I've read about Confucianism and Daoism, but it saddens me that there isn't more out there on Mohism. That sounds like a really neat philosophy!

I think Confucianism winning was no fluke. The Hundred Schools made sense in a fragmented China with peer competition. Different people had different ideas how to build the most effective state. It’s no surprise Legalism won because it could mobilize the nation for conquest. However Legalism is too harsh to be sustainable in peace time. Once China was unified under the Han dynasty there was no peer competition and Confucianism was a more stable system. Other schools were counterproductive as a unified society is better off being conformist than having rival ideologies. What’s interesting is the rise of Communism can be interpreted as a return to Legalism caused by the return of peer competition during the century of humiliation. Once China found it had to compete with more powerful countries Confucianism took a backseat. China copied Stalinism because the Soviets were able to rapidly industrialize an agrarian society and turn it into a superpower. Stalin and Qinshihuandi had a lot in common. Even if China did not become Communist it would have turned toward Legalism as it looked for ways to modernize rapidly.

Its insane this channel is still under the radar...good stuff

Through ages，China was(is) always "外儒內法"(External Confucianism, or Outside Confucianism Inside Legalism). So I think Han Fei Tzu is the actual winner.

Some would argue even with Confucianism being officially adopted since the Han, it's always been Legalism that ruled. Confucianism sounds nice as a concept to the subjects just as the Mandate of Heaven does. When it really does come down to it, it's always been the draconian authoritarian rule that defined Chinese history.

"And the irreconcilable dichotomy between opposing equals drives all conflict in the universe. Your thoughts, majesty?" "May I see your hat a moment?"

Here's my guesses for what China would have been like with Taoism or Mohism at the fore: A Mohist influenced China would mean a more communitarian China. Families would be loose and broad, and the notion of rule by blood or alliance by blood would be far less influential, though probably still practiced. I imagine a Mohist China would be collection of states that never unify, but practice a balance of horizontal and vertical strategies espoused by the diplomats. If China does eventually unify it's because it's deemed more useful to than not. I can see a kind of constitutional monarchy being implemented, with policies passed for a welfare state. The Mohists promoted scientific innovation and rationalism, so I can see the development of a Scientific Method that spreads via trade into Persia and Arabia by the mid 1st Millenium CE. I think China would probably industrialize early on by around 1200 CE. Its base would still be located in the north rather than the south, and it would expand north into Siberia to take advantage of the oil fields there. Persia would probably industrialize early as well. I'm not sure how Europe would evolve with such a prosperous East Asia, but China would probably have made landfall on the European Coastlines, reinvigorating trade. I could see Europe being rather inspired by East Asian philosophy and moving towards an Enlightenment of sorts based in constitutional government and egalitarianism. Eventually a Technocratic order would probably take over, and I don't see this line using money as currency past a certain point; making the economy as efficient and streamlined and equal as possible would be the goal, and bureaucratic banks as well as class divides would curtail that. A Taoist influenced China would mean that leaders would no longer be torn by the drive to pursue power at the expense of the natural rise and fall of civilization. It would be built into education that rulers, people, things, societies, life itself etc. has its cycles and we live within these with a certain amount of control only. This means the pursuit of absolute power would not be instilled. The pursuit would be for wisdom, and people would be elected into rulership based on their wisdom. Surrender would be taught towards everyone from a young age, because the goal of life is to grow and learn and take what you will from it, not to control what you cannot control. I can see a lot of traveling teachers and wisdom circles growing. Greece had ideas at the time of a Philosopher King model and I can see China pursuing that as well. There would be less book burning and more elegant learning, with vast sprawling schools and libraries. The focus on the accuracy and integrity of knowledge and teaching would mean technology and trade spread faster, so the world may be hundreds or thousands of years advanced to ours today. I don't see organized religion being instilled in a taoist world. It wouldn't stick in a collective taught about the flexibility of lifestyle and interpretation. Plus, religions like Christianity and Islam arose because of classism and dogmatic oppression and desires for salvation from these forces. In a taoist world, there is less holding to hierarchy or control, so there are less violent rebellions and scriptures to live by. Though they would still exist.

