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Philosophical and Religious Foundations of China Exploring Alternative Views of Religion and Culture Jian Li

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Philosophical and Religious Foundations of China Exploring Alternative Views of Religion and Culture Jian Li Philosophical and Religious Foundations of China Exploring Alternative Views of Religion and Culture Jian Li Table of Contents Introduction 2 Chapter 1 An Overview of Religion in China – A Personal Experience 4 Chapter 2 Chinese Religion and Philosophy – A Historical Perspective 15 Chapter 3 Divinity and Transcendence: Religion and Metaphysics 32 Chapter 4 Human Nature: Good, evil or neutral? 53 Chapter 5 Perspectives of an Ideal Life and Ideal Society 63 Chapter 6 The impact of Daoism on Chinese Medicine 76 Chapter 7 The Impact of Daoism on Chinese Art 83 Chapter 8 How Do You Say Unitarian Universalism in Chinese? 91 Chapter 9 Your Thoughts and Comments 106 Recommended Book and Web Resources 107 Introduction Jian Li Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism are classified as the three major Chinese religions in the West. However, Chinese scholars usually consider them as three great teachings instead of religions. Specifically, Confucianism is often regarded as an ethical system, Buddhism as a religion from India, and Daoism as the indigenous belief system that has both philosophical and religious implications. It is problematic to classify “Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism” as religions. The word, religion in Chinese, is “zong jiao 宗教”: zong 宗 means “ancestor, clan, sect, faction, school”; jiao 教 means “teach, instruct, and religion by extension”. The concept of “zong jiao 宗教” as religion was not introduced/used in Chinese until by late 19th century via Japanese translation of the concept1. The traditional Chinese folk religion is centered around the “ancestor worship”. Some households in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong still keep shrines where the pictures and ashes of their diseased parents, grandparents, great grandparents, are kept in reverence regardless of their religious affiliations. They would pay special homage and offerings to their diseased ancestors during special Chinese holidays based on the Chinese lunar calendar. This is the kind of cultural custom/folk religion based on ancestor worship practiced in China for more than 3,000 years. Confucianism and Daoism started to emerge during the Axial Age (about 500 BCE). Buddhism was introduced to China during the Han Dynasty, (206BCE to 220 AD). The introduction of Buddhism from India sparked a sense of urgency in formalizing a state sanctioned ideology/philosophy/religion. As a result, the Three Teachings, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism started to take shape as state sanctioned belief systems in Han Dynasty. From the start, the Three Teachings were not mutually exclusive but complementary to one another despite some skirmishes about the supremacy of one over another at the different junctures of the Chinese history. In Chinese, the Three Teachings, “san jiao he yi 三教合一” , literally means the trinity of the Chinese belief system. Confucianism provides 1 Chinese Religion: An Overview, http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Writings/Chinese%20Religions%20- %20Overview.htm 2 guidance to ethical behavior, Daoism provides guidance to health and how to live in harmony with the nature and the society, and Buddhism provides a transcendent view of life and death. This booklet is an introduction to the “Three Teachings ” with an emphasis on Daoism. This is because Daoism not only provides a philosophical and religious foundation of the Chinese civilization, it also speaks a universal language that transcends time and space. Philosophical Daoism can still inspire us to live a life that is in harmony with the nature. The first chapter starts from my recent journey to a