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Religions and Beliefs in Ancient China
Isolated by its geography, Ancient China had a unique culture. Three important belief systems, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism develped during the Zhou. Each is a philosophy, that is, a set of beliefs about the world and how to live. These three philosophies influeced all aspects of a society. Before these philosophies appeared, the Chinese followed ancient spiritual traditions.

The Teachings of Confucius

Confucianism is the teachings of a thinker and philosopher named Confucius. Confucius was a man born in a poor family around 551 B.C and he never achieved great wealth or influence during his lifetime. Confucius was affected by the chaos caused by the warring states period caused, so he decided to find a solution. After thinking deeply about this matter, he finally came up with an idea, Confucianism. Confucius believed that order and harmony would come to society once all people acted according to their roles. He also believed that there were five major relashionships: ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, older and younger brothers, and finally two friends. Confucius stated that the person of the higher status in each of the five relashionships, whixh are ruler, father, husband, older brother,or elder must fulfil his duties and responsibilities for his role. The person of the lower status, that is the subject, the son, the wife, the younger brother, and finally the younger person must be loyal and respectful to the person withe the higher satus. From these five relashionships one remains the most important in Confucianism and it is the relashionship between father and son. The devotion of children to parents is especially important in Confucianism.

The teachings of Laozi

Daoism(Taoism) is an ancient Chinese way of life or philosophy that emphazizes a simple and natural existence. Daoist Students wrote a popular book called 'Dao de Jing' which is mostly composed of poems. Unlike Confucianism, Daoism thinks order and harmony can only exist if we could live in harmony in nature and if there was balance between the Yin and the Yang. The Yin and the Yang are believed to be the two great forces of nature and when there is no balnce between them, natural disasters occur. This belief system was also inspired and influenced by Buddhism.

The teaching of Han Feizi

Legalism was highly supported by the man who united China also known as Shi Huangdi(King Zheng of Qin). Legalism believed that every single human being is evil and the only way to make them good is to enforce laws harshly and to punish the people cruely. They believed that harsh punishment was nessecary to maintain power. Legalism also states that a strong leader and a strong legal system is needed to create social order.