List of Chinese Philosophers
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Chinese philosophy is one of the world’s most ancient philosophical traditions. Unlike Western philosophy and Indian philosophy, Chinese thought places relatively little emphasis on metaphysical questions and focuses mainly on human society and the maintenance of social order. This is illustrated by an excerpt from the Analects of Confucius. When a student asks about the afterlife, Confucius responds, “We do not yet understand life; how can we understand death?”
The foundations of classical Chinese philosophy emerged largely during the Spring and Autumn (770–476 bce) and Warring States (475–221 bce) periods, in an era known as the “Hundred Schools of Thought.” This philosophical flourishing occurred as the Zhou dynasty declined. Despite political fragmentation, China had a rich cultural and intellectual life, in which philosophers competed for influence among provincial rulers. This era ended when Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China, ordered mass book burnings and the killing of scholars (213 bce), because he viewed freedom of thought and diversity of ideas as threatening to the unity he sought to impose.
The emphasis on social order may be due to China’s historical cycles of unity and division. As Romance of the Three Kingdoms states, “Kingdoms under heaven, long divided, must unite, long united, must divide.” Chinese governance has often been defined by emperors who struggle to maintain control over China’s vast territory, while provincial leaders observe that “the mountains are high, and the emperor is far away.”
This list describes a few of the individuals who have been most important in the development of Chinese thought. It discusses the founders and exponents of Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, and Mohism, as well as the unique contributions of Sun Tzu and Dan, the duke of Zhou. All of these individuals have deeply influenced Chinese philosophy through the ages.
Confucius
- Lived: 551–479 bce
- State: Lu
- School: Confucianism
- Major work: Analects
- Quote: “Let the prince be a prince, the minister, a minister; the father, a father; the son, a son.” (Analects 12:11)
Confucius is China’s most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist. His ideas have profoundly influenced the civilizations of China and other East Asian countries. He believed that social order was best maintained through filial piety (xiao), a deep respect for parents, elders, and social hierarchy. He elevated xiao to a moral precept, seeing it as the foundation of humanity (ren).
Confucius taught that by respecting hierarchical relationships, whether in families, farming communities, or the imperial court, society could achieve lasting peace and stability. Xiao was not blind obedience but respectful deference. He also preached the importance of morality, kindness, and meritocracy. Notably, while Confucius and his followers believed in hierarchical social structures, they were opposed to hereditary privilege. They maintained that leadership should be determined not by birth or wealth but by literacy, moral worth, and knowledge of the high cultural tradition—the li. Confucius spent much of his life as a wanderer, looking for a ruler who would appoint him as an adviser. He never accomplished that goal, and only after his death did his ideas become popular and widely accepted.
Mencius
- Lived: c. 371–c. 289 bce
- State: Zou
- School: Confucianism
- Major work: Mencius
- Quote: “The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain come next; the sovereign counts for the least.” (Mencius 7:2)
Mencius, the “second sage” of Confucianism, continued to develop the ideas of Confucius. He preached the essential goodness of human nature and the obligation of rulers to provide for the people. He was regarded as a champion of the common people and an advocate of democratic principles in government. He traveled widely, and he briefly served as an official in the state of Qi before returning to his native state of Zou before the end of his life.
Xunzi
- Lived: c. 300–c. 230 bce
- School: Confucianism
- Major work: Xunzi
- Quote: “The nature of man is evil; his goodness is a matter of training and effort.” (Xunzi, chapter 23)
Xunzi, the “third sage” of the Confucian tradition, was radically opposed to Mencius. He claimed that human nature is essentially evil, and hence it must be carefully managed through education, the arts, and social norms. The disagreement between Mencius and Xunzi was one of the major controversies in early Confucian thought.
Xunzi’s work, eponymously titled Xunzi and comprising 32 essays, is considered a milestone in the development of Chinese philosophy. The anecdotal style of earlier philosophical literature was no longer sufficient; Xunzi found it necessary to produce well-organized essays that emphasized topical development, sustained reasoning, detail, and clarity. He was a rationalist who attacked superstition and mysticism. His achievements were diverse: he made important contributions to psychology, semantics, education, logic, epistemology, and dialectic.
