Confucianism In East Asia

Introduction

Since its birth, Confucianism has reigned supreme with no serious challenger in East Asia. While Christianity has attempted to move in from the West into places like China, it has been marked as a western tool of imperialism and oppression while Confucianism is seen to be truly Chinese. Even in Japan, where until 1945, State Shinto was the predominate religion, State Shinto can trace its roots to Confucianism as a way to control the population. Confucianism has fundamentally changed East Asia and without the region would be incalculably different.

Body

In China there has always been an enormous relationship between religion and political reform, especially when it came to Confucianism. In fact, an entire political class was dedicated

to Confucian Scholars. Also, this is where the origin of the Chinese Civil Service Exam stemmed. This exam was so prominent in society that after failing the exam several times Hong Xiuquan started down the path that would lead to the Taiping Rebellion; “when he failed again at the examinations the following year, he seems to have suffered a nervous collapse and during his illness to have had certain visions” (Bary 106).
It was not until the failure of the Hundred Days Reform and the creation of the New Policies Reform that the Civil Service Exam was abolished. After the Opium Wars and the Sino-Japanese War there was an obvious deficit of power between China and the imperialist powers, the Chinese government saw the need for political reform. The emperor charged Kang Youwei with “transforming China into a modern state” (Bary 649). As one of Kang’s greatest influences, Kang saw Confucius as a reformer. While the Hundred Days Reform did not last, its successor, the New Policies Reform, did retain elements of the Hundred Days Reform.
The only other influential religion other than Confucianism at this time was Christianity, but its influence vastly differed to that of Confucianism. Before the Opium Wars, Western missionaries were forced to stay in Canton and later in other port cities. After the Opium Wars, however, missionaries were free to travel wherever they pleased. A product of this was the aforementioned Hong Xiuquan. While feeling adversely affected by Confucianism through the Civil Service Exam, Hong converted to Christianity. Using his perverted Christianity, Hong was able to lead the Taiping Rebellion. Although unsuccessful, the Taiping Rebellion had a profound effect on China by weakening the imperial government. The emperor, in an effort to combat the threat of the Taiping army, had to turn to local warlords. While the interim army was successful in defeating the Taipings, the army was loyal only to their local commanders, not the imperial government and the emperor. This lead to a decentralizing of power from the Qing dynasty that would lead to attempts for political reform and subsequent rebellions.
While Christianity was seen as a Western religion, Confucianism was wholly Chinese and as such played a major role in cultural norms. A prime example of this are the 5 relationships according to Confucius; ruler-subject, father-son, husband-wife, elder brother-younger brother, friend-friend. These relationships show the basis for the Chinese patriarchal and age-based society. Confucius also taught how to be a good person through the 5 virtues; Ren – Humaneness, Yi – Honesty and Righteousness, Li – Propriety and Good Behaviour, Zhi – Knowledge, and Xin – Sincerity and Honesty. Through the 5 virtues Chinese citizens saw how to be model citizens. Zhi, knowledge, is also the basis for the Civil Service Exam, which had a huge impact on everyday life because the exam was seen as a way to move up in society.
On the other hand, Christianity did not receive a warm welcome from Chinese society due to the aforementioned fact that Christianity was seen as a Western religion. After the Opium Wars the Chinese were leery of the West, ranging from the merchants to ideologies. This fear was realized through the Taiping Rebellion, when Hong Xiuquan, a Christian convert, waged the bloodiest conflict in history resulting in at least 20-30 million casualties. Although unsuccessful, the Taiping Rebellion had a profound effect on Chinese society by showing the Chinese people that the future is in the hands of the Chinese people, not the government. This idea of popular governmental reform and social change will go on to influence such revolutions as the 1911 revolution and the 1949 Communist revolution. These revolutions also sparked such movements as the Tiananmen Square protests. All of these momentous movements that effect the Chinese people and challenge social norms stem from the Taiping Rebellion and Christian convert Hong Xiuquan.
For the aforementioned reasons of fear of Western imperialism, Christianity was never fully accepted in China. Early on, Jesuit missionaries came from the West and were accepted as teachers because the Jesuit knowledge of science and astronomy were superior to that of their Chinese counterparts. However, while these missionaries had, at times, pull with the emperor, the missionaries were never fully trusted by government officials. This continued under the Canton System, established when more Westerners were coming to China. The Canton System kept missionaries within the port, along with all of the traders. This prevented the missionaries from spreading Christianity further inland. It was not until the end of the Opium Wars that missionaries were allowed free passage throughout China. However, with the defeat at the hands of Westerners, the Chinese people were hesitant to trust the missionaries. On top of this, the Taiping Rebellion ravaged the country, all in the name of Christianity. Even though the West had denounced the Taiping Rebellion by saying that the rebellion is not Christian at all. This is similar to how ISIS claims to be an Islamic movement while everyone, including the terror group al-Qaida, has said that ISIS is not a true Islamic movement. Christianity in China was among the 20-30 million casualties of the Taiping Rebellion.
Another reason that Christianity was not able to take root in China was because China already had a religion ingrained in society, Confucianism. Confucianism initially spread throughout China without any real widespread competition. This allowed Confucianism to intertwine itself with Chinese society. To this day Chinese society can never truly be separated from Confucianism.
While prevalent in China, Confucianism had massive impacts on other countries including but not limited to Japan. During the Tokugawa Epoch, the predominant religion was Neo-Confucianism, Confucianism that was imported from China. Neo-Confucianism was accepted as it reinforced the social structure of the time. This would be the status quo until the Meiji Restoration and the emergence of State Shinto. State Shinto is interesting because instead of religion influencing political reform, the government created State Shinto to prevent unfriendly political reform. It was a political tool used to control the population to prevent popular political reform such as what occurred in China.
Under State Shinto there was no difference between cultural norms and religion.