I genuinely love your content and editing style, I have no clue why you're so underrated you include funny jokes in your explanations and its amusing!

I've come to the conclusion that Confucianism indirectly contributed to the palace intrigues that confounded several later dynasties. The problem appears to be the palace eunuchs. My understanding is that they were essentially volunteers, under the assumption that - without the ability to start families they would be selfless administrators, yet clearly this was not the case. Scheming eunuchs have been at the heart of corrupt intrigues, the An-Lushan rebellion comes to mind, as an example - dooming the Tang dynasty. The very fact that the highest positions in the palace required a man to be a eunuch ensured they would embody the ruthless ambition they were supposed to eschew. If a man would go through that... for power in the palace... yikes. The problem of scheming eunuchs could have been 'neutered' if a selection of older, responsible women could have been trained as palace administrators, less likely to have the same degree of ambition, and no threat to the Emperor's harem. But this was apparently unthinkable, because classical Confucianism would relegate these women to home life exclusively.

It's quite a shame that ancient Chinese philosophy isn't studied more in Western curriculum. Many ideas and philosophies that we consider "Western" can actually be found in these ancient Chinese schools. For example: - Laozi and Taoism = libertarianism - Mozi and Xunzi = classical realism - Mozi's Universal Love = social contract theory (Hobbes and Locke) - School of Diplomacy = structural realism - School of Agriculture = agrarianism a la Thomas Jefferson - Legalism = realism/realpolitik (Machiavelli) - Etc. This is a very rough and the comparisons may not be accurate, but you get the idea. Obviously I'm not saying that these Western philosophies "copied" their much older Chinese counterparts, but ancient Chinese philosophy deserves a place in even Western curriculum if we really want to learn these different ideas from a diverse set of sources, regardless when and where they came about.

Thanks for the research. I am actually very interested on this many schools of thought and I was even planning to write a book detailing a China where Confucianism was not the main ideology.

Hey, I recognize this voice! You taught me how to play D&D! I love this new content and I’m excited to see more!

Could you go more in-depth with the other schools? I'd love to hear more about the logicians.

Actually, the school that won was Syncretism. The Han Dynasty used Confucianism to regulate social fabric, Legalism for crime and punishment, Yinyang and Dao as the country's theology, mohist and logician became the R & D people, providing the empire with science and technical innovation (look at all the jaw dropping magic mirrors, porcelain. It is impossible without mohist involvement), diplomacy the foreign affairs department and the small talk became the dynasty Mainstream media. This was the blueprint from Lv Bu Wei and set into actions by Han Dynasty.

Wow this is strikingly similar to the various school of thought in Islamic history! Just like Chinese history, in Islamic history there ulexisted a wide diverse range of philosophies such as those who encouraged rationality over fatalism (e.g. the Mu'tazilites), those who endorsed a combination of rationality and strict teachings (Ash'arites) and other sects like the ones who always rebelled against rulers (Zaydis) and crazy fundamentalists (Khawarij). Also, similar to legalism being endorsed by the emperor, The abbasid ruler Al Mamun made Mutalizilism the official state version of Islam. Anyway, apart from identifiying this similarity, I wanted to thank you for such engaging videos. I am really interested in East Asian history.... my personal favourite Chinese philosophical school of thought would be Mohism, I think we should love all humanity equally and should not be driven by cult mentalities as this is dangerous. The only thing I would disagree with Mozi on is music haha.

loving these series...good job

Great videos man, keep up the good work

Can’t wait for the next videos, fellas!!

Wonderful video! I learned alot about chinese history thanks to you. Keep it up! I wish you the best!

Wow! I learnt so much in this channel thank you

Excellent video, as usual. Greetings from Mexico.

Damm, Anarcho-primitivism is just agriculturalism

Thanks for the video.

