Religion In Ancient China

China has been the home to various religions. At different times different dynasties endorsed certain religions while repressing others. While Buddhism flourished during the Sui and Tang dynasty, it faced opposition from the government during the Song dynasty. Confucianism lost government endorsement during the Sui and Tang but gained momentum during the Song as Neo-Confucianism. Yuan dynasty promoted Islam and Tibet Buddhism but ignored Confucianism. Different rulers sponsored and protected different religions but Confucianism and some form of Buddhism have always been alive in Chinese society from 600 to 1450.

China was ahead of time when it came to religion in the middle ages. Most people leading countries had one religion that was used and some even went to war because the division of religion. China saw three major religions that made up their society. These three major religions were lead by Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism leaded them in the middle ages.

Brought to China by the first century CE, Buddhism was first founded in the 6th century BCE. The collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE encouraged the conversion to Buddhism. Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty between 220 CE and 570 CE, China faced a period of political instability and disunity. In around 570 CE, the structure and well-being of China was restored under the Tang Dynasty. When the spread of Buddhism in China occurred, many people had both positive outlooks and negative outlooks on the spread of the religion. There were several different responses regarding the spread, one was a negative response due to the foreign idea of Buddhism, they believed it would hurt Chinese society and it differed from their original religion

Confucianism has been a part of Chinese culture for over a thousand years. Many who have studied Confucianism would say that it is not a religion. It is better described as a philosophy or moral code. The philosophy of Confucianism comes mainly from the speeches and writings of Confucius, a great Chinese thinker and educator. He believed that Humanity, Rite, Neutrality, Virtue, Education, and Cultivation were the basis of human behavior. In addition, Confucius felt that this philosophy was the best way for people to behave and interact with others in society.

The main Chinese religions have many key features. The main religions include shamanism/ancestor reverence, Confucianism, Daoism, Mahayana Buddhism, and idol worship. These 5 religions share some features in common. For example, Chinese popular religion focuses on the human being’s pursuit of health, wealth, and happiness in their lives (quote the textbook). Chinese popular religions want the human to be doing well and succeeding in their day-to-day activities of their lives. Another key component of the main Chinese religions is respecting one’s elders. The religions teach the importance of obeying the commands of the elders and honoring the family name. The Chinese allow place a strong emphasis on the temple. The temple is a place where the people could communicate, understand, and learn about their gods (quote the textbook). The next subsections will be describing the key religious practices of each of the 5 Chinese religions.

Pu, Muzhou. In Search of Personal Welfare: A View of Ancient Chinese Religion. Albany: State

The three most important religious beliefs in China were Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. These people believed in many gods, making them polytheistic. Their gods were natural gods, river god, earth god, rain god…The most powerful was the sky god, T'ien, the king of all gods.

The religion of Confucianism begins, of course, with Confucius whose Chinese name was Kong Qui and who lived from 551 B.C. to 479 B.C. Surprisingly Confucius was merely a low level government worker. He did not exactly view himself as the founder of a school of thought. Regardless, Confucianism is the most influential belief system in Chinese culture. It provides the rules which govern the social behavior of the individual. The basic teachings of Confucius are grounded in the Five Constant Virtues: humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. Confucius went on to define five basic human relations and

Most businesses in China are run by man. China has many religions like Taoism, Confucianism, but mainly Buddhism. Recently, China has excelled in having many more religions including Christian. Chinese philosophy comes from Confucianism, which is a collection of teachings from ancient history. Many other philosophies were later taught like Daoism, Legalism, Mohism and many more. China still uses many of these philosophies today.

The region of China is extensive and profound. “In China lay people did not belong to an institutionalized sect, nor did their religious life have anything to do with signing articles of faint. Religion in China was so woven into the broad fabric of family and social life that there was not even a special word for it until modern times, when one was coined to match the Western term” (Thompson, 1). In China, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism are all blended. In the earliest period, Shang Dynasty (2000 BC), people in China had worshipped a lot of different gods (polytheism) such as weather god, river god. People in the Shang Dynasty believed that their ancestors become like gods after they died, so people worshipped their

Throughout time Taoism has remained the same as it was in the Ming dynasty and is a popular religion in China today. Other religions such as Christianity and Islamism have been very common in Chinese culture for hundreds of years, not only have religions stayed the same, but spiritual practices have remained as well. Along with religious beliefs more than 200 million people believed their ancestors souls exist and worship them, while around 700 million people take part in activities to worship their ancestors. Around 150 million people believe in the Feng shui theory which is “a Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing everyone with the surrounding

practices. I must stress that this was not a formal or universal change in religion but a

Confucianism is regarded as one of the primary religions that have profoundly influenced Chinese beliefs and ideologies. While Kongzi, or Confucius, is the founder of Confucianism, he is not the only philosopher who has contributed to such a significant impact on China. Similarly, the Analects of Confucius is not the single text that represents Confucianism. In fact, during different time periods throughout the history, there are a number of eminent representatives of Confucian thoughts, such as Mengzi and Xunzi. Because Confucianism aims at eliminating chaos and maintaining order in a harmonious society , they all agree that the guidance and education of virtuous Confucian pioneers are of extreme importance to achieve this

There are many different religions in both China and India. The most popular religions in China are ancient Confucianism and Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Protestant, Catholic, and a new form of religion Falun Gong. India has many religions that are different or the same as the Chinese. Indian religions include: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. There are also many people from China that do not follow a religion because of its communist background.

China’s religion is very diverse. One of the first religions is Confucianism. The creator was