Heaven and Earth in Confucianism and Daoism: Power and Values

In this chapter, I will focus on the two dominant Chinese philosophical schools: Confucianism and Daoism. The corresponding concept of nature as in Emerson are expressed as the concept of Heaven and Earth. I use the concept of power and value to explain this concept since it can better help us understand the Chinese philosophers’ attitude towards nature. The concept of power in Chinese philosophy is deeply related to the concept of qi (vital energy). Power and value are closely related concepts. By value, I mean the value of good and beauty. Chinese philosophy does not have Emerson’s concept of truth however they stress the concept of goodness and beauty. They will not question the existence of Heaven and Earth rather they take the existence as the pregiven and take it for granted. In this chapter, I also examine how Confucianism and Daoism use different concept of value term to integrate the interpretation into the concept of power. Confucianism stresses the moral value in Heaven and Earth, which is characterized by benevolence and righteousness. By contrast, Daoism stress moral value of no-action in Heaven and Earth. They hold that both the values can promote the flow of vital energy(qi).