chinese religions (Daoism and Confucianism) Flashcards
(23 cards)
the impact of communism
- no free exercise of religion
- hard to know what is happening religiously since there is suppression
the answer is unclear as to whether typical chinese beliefs are a ____ or a _____…
religion or philosophy
most chinese today are difficult to describe with usual religious labels, but most are a blend of…
- Buddhism
- Confucianism
- Daoism
characteristics of religious beliefs:
most religions are _______ and ________
animistic and polytheistic
characteristics of religious beliefs:
most have a strong reverence for ___ and ____
age and ancestors
- life is lived under the eyes of our ancestors who are in the spirit realm
characteristics of religious beliefs:
the order of the universe was seen as the result of a balance between…
Yin and Yang
Yin
negative, receptive
- dark
-shadow
-cool
-female
-damp
-moon
yang
positive, active
- light
-warm
-dry
-male
-sun
characteristics of religious beliefs:
happiness or goodness =
balance and harmony of Yin and Yang
characteristics of religious beliefs:
_______ was common, because of belief in the orderly flow of _______
divination; history
-patter/flow of universe exists, so there can be creatures or things in harmony with that flow that can tell us the future (cracks in tortoise shell)
characteristics of religious beliefs:
key text???
I Ching or Yi Jing: the book of changes
** manual for the process of divination
during a growing time of SOCIAL UNREST (600s CE), Chinese schools of philosophical-religious-political though emerged to suggest 2 basic solutions:
daoism and confucianism
daoism: calls on each person to….
live a simple, responsible life which will lead to a better society
*** LESS government
confucianism: go back to the…
old ways of hierarchical structure and control, which will lead to a better society
*** MORE government
founder of Daoism
Lao-tzu
- means “old boy” or “respected teacher”
- lived in the 6th century BCE
Daoism: primary teachings contained in book called…
Tao Te Ching or Dao dejing
what does the Dao Dejing teach?
- all human achievement are folly, especially elaborate government structures of control
- there is no life after death, so this present life is the greatest possession
- preserve/extend this life
- life simply
- power/pride will fatten u like a cow for slaughter
- basic unity behind the universe = Dao (like a river we need to flow with)
Dao means
the way
confucianism: founder
Confucius… actually K’ung Fu-tzu
when did Confucius live
6-5th century BCE and was a mid-level government official who became a respected teacher of young people
after ___ years after Confucious’s death….
70
- his key teachings were gathered into a book called The Analytics of Confucious
The Analytics of Confucious taught…
- there are no gods, religion can be useful though for uniting people. BUT personal religious practices should not interfered with your social obligations
- do NOT do to others what you do NOT want done to you
- humans can become perfect with the help of the government/ social structures
- move society toward elaborate rules for social interaction, guided by those in positions of influence
over time, Confucius is spoken of as…
a god
