General Essay on Chinese Religions

Han China and Imperial Rome used ideologies to shape their society. In Han China, Confucianism was used as a basis to control its bureaucrats and citizens. This ideology, created by Confucius, encouraged moral and cultural unity. It encouraged respect towards authority, and set guidelines for how an individual should act towards people above their social class and people below their social class. Han rulers created one of the first civil service tests, requiring applicants to have an understanding of Confucianism and other early writings to become a bureaucrat. This resulted in a

China has experienced several changes and evolutions throughout the centuries, though some of the most marked and influential changes stem from the transitionary period of the Tang dynasty to the Song dynasty. These changes, which include the re-definition of gendered space, the rise of the scholar’s status and the prominence of Neo-Confucianism (among other things) were not only political and economic evolutions, but also cultural shifts that would later characterize Chinese history. Let us begin by examining Neo-Confucianism.

Another philosophy that is present during the rule of the Han Dynasty is Confucian ideals. We see these represented with the essays of Dong Zhongshu from the readings, who “synthesizing the Daoist ideals that emphasized the quietude and passivity of the ruler with a more active orientation of the Confucian ideal” (pg161). With Confucian ideals focusing on education of ones self and ritual it blends with the other philosophy incorporated in the Han’s form of governing very well. The practice of having well educated rulers that understand the Way only benefits the state in a positive

Confucius once said, “The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.” Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, many philosophers arose that impacted China in the fields of politics, religion, and philosophy. Two of these philosophers were Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E., and Han Feizi, who lived around 233 B.C.E. These two created the Confucianism and Legalism that significantly changed the society is still in use in modern China. Confucianism became the dominant way of thinking and the later philosophy of Legalism

Indeed, social, economic, and political factors took significant roles in the development of different Chinese religions. In fact, the 800 years of the Western Zhou dynasty provided a favorable environment for Confucians to idealize the “Way of the Ancients”. This work was foundation in the Confucian classics. In the meanwhile, the political and economic stability of the dynasty played a crucial role in the establishment of the Confucian thinking and religion. In the era of Han dynasty rulers Chinese saw the entry of Buddhist principles in China. During the Han dynasty art and science were advanced. Persons started understanding eclipses through astronomy. History was studied systematically. In addition, Chinese people seem to have been in

Explain: Actually, there is no specific so call “God” in Chinese religion. Confucius and Daoism, which are two famous early religion in China, they do not have supreme deity (6-19).

• 551-478 BCE: Confucius lived his life devoted to teaching o He traveled through China preaching his ideas of political virtue and good government o He believed in a divine order and saw himself as a spokesman for Chinese tradition o He thought if people could be taught to emphasize personal virtue then a solid political life would naturally result o List of virtues stressed respect for one’s social superiors o According to him moderation in behavior, veneration of custom and ritual, and a love of wisdom should characterize the leaders of society at all levels • Confucianism- a system of ethics, “ do unto others as your status and theirs dictate”, and a plea for loyalty to the community • Confucian doctrine was recorded in a book called the Analects and was revived under the Han emperors • Confucian learning along with traditional literary works was incorporated into the training of aspiring bureaucrats • Problems Confucius set out to fix were approached through an emphasis on individual virtuous behavior, both by the ruler and the ruled • He built into his own system the links among many levels of authority that came to characterize larger Chinese politics at their best • It also emphasized personal restraint and the careful socialization of

The two Chinese philosophies of Legalism and Confucianism could not be more opposite. Even though two of the writers of Legalism were students of Xinzu, a philosopher of Confucianism, there are more of differences than similarities between the two. Because of this, legalism, which preceded the concept of Confucianism, had a lot of reasons why Confucianism was considered wrong. While towards the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Confucian beliefs started to revamp and become more widely accepted and thus they were blended together to some extent, this was not the case beforehand, in fact it could be argued that blending the two together seemed almost impossible. Confucianism stressed the ideas of the knowledge, humaneness, and filial piety while legalism stressed power, rewards and punishments, and agricultural wealth. Thus from a legalist standpoint, Confucianism was considered wrong because it placed value on virtues instead of the laws, focusing on education to prosper growth and moral character instead of simply obeying societal laws and valuing agricultural wealth rather than humaneness Thus differences far exceed similarities between these two ancient beliefs. However, both have made everlasting marks on Chinese culture and tradition that to this day still exists.

