Beliefs in Early China

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Beliefs in Early China

• The world is full of invisible spirits
• Ancestors
• Charismatic humans who have died but are still
  available to help people
• The world is also full of nature spirits
• Plants, animals, rivers, stones, mountains, stars
• Vitalized by cosmic energy
• Often personified and honored as deities

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Beliefs in Early China--Shang Ti

• Lord-on-High
• Ruler of the universe
• Supreme ancestor of the Chinese
• Deities governing aspects of the cosmos and the
  local environment are subordinate to him

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Beliefs in Early China--Shang Ti

• Chou dynasty (c. 1122221 BCE) which overthrew
  the Shang
• focus shifted to Heaven as an impersonal power
  controlling the universe
• Rulers developed the idea of the Mandate of
  Heaven to justify their rule

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Beliefs in Early China--Shang Ti

• Human destiny is determined by virtuous deeds
• Rulers have a moral duty to maintain the welfare
  of the people and a spiritual duty to conduct
• respectful ceremonies for the highest heavenly
  beings

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Taoism

• Country of origin is China
• It began approximately 600 B.C.E.
• It originally means road or way
• The Tao represents the characteristics or
  behavior that makes each thing in the universe
  what it is
• The world is also used to mean reality as a
  whole, which consists of all the individual ways

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TaoismCentral Beliefs Tao

• unnamable, eternally real
• a basic concept that cannot be defined, like
  goodness
• Mystical reality that cannot be grasped by the
  mind

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TaoismCentral Beliefs Tao

• The Tao-te Ching says
• The Tao that can be told of
• Is not the Absolute Tao,
• The Names that can be given
• Are not Absolute Names.
• The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
• The Named is the Mother of All Things . . .

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TaoismCentral Beliefs--Tao

• transcendent unity of all things, rather than
  separation.
• Chang Chung-yuan the value of Tao lies in its
  power to reconcile opposites on a higher level of
  consciousness.
• This higher level can only be attained when one
  ceases to feel any personal preferences

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Taoism--

• Seeks a carefree, natural way of life
• Simple life in harmony with nature
• Tradition of great mental and physical discipline

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TaoismNature of the Divine

• Tao is the source of the universe and the Way of
  reality
• Tao is part of an amalgam of deities, spirits,
  and folk myths and devotions

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Texts

• Tao-te-ching (The Classic of
• the Way and the Power)
• (Lao-tsu) The author is obscure
• I Ching the five classics (Book of Changes)
• Chuang-tzu

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The Taoist Canon

• History
  of the Taoist Canon
• Throughout history the "Taoist Canon," or Dàozàng
  ?? "Vault of the Way," has suffered from
• lack of official status
• lack of agreement about the contents across
  different Taoist sects
• the tendency to include ever more works
• much overlap among the works making it up, which
  copied constantly from each other
• little coherence in content from one work to
  another
• the inclusion of liturgical and meditational
  texts that make little sense without orally
  transmitted exegesis, rarely stable and often
  lost
• lack of adequate indexing
• a tradition that regarded the details of Taoist
  practice as secret, so that different families
  transmitted different collections of Taoist
  books, and none wanted to have their versions
  published

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• In the XXth century the last two issues were
  addressed, and Chinese and western scholars have
  rescued a fairly extensive canon, published it in
  multiple copies, and indexed it. Although there
  are several distinct themes, and some tend to be
  concentrated in certain sections, most themes are
  found in most sections, and the traditional
  organization of this vast library is both a
  blessing (because it represents a kind of
  standard) and a (somewhat greater) curse (because
  it inhibits understanding).

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• History of Taoism
• Tao (pronounced "Dow") can be roughly translated
  into English as path, or the way. It is basically
  indefinable. It has to be experienced. It "refers
  to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows
  through all things, living and non-living. The
  Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes
  balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony
  of opposites (i.e. there would be no love without
  hate, no light without dark, no male without
  female.)" 2 

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• The founder of Taoism is believed by many to be
  Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of
  Confucius. (Alternate spellings Lao Tze, Lao
  Tsu, Lao Tzu, Laozi, Laotze, etc.). He was
  searching for a way that would avoid the constant
  feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted
  society during his lifetime. The result was his
  book Tao-te-Ching (a.k.a. Daodejing). Others
  believe that he is a mythical character. 

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Taoism started as a combination of psychology and
philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in
440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion.
At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated
as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and
Confucianism, became one of the three great
religions of China. With the end of the Ch'ing
Dynasty in 1911, state support for Taoism ended.
Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during
the next period of warlordism.
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• After the Communist victory in 1949, religious
  freedom was severely restricted. "The new
  government put monks to manual labor, confiscated
  temples, and plundered treasures. Several million
  monks were reduced to fewer than 50,000" by 1960.
  3 During the cultural revolution in China from
  1966 to 1976, much of the remaining Taoist
  heritage was destroyed. Some religious tolerance
  has been restored under Deng Xiao-ping from 1982
  to the present time. 

