Four Books

This page hosts educational diagrams that illustrate fundamental concepts in Chinese philosophy. Feel free to share them around the internet, try them out in your classes, and contact me with ideas for improvements and new builds.

“One-Thread Runs Through It All” (yiguan 一貫): The multitude of schools from Ancient Times to the Middle Ages had a “single thread” running through their mental framework. These schools proposed different Ways (dao 道) to do correspondingly different things. Yet the basis for all were the Principles (li 理) inherent in Nature (tian 天). A beginning student of Chinese philosophy should first thoroughly understand these three concepts.

“Lineage of the Way” (daotong 道統): In the transmission of the Way, setting a concise lineage provides the practical function of philosophical continuity for learners, without inundating them with disparate branches and contradictory doctrines. It is a culled philosophical lineage, not a complete historical lineage, and there are many Confucian branches for additional study (e.g., Xunzi, Han Yu, Zhang Zai, and Wang Yangming). Source: Wing-tsit Chan, “Chu Hsi: Life and Thought,” p. 122.

“The Three Teachings” (sanjiao 三教): In China they are called the “Three Teachings,” which are rujia 儒家 (“Ruist School,” called “Confucianism” in English), daojia 道家 (Daoist School,” not to be confused with daojiao 道教 which is the “Daoist Religion”), and fojia 佛家 (“Buddhist School” which includes chanzong 禪宗 which is “Chan Buddhism,” called “Zen” in English). In the Song Dynasty they were synthesized into lixue 理學 (“School of Nature’s Principle,” termed “Neo-Confucianism” in English).