Daoism and Confucianism Key Terms

Confucius

"The Scholarly Traditions" is based on reforms of Confucius.

Tian

Also known as "heaven,"it is an impersonal cosmic force that guides events on earth, and a cosmic principle that distinguishes right from wrong.

Mandate of Heaven

Analects 2:4 - "At the age of fifteen, I set my heart on learning; at thirty, I firmly took my stand; at forty, I had no delusions; at fifty, I knew the Mandate of Heaven - Analects 2:4 (right to rule as a king or emperor, given by Heaven by means of order and prosperity in the land); at sixty, my ear was attuned; at seventy, I followed my heart's desire without doing wrong."

Oracle Bones

Animal Oracle Bones were inscribed with writing to foretell future and maintain good connections with ancestral and nature spirits.

Yi Jing

Chinese culture and religion was influenced by the Yi Jing, the Classic of Changes, a collection of 64 mystical symbols and explanations used to foretell future.

Ren

Confucius himself once said that Ren ("humaneness, reciprocity, virtue") is the key moral teaching, and summarized it by saying, "What you don't want done to yourself, don't do to others."

Daozang

Each monastic order tended to write its own religious literature, eventually giving rise to thousands of books in the Daoist canon, the Daozang.

Filial Piety

In Confucian ethics, Filial Piety (or Xiao) is the honor and obedience that children owe their parents.

Loyalty

Loyalty (or Zhong) is an extension of one's duties to friend and family as carried out in Five Relationships.

Junzi

The Junzi is seen as a better person than others, and he is expected to act as a moral guide to the rest of society.

Yin-Yang

The circle formed by the Yin-Yang represents the universe, both matter and spirit, that encircles all things and holds them together.

Dao

The term Dao roughly translates as "way," "path," or "road," and by extension means "way of life."

Taiji

The yin-yang symbol is also known by the term Taji; meaning the "Great Ultimate."

Feng Shui

When the dead are buried according to Feng Shui principles, the flow of energy in the earth brings yin power to their bones.

Wu Wei

best understood as going along with nature, letting things in life take their natural, Dao-determined course.

Qi

the cosmic vital energy that enables beings to live, links them to the universe, and comprises the basic material of all that exists.