In the 5th century BCE, China was thrown into a period of intense warfare among rival states. The conflict created a need for new political models to solve the crisis. As a result, this period led to the development of many new philosophies. Two of the most influential of these philosophies were Confucianism and Daoism. In this lesson, students read from Confucian and Daoist texts to answer the question: What did ancient Chinese philosophers think was the ideal form of government?
Image: Statue of Laozi in Quanzhou, China. Photo taken by Tommy Wong in 2007. From Flickr.