{{Short description|Utopian vision in Chinese philosophy}} {{Use American English|date = January 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date = January 2019}} {{Infobox Chinese |c=大同 |p=dàtóng |tp=dàtóng |w=ta<sup>4</sup>t'ung<sup>2</sup> |bpmf=ㄉㄚˋㄊㄨㄥˊ |poj=tāi-tông |h=tai<sup>55</sup> tung<sup>11</sup> |wuu=da<sup>去</sup> don<sup>平</sup> |j=daai<sup>6</sup> tung<sup>4</sup> | hangul = 대동 | hanja = 大同 | rr = daedong | mr = taedong | kanji = 大同 | kana = だいどう | revhep = daidō | hn = 大同 | qn = Đại đồng }} {{Utopia}} The '''Great Unity''' ({{zh|c=大同|p=dàtóng}}) is a Chinese vision of the world explicitly based on the past period of "three dynasties"<ref>[https://ctext.org/liji/li-yun ''The Book of Rites: Li Yun''] (Chinese and English, James Legge's 1885 translation) - Chinese Text Project</ref> as understood by the Confucian tradition. In this ideal historical model, everyone and everything was at peace and this model must be restored. It is found in classical Chinese philosophy as a model based on the past but beginning with Kang Youwei (1858 – 1927) it was often combined with utopian ideas.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Ralph|last=Wang|date=12 September 2017|title=Great Unity|magazine=Kid Spirit|volume=10|number=1|url=https://kidspiritonline.com/magazine/unity-and-division/great-unity|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312132338/https://kidspiritonline.com/magazine/unity-and-division/great-unity/|archive-date=12 March 2021}}</ref>
==History== {{blockquote| Confucius said: “When the Great Way prevailed, it was shared by the whole world. (天下為公) The men of worth and ability were chosen; trust was spoken and harmony cultivated. Therefore people did not cherish only their own parents, nor nurture only their own children. The aged were able to complete their years, the strong had employment, the young were able to grow, and the widowed, the orphaned, the solitary, the childless, the disabled, and the sick were all provided for. Men had their proper roles, women their proper homes. Goods were disliked if they lay wasted upon the ground, yet it was not necessary that they be stored for one’s own use; strength was disliked if it were not exerted, yet it was not necessary that it be exerted for oneself alone. Hence schemes were shut away and did not arise; theft, robbery, and disorder did not occur. Therefore outer doors were left open and not closed. This was called the ‘Great Unity’ (''Datong'').” — Confucius, ''Book of Rites'' (''Liji''), “Liyun”<ref>{{cite book | author=孔子 | title=禮記 | chapter=禮運 | language=zh | url=https://cerclearning.tp.edu.tw/classical/datapage/135 }}</ref> }}
The notion of the "Great Unity" appeared in the "Lǐyùn" (禮運) chapter of the ''Book of Rites'', one of the Confucian Chinese classics.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pearce|2001|loc=169}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Cheng|2009|loc=19}}.</ref> According to it, the society in Great Unity was ruled by the public, where the people elected men of virtue and ability to administer, and valued trust and amity. People did not only love their own parents and children, but others as well. People also secured the living of the elderly until their ends, let the adults be of use to the society, and helped the young grow. Those who were widowed, orphaned, childless, handicapped and diseased were all taken care of. Men took their responsibilities and women had their homes. People disliked seeing resources being wasted but did not seek to possess them; they wanted to exert their strength but did not do it for their own benefit. Therefore, selfish thoughts were dismissed, people refrained from stealing and robbery, and the outer doors remained open.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://ctext.org/liji/li-yun|title=Book of Rites, Li Yun chapter, paragraph 1}}</ref>
The first true "Great Unity" state in Chinese History begins with the Qin dynasty. <ref> Wang Zhenzhong, "The genesis and evolution of the Chinese "Great Unity"," ''International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology'' 9, no. 24 (2025): 3.</ref> Qin Shi Huang implemented a series of standardization measures to unify the country's transportation, language, currency, weights, and measures. Subsequent dynasties adopted this institutional framework with their own changes. With the "Great Unity" ideology aligned with the centralized system implemented by dynasties, it is said that the ideology was built after this "Great Unity" state structure.<ref> Wang 2025, 4.</ref>
