Confucianism
As the name suggests, the teachings of this school came from the work of Confucius and promoted humanity, loyalty, piety and ritual. Two of its key precepts were the Golden Rule, to treat others as you would want to be treated and the concept of Yin and Yang, of balance between opposites, finding middle ground and compromise.
Legalism
The more pragmatic and political school of philosophy, legalism’s motto is ‘set clear, strict laws, or deliver harsh punishment’. It teaches that rulers should rule according to a set of laws, from which their power is bestowed. Perhaps not a groundbreaking set of thoughts in the 21st century, but fairly unusual in the 8th century BCE, although it evolved towards totalitarianism by the 3rd century BCE.
Taoism
Also known as Daoism,…