They think that Confucianism can not achieve their lofty political ambitions. In other words, I had collected materials on the lack of real cases of successful government with Confucianism basis. Besides, the tools I have been using does not have much informations about Confucianism in Spring and Autumn Period. Because I was using google search On the basis of remaining Confucianism as my topic, I narrowed time into 900 to 1300 AD. Which was the time period of Song Dynasty.

"Buddhism! Taoism! Islam!" thousands of religion are being shouted around in the cafeteria. No one is surprised. Hardly anyone is the same religion in your school. That is not unusual in China. There are so many different religions in China. Religion makes China because there are so many different religions in China. The main three are Buddhism, Taoism, and Islam.

The Analects explore the teachings of Confucius. This source explores the reconstruction of contemporary Confucianism. The importance of this reference in regards to the essay is that it is a real-time indicator of how influential the teachings of Confucius are despite the time gap of when it was first implemented within the society. This source dives into the affect that Confucianism has on traditional Chinese culture and is particularly important as a form of knowledge in the traditional Chinese culture. This source supports the fact that the teachings of Confucius had a great enough impact on every dynasty, and society after the Han Dynasty, and why unification would be made easy since nearly everybody is abiding by the same set of rules, there are little to no wildcards in this harmonious

This last week the world has said goodbye to Mohamad Ali and bid Queen Elizabeth yet another of her 90 years. One might wonder what a Muslim, Catholic and the Dao have in common. Each with their own ideals these two cultural icons have lived in the Dao. “All humans are part of the cosmic process, the Tao, and are composed of the complimentary forces of yin and yang” (Lecture 6,2014). To live in the Dao one must revere humanities’ bond to humanity by following the five positive human relationships, recognizing and existing in the Ying and Yang by following feng shui of one’s existence (Lecture 6,2014). This conglomeration of practices has grown throughout history to accommodate many traditions into a social religious and political stew of sorts. The Catholics were not to be left undone, as they participated in influencing the political and religious aspects of the Tang dynasty (Ownby, 2003). Some shared ideals that have become attributions of Catholic and Islamic influence include harmony, family and society. It is within these guidelines and shared ideals we may reach common understanding and thereby, sustain peace.

The three main philosophies of China helped shape early Chinese civilization; Mandate of Heaven, Confucianism, and Legalism. The Mandate of Heaven was a belief that the Emperor was sufficiently virtuous to rule. This explained the legitimacy of rulers. Confucianism was a philosophy created by Confucius, hoping it would lead to a more stable state in the society. As a philosophy believed longest, Confucianism provided basic foundation for moral, social, and politic norm for Chinese society. Legalism, developed by Han Fei, intended to bring strength and unity of the nation by emphasizing strong punishments and reward, tradition, and family. Legalism introduced clear laws and bureaucratic government. Overall, between the time period from 221 BCE to 618CE, change was shown in Legalism over time, while continuity was shown in Confucianism and Mandate of Heaven.

Chinese has always been a confident nation most of the time. As they believe that China is the Celestial Empire of the world, Chinese rulers and scholars are reluctant to accept heterodox knowledge, especially religion. For hundreds of years, Confucianism had been the essence of Chinese Philosophy. However, By the middle of the second century. A.D, the great Han Empire was on the edge of disintegration. “The upper level of Han socio-political order was riven by conflict and the elite was frustrated by uncertainty”. On the other

“The founder of Confucianism, Master Kong (Confucius, 551-479 B.C.E.) did not intend to found a new religion, but to interpret and revive the unnamed religion of the Zhou dynasty, under which many people thought the ancient system of religious rule was bankrupt; why couldn't the gods prevent the social upheavals?”