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• Taoism currently has about 20 million followers,
  and is primarily centered in Taiwan. About 30,000
  Taoists live in North America 1,720 in Canada
  (1991 census). Taoism has had a significant
  impact on North American culture in areas of
  "acupuncture, herbalism, holistic medicine,
  meditation and martial arts..." 3

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Taoism--I Ching (Book of Changes)

• a common source for Taoism and Confucianism
• regarded as a classic text in both traditions

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Taoism--I Ching (Book of Changes)

• To use this subtle system
• one respectfully purifies the divining
  objectssuch as yarrow stalks or coins, which
  symbolize yin and yang
• asks a question
• casts the objects six times
• consults the I Ching for symbolic interpretation
  of the yinyang combinations

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Taoism--I Ching (Book of Changes)

• hexagram number 46--Sheng Pushing Upward,
• likened by some commentators to a tree emerging
  from the earth, growing slowly
• And invisibly
• Thus the superior person of devoted character
• Heaps up small things
• In order to achieve something high and great.

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Hexagram 46 Sheng Moving Upward / Striving

• Above Earth, the passive
• Below wind, gentleness, penetration
• This hexagram represents the action of a shoot in
  the earth pushing upward with effort. Moving
  upward with effort against restraint brings
  success. Seek out the great man and have no
  fears.

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Basic principles of life

• According to Confucianism, people can live a good
  life only in a well-disciplined society that
  stresses attention to ceremony, duty, and public
  service.
• To experience the transcendent unity of all
  things, rather than separation.
• Taoist sage takes a low profile in the world
• Taoist ideal is a person who avoids conventional
  social obligations and leads a simple,
  spontaneous, and meditative life close to nature.

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TaoismCentral Beliefs Yin and Yang

• Yinfemale (sun)
• Yangmale (Moon)
• Wisdom lies in recognizing their ever-shifting
  but regular and balanced patterns and moving with
  them

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TaoismCentral Beliefs Yin and Yang

• Yin originally meant "shady, secret, dark,
  mysterious, cold."
• Yang in meant "clear, bright, the sun, heat."

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TaoismCentral Beliefs Yin and Yang

• each force contains the seed of the other, so
  that they do not merely replace each other but
  actually become each other

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TaoismCentral Beliefs Yin and Yang
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Historical figures

• 1) Lao-tzu (approx. 600 B.C.E.) a curator of
  the royal library of the Chou dynasty, author of
  Tao Te Ching
• 2) Chuang-tzu (365-290 B.C.E.) a minor govt
  official who left to become a hermit, survive
  chaos by detaching from it

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Taoism--Lao-tzu

• Old Master
• older contemporary of Confucius
• Some think the Tao-te Ching was an oral
  tradition, derived from the teachings of several
  sages, and question whether Lao-tzu ever existed
• philosophy was addressed to those in leadership
  positions

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Lao-tzu

• Water is the softest thing on earth. Yet its
  silken gentleness. Will easily wear away the
  hardest stone
• Nothing is evil, but things may be out of balance
• The world is naturally in harmony

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•    Who was Lao Tzu?
• Lao-tzu lived twenty-five centuries ago in
  ancient China. Even though the details of his
  existence are shrouded in the mist of time, we
  know with a fair degree of certainty that his
  name was Li Er. Legend has it that King Wu of
  Zhou appointed him head librarian of the imperial
  archives at Luoyang. In this capacity Lao-tzu was
  able to immerse himself in the study of history,
  philosophy and literature, gaining wisdom
  insights along the way.

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• According to another well known legend, Confucius
  visited with Lao-tzu and came away in awe of
  Lao-tzu's intellect. Confucius recognized in
  Lao-tzu a deep understanding about the world that
  was above his own, and went so far as to liken
  Lao-tzu to the mysterious dragon.
• Lao-tzu decided to leave civilization behind when
  the House of Zhao began its decline. He departed
  Luoyang and headed through the Hangu Pass to some
  destination beyond the Great Wall.

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• Before leaving the gate at the Great Wall, a
  guard at the gate asked him to write down his
  thoughts on the Tao for posterity. Lao-tzu
  agreed, and wrote a small book in two parts,
  expressing his accumulated learnings in brief,
  concise yet profound language. This book survived
  over 2,500 years and came to be known as the Tao
  Te Ching.

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Taoism--Chuang-tzu

• Counseled indifference to birth and death
• The Master came because it was time. He left
  because he followed the natural flow. Be content
  with the moment, and be willing to follow the
  flow.

