| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bronze Age in China | A period beginning around 2000 B.C.–256 B.C., generally thought to occur during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. |
| Confucius/孔子/Kǒngzǐ （trad. 551–479 BCE） | A philosopher, teacher, advisor, editor, and reformer, he is considered a fundamental thinker in East Asian history. Further information: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/confucius/ |
| Eastern Zhou/東周 | The second, part of the Zhou (770–256 BCE), the Zhou rulership waned and the territories were divided into competing states. The Eastern Zhou period can further be divided into the Spring and Autumn period (770–ca. 476 BCE) and the Warring States period (475–221 BCE). |
| Goodness/仁/rén | |
| Grand meritocracy | A meritocracy in which merit would be based on the degree to which people are striving to be better than they currently are, not based on the skills at which they are currently good. |
| Growth mindset | A point of view in which the goal of personal or societal actions is to continue the growth and development of oneself, someone else, or something else. |
| Hanfeizi/韓非子/Hán Fēizǐ, (ca. 3rd century BCE) | A major Legalist theorist whose philosophy is recorded in an eponymously titled book of philosophy and whose ideology influenced the policies of the unified state of Qin. He was a student of Xunzi/荀子/Xúnzǐ (3rd century B.C). |
| Heart-Mind/心/Xīn | Best translated as “heart-mind”, this term is as much cognitive as emotional. However, different thinkers emphasize more the cognitive or emotional side of this term. Due to the awkwardness of “heart-mind” we have chosen to translate the term as “heart” in the context of Mencius and “mind” in other contexts. |
| Heaven/天命/tiān mìng | In ancient China, the highest deity in who created the world. |
| In potentia | The power or inclination to do something, as opposed to an essential nature. “In potentia good” is the fundamental ability for one to do good, but it does not mean that one is essentially good. |
| Judo (Japanese)/柔道/róudào | Literally, “the way of softness.” A form of Japanese martial arts in which one utilizes opponents’ strong movement against them by altering their movement to cause them harm (overbalancing them, twisting a punching arm into a wrist or arm lock, etc.). |
| Laozi/老子/Lǎozi | Also known as “Old Master,” an ancient Chinese philosopher who wrote the Dao de jing and the founder of Daoism. |
| Legalism/法家/Fǎ jiā | An ancient Chinese school of thought concerned with organizational norms and standards (“laws”). |
| Lord Shang/商君/Shāngjūn (ca. 4th century B.C.) | The first legalist thinker who was the prime minister for the state of Qin. His reforms enabled Qin to conquer six other kingdoms. The Book of Lord Shang/商君書/Shāngjūn shū (3rd century B.C.), based on the visions he put together in Qin, is attributed to him and his followers, but was probably written later. |
| Mencius/ 孟子/ Mèngzǐ (ca. 300 B.C.) | |
| Mind/心/xīn: | Best translated as “heart-mind”, this term is as much cognitive as emotional. However, different thinkers emphasize more the cognitive or emotional side of this term. In this context, the analytical part of one’s being (or brain) where critical thinking, analytical skills, and one’s inner voice reside. According to Zhuangzi, the Mind is not necessarily a negative thing, but its tendency to categorize and overly-analyze what to do prevents one from following the Way. In contrast, training oneself and one’s mind to follow the Way can result in the Mind being able to do remarkable things. |
| Moral psychology | The study of how people internalize ethical codes and incorporate morals into their decision-making, focusing on how and why people make decisions, rather than what decisions they should make. Further Information: https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/moral-psychology |
| Qi / 齊 / Qí | An eastern state during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) comprised the lands on and around the Shangdong Peninsula by the Gulf of Jili. According to The Mencius, the ruler of Qi was the only one of the states’ rulers to show an interest in Mencius’s philosophy, but Mencius eventually understood that he and his good reputation was being used to hide the selfish activities of the Qi ruler, and left the state. |
| Qin/秦/Qín | A state during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) who eventually conquered all others, beginning what is known as the Qin dynasty (221–207 BCE). |
| Righteousness/義/yì | |
| Ritual/禮/lǐ | Ritual propriety |