Laozi
- Flourished: 6th century bce
- State: Unknown, said to be Chu
- School: Daoism
- Major work: Tao-te Ching
- Quote: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” (Tao-te Ching 64:2)
Laozi, the mysterious founding philosopher of Daoism (from dao, meaning “the way”) and the alleged author of the Tao-te Ching, is perhaps the only figure in Chinese history comparable to Confucius in the originality and impact of his thought. According to legend, he was an elder contemporary of Confucius and the two once met. During this meeting, Laozi chastised Confucius for his pride and ambition, while Confucius was awed by Laozi’s wisdom.
The Tao-te Ching, a book of sometimes elusive poetic verses, serves as the foundational text of Daoism. The teachings of Laozi are considerably more mystical than other major currents of Chinese thought. In keeping with the general trend of Chinese philosophy, they focus primarily on human life and do not engage directly with metaphysical questions. However, they place less emphasis on social order and instead focus on how individuals should conduct themselves throughout life. In essence, Daoism consists of wuwei (“nonaction”), understood as no unnatural action rather than complete passivity. It implies spontaneity, noninterference, letting things take their natural course: “Do nothing and everything is done.”
Zhuang Zhou
- Lived: c. 369–286 bce
- State: Song
- School: Daoism
- Major work: Zhuangzi
- Quote: “Once I, Zhuang Zhou, dreamed that I was a butterfly and was happy as a butterfly. I was conscious that I was quite pleased with myself, but I did not know that I was Zhou. Suddenly I awoke, and there I was, visibly Zhou. I do not know whether it was Zhou dreaming that he was a butterfly or the butterfly dreaming that it was Zhou. Between Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction. This is called the transformation of things.” (Zhuangzi, chapter 2)
Zhuang Zhou, the second most prominent of the Daoist philosophers, is known for his eponymously titled text, the Zhuangzi. Building on Laozi’s principles of nonaction, he preached a philosophy of true freedom, nonattachment, and acceptance of life’s changes. Zhuang Zhou’s teaching is somewhat reminiscent of the philosophy of Diogenes in its unpredictability and eccentricity, its rejection of societal convention, and its insistence that a life of absolute simplicity is best.
According to Zhuang Zhou, life is the ongoing transformation of the Dao, in which there is no better or worse, no good or evil. Things should be allowed to follow their own course, and people should not value one situation over another. A truly virtuous individual is free from the bondage of circumstance, personal attachments, tradition, and the need to reform the world. Zhuang Zhou declined an offer to be prime minister of the state of Chu, because he did not want the entanglements of a court career.
Mozi
- Lived: 470?–391? bce
- State: Unknown, said to be Lu
- School: Mohism
- Major work: Mozi
- Quote: “Universal love is the way of the sage-kings. It is the means by which the ruler brings peace and the people are fed and clothed.” (Mozi 16:15)
Mozi, born a few years after the death of Confucius, taught a doctrine of universal love (jianai), which challenged Confucianism for several centuries. According to tradition, Mozi originally followed the teachings of Confucius but became convinced that Confucianism laid too much emphasis on a burdensome code of rituals and too little on religious teaching. This led Mozi to go his own way, teaching that the peace of the world and the happiness of humanity lie in the practice of universal love.
Many objections were raised against this new doctrine—including its impracticability and its neglect of the special claims of one’s parents—but Mozi maintained that the principle of universal love had in it both utilitarian justification and divine sanction. Like Confucius, Mozi spent most of his life traveling from one feudal state to another in the hope of meeting a prince who would implement his ideas, though without success. He condemned offensive war and is known for leading his followers to distant states to prevent the outbreak of wars by reinforcing defending states.
Shang Yang
- Lived: c. 390–338 bce
- State: Wei
- School: Legalism
- Major work: Shangjun shu (“Book of the Lord of Shang”)
- Quote: “As the conditions in the world change, different principles are practiced.…Therefore, it is said: ‘When the people are stupid, by knowledge one may rise to supremacy; when the world is wise, by force one may rise to supremacy.’ ” (Shangjun shu 7.2–7.3)
Shang Yang was a Chinese statesman and thinker whose successful reorganization of the state of Qin paved the way for the eventual unification of China (221 bce) by Qin Shi Huang. Shang Yang codified the pragmatic and authoritarian nature of Chinese Legalism. He believed that the integrity of a state could be maintained only with power, and that power consisted of a large army and full granaries.
Entering into the service of Duke Xiao, then head of the state of Qin, Shang Yang replaced the feudal division of the country with a system of centrally appointed governors. He instituted compulsory military service and a new system of land division and taxation, and he insisted on strict and uniform administration of the law. He also unified the measures for length, capacity, and weight. He is said to have forced all persons into “productive occupations,” such as farming or soldiering (but not commerce), and to have set up a system of mutual spying among the people.