The concept was used by Kang Youwei in his visionary utopian treatise, ''The Book of Great Unity'' ({{zh|c=大同書}}).<ref>{{Citation |last=Chen |first=Albert H. Y. |title=The Concept of "Datong" in Chinese Philosophy as an Expression of the Idea of the Common Good |date=2014 |work=The Common Good: Chinese and American Perspectives |volume=23 |pages=85–102 |editor-last=Solomon |editor-first=David |series=Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-7272-4_5 |isbn=978-94-007-7271-7 |ssrn=1957955 |editor2-last=Lo |editor2-first=P.C.}}</ref> He also described "moderate prosperity" as the stage before the Great Unity.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Glossary|url=https://chinaopensourceobservatory.org/glossary#primary-stage-of-socialism|access-date=2026-05-18|website=China Open Source Observatory|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations}}</ref>
The Great Unity is also often mentioned in the writings of Sun Yat-sen and is included in his lyrics of the National Anthem of the Republic of China, currently in official use in Taiwan.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
This ideology can be reflected in the following examples, each from a national anthem of the Republic of China:
* {{lang|zh-tw|「三民主義，吾黨所宗，以建民國，以進'''大同'''。」}} (literal translation: "Three Principles of the People, the aim of us (The Kuomintang), to build the Republic, to advance into Great Unity.") - National Anthem of the Republic of China * {{lang|zh-tw|「毋自暴自棄，毋故步自封，光我民族，促進'''大同'''。」}}(literal translation: "Never abandon in desperation, nor being complacent with achievement; Glorify our nation and work promoting Great Unity.") - National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China The concept was invoked in prominent occasions several times by Mao Zedong, including in his address On the People's Democratic Dictatorship in 1949, as the Communist Party prepared to assume control throughout mainland China.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dessein |first=Bart |date=2017-01-30 |title=Yearning for the Lost Paradise: The "Great Unity" (datong) and Its Philosophical Interpretations |url=https://journals.uni-lj.si/as/article/view/7014 |journal=Asian Studies |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=83–102 |doi=10.4312/as.2017.5.1.83-102|hdl=1854/LU-8507559 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Mao said the CCP would create "conditions where classes, state power and political parties will die out very naturally" and that "China can develop steadily, under the leadership of the working class and the Communist Party, from an agricultural into an industrial country, and from a new-democratic into a socialist and communist society, [and then] can abolish classes and realize Great Unity".<ref name=":1" />
==Religion And Great Unity== The "World Harmony Launch Ceremony," themed "Religious Harmony and World Peace," was solemnly held at the Guanyin Temple in Pingzhen District, Taoyuan City.<ref>[https://nvns.net/news_view.php?new_sn=106694&new_csn=1467 ''世界大同啟動典禮 妙元二公主木桂梅宣告「世界大同紫薇聖人基金會」正式啟動'']</ref>
== Philosophical context ==
The concept of "Great Unity" originates from early Chinese philosophical debates on how to unify a society marked by division and conflict, particularly during the Warring States period. In the ''Book of Rites'', the "Lǐyùn" (禮運) chapter presents ''datong'' as an ideal social and political order in which "the world is shared by all" (天下为公).{{cn|date=May 2026}}
Scholars have noted that the idea of ''datong'' is closely related to the broader concept of ''tong'' (同), often translated as "unity" or "togetherness." However, recent interpretations suggest that ''tong'' more precisely refers to the process by which differences are brought into alignment or coordination, rather than eliminated entirely.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fan |first1=He |last2=何繁 |date=2020 |title=HOW TO UNITE A SOCIETY WITH DIVISIONS AND DIFFERENCES: Two Visions of Tong 同in Early Chinese Political Thought |journal=Monumenta Serica |volume=68 |issue=2 |pages=315–337 |doi=10.1080/02549948.2020.1831208 |issn=0254-9948 |jstor=27345486}}</ref>
== See also == * Harmonious Society * Moderately prosperous society * Great Peace (Baháʼí) * Omega Point
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Bibliography== *{{cite book| last=Cheng| first=Chung-ying| title=Philosophy of the Yi: Unity and dialectics| year=2009| publisher=Wiley-Blackwell| location=Malden| isbn=9781444334111| chapter=On harmony as transformation: Paradigms from the Yijing}} *{{cite book| last=Pearce| first=Scott| title=Culture and power in the reconstitution of the Chinese realm, 200-600| year=2001|publisher=Harvard University Press| location=Cambridge| isbn=9780674005235| chapter=Form and matter: Archaizing reform in sixth-century China}}
Category:Chinese philosophy Category:Confucianism Category:Mythological utopias