I definitely fall into Syncretism. I take ideas from the School of Small Talk with a mix of Logican and Mohism - the distaste for music. It was very interesting learning about these schools! China would definitely be a vastly different place without the strong influences of Legalism and Confucianism

Excellent video!

They love Confusius so much in china they made his birthday National Teacher's Day.

I believe that a mixture of Taoism and Mohism could make China (or any other country) a better places. Mohism would provide a logical vision of the world and Taoism great flexibility.

This is very educative

I love Legalism. History proved that it needs to be accompanied with other more humane philosophy to make it out in the long term. Moreover, it could also be argued that the more humane philosophy is just a facade for a Legalistic state. In my opinion, China today is ruled by this notion.

I kinda fall between Mohism and Confucianism, I like the ideals of compassion in Mohism but I also see the value of preserving culture and music though I'm not a big fan of sticking to traditions and rituals just because they're traditions. Though well intentioned, confucianism sticks far to much to rigid morality and doesn't take into account the personal needs and emotions of individuals and punishes them for not fitting the norm. I do appreciate confucianism for influencing chinese rulers to be more benevolent, even though it really almost always is just a mask. Confucianism really tries to improve society by forcing those on top to act more benevolent but also keep everyone else loyal and pretty much indoctrinated through cultural rituals and traditions. Taoism is another interesting one I'm rather fond of but I think it falls short because it is too undefined. It's not exactly a school of thought that a leader will pick up and lead his nation based on that because it is, I think, antithesis to the very structures of society itself. I like music tho. Honestly nobody really had it figured out I think. But it's impressive how some of these scholars were capable of (ever so slightly) rising above the restraints of their cultural upbringing to contemplate these ideals.

I've always preferred the Mojia (Mohism) followed by Daojia (Taoism). I believe Rujia (Confucianism) was promoted by the Han mainly because it loved hierarchy and preached traditionalism which appealed to the Han court. If your emperor that's what you want a people to take your word for it not some logician like Mozi who would raise embarrassing and possibly dangerous questions.

this video is very useful for me to learn all about East Asia

What school? Syncretism. It has the most to choose from and the most to say.

nice information... 5 stars

I read that Mohism eventually died out after China was unified because the engineering skills of its members were no longer needed (because warfare was no longer prevalent). However, what if they adapted their mathematical and engineering skills for other uses? Later Chinese dynasties included a "Department of Works" that planned and built the country's infrastructure (bridges, canals, etc.). What if Qin Shi Huangdi used them to start an engineering corps for this purpose? Also, Logicianism was an early investigation of modern formal logic. If it had been allowed to continue, China could have developed the Scientific Method independent of the west. While the Chinese were always strong in applied engineering, they lacked a firm theoretical basis behind it. This is part of what led to their technology eventually falling behind the west. Instead of outlawing and destroying different schools of thought, what if Qin Shi Huangdi put them to use for different functions of his dynasty?

That white horse content though... I had a colleague say white isn't a colour and is colourless... I think I wanted to be the "well actually" guy but it was a Christmas party.

Syncretism reminds me of the ancient Romans. They borrowed what they thought were the best ideas and methods from other people around them and put those ideas into practice. They were not stubborn idealists and would ditch things if they did not get the results they wanted. They borrowed culture and philosophy from Greece, sword design from Spain, armor and shield design from Gaul, chariot racing from Etruria, etc.

Great video! Thank you.

Legalism is still the most powerful philosophy. Mao hated Confucius, but even he used legalism. And what else is the social credit system but pure legalism?

As I never heard about Mohism, this will be the school I think would have made China's history different

Can you make a Chinese version of this video? I feel like a lot of content were lost in translation and made it even more confusing for people who have basic knowledge from "back home" but want to learn more.

