religion in china

geographical factors that shape chinese religion

only half of its landmass is inhabitable

85% of population lived on 35% of land

steep mountains, deserts, flood areas

nature controlled their lives, they needed harmony with nature

shang dynasty

folk religion; oracle bones; I Ching

I Ching

book of changes; divination manual

xia dynasty

legendary first dynasty of china, began with the last of the 5 legendary emperors

mandate of heaven

heaven bestows its mandates on virtuous rulers; the concept justifies the right to rule

warring states period

following shang dynasty; ended by Qin dynasty; during this time, Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi all arose

spiritual bureaucracy

1. jade emperor

   • shang-ti: lord on high by shang

   • ti’en: heaven by zhou

2. second level “aristocratic” gods

   • local earth god, Tudi Gong

   • stove god

3. dead ancestors

parts of the soul in the afterlife

1. higher part

   • tablet, temple

   • can become godlike

2. lower part

   • cemetery, buried

   • can become hungry ghost

3. part soul

   • journey to underworld

   • in buddhism, the part that reincarnates

point of confucianism

restore social harmony, bring order, restore moral virtue among ruling class

major teachings of confucianism

1. ren

   • humane goodness

2. shu

   • golden rule

3. junzi

   • exemplary person

   • noble, moral

4. zhengming

   • rectification of names

   • live up to your title

5. 5 relationships

the 5 relationships in confucianism

1. ruler-ruled

2. husband-wife

3. parent-child

4. older sibling-younger sibling

5. friend-friend

the two thinkers and their books of daoism

Laozi (Lao-Tzu): Tao Te Ching (Daodejing); Zhuangzi (Chuang-Tzu): Zhuangzi

laozi’s story

worked in the royal library, left china and headed west because he was disgusted with corruption of chinses government, the gatekeeper begged him to leave his wisdom so he wrote the daodejing

reality flows (daoism)

wu (non-being) and yu (being)

wu wei

non-action; effortless action

yin and yang

yin is white, yang is black

life is about balance between the two, not polarization, separation, or villainization of one or the other

4 parts of the solution (daoism)

1. return to a simple life in nature

2. practice “sitting in forgetfulness” meditation, clear out social conditioning

3. embrace the “doctrine of no knowledge”, unlearn traditional rationalizations

4. practice wu-wei

external alchemy

practices to achieve immortality

elixirs, fasting, offerings to gods, intake of lead, gold, and mercury

external alchemy

symbolic spiritual practices

lead(yin)—breath, qi

mercury(yang)—vital essence, jing

gold—immortal you, shen

the three treasures of man

qi—vital energy

jing—essence

shen—spirit

two types of religious daoism

daoist masters: teach internal alchemy

daoist priests: run temples

• meet the needs of people within cities