Cool channel!
6:25 Number 2
Wasn't Cao Cao a Legalist?
There was no such thing as ideological purity in ancient China. They use whatever was useful.
@@CoolHistoryBros Fair Enough thanks for the reply. Waiting for a Cao Cao Video
I think the Logician, or School of Names if I researched this correctly, would make for a very interesting alternate history.
Wherever the mongols invaded, when the people rebelled and kicked them out they would become ultra conservative because of the horrors of the Mongolian invasion, Islam became sexist and cracked down on scientists, Eastern Europe cracked down on the peasantry, and china decided to close itself from the outside world completely.
So if China was logistic, what would their ultra conservatism look like? My guess is that the logistic people would say that they need to become more technologically advanced and make their generals wiser to beat back invaders. Of course the modiste would say they need better siege warfare and would thus invest in it.
@@mobeenkhan824 That presumes the Mongol Empire would still arise. With a Logician China instead of a Confucian one, maybe they have a different foreign policy. Just saying.
Still that sounds like a pretty cool timeline. With better generals and technology, perhaps China would never have suffered the Century of Humiliation, instead remaining a powerful political player through the 19th and 20th centuries. That could seriously wreck havoc on power politics, like Russia, Britain, and Japan.
@@howardlanus8467 Take into account that Communism eventually took over China, would a high-tech China remain high-tech if Communism took over? and if it did, is that a good thing?
@@alan5496 Probably not. Communist countries tend to look down on high-tech, as it encourages critical thought and gives workers more free time. But then again, would the Communists have taken power? We're talking about a change that took place centuries before. This is akin to asking what if Christianity never existed. Christianity was such a powerful historical force in Europe that its absence would radically change things.
Mozism personally looked the best from my perspective
People are evils. Ideology can't become real.
Brilliant video. Love this channel. Keep it up!
Women around the world must have been small-talkism since ancient time.
The Chinese tell a good story!
On the one hand he 焚书坑儒，on the other hand he conducted many Confucian rituals
y did anyone dislike the video?
Mohism seems pretty cool.
In history on warring states , one Mohism arch member who went to help small state fought to big state in protecting themself finally got back stab by that small state king who worried his people would love this guy i his merit. So Mohism is so idealistic that it would not survive human's evil mind.
@@alexlo7708 That was Mozi himself.
I feel like neighboring countries would get really upset if China had adopted logicism - It probably wouldn't have been very successful in history and another school of thought would have been adapted by whoever took command.
And Lord Shang.
I'm a fan of Mohism, its like my own way of thinking. Be friendly, but fortify the shit outta your house.
So Taoism is basically ancient Oriental libertarianism?
that's right
Confucianism is an organization of the human society
Taoism is a libertarianism try bring people back to human natrue
@@TK-my7jg maybe that's the reason for Taoism relying on abstractions and analogies, rather than developing formalised doctrines. Libertarian lunacy would not withstand any critical scrutiny, when applying its assertions to real world scenarios.
@@schong163 Here's a better run down on how they want to achieve social order and harmony:
A Legalist would say that the state has to mandate laws in order to keep individuals in check and ensure they behave well, effective mandates = social order and harmony.
A Confucian would say that if families do a good job of raising children to abide by social rituals and rules, the state won't have to work so hard to maintain social order because families and the community would keep individuals in check. People of East Asian descent have the lowest crime rates in the West because that's exactly what's happening. Cops don't have to arrest Asian kids because parents beat them and keep them busy with family, studies, and extracurricular activities.
A Taoist would say that if an individual exercises self-control and surrenders to the laws of the universe, harmony and social order will be maintained without the need for families, communities, and the state to keep a Taoist in check.
@@alan5496 in the end the state/sociopolitical matrix would be the entity/institution that defines the reference for law, morality, and "natural" harmony for members of a society. It would seem that fajia/legalism is the only correct political philosophy. Confucianism can be adapted to work within the frame of fajia/legalism, but Taoism with its emphasis on "individual" values and interpretations have no place in a functioning sociopolitical matrix.
@@schong163 You could have a Taoist theocracy, although I wouldn't know how they would enforce rules when they don't really believe in using much force
🔝🔝
5:37 their philosophies match their mustaches
LOL
看到吕不韦，笑死我了，想起了大秦赋。
Mohist school!!!
I love the Mohist, too!!!
道家!!! 道家!!! 道家!!! 道家!!! 道家!!!
Goddamit, Qin!
Mohist China sounds great
Totally agree, they were the best engineers, artisans, mathematicians, warriors, and strategists!! 😃
@@dr.gaosclassroom Cool, The magazine I edit will (probably) publish an article on Mohist Just War Theory in a couple of months. Keep an eye out for Philosophy Now 153 around Christmas.
@@grantbartley483 Sounds great, thank you!!
P.O.V logicians 🤓
Ban Gu... is the colloquial pronunciation of "fart" in Korean. :-P
They seem to have reverted to legalism in recent times...
Legalism has never completely left the political space to be honest. LOL! Most emperors had always applied some form of it it while preaching other more benevolent ideals.
China always uses legalism since Qin dynasty. It gets mixed with Confucianism to make it softer.
YOU FORGOT SUN TZU THE MASTER OF WAR !!!!!!!
His teaching all came from his master Guiguzi (鬼谷子)， he is much mystical than any other master here.
Confucians: Conservatives
Legalists: Fascists
Mohists: Anarchists
Taoists: Libertarians
Agriculturalists: AnPrims
Syncretists: Centrists
Small talk: MSM
Logicians: UA-cam atheists
Mohists are nothing like Anarchists. Mozi values meritocratic and authoritanian government which is ruled by a wise king. They want effective, righteous government and bureucracy, composed of righteous officials, rulers and citizens.
@@BLRSharpLight Also it's the Mohists who valued science and technology the most. Logicians were actually derived from Mohism.
What's MSM?
I don't know how much it would cost. However, it might be very interesting if it's found outside of China, especially western country.
Bách gia chư tử
Which is the 'Real China/ Central Country' though. China or Taiwan?
Taiwan is just an island of R.O.C
And R.O.C is still in civil war with P.R.C
That's why Taiwan's airforce can bomb mainland Shanghai legally in 1952，because it's just China's civil war.
@@TK-my7jg good explanation. Sometimes, I want to learn more deeply about Taoism.
Whoever controls the majority landmass is the real China. Period.