Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period, during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought",[1] which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developments.[1] Although much of Chinese philosophy begun in the Warring States period (475-221 BCE), elements of Chinese philosophy have existed for several thousand years. Some can be found in the I Ching (the Book of Changes), an ancient compendium of divination, which dates back to at least 672 BCE.[2]
It was during the Warring States era that what Sima Tan termed the major philosophical schools of China—Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism—arose, along with philosophies that later fell into obscurity, like Agriculturalism, Mohism, Chinese Naturalism, and the Logicians. Even in modern society, Confucianism is still the creed of etiquette for Chinese society.[3]
^ abEbrey, Patricia (2010). The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge University Press. p. 42.
^page 60, Great Thinkers of the Eastern World, edited Ian McGreal Harper Collins 1995, ISBN0-06-270085-5