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In the third through the second centuries B.C.E., three main social philosophies became prominent in China, each claiming to offer the correct path to achieve social harmony. These philosophies were Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism. Confucianism is concerned with a vision of a more perfect society in which rulers and subjects, nobles and commoners, parents and children, and men and women wholeheartedly accepted the roles assigned to them, devoting themselves to their responsibilities to others. Confucianism considered the family the basic unit of society. It extolled the idea of filial piety. This meant that children must respect their parents and serve them in many ways. Confucianism had five cardinal relationships. One was between father and son. The others were between ruler and subject, husband and wife, elder and younger broth