Chinese Religion Discussion Questions Flashcards
How was the origin of writing in China related to religious practices of the Shang era?
Written Chinese history begins with the Shang period.
In order to determine the will of the ancestors and the operations of the various forces of nature, the Shang rulers consulted divination experts. Their favored form of divination was to use bones and shells heated in a fire and plunged in water, the cracks being read by experts and the answer inscribed on bones. These oracle inscriptions represent the first clear use of Chinese writing in pictographs and ideographs, appropriately designed as an operational method of achieving harmony with the forces of nature.
How did the beginnings of Confucianism and Daoism reflect the social situation in the middle Zhou period?
The powers of the Zhou rulers dwindled and a brutal struggle for supremacy ensued, people looked to heaven, but there was no clear guidance. In spite of the troubles of society, this time period is remembered as a classical age of China because many creative developments took place: laws were written down for the first time, important advances in agriculture and production, and classical poetry, history, and divination were read and memorized by statesmen and scholars. Teachers set up schools to train boys for public office, or instructed small groups of disciples in their homes.
The important religious traditions of China developed from these foundations.
How can the cultivation of ren and li, and study of the tradition, bring personal transformation, according to Confucius?
ren is humane goodness, harmonious interaction, harmony etc.
To achieve ren, people need discipline, and the best discipline is the deliberate cultivation of the tradition of the ancient sages. That is the key to harmony, peace, and prosperity. People should study the words of the ancients and model their behavior.
li means propriety, or respectful ritual. The heart of propriety if filial piety directed towards parents and ancestors. But this attitude of respect can permeate all actions. Performing the proper rituals and ceremonies as an outer discipline can transform ourselves inwardly into people of ren. The purpose of practicing propriety is to establish relationships in family and society.
It is sometimes said that Confucius ideas were humanistic, not religious. How would you define the matter?
Confucius’s writings are humanistic because they deal primarily with moral and humane conduct. However, they may also be considered religious if one see’s his Dao as in line with heaven and the natural order. Therefore, they may be interpreted as either depending whether the observer grasps them in a spiritual way or merely ethical way.
What does the Daode jing put forth at its basic perspective on the world?
Argues we should live in harmony with the flow of Dao.
It puts forth a vision of the Way that stands in sharp contrast to the Confucian notion of the Way of Heaven. Dao is the sacred principle immanent in nature, that which is the source of all and that to which all returns.
Everything in the world is produced by this universal Dao, so all nature has an inherent harmony and balance in its natural process. The greatest human good is to be in harmony with the Dao. People get into harmony with the Dao through no-action (wu-wei).
How did the Confucian way triumph and become the leading ideology of the Chinese state? What is the “state cult of Confucius”?
The Qin empire enforced a capital crime to discuss Confucian writings and principles. However, Confucian scholars, at the risk of their lives, managed to save some of the classic writings so that ancient wisdom was not list in the book burning frenzy.
However, the Win dynasty fell rapidly and was replaced by the Han dynasty. Confucian scholars revived their teachings and worked out a complete cosmological basis for a unified state under an emperor who served as the representative of Heaven, channeling the cosmic forces and providing harmony in society.
The turning point occurred during the Wu dynasty, where they were convinced that they should only practice the teachings of Confucius only and dismiss all other theories and scholars. Confucianism then became the state ideology, all state officials had to pass civil service examinations in the Confucian classics, ensuring that Confucianism would remain as the official state ideology and, thus, as the leading component in the Chinese identity.
Together with this intellectual triumph of Confucianism went a new emphasis on the rituals and ceremonies associated with Confucianism and the state. State-supported temples for Confucian ceremonies were established all over China, Confucis’ home became a national shrine, spirit tablets of Confucis and his disciples were venerated in elaborate rituals, and the so-called state cult of Confucius was born. Soon new versions of the texts began to assert the semidivine status of Confucius, and eventually Confucius even came to be considered a god in the popular religion of China. Throughout all of this, Confucius’s works had become the central focus of Chinese culture.
What were the streams that went into the making of “religious Daoism”? How were these related to the ideas of the Daode jing and Zuangzi?
