The Concept of the Superior Man According To Confucianism and Taoism Principles

The Concept of the Superior Man According To Confucianism and Taoism Principles
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The Concept of the Superior Man According To Confucianism and Taoism Principles
Confucianism and Taoism are two ancient religions in China with several similarities and differences, especially when defining the superiority of a man. To understand the concept of the superior Man according to Confucianism and Taoism; we need to understand these similarities and differences between the two religions. Confucianism is based on the teachings of Confucius who believed in being a role model to others based how people relate to their relatives and people in authority. Taoism teachings revolve around promoting peace and harmony (Billioud & Thoraval, 2015). This essay analyzes these two Chinese principles of Confucianism and Taoism and their view of the superior man.
Confucianism
Confucianism is a religion originally founded by Confucius one of the Ancient Chinese philosopher. According to Confucius, every human being aspires to become a superior man. Confucius argues that our act of humanity leads us to the path of truth throughout our lives. He summarized his teachings by stating that: “what you do not want done to yourself do not do to others “(Confucius, 2009).
Confucianism reiterates that human beings can be molded to achieve their goals. Humans are teachable, improvable, and even perfectible. Through communal or individual efforts, people can become perfect beings. Therefore, the principles of Confucius emphasizes on rightness, sincerity and justice to the whole community. Confucianism followed five basic principles of Humaneness (Ren), Righteousness (Yi), Knowledge (Zhi), Etiquette (Li) and Integrity (Xin) (Littlejohn, 2010).
These principles can be translated to mean that one need to stay loyal to the true nature while showing reciprocity to people who perform good deeds. These principles require its followers be kind and show goodness. Righteousness is an important aspect of Confucianism requiring one to follow the golden rule, which is not doing to others what one does not want people to do to him. Integrity requires Confucianists to remain honest and to stay true to their word (Littlejohn, 2010).
The Concept of the Superior Man According To Confucianism
What constitutes a superior man is when one cultivates himself as a way of giving rest to others. Superior man needs to remain free from anxieties, he needs to be wise and be free from perplexities .Furthermore, and he needs to be bold enough to be free from fear. For Confucianism, a superior man act before he can speak, he only speaks later based on his actions (Confucius, 2009).
There are many qualities of a superior man articulated by Confucius to his disciples. Confucius's believes that a superior man needs to consider the following nine aspects: Based on his eyes, he needs to be anxious to be able to see things clearly; a superior man needs to use his ears to hear distinctly, a superior man needs to be benevolent. A superior man needs to be anxious to be respectful, in his speech he needs to be sincere. In his way of conducting business, a superior man needs to be anxious to be respectful. When in doubt a superior man needs to be anxious to question others. When angry he needs to think carefully how his anger may cause him difficulties. A superior man when faced with opportunities he needs to think and act righteously (Confucius, 2009). According to Confucius, a superior man needs to guard himself against lust, quarrelsomeness, and covetousness. Therefore, according to Confucianism, a Superior Man is someone who upholds the highest social and ethical standards within the society (Confucius, 2009).
Taoism
Taoism was founded by Laozi who believed in nurturing one's path by behaving in an appropriate way to lead other to the same path. Taoism is also known as Daoism. Taoism is one of the most influential religions in China. For the Chinese, Tao stands for a path but can also be translated to mean reality or nature (Oldstone-Moore, 2005).
According to Taoism principles, one needs to walk on the right path by living in harmony with nature. Most of its principles are based on the three gems of the Tao, which are humility, compassion, and moderation. For Taoism, the inner fulfillment can only be attained through meditation about nature. Nature presents ...