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Lecture 5. Ancient Chinese Philosophy

1. Pre-Philosophy period.
2. The period of separating the Philosophy and Mythology.

The history of ancient Chinese philosophy can be conventionally
divided into two periods.
1. Pre-Philosophy – connected with the writing of five antient
books: "Book of Songs", "Book of History","Book of Сhanges","Book

of Rituals" and the chronicle.
2. The Period of separating the Philosophy and Mythology. This is
the period of struggle between different schools, the principal of which

are Confucianism, moyisty, daosysty, lawyers.
During the first period the most interesting ideas were put forward
in the “Book of change”. The basis of the world creation make Yan and
Yin - two opposing forces. Yan is identified as the notion of sun, sky,

day, men, strength and Yin as the notion of moon, earth, night, woman,
weakness. They symbolize the male and female families and act as
causes of the world creation, its continuous development based on birth

of one man and death of another one.
Among the various schools of the second period, Confucianism is
emphasized. The founder of a school Confucius (551-479 BC) believed

that the core of any philosophical concept must be ethical norms of
behaviour. In his everyday life he stuck to the principle of the "golden
mean" that includes the notion of measure, balance, the desire to

compromise, resolving differences, but not their exacerbation.
Confucius considered a human being, her/his place and role in the
world according to the principles of fatalism. The sky was the highest
authority of God, which requires submission, on which depends the life

and death on earth, and at the same time Confucius didn’t humiliate
nature. Confucius emphasized that first of all one must serve people, and
then spirits, a person must first cognize life and then death.

Contradictions in his statements were present due to the fact that he, on
the one hand, wanted to observe the traditions, and on the other one he
put a human being on a high level and saw in her the creator of its will.
In his theory of knowledge Confucius recognizes the presence of

knowledge starting from the birth of a man, and it arises as a priori, that
is, prior to any experience. The other part of knowledge is acquired in
the process of cognition. The criterion of cognition, according to

Confucius, is the behaviour of a human being. Humanity, truthfulness,

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