The hygiene school emphasized breathing exercises and various methods of controlling the bodily processes of decay as a way of prolonging life.
The alchemy movement searched to use the five elements to produce an elixir of life.
The search for immortality began to extend also to the common people, and it combined ancient interest in gods and spiritual beings. A popular religious movement centered on a mother goddess named Xiwangmu - people turned to her with singing and dancing, believing that by worshipping her and wearing her charms they would be able to avoid death. Other movements spread which included worship of Gods Goddesses and spirits, one worshipped Lao Tzu as a chief god and creator of the world.
Another group that originated in western China during the Han period was the Way of the Celestial Masters, which set up its own state ruled by a Master of Heaven with priest-officials as assistants. They also worshipped Laozi as god.
These communities, worshipping Laozi and other gods and immortals centering on rituals performed by priests on the basis of sacred texts, display some of the features of the developing religious path of Daoism.
Discuss factors that worked for and against the Chinese acceptance of Buddhism.
What was most problematic about Buddhism as it arrived in China was the monastic system: monks and nuns leaving their families, not working but begging for food, taking the vow of celibacy and, thus, cutting off the family line. - Buddhists monks were accused of being lazy and idle because they went about begging and did nothing for the welfare of society.
The notion that life is suffering and that worldly pleasure should be renounced also seemed strange to the Chinese, as did the “no-self” teaching of Buddhism. - Chinese scholars pointed out that Buddhism was a foreign, barbarian philosophy, not mentioned in Chinese classical writings.
Gradually the Chinese came to understand what Buddhism was about, transforming it in the process to fit better into the Chinese worldview. The upheaval of the Han dynasty led many Chinese to turn away from Daoism and Confucianism and embrace Buddhism.
The disunity and warfare surrounding the end of the Han dynasty induced many to turn to the relative security and peace of the Buddhist monasteries, escaping, among other things, serving in armies. Further, Buddhism in China showed itself not to be opposed to the importance of family life. Becoming a monk would serve the community through accumulating merit for the welfare of the ancestors of the family.
Buddhism explained existence through karma, and was very influential because of this. Buddha-nature within all appealed to commoners.
Describe the major Buddhist schools or lineages in China during the Tang period. Why were Pure Land and Chan able to survive the persecutions of 845?
The Tiantai school can be seen as a synthesis and harmonization of all Buddhist teachings and practices. According to this school, the great mass of scriptures taught by the Buddha can be classified into five periods in which the Buddha taught the different scriptures. In the earlier periods he taught the Theravada scriptures and then, when the people were more enlightened he taught the Mahayna scriptures, finally in the last period he taught that all paths leading to salvation are united in the one path as taugh in the Lotus Sutra, which is the full and perfect teaching.
The Huayan school devoted its attention mainly to the Garland Sutra, teaching that the absolute reality and the temporary phenomenon are completely interfused with each other and that all phenomena interpenetrate each other. Thus, every thing or event in this passing world is a manifestation of the absolute, which means that everyone possesses the Buddha-nature and, thus each is related to all other beings.
Pure Land and Chan developed partly as reformist reactions against the increasing worldliness of the powerful monastic establishment.
Pure Land advocated salvation through worship of Buddha.
Chan promoted meditation, meditation was the central practice to be vigorously pursued to reach enlightenment.
Buddhism was seen as a foreign religion which posed a threat due to the accumulation of wealth by the monasteries. Chan and Pure Land schools survived because of their popular support.
Explain the Neo-Confucian ideal of universal principle (li).
The Great Ultimate generates yin and yang, which in turn produce myriad things, of which humans are the most intelligent. But the many are actually the one reality, and the one is differentiated in the many. Zhang Zai identified material force (qi) with the Great Ultimate, functioning through yang and yin; he also redefined the gods (shen) and evil spirits (gui) as positive and negative spiritual forces involved in the expansion and contraction of material force.
This principle is concieved as self-sufficient, extending everywhere, and governing everything. It is by which all things exist, and is possessed by everyone and all things, binding all together in unity.
