chinese religous and ethical systems :: essays research papers

Chinese Religious and Ethical SystemsIt has often been said that the Chinese are not deeply religious. It is true that they have shown a comparative indifference to metaphysical speculation Chinese culture was perhaps the first to develop an ingenious skepticism concerning the gods.ConfucianismConfucius (Kong Zi) lived from 551 to 479 BC in the state of Lu (in modem Shandong province). He came from a family of officials and his concern was with the restoration of the Way (Dao) of the ancient sages. His teaching was therefore link main(prenominal)ly to society and its government. He advocated strict conformity, and thought that fostering square up behavior, within the context of the family, would produce an ordered society. He was not peculiarly interested in religion, except insofar as it related to favorable life. However, in 59 AD during the Han dynasty, it was decreed that sacrifice should be do to Confucius and this began a process that was to make Confucian philosophy in to the foundation of the Chinese political order. Confucius himself had only accepted the legitimacy of sacrifice to ones own ancestors, further from now on an official Confucian cult emerged, with its own temples. It in stages became linked with the state cult of the Emperor. From the fifth nose candy AD Confucian orthodoxy retreated before the popularity of Buddhism and Daoism. But a renaissance came during the Sung dynasty when Confucianism responded to the repugn and developed its own metaphysics. This new trend is known as Neo-Confucianism, and its main exponent was Zhu Xi (1130-1200). It subsequently became the main orthodoxy of the scholar officials until the demise of the imperial system in 1912. In contemporary China, the Confucian cult has disappeared, save the Confucian approach to government and society retains a powerful cumber on many tribe.Daoism (Taoism)The origins of Daoism are obscure, but it is first seen as a rival to Confucianism. The teachings of early Taoism are ascribed to Lao Zi in the fifth century BC who is the reputed author of the most influential Taoist text, the Dao De Jing (The Way and its Power). Where the Confucian stressed ethical action, the Taoist spoke of the virtue of Wu Wei (non-action), going with the geological period of things. Like the Confucians, Daoists looked back to a golden age. The good ruler, they thought, guided his people with humility, not seeking to interfere with the rhythms of social life conducted within the larger patterns of the natural world and the whole cosmos.