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Taoism--Chuang-tzu

• asserted that the best way to live in a chaotic,
  absurd civilization is to become detached from it

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Ritual and practice

• Meditation
• Devotions
• Fasting
• The members of some Taoist groups have sought to
  attain immortality through magic, meditation,
  special diets, breath control, or the recitation
  of scriptures
• Taoist philosophy had a great influence on
  Chinese literature and art

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Tai-chi chuan

• Developed in the eighteenth century as a training
  for martial arts, it is still practiced today by
  many Chinese at dawn and dusk for their health
• It looks like slow swimming in the air, with
  continual circular movement through a series of
  dance-like postures

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Tai-chi chuan
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Feng-shui (geomancy)

• By observing the contours of the land and the
  flows of wind and water, specialist in feng-shui
  could reportedly determine the best places for
  the harmonious placement of a temple, dwelling
  place, or grave

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Ethics and Morality

• Wu-wei
• non-action, or taking no intentional or
  invasive action contrary to the natural flow of
  things
• Nothing is evil, but things may be out of balance

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Ethics and Morality

• Wu-wei
• Even when difficulties arise, the sage does not
  panic and take unnecessary action
• Sweet music and highly seasoned food
• Entertain for a while,
• But the clear, tasteless water from the well
• Gives life and energy without exhaustion.
• Lao-tzu10

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Ethics and Morality

• Selflessness
• leads to a higher level of knowledge beyond the
  distinctions of life and death

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Taoism as a religion

• Taoism has a hereditary priesthood. The priests
  conduct public rituals, during which they submit
  the peoples prayers to the gods of folk
  religion. The chief priest prays to other
  divinities on behalf of the worshipers. These
  divinities are not former human beings but
  represent aspects of the Tao.

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Confucianism

• Country of origin is China
• Is a philosophy bases on the ideas of the Chinese
  philosopher Confucius.
• It originated about 500 B.C.E.
• From the 100s B.C.E. to the 1900s C.E.,
  Confucianism was the most important single force
  in Chinese life.
• It influenced Chinese education, government, and
  attitudes toward correct personal behavior and
  the individuals duty to society

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Confucianism as religion

• Confucianism has no clergy and does not teach the
  worship of a God or gods or the existence of a
  life after death
• Confucianism is a guide to morality and good
  government
• From about 200 to 600 C.E. interest in
  Confucianism declined in China. Many Chinese
  turned instead to Buddhism and Taoism
• Revival of interest in Confucius philosophy began
  in the 600s

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Confucianism--

• most effective strategy was for the rulers to
  perform classical rites and music properly so
  that they would remain of visibly high moral
  character and thus inspire the common people to
  be virtuous

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Historical figures

• 1) Kung Chiu (Confucius) (551-479 B.C.E.)
• 2) Mencius
• 3) Hsun Tzu
• 4) Chu Hsi

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Texts

• Six classics (University began to teach Confucian
  thoughts)
• Analects
• Book of Rites
• Reflections on Things at Hand

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Nature of Divine

• Acceptance of popular deities
• Importance of ancestors

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Kung Fu-tzu

• Master Kung
• Juchiao (the teaching of the scholars)
• Born in approximately 551 B.C.E., during the Chou
  dynasty, into a family whose ancestors had been
  prominent in the previous dynasty
• He married at the age of nineteen and had at
  least two children

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Kung Fu-tzu

• He instructed his followers to engage the world
  according to a code of moral conduct and
  responsibility.
• Confucianism is enshrined in the Chinese way of
  life

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Kung Fu-tzu

• Constant warfare raged among the many states that
  that made up China
• Rapid political change altered the structure of
  Chinese society, and many people no longer
  respected the established standards of behavior
• Confucius feared that this threat to orderly
  social life would lead to the destruction of
  civilization
• Confucius believed his society would be saved if
  it emphasized sincerity in personal and public
  conduct

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Golden Rule

• What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to
  others

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Confucius

• When Confucius died about 479 B.C.E., he was
  largely unknown.
• His followers spread his ideas.

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Meng Tzu

• Commonly latinized as Mencius
• His lifetime (c. 390-305 B.C.E.)
• He emphasized the moral duty of rulers to govern
  by the principle of humanity and the good of the
  people
• He believed people were born good.
• He stressed the need to preserve the natural
  compassion of the heart that makes people human

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Confucianism--

• Mencius
• major additions to the Confucian tradition were
  his belief in the goodness of human nature and
  his focus on the virtue of yi, or righteous
  conduct

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Confucianism--

• Mencius
• emphasized the moral duty of rulers to govern by
  the principle of humanity and for the good of the
  people.
• If rulers are guided by profit motives, this
  self-centered motivation will be reflected in all
  subordinates and social chaos will
• ensue

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Confucianism--

• Hsun Tzu
• human nature is naturally evil and that Heaven is
  impersonal, operating according to natural laws
  rather than intervening on the side of good
  government or responding to human wishes
• Humans must hold up their own end

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Confucianism--

• Chu His
• the individual is intimately linked with all of
  the cosmos, forming one body with all things

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Confucianism

• Confucianism focuses on ways of developing a just
  and orderly society

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Confucianism

• From about 200 B.C.E. until the beginning of the
  twentieth century, Confucianism was a state
  church-the official religion of China
• But after the 1949 Revolution, the communist
  government of the new Peoples Republic of China
  vigorously repressed religion.

