The philosophy in Pre - Qin times （先秦子学）
the most influential schools
Confucianism(儒家）
the benevolence and justice ,alegiance and forbearance （仁、义、忠、恕）
the doctrine of the golden mean （中庸）
the ethical relations of men
Taoism(道家）
promotes the belief that a person should live a simple life
favours the political principle of “ achieving good government through non - action ”（无为而治）
Mohism（墨家）
opposes fatalism （宿命论） and aggressive wars
upholds thriftiness and simple funerals
Legalism（法家）
espouses （主张） laying down laws to unify the thought of people
promotes agriculture to achieve affluence
wages （进行） wars to gain strength and power
establishes a system of bureaucracy (官僚制度）
The orthodox philosophy during the Han Dynasty （两汉经学）
banning all schools of thought except Confucianism (罢黜百家，独尊儒术）
Confucianism served as the ideological foundation of the feudal rule
Orthodox philosophy advocates that Heaven affects human affairs and human behaviour finds responses in Heaven（天人感应）
the power of the emperors are authorized by Heaven （君权神授）
at odds with Confucianism which holds that man is an integral part of nature （天人合一）
Metaphysics during the Wei and Jin dynasties （魏晋玄学）
theme : to explore the noumenon （本体） of the universe
The buddhist philosophy during the Sui and Tang dynasties （隋唐佛学）
mainly discusses the relationship between the subjective and the objective
attempts to gain insight into the universe and human life
Neo - confucianism in Song and Ming dynasties （宋明理学)
mainly discusses the relationship between human beings , between man and nature , and between man and society , as wel as the nature of human beings
two main schools : the School of Principle （理学）and the School of Mind （心学）
Application philosophy in the Ming and Qing dynasties(明清实学）
focused on “ self - examination ”
stuck to the application of philosophy on the state affairs
searches for the answers to specific issues instead of abstract study
encourages creative ideas
