Philosophy of Ancient China

General Characteristics of the Philosophical Tradition in Ancient China

The ancient land known to us as China was not referred to by the Chinese in this way. For them, it was either Zhong Guo (the Middle Kingdom) or Zhong Hua (the Central Flower), or it was named after various dynasties (e.g., Qin). The name "China" is borrowed from the peoples of Central Asia, who referred to the dominant population of northern China during the 10th to 13th centuries as such. The Chinese state initially formed in the basin of the Yellow River and boasts a rich history with deep cultural roots. For instance, writing emerged as early as the 2nd millennium BCE and has been actively utilized in economic, political, and spiritual life. Consequently, many written cultural artifacts have been preserved, facilitating the study of the country's history, culture, and, specifically, its philosophy.

The main historical periods of ancient China are traditionally named after the ruling dynasties and states: Shang or Yin, Zhou, Qin, and Han. According to Chinese tradition, around the 17th century BCE, a figure named Cheng Tang founded a state that would be known as Shang after the ruling tribe. This state endured for over three centuries. It was succeeded by the Zhou dynasty, which lasted until the 3rd century BCE, spanning approximately ten to twelve centuries. This era is divided into two parts: the Western Zhou with its capital at Hao and the Eastern Zhou with its capital at Luoyang. The state was a conglomerate of dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of political entities, collectively referred to from the 5th to 3rd centuries BCE as the Warring States. During the process of unification, the state of Qin played a pivotal role. The final unification occurred under the reign of Ying Zheng (246-210 BCE), who adopted the title of emperor (huandi) in 221 BCE and entered history as Qin Shi Huang. This infamous ruler ordered the burial of 460 Confucian scholars and the burning of all philosophical and historical texts. However, by 207 BCE, the Qin dynasty fell, giving rise to the Han dynasty, which subsequently fractured into three kingdoms in 220 CE. The formation and development of ancient Chinese philosophy took place during the aforementioned historical periods.

Philosophical views in China began to take shape around the 8th century BCE, coinciding with the emergence of philosophy in India and Greece. The Warring States period, specifically the 5th to 3rd centuries BCE, is regarded as the golden age of Chinese philosophy. Preceding the rise of philosophy, mythology and certain ancient texts influenced its genesis, which we shall briefly explore.

Among the oldest Chinese myths is the account of primordial chaos, when there was neither heaven nor earth, and only formless shapes wandered in complete darkness. The separation of heaven and earth commenced with the growth of Pangu—an initial cosmic being that emerged almost simultaneously with the chaotic universe, which resembled a mix of a chicken egg. For 18,000 years, Pangu grew until he stretched 45,000 kilometers. During his growth, the gradual separation of heaven and earth occurred in correspondence with his expansion. Pangu is associated with the origins of natural phenomena: his breath became the wind, his voice the thunder, his left eye the sun, his right eye the moon, his four limbs and body parts created the four cardinal directions, and his blood formed rivers, among others. Upon his death, parasites inhabiting his body transformed into humans, and the wind scattered them across the earth. The myth of Pangu reveals a characteristic of archaic humanity: the anthropomorphization of the cosmos, which reflects the unity of the macro- and microcosm, a concept later entrenched in ancient Chinese medicine. In later religious Daoism, Pangu became one of the supreme figures.

Predominantly, the central characters of ancient Chinese mythology were cultural heroes and certain ancestral figures who bestowed various inventions upon humanity. Fuxi invented fishing nets, Suiren discovered fire, Shennong initiated agriculture, Huangdi invented boats and carts, crafted clothing from fabric, and began constructing roads. Gradually, a historicization of mythical figures took shape, where they began to be regarded as real actors from a very ancient, prehistoric past.

During the Zhou era, a cult of heaven emerged—an exalted principle governing all occurrences on earth. Simultaneously, ancient Chinese philosophy began to form, wherein myths partially entered in a rationalized form.