Han Feizi
- Lived: c. 280–233 bce
- State: Han
- School: Legalism
- Major work: Hanfeizi
- Quote: “No state is permanently strong or permanently weak. If the enforcers of the law are strong, the state will be strong; if they are weak, the state will be weak.” (Hanfeizi 2:6)
Han Feizi was the greatest of China’s Legalist philosophers. In his youth, he studied under Xunzi but then abandoned Confucian thought, gravitating toward the teachings of Shang Yang and Shen Buhai, another prominent Legalist. Further developing the ideas of his Legalist predecessors, the philosophy of Han Feizi might reasonably be compared to realpolitik and Machiavellianism. He emphasized the idea that political institutions must evolve with changing historical circumstances. It is folly, he said, to cling to outmoded ways of the past, as the Confucians did. He also believed that political institutions should adapt to the prevailing pattern of human behavior, which is determined not by moral sentiments but by economic and political conditions.
He did not believe, as the Confucians did, that virtue confers on a king the right to rule. Instead, he emphasized that possession of authority (shi) grants rulers the power to demand obedience; that authority should be wielded not whimsically but through laws (fa) that the ruler promulgates and that all must obey; and that, to ensure an effective bureaucracy and to protect his authority from encroachment or usurpation, the ruler must make use of shu (“administrative techniques” or “statecraft”). Han Feizi’s essays on autocratic government so impressed Qin Shi Huang that the future emperor adopted his principles after seizing power in 221 bce. The Hanfeizi, the book named for him, consists of a synthesis of legal theories up to his time.
Sun Tzu
- Lived: 5th century bce
- State: Wu
- School: Military science
- Major work: Bingfa (“Military Method,” or The Art of War)
- Quote: “Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.” (Bingfa 3:18)
Sun Tzu was the reputed author of the Chinese classic Bingfa (“Military Method,” or The Art of War), the earliest known treatise on war and military science. He was a military strategist and general who served the state of Wu near the end of the Spring and Autumn period. The Art of War is a systematic guide to strategy and tactics for rulers and commanders. The book discusses various maneuvers and the effect of terrain on the outcome of battles. It stresses the importance of accurate information about the enemy’s forces, dispositions and deployments, and movements. It also emphasizes the unpredictability of battle and the use of flexible strategies and tactics. The book’s insistence on the close relationship between political considerations and military policy greatly influenced some modern strategists. Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communists took from The Art of War many of the tactics they used in fighting the Japanese and, later, the Chinese Nationalists.
Dan, duke of Zhou
- Flourished: 11th century bce
- State: Zhou dynasty
Dan, duke of Zhou (his personal name was Dan), predated all the other philosophers mentioned here and cannot be categorized into any of the traditional schools of Chinese philosophy. Yet his influence in Chinese history and culture has been profound, shaping almost all currents of Chinese thought, either overtly or subtly. Confucius himself cited the duke of Zhou as his primary inspiration. The duke is credited with expanding and strengthening the Zhou dynasty, systematizing its administration, and ushering in a golden age that Confucius later sought to restore. He is also credited with creating the concept of the Mandate of Heaven in order to combat the Shang dynasty’s propaganda that only descendants of the deity Shangdi should rule China.
The duke of Zhou was the alleged author of the Yijing (“Classic of Changes”), a comprehensive cosmology and a divinatory system, as well as the Zhougong Jiemeng (“Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams”), one of the earliest surviving works on dream interpretation; the Shijing (“Classic of Poetry”), the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry; and the Zhouli (“Rites of Zhou”), a work on bureaucratic organization. Both the Yijing and the Shijing are counted among the Wujing (“Five Classics”) of Chinese literature, while the Zhouli is one of the Sanli (“Three Books of Ritual”). However, because of the remote antiquity of his time, it is difficult to determine with certainty what the duke of Zhou actually authored.
Despite this uncertainty, the literary prowess attributed to the duke of Zhou, for allegedly writing two of the Five Classics and one of the Three Books of Ritual, is perhaps unmatched in Chinese history. It is clear that he was simultaneously a skilled political reformer, a mystic, and a writer, and, although mysticism was largely abandoned in later Chinese philosophy, he retains a towering stature in the history of Chinese thought.