On the Formation of the Basic Complementary Model of Confucianism and Taoism in China

The integration of different thoughts is the ideological trait in the early Han Dynasty. All the schools of thought before the Qin Dynasty had been summarized by Tai Shigong as the Confucianists, the Logicians, the Mohists, the Taoists and the Yin-Yang School. Though Emperor Hanwu only admired Confucianism, there existed a complementary model of Confucianism and Taoism. This model remained for a long time until the introduction of Buddhism. In the early Han Dynasty, though Confucianism could replace Taoism as the main school of thought, Taoism remained as an independent school. This is because “Tao offers all possibilities with a critical attitude toward reality and avoids the narrow perspective of Confucianism by regarding the reality as the only standard. Thus, it has become a crucial school of thought in China.