The ancient Chinese text "I Ching" (The Book of Changes), composed in the 8th-7th centuries BCE, is often considered a source of ancient Chinese philosophy. The earliest reference to the "I Ching" dates back to 672 BCE. The title of the book, also known as "Zhou Yi" (The Zhou Book of Changes) or simply "Yi" (Changes), pertains to the transformations occurring between the dark and light principles, represented by graphical symbols. In ancient times, these symbols were used for divination regarding fortunate or unfortunate events and the fortunes or misfortunes awaiting an individual.

The central idea of the "I Ching" lies in the opposition between the dark and light principles, depicted as broken horizontal lines [—] symbolizing the dark principle (yin yao) and solid lines [—] representing the light principle (yang yao). Initially, symbols consisted of three lines (trigrams), signifying the relationships between heaven, earth, and humanity. Arranged in a specific order, they formed eight trigrams (ba gua): qian, kun, zhen, xun, kan, li, gen, and dui. These represented eight manifestations of nature: heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountains, and lakes. The eight trigrams, known as simple trigrams (dan gua), later transformed into 64 hexagrams through the process of doubling, referred to as doubled trigrams (chun gua). The eight trigrams consist of 24 lines, while the 64 hexagrams comprise 384 lines, reflecting more complex and diverse changes, allowing predictions of virtually any relationships in various processes.

Each hexagram corresponds to three components: a symbol (xiang), a number (shu), and an interpretation (ci). The symbol is an image formed through a combination of lines representing the dark and light principles. The number reflects changes in hexagrams, constructed from six rows of lines, resulting in a numerical system governing the divination of changes invoked by the dark and light principles. The interpretation refers to the explanations for each hexagram and each line.

In antiquity, by analyzing symbols, numbers, and interpretations, people sought to predict the arrival of fortunate or unfortunate events. The "I Ching" considers all processes in nature and society as results of the interaction between the dark and light principles. The eight trigrams, grounded in the contradictions between the light and dark principles, gradually evolved to represent four pairs of contradictions: between heaven and earth, thunder and wind, water and fire, mountains and lakes. Heaven and earth constitute the fundamental source from which all existence emerges, while thunder and wind, water and fire, mountains and lakes are derived from them.

In the hexagrams, the number of contradictions increases to 32 pairs, such as "fortune" and "misfortune," "loss" and "gain," "end" and "not yet an end," etc., reflecting the contradictory relationships among the hexagrams, which is why hexagrams are colloquially referred to as face-up and reverse.

The "I Ching" also encompasses notions of mutual attraction and mutual alienation. For instance, the hexagram T'an symbolizes the earth positioned above the heaven. In reality, based on the actual arrangement of heaven and earth, heaven should be above the earth. The reversal of their positions signifies that the life-giving forces of the light principle (yangzi) must rise, while the life-giving forces of the dark principle (yinzi) descend, illustrating mutual attraction, engagement, and transformation. The interpretations of the hexagram T'an convey this idea: "The small departs, the great arrives" (the life-giving forces of the heavens are referred to as great, while those of the earth are termed small), indicating the close interaction between the dark and light principles and symbolizing the successful completion of endeavors.

Among the 64 hexagrams, 16 symbolize the light, 16 the dark, and 32 the interplay of darkness and light. Except for 8 hexagrams, where the upper and lower parts are identical, the remaining hexagrams, which express mutual attraction and mutual alienation, are primarily divided evenly. This indicates that the "I Ching" considers mutual attraction and mutual alienation as two distinctive features and fundamental forms of relationships between contradictions.

The authors of the "I Ching" not only employed these concepts to explain the relationships between the upper and lower parts of the hexagrams but also extended them to the relations among individual lines that symbolize the dark and light principles. This complexity led to the emergence of mutual sensation within mutual attraction and mutual attraction within mutual alienation. Consequently, interpretations for fortunate hexagrams contain ominous prophecies, while interpretations for hexagrams foretelling misfortune may include words that herald joy, thus allowing diviners a broad field of activity. The "I Ching" frequently associates fortunate hexagrams and auspicious lines with mutual attraction, while unfortunate hexagrams and inauspicious lines are linked to the mutual alienation of the dark and light principles.