| Shang Dynasty/商 (ca. 1600–1046 B.C.) | The second of the Three Dynasties of the Three Dynasties period and the first dynasty to be attested to in the archaeological record. |
| Spring and Autumn period/春秋時代 | |
| The Analects /論語 / Lúnyǔ (ca. 500 BCE) | The combined teachings of Confucius, compiled by Confucius’ followers and consisting primarily of debates and discussions between Confucius and his disciples. |
| The Book of Lord Shang/商君書/Shāngjūn shū (3rd century BCE) | A philosophical text based on the visions that Lord Shang put together while a prime minister in Qin. The work is attributed to Lord Shang and his followers, but was probably written later. |
| The Four Sprouts/四端/sì duān | The goodness in potentia in all of us: Goodness (仁/rén), righteousness (義/yì), ritual propriety (禮/lǐ), and wisdom (智/zhì). If cultivated, one will do good, if not, they will die and one will become inhuman. |
| The Mencius/ 孟子/ Mèngzǐ (ca. 300 B.C.) | A series of anecdotes, sayings, and stories of or by Mencius These were collected by his disciples and are divided into seven chapters or “books.” The first two books detail Mencius’ great hopes and failure in becoming a political advisor to a ruler, and the remainder of the books are about him reconstituting himself and learning from this failure. Note: the name “Mencius” and the title of the text The Mencius are written and pronounced the same in Chinese. |
| The Ten Thousand Things/萬物/wànwù | A set phrase that encompasses all matter, or all things in the universe. |
| The Three Dynasties Period | The period of time that includes the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. |
| The Transformation of Things/物化/wùhuà | The endless possible perspectives of the world that is in flux and and transforming. At any given moment, that flux and transformation can be seen from different perspectives, but over time each of these perspectives turn into every other perspective. |
| Ugly nature/性惡/xìng è | The nature of ugliness and selfishness with which we are born. |
| Ugly/惡/è | According to Xunzi, the selfishness with which we are all born and which we must learn to curb. |
| Utilitarian ethic | A code of morality that is calculated by the outcomes of actions: that which produces the greatest good and/or helps the most people is considered good, and that which produces the least good and/or helps only a few people is considered bad. Further Information: https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/utilitarianism |
| Warring States Period/ 戰國時代 / Zhànguó Shídài (475 B.C.–) | A period in ancient Chinese history in which seven states--Qin, Han, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Chu, and Yan--as well as smaller states were often in conflict or in outright war with one another. The period ended with the unification of China under the state of Qin in 221 B.C. |
| Western Zhou/西周 | The first part of the Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BCE), when the ruling Zhou acted as the supreme authority over lesser rulers, called Dukes, in Central China. |
| Wisdom/智/zhì | |
| Xia Dynasty/夏 (ca. 2070 B.C.–ca. 1600 B.C.) | The first period in Chinese historiography |
| Xunzi/荀子/Xúnzǐ (3rd century B.C) | An ancient Chinese Confucian philosopher who, in his writings, attempts to return to the philosophy of Confucius, but also synthesizes the works of other thinkers who came after Confucius to create a fuller, more elaborate philosophy. |
| Zhou Dynasty/周 (1046–256 B.C.) | The third of the Three Dynasties of the Three Dynasties period. The Zhou Dynasty is divided into two periods. The first is the Western Zhou (1046–771 BCE), when the ruling Zhou acted as the supreme authority over lesser rulers, called Dukes, in Central China. In the second, the Eastern Zhou (770–256 BCE), the Zhou rulership waned and the territories were divided into competing states. The Eastern Zhou period can further be divided into the Spring and Autumn period (770–ca. 476 BCE) and the Warring States period (475–221 BCE). |
| Zhuangzi/莊子/Zhuāngzi (the person, ca. 4th century B.C.) | An ancient Chinese philosopher who is credited with writing all or part of the famous eponymous philosophical text. After his death, he came to be known as one of the two major Daoist figures, the other being Laozi. |
| Zhuangzi/莊子/Zhuāngzi (the text, ca. 4th century B.C.) | A significant text attributed to Zhuangzi containing allegories, fables, and other educational stories, as well as anecdotes. One significant theme of this text is spontaneity. |
| 化性/huàxìng | The goal of self-cultivation according to Xunzi: not to discard human essence (xìng 性), but to transform it (huàxìng 化性). |