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• Today, though officials provide no precise count,
  hundreds of millions of Chinese are still
  influenced by Confucianism
• Almost all Confucianist live in Asia
• There are 100,000 followers of Confucius in North
  America

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Central teachings

• We must always subordinate our self-interest to
  moral principle.
• In family, the individual must be loyal and
  considerate
• Families must remain mindful of their duties
  toward the larger community
• Layer upon layer of moral obligation integrates
  society as a whole
• Li Sacred Rituals
• Yi Right conduct
• Veneration of ancestors
• Tradition

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Confucianism

• On might argue that Confucianism is a less a
  religion than a model of disciplined living
• The historical dominance of Confucianism helps
  explain why Chinese culture is skeptical of the
  supernatural
• Confucianism shares with religion a body of
  beliefs and practices that have as their goal
  goodness, concern for others, and social harmony

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Neo-Confucianism

• Zhu Xi (1130-1200) developed a branch of
  Neo-Confucianism called the rational wing. It
  emphasized study and investigation of Li, the
  pattern behind human and natural relationships.

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Communism in China

• Confucianism continued to actively influence
  Chinese life until it came into conflict with
  Western ideas, especially Communism in the 1900s.
  
• For many years, the Chinese Communist government
  opposed Confucianism because the philosophy
  encouraged people to look to the past rather than
  to the future. However, government opposition
  ended in 1977

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Shinto

• Country of origin is Japan
• It means the way of the gods
• Central beliefs
• Kinship with nature
• Goodness of Creation

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Kami Spirits

• Kami are the basic force in mountains, rivers,
  rocks, trees, and other parts of nature
• Kami are the basic force in such processes as
  creativity, disease, growth, and healing

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Shinto

• Shinto emphasizes rituals and moral standards.
• It does not have an elaborate philosophy
• It does not stress life after death
• About 3 million people practice traditional
  Shinto
• Shinto priests lead ceremonies called matsuri

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Shinto

• Shinto myths appear in the Nihongi (Chronicles of
  Japan)
• Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matters)
• Both written in the A.D. 700s
• These myths tell how the kami created the world
  and established customs and laws.
• According to Shinto mythology, the sun goddess
  became the ancestor of Japans imperial family

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Shrines

• There are more than 100,000 Shinto shrines in
  Japan
• Some public shrines consist of several buildings
  and gardens.
• Individual worshipers recite prayers and offer
  gifts of cakes and flowers to the kami

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Ritual and practice

• Purification It consists of a confession of
  sins committed by individuals and by the nation
  as a whole, followed by a request that the kami
  remove the impure conditions caused by these
  sins.
• Tea ceremony
• Festivals
• A) Life-cycle oriented
• B) Seasonal
• Respect for relations and roles

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State Shinto--

• tenets included
• obedience to the will of the divine emperor
• the connection of Japan with its kami ancestors
• the submission of the individual to the greater
  good of the empire

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Buddhist and Confucian influences

• Buddhism is still practiced side-by-side with
  Shinto
• As for Confucianism, seventeenth-century Japanese
  Confucian scholars attempted to free themselves
  from Buddhism and to tie the Chinese beliefs they
  were importing to the ancient Japanese ways
• Under the influences of Confucianism, Shinto
  developed such moral standards as honesty,
  kindness, and respect for ones elders and
  superiors

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Shinto today

• In general, the ways of Shintoism are indigenous
  to Japan, and they remain so.
• Outside Japan, Shinto beliefs and practices are
  common only in Hawaii and Brazil, because many
  Japanese have settled there
• Shintoism has not been a proselytizing religion
  (that is, it does not seek to convert others).

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Discussion Questions

• What role does nature play in the practice of
  Shinto?
• How does Shinto understand the sacred?
• How do Shinto practices and ceremonies reflect
  its respect for nature and the sacred?
• Historically, what influences has Shinto had on
  Japanese society and politics?

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Integrating Questions

• How do Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto
  demonstrate a reverence for nature?
• Why do you think that Taoism, Confucianism, and
  Shinto are so closely tied to the historical
  cultures of China and Japan?
• What elements of Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto
  are characteristic of the Eastern religious
  traditions that we have studied in this course?