Taoism and Confucianism -alternative ways of development of ancient Chinese society

Taoism and Confucianism are perhaps the most famous Chinese philosophical concepts in the West. Until today they are addressed to by both Chinese and foreign researchers. The problem of opposition of Confucianism and Taoism in ancient China continues to exercise the minds of researchers, so nowadays there is a lot of literature that examines the sequence of events in China trying to understand how Chinese tradition and culture were finally formed. Modern China still maintains the tradition that has its roots in the Antiquity when Confucianism became accepted as a state ideology. According to the legend, there was a meeting between Confucius and Lao-tzu. It is said that Lao-tzu criticized the teaching of Confucius and pointed at its shortcomings, and Confucius was very embarrassed and did not know what to say. Perhaps Confucius understood the depth of the teaching of Taoism, but he also knew that it could never be accepted by all people, and his teaching in this respect was more successful. The historically constituted situation of the political crisis in China demanded its solution. The main ways of further development of ancient Chinese society were offered in the teachings of Taoism and Confucianism. Taoism offered to distract from vain life and start on the path of natural harmony. And Confucianism offered to observe strictly ancient rituals and regulations and separate clearly the roles in the society. The ancient Chinese society could not understand and accept the teachings of Taoism because of its mentality, and rationality and clarity of Confucianism became the best way out of the difficult situation in the country. The availability of teachings played an important role. Confucius offered a very specific way out of the tangled situation: it was necessary to allocate social roles and to live following etiquette, rituals and rules. The strict Chinese tradition is still preserved. The temples in honor of Confucius are built, and modern people continue to revere the teacher Kuhn. But the doctrine of Taoism is not dead in this country, in the quiet and serene parts of China, as a refuge for hermits, Taoist temples are located. Not all the secrets of these two teachings are disclosed; maybe that is why they attract attention of the researchers. There are still a lot of mysteries of Chinese philosophy that can be raised as a problem and tried to be developed in the future.

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