Principle is one, but its manifestations are many. Since the one principle is identical with all things and with one’s mind and nature, moral and spiritual development comes through the investigation of things, both in the external world and within oneself.
Why must we include a category such a “popular religion” in addition to Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in China? Explain some of the features of popular religion.
While the vast area overlaps with these three religious streams it includes much more, what are sometimes called popular religions.
Popular religion can refer to common Chinese practices associated with the family, such as funeral and memorial services and the New Year’s festival, observed by virtually all traditional Chinese but not the sole possession of any of the three major traditions. Popular religion also refers to many additionally beliefs and practices for dealing with various supernatural forces, accepted by the majority of the people although sometimes discounted by the educated elite, the strict Confucian scholars, Buddhist monks, etc.
Later popular religion incorporated concepts from the other three religions. Although these religions also promise salvation from hell and favorable rebirth, generally it has focused on practical immediate human concers, such as protection of property, health, and long life etc. For these benefits, the most important sacred powers are the ancestral spirits and the popular gods.
Most of the gods of popular religion were originally human beings who were gradually deified over time as more and more people recognized their power and efficacy. Their is a reciprocal relationship, where gods understand the needs of the worshippers and need the offerings and recognition of worshippers. The Jade Emperor presides over the gods, parallel to the emperor in the human realm, and the Jade Emperor appoints the various gods to their offices, promoting them for effective help but also demoting them when their effectiveness fails.
How did Christianity rise to become influential in the 16th and 17th centuries? What caused its subsequent decline?
Through the Jesuit missionary scholar approach. Accommodated Christianity to the best of classic Chinese culture. The Jesuits took on the role of Chinese literati, wrote works in chinese, and proved helpful to Chinese rulers by providing maps and Western learning in science and astronomy.
Christianity was accepted because they related it to Chinese culture, showed that Confucian ethics were consonant with Christian faith, and interpreting the ancestral rituals as acceptable within Christian understanding.
However, rival Christian religious orders attacked the Jesuit methods of accommodation, later the Pope of Rome decided against the Jesuit position and the breakdown of the Jesuit relationship with the Chinese emperor broke down. Which resulted in the suppression and expulsion of Christian priests.
The revolutionary movements of the 20th century turned against the Christian movement. The abortive Boxer Rebellion was an antiforeign movement that tried to drive out Western influences like Christianity. The recent defeat by Japan grew dissatisfaction.
What were the roles of Sun Zhongshan, Jiang Jieshi, and Mao Zedong in 20th century events?
Sun Zhongshan was the leader of the revolution that overthrew the government in 1905. He was then the leader of the republican government that followed. He received a Western, Christian education.
Jiang Jieshi was the formers successor. Both leaders followed a kind of modern, liberal Protestantism; Jiang even promoted the revival of ancient Confucian virtues.
Mao Zedong was the leader of the Communist Party and took over government from Jiang Jieshi. Finally, during the cultural revolution of 1966 all religious institutions were subjected to intense persecution by the state.
What happened to the traditional religions under the People’s Republic of China after 1949? How did the Cultural Revolution affect the religious traditions?
Because Marxists have an attitude that religion is an instrument that oppressive overlords use to pacify and exploit the energies of the people, the Chinese government mounted a series of campaigns to turn peoples loyalty away from traditional religions to support the new Chinese order. During the cultural revolution of 1966 all religious institutions were subjected to intense persecution by the state. The Red Guards invaded homes to expose people practicing religions and destroyed various religious scriptures temples etc.
Discuss reasons for the current revival of religious interest among the people of China. What do you see in the future?
The death of Mao and his family introduced more moderate government.
There have been great increases of practitioners of all religions so long as they are not superstitious or a threat to the government. There have been revivals in Confucianism which introduces Western logic to his philosophy.
Dao is the Mother of all - what do you think this means?
Dao is one, prior to all differences, nothing produced Dao, nor is it limited or affected by anything. Whereas everything else is dependent on Dao, Dao only follows its own nature. It is that eternal, primordial reality that contains within itself the inexhaustible source and creativity of the whole universe. It is the “mother” of all and operates within everything, pervasive and invincible, producing all and regenerating all.