I've read a bit about Confucianism (but am still trying to wrap my head around it metaphorically speaking), and consider myself both a Daoist and a Buddhist. Looking at the "Hundred Schools of Thought" playlist I see there's no video on Ch'an or Buddhism in general, unless its wrapped into the Taoism vids. Just wondering if there were any plans to make such a video? Mohism has my hippie heart intrigued. Any recommendations for books/YT vids/podcasts?

4:18 Basically, a sophist.

Better than one school of thought for alternate history China, there should be a strategy game set in period in which scholars from each of the schools of thought exist in the world and as a leader you can choose which of them to hire, bribe, exile, execute, etc, leading to emergent interactive possibilities as the AIs or other players share the recruiting pool, so eliminating those you aren't hiring will deny them to your opponents, whereas promoting a school you're already strong in in their court could lead to more ideological harmony between your states

Mochism is my favorite so far. they were absolute punks.

I came here searching for copper and i found Gold.

What do you use to make the animation for these videos? It's awesome! I just found your channel and I really love it

Logicianist be like: Checkmate Mohist!

I think some schools where always doomed, Mohism, for example, always sided with small states against large ones so it was never going to be the state philosophy of a unified empire which is how Confucianism became so influential. You could even speculate that many of legalisms strengths in uniting an empire became liabilities in governing one, dooming it as well

I don't agree with your assessment that it was fluke that Confucianism came out on top. The thing about all these schools of thought is that in order to become dominant in a pre-industrial world they had to achieve three things. If it did not achieve all three, it was doomed to take a supportive role in the long run. 1) It had to provide doctrine that could be applied in many different environments. The schools other Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism immediately become the top three. The other schools had useful teachings but they were too narrow. 2) It has to provide a justification for hierarchy. While Daoism comes across as much more enlightened than Confucianism, it lacks any sort of justification for why those in charge should be in charge. That means that while rulers might believe that Daoism is true, them more ambitious in their ranks will realize Legalism and Confucianism were more useful in statecraft and will take out those that don't. 3) Finally, it must provide source of legitimacy for a regime other than raw might. In Legalism the reason a rulers should rule tomorrow is because they rule today. That is a pretty flimsy form of legitimacy. For a regime to last, your people need a reason to support it even when things aren't going in the state's favor. Only Confucianism had an answer. The people in charge should remain in charge as long as they are moral and making a good faith effort to care for those beneath them.

I'm not sure if you're giving mohism enough credit, I've read the classic of mohism and I was very impressed by how contemporary it seemed, guy seemed to be what would today be a utilitarian as well as had an interesting epistemology which seemed somewhat scientific and had the ethical dimension of not believing shit that would cause horrible things to happen if true (which at first glance is terrible epistemology, but when you look back on the history of science and how many terrible things have been done based on what seemed like totally sound ideas at the time, it actually kind of seems like a good thing to be prudent about)

5:46 Agriculturalist school sounds like the inspiration for Maoism. From what I've read is more or less a different version from Leninism that the focus was to reach the countryside as opposed to the urban areas. And it sees that the main game changer in Chinese history is the peasants revolt, like the many dynasties that had fallen by the agrarian rebels. I know the channel doesn't cover recent China history (it could bring chaos and KZfaq may forbid them), but would you guys think that agriculturalists had a kind of revival recently? (Not picking sides, just out of curiosity)

I think a great alternate history would be where confucianism was lauded but the other schools of thought weren't banned. I found the mixing of ideas to be interesting.

6:18 number 1

Cool channel!

Logicians and Mohism would be kinda cool as alternative history dominant philosophies

08:40 - Dang Liu Bang you are shameless.

So... Legalism was the Ancient Chinese version of Totalitarianism. Oh, wait, maybe it's the other way around, Totalitarianism is the modern version of Ancient Chinese Legalism.

I wish Taoism and Mohism had combined instead of Yin Yang, sometimes. I think China would have become a much different nation in some interesting ways.

can someone paint The Hundred Schools of Thought? thanks

The problem with Legalism is that the punishment for minor crimes is the same for major crimes. Once a ton of people commit a minor crime that is easy to break, they might as well commit a major one, such as, oh I don’t know, rebellion?