However, this was not always the case, “between 1870 and 1884, Shinto bureaucrats attempted to make a state religion out of Shinto through the Great Promulgation Campaign” (Bary 538). This campaign failed miserably due to the fact that, “the creed had no basis in popular religious life and because it was composed of platitudes about obeying authority and revering the emperor, the people found it incomprehensible and its priests ludicrous (Bary 538) When the campaign failed, Shinto fell out of favour among the people, however, there was another attempt in the works. After the Great Promulgation Campaign there was a movement to incorporate Shinto shrines and practices with imperial practices and traditions. This movement focused on the issue previously stated about the previous attempt at creating a state religion, and worked. From 1900 with the creation of the national association of shrine priests to 1940 with the formal creation of the Bureau of Divinity, State Shinto became more that a religion, it was a way of life. The Japanese government able to make State Shinto, “suprareligious in that, first, it transcended the beliefs of a mortal founder and, second, it embodied the essence of the Japanese nation, its divine creation, and the divinity of imperial rule” (Bary 539). A prime example of the supremacy of State Shinto is the suppression of other religions. Between 1921 and 1935 a new religion,

Omoto, tried to take root, however, the government cracked down on the new religion and its followers. This is similar to when, in 1932, Christian students at Sophia University were accused of being unpatriotic for not paying tribute at the Yasukuni Shrine. Then, in 1940, the imperial government formally created the Bureau of Divinity, marking the height of State Shinto.
State Shinto was adopted in an effort to subdue and control the population of Japan.

The adaptation in the beginning was rocky to say the least. However, the Japanese seem to possess the ability to learn from the mistakes of the past. Learning from the failed Great Promulgation Campaign, the government went to great lengths to incorporate State Shinto into people’s everyday lives. This effort was met with great success, in fact, the adoption and practice of State Shinto was so effective, that in 1945, at the end of World War II, the United States of America banned State Shinto and dissolved the Bureau of Divinity. The United States of America saw State Shinto for what the government had created, one of the most effective propaganda tools in history. Thus, with the fall of the Japanese Empire in 1945, along went State

Shinto.
Conclusion
Religion in East Asia plays a critical role in national governments as well as societal and cultural norms. From Confucianism and Christianity in China to State Shinto in Japan, religion is a tool to be used by both governments and people alike. The Taiping Rebellion and its Christian leader were used to galvanize a people to believe that real change comes not from the government, but from the people. In Japan, State Shinto was used by the government to control the population to prevent precisely that, a belief in the people that they, the people, can enact real change. For better or for worse, religion in East Asia has, and continues to, influence and change, not just East Asia, but the world.