Chinese Religion and Beliefs
China has been a multi-religious country since the ancient times.
Most of the religions practiced in China came from other parts of Asia and parts of Europe as
well. People who practice these religions don’t normally do the ceremonial part. Religions that
were originated in China were actually a system of philosophical beliefs rather than spiritual
ones. China had three religions that were practiced a lot and were considered the ‘’pillars’’ of
Chinese culture.
Confucianism was a religion originated in China.
Confucianism was China’s original ‘’religion’’. It was introduced in 479 BC. Eventually,
people started to practice it. During the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu made Confucianism a
feudal system. Confucianism
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was a system of philosophical teachings from Confucius himself. Many people who reiterated Confucianism as a religion often build temples and worship him as a God of Culture. When the 20th century rolled into life, Confucianism was no longer popular or being practiced. However, many people are trying their best to revive Confucianism. Taoism, like Confucianism, was also a system of philosophical beliefs. Taoists have way different beliefs than other religions. Taoists believe in immortality and medicine. They also use and experiment with alchemy. Those who practice Taoism look up to Lao Tzu as a ‘saint’.
Lao Tzu was a poet and philosopher of China. In the Taoism religion
there are three mythical beings called the Three Pure Ones. These beings were worshiped as
the High Gods of Taoism. Taoism isn’t really practiced but it still rolls around.
Buddhism, however, is China’s most practiced foreign religion.
Unlike Confucianism and Taoism, Buddhism was not originated in China. It was originated
in now called Nepal. Buddhism was brought to China during the third century BC. Since then,
many forms of Buddhism were formed. Buddhism introduced China to a whole new perspective
of concepts and beliefs. Buddhism also brought new ways of behavior (i.e. meditation). To this
day Buddhism is still China’s most practiced religion.
Other religions also became part of the Chinese culture.
One religion that Chinese practice is Christianity. Christianity was not introduced until the Tang
Dynasty. After that era, Christianity became part of the Chinese culture. After a while,
Christianity was no longer being practiced because most Christians were either killed or kicked
Out. Many Chinese people didn’t become Christian by birth; they chose to follow the Christian
Religion. Many European religions became part of the Chinese
culture. The Catholic religion also made its way to China. The catholic religion came to China in the 13th century. Of course the Chinese royal dynasty was Interested in this religion. Many Roman Catholic priests made their journey to China. The only Few that survived attempted to translate the Bible to the Chinese. Those priests actually Succeeded in translating the bible. The roman catholic church tried to eliminate a religion Called Nestorian Christianity from China’s culture. They succeeded. The catholic Religion was very similar to Christianity when both religions were introduced to china. Islam was introduced to China shortly after Mohamed discovered Islam. After that, Muslim traders started to trade with the Chinese. Many Muslims started to migrate to China. During the 19th and 20th century, China and Muslims had war with each other. During that time, Chinese government did not want its people To practice Islam. After the warfare caused by the Chinese and Muslims, Islam is now permitted To be practiced. Even Chinese natives started to practice the religion. Islam is now one of China’s most practiced religions. China is an open minded country. During its many dynasties, many emperors were willing to open up and practice foreign Religions. Since many countries surrounding China were extremely strict, its people will Migrate to China to practice their religion freely. Traders from different countries travel to China to trade and sometimes introduce a new religion to China.
People’s well beings were affected by the Chinese philosophies Taoism, Legalism, and Confucianism. In legalism, for example, people aren’t trusted and there was a very strict government. On the other hand, in Taoism, they saw themselves as a part of nature, there were no laws, and leaders were good. This greatly affected different philosophies, making a big difference. In Ancient India, there was Hinduism and Buddhism. People worshipped and worked differently in these two religions. Therefore, both Ancient India and Ancient China were affected by the religion and
After watching the documentary The Long Search: Taoism: A Question of Balance—China, I am totally surprised by the details in the video, which explain every single aspect of people’s daily life in Taiwan as religious, especially Taoist. Since China does not consider itself as a nation of religious beliefs and practices, I do not actually think of what Chinese people do everyday as religious. However, after studying Religions in China for a semester, I finally realize that all the Chinese traditions and beliefs have evolved as a mixture of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. As a result, it all makes sense to see in the video that Taoism is a dominant religion that has deeply influenced individuals’ life in Taiwan.
of power. This was the case with Buddhism to start as it came into China by way of the
In China, the citizens' inclination of Buddhism varied from that of other states. There was a plethora of mental outlooks on how Buddhism was changing the Chinese society as it expanded from India, where it was founded in the sixth century BCE. The responses are organized depending on their acceptance, rejection, or encouragement of a combination of Buddhism with other religions. These categories are illustrated by the following documents; the acceptance by documents two and five, the rejection by documents four, six, and three, and last, the encouragement by documents two, five, and three. Additional documentations that would be helpful in classifying the reactions of the Chinese people would be a testimony or statement of a Chinese woman, or group of women, and of peasants. These would be helpful as we'd be able to examine exactly how the Chinese were affected by Buddhism's grasp. We would be able to see how Buddhism affected their daily lives and what they thought about the sudden religion.
