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chinese religious and ethical systems Chinese Religious and Ethical Systems It has often been said that the Chinese are not deeply religious. It is true that they
The introduction to Chinese Religion Before the Communist Revolution, a number of religious and philosophical systems were practiced in China. Traditionally Taoism
changed because an empire in the past was more a positive thing because it brought cultural, ethical, and religious ideas and kept it more organized. Although sometimes
religious. Because today's western viewpoint defines religion as the worship of a supreme being with no room for alternatives, we can say that Confucianism is not
a weakness but also a strength of the system, since it allows itself to join other inclusive religious systems. However, there are some deficiencies in the system.
Submitted by macraigma on May 31, 2005
Category: History Other
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Chinese Religious and Ethical Systems
It has often been said that the Chinese are not deeply religious. It is true that they have shown a comparative indifference to metaphysical speculation; Chinese culture was perhaps the first to develop an intellectual skepticism concerning the gods.
Confucianism
Confucius (Kong Zi) lived from 551 to 479 BC in the state of Lu (in modem Shandong province). He came from a family of officials and his concern was with the restoration of the Way (Dao) of the ancient sages. His teaching was therefore related mainly to society and its government. He advocated strict conformity, and thought that fostering correct behavior, within the context of the family, would produce an ordered society. He was not particularly interested in religion, except insofar as it related to social life.
However, in 59 AD during the Han dynasty, it was decreed that sacrifice should be made to Confucius and this began a process that was to make Confucian philosophy into the foundation of the Chinese political order. Confucius himself had only accepted the legitimacy of sacrifice to one's own ancestors, but from now on an official Confucian cult emerged, with its own temples. It gradually became linked with the state cult of the Emperor.
From the fifth century AD Confucian orthodoxy retreated before the popularity of Buddhism and Daoism. But a renaissance came during the Sung dynasty when Confucianism responded to the challenge and developed its own metaphysics. This new trend is known as Neo-Confucianism, and its main exponent was Zhu Xi (1130-1200). It subsequently became the main orthodoxy of the scholar officials until the demise of the imperial system in 1912.
In contemporary China, the Confucian cult has disappeared, but the Confucian approach to government and society retains a powerful hold on many people.
Daoism (Taoism)
The origins of Daoism are obscure, but it is first...
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