As contradictions in the "I Ching" are categorized into two types characterized by mutual attraction and mutual alienation, so too are fortunate and unfortunate changes regarded as two perspectives and two outcomes that objects encounter in their development and transformations.

From the viewpoint of ancient Chinese thinkers, the "I Ching" was a marvelous, enchanting system sufficient for expressing the innumerable changes within the universe.

In ancient Chinese philosophy, the "I Ching" introduced numerous terms well-known to philosophers, including "yin," "yang," "dao," "de," "wise sage," "noble person," "reciprocity," and others. It also absorbed principles of mutual transition and the interrelation of contradictions, as exemplified in the saying: "Changes as a book cannot be dismissed; changes as Dao are constantly shifting; the motion of metamorphosis never ceases, circulating through the six voids. The upper and lower are not constant; the hard and soft transform one another. No model can be applied to them."

Historians of ancient Chinese philosophy note that the development of the category "Dao" played a significant role in its establishment and evolution. Initially, "Dao" meant "path" or "way," but it later acquired other, more philosophical meanings: the "path" of nature, its inherent regularity; the human life's journey; a specific ethical norm. It is believed that the elaboration of the teachings on "Dao" and "De" preceded the emergence of the primary philosophical schools, including Daoism. "Dao-De" permeates all major philosophical directions, yet it is realized as a principle based on different foundations. In Daoism, it is expressed through the norm of "zi-ran" (naturalness), in Confucianism through "li" (ritual), and in Legalism through "fa" (law).

A distinguishing feature of ancient Chinese philosophy is its persistent social-political and moral orientation. This is sometimes explained by the relative scarcity of myths concerning nature compared to other phenomena in China, which led to a philosophy that, emerging from mythology, was not particularly directed towards natural philosophy. However, this inclination may indeed stem from a complex interplay of causes. While myths about nature did exist in China, resulting in the formation of a distinct natural philosophical school (Yin-Yang school), the extent to which the comparatively fewer myths about nature could decisively influence a tendency towards political and ethical themes remains a question requiring further elucidation.

The predominance of social-political and ethical issues can also be attributed to other factors. The historical and natural conditions under which statehood developed in China created a prestigious and robust social stratum of individuals engaged in the management of state and public affairs. It is entirely natural that this stratum was continuously replenished by progressive, intellectually developed, and literate individuals, among whom the growth of sages and philosophers flourished. Thus, it was not so much the existing philosophy that suddenly turned towards social-political and ethical issues as it was the very nature of the problems arising from a particular socio-historical condition that initially shaped the typical features of ancient Chinese philosophy and its very essence.

Therefore, the mythological tradition, intertwined with the social stance of philosophers, directed philosophy towards the exploration of social-political and ethical problems, the development of questions concerning governance, ethics, and rituals. All of this occupied a central place in the works of Chinese philosophers.

Since philosophy and natural science traditionally developed separately in China, with philosophers often displaying disdain for those studying nature, Chinese philosophy thereby deprived itself of additional sources for forming a more holistic worldview, while natural science, in turn, did not receive methodological guidance from philosophy. Moreover, issues of logic were rarely addressed, hindering the development of a conceptual apparatus. Even the works of leading Chinese thinkers are characterized by allegorical expressions; an inclination towards numerical symbolism (for instance, in Confucius: three kinds of friendship, six vices, three types of joy, three deficiencies, etc.); the weaving of causal dependencies; and a continual play of opposing contradictions—good and evil, positive and negative. For example, in the book "Xunzi," it states: "When people are in a state of peace, they cannot help but live together; if they live together without distributing responsibilities, then competition arises. When competition arises, it leads to disorder; when disorder arises, it causes people to leave their homes..."

Since ancient times, it has been customary to distinguish six philosophical schools in China: Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism (Fa-Jia or the School of Law), the School of Names (Sophists), Natural Philosophers (advocates of Yin and Yang), and Daoism.