It's older now but A.C. Graham's book Disputers of hte Tao is a good look at the 100 schools, primarily Confucianism, Moism, Legalism, and Ying-Yang, as I recall

6:25 Number 2

- I'd say a fully taoist China would look very different, possibly the opposite, if what we have today!

Unsure if it's a worthy argument but considering the root word of religion is the Latin 'ligares', which means to bind together, usually in a belief of something sacred, could you not classify most of these as religions? It is a shared belief that binds people together so to me Confucianism could be considered a religion, much like Buddhism or even secular Marxism, or Capitalism.

I was never into the small talk school.

my personal opinion is that modern china is slightly more legalism leaning than confucianism...

Legalism thoroughly transformed China, ending feudal inherited rule and regional/local interests, and replacing it with a system largely run by the administrator class, with the emperor largely a figurehead taking the administrators' lead. Confucianism had no real solution to resolve the crisis of the warring states period. Legalism did. After unification, with some periods or efforts at reversal, China was generally "'exteriorly Confucian, interiorly Legalist" i.e. "Confucian in name, Legalist in principle".

what school is Socialism with Chinese Characteristics? seems legalist and logician (with a hint of moism).

I think we all know that if Legalism would've been the dominant idiology not only China would be different but the world. I can even imagine that my first language would probable be Mandarin and not Spanish hahaha

Mozism personally looked the best from my perspective

Mohism seems pretty dope for ancient philosophy. I'm definitely interested in what an AU China run by it and also Taoism would look like. And maybe the rationalists too.

Syncretism was actually the greatest school since it borrow the good point of all other school .It like mma in philosophy. Legalism is great school since it motivate people the best . But use it to extreme would lead to force labor that lead to revolt. Monism have a great point since it deny fate and also against expensive ceremonial burial that make people poor . But this philosophy say to love everyone the same that is communist idea which reduce motivation . Like you pay everyone the same no matter what they do.And that make people poor the most. Confucian have some bad point since it lead to expensive ceremonial burial that make people poor. But adapt version teach people to loyal to their master. That prevent civil war .The thing that destroy China the most .It not worst or greatest school . It win because most of people in that time love them .And it benefit the ruler the most.But go as far as ban all other school destroy China potential greatly.

On the one hand he 焚书坑儒，on the other hand he conducted many Confucian rituals

And Lord Shang.

🔝🔝

I think the Logician, or School of Names if I researched this correctly, would make for a very interesting alternate history.

Brilliant video. Love this channel. Keep it up!

Wasn't Cao Cao a Legalist?

I feel like neighboring countries would get really upset if China had adopted logicism - It probably wouldn't have been very successful in history and another school of thought would have been adapted by whoever took command.

y did anyone dislike the video?

Mohism seems pretty cool.

I get confused

Is Ancient Chinese philosophy more of a philosophy than religion

I'm a fan of Mohism, its like my own way of thinking. Be friendly, but fortify the shit outta your house.

看到吕不韦，笑死我了，想起了大秦赋。

Women​ around​ the​ world​ must​ have​ been​ small​-talk​ism since​ ancient​ time.

Goddamit, Qin!

The Chinese tell a good story!

Mohist school!!!

Confucians: Conservatives Legalists: Fascists Mohists: Anarchists Taoists: Libertarians Agriculturalists: AnPrims Syncretists: Centrists Small talk: MSM Logicians: KZfaq atheists

Bách gia chư tử

道家!!! 道家!!! 道家!!! 道家!!! 道家!!!

So Taoism is basically ancient Oriental libertarianism?

They seem to have reverted to legalism in recent times...

YOU FORGOT SUN TZU THE MASTER OF WAR !!!!!!!

Ban Gu... is the colloquial pronunciation of "fart" in Korean. :-P

P.O.V logicians 🤓

5:37 their philosophies match their mustaches

Mohist China sounds great