Confucianism vs. Legalism During the sixth century B.C.E., during the Zhou dynasty, China introduced the three foundational philosophical schools of Confucianism, Legalism and Daoism. Today, these three philosophical views play a part on the way that China runs their country. Although these views are drastically different in the way they go about running their dynasty, they all really had the same goal, which was to bring peace and to end the fighting going on at that time. The way they wanted to achieve these goals were different but with the same intentions. With the ideas being introduced to the Zhou dynasty by different people also played a part on how they gained followers. The historical figure referred to as Confucius was the philosopher who introduced Confucianism to the Zhou Dynasty during the sixth century B.C.E. Confucius believed that the relationships people develop in their life play a major impact on someone’s life. One of the most important…show more content… The way they went about it was very different. While Legalism focused more on the idea of controlling their people through harsh laws and punishments, Confucianism dealt with that in the exact opposite way. They encourage their people to be freethinkers while it was discouraged in Legalism. Legalism also had the idea of punishing people if they failed, while Confucianism believed that failing was not the worst thing that could happen and that it was more about what you did once you picked yourself up after failing. Confucianism also focused on morals and doing what was right and respectful while morality was not a factor in Legalism when making decisions. With all that said, in the end they both wanted the same thing. Confucianism and Legalism both wanted power for their dynasty and peace among their people, but they had different views on how they believed they could reach those