(Doc 1: Buddha). “Whosoever in China. serves the Buddha and correctly. makes a vow to be reborn without ever abandoning his sincere intention. behold Buddha.... ...
The Buddhist brought with them the concept of multiple gods and Buddha’s “spiritual state to provide the power for humans to make the transition into death and the afterlife successfully” (Corduan, 2012, p.410). Confucianism brought the obedience of the child to the parent into Chinese mainstream life, plus the “social stratification and codes governing dress, actions and communication” (Corduan, 2012, p.409). Taoism introduced the balance of forces in harmony in spirits in the form of yin and yang, thus creating that balance of nature and humans (Corduan, 2012). Christianity influenced Chinese life both socially and economically by introducing the concepts of “love for one’s neighbor, self-discipline, and trust” (Lu, 2014, p.2) as both essential and beneficial (Lu, 2014). All of these together with the traditional Chinese religion, give the Chinese culture it’s popular religion
The main religions of China were Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. The central religions in India were Hinduism and Buddhism. Both Ancient China and India had religious teachers that invented these prevalent religions. Confucius invented Confucianism, Lao Tzu invented Taoism, and a man named Hsun Tzu invented the ideas of Legalism in China. Hinduism in India took many of its religious beliefs from the Aryan people that invaded India. Buddhism was created around 520 B.C. by a wealthy man Siddhartha Gautama. China and India had much in common. They both believed in supernatural forces. For example, China and India believed that supernatural forces controlled the weather and the abundance of crops grown at certain times around the year. Furthermore, both ancient civilizations constructed art pertaining to their respective religions.
The cause and responses of the spread of Buddhism in China is similar to and reflect that of Christianity’s spread throughout western Europe. The universality aspect of both of these religions makes it possible to draw the comparison between the two. Buddhism and Christianity shared a positive response concerning the recognition of its unifying effects to create a more orderly society. Regarding Buddhism, this is seen in document 5, and regarding Christianity, this is seen in the way it became the unifying force in the Roman
George Minamiki, S.J. The Chinese Rites Controversy from Its beginning to Modern Times, (8) Samuel Hugh Moffett. A History of Christianity in Asia. Volume II (120)
Regarding religion, Chinese culture saw the emergence of Confucianism and Buddhism as the major influence. Confucianism stressed filial piety which meant respecting elders and superiors, ruling righteously, and obeying commands and orders. Confucianism was introduced by the Chinese thinker Confucius. Buddhism was brought to China, but originated in India and was founded by Siddhartha Gautama. Followers of Buddhism worshipped Buddh...
As we can know, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islamism are the three largest religions all over the world. They all play a very significant role in our life. Nonetheless, Christianity and Buddhism are the largest population around the world. Through our religious distribution map around the world, there are seven billion followers who believe in Buddhism while twenty billion followers who believe in Christianity around the world. Moreover, Christian population are the 31.5% of the world population, in the meantime, Buddhists are the 7.1% of the world population around the world. In China, there are lots of people who believe in Buddhism because they think that Buddhism which can bring their fortune and safety. That is a only one reason Buddhism which plays a large population in China's population. Historically, Buddhism are largely distributed to some Asian areas like China, Thailand, and Japanese.
In many countries, religion is very important, so important that some cultures use it in every aspect of their lives. China, like some other countries, is a multi-religious country.... ... middle of paper ... ...
the Chinese see religion as a form of education. The purpose of Confucianism was mainly
In the Chinese culture there are several major religions, two of these include Confucianism and Taoism, which have dated back for thousands of years. According to. Experiencing the World’s Religions and The World’s Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World’s Religions, both Confucianism and Taoism, originated in ancient China through the religions’ teachers: Confucius and Lao Tzu. “Taoism and Confucianism grew up together, entering Chinese history around the sixth century B.C.E. Taoism’s beginnings are linked to the legendary figure of Lao Tzu, senior to Confucius by about fifty years.
In Asia during 6th century BCE the religion of Taoism first started. The original form of Taoism beliefs that there is no God, instead they have an ethereal being that they do not know, making them unique in the world as most religions have a deity to fall behind as a uniting factor. In modern Taoism the ideas have changed a lot since its conception. Taoism is an interesting religion because of its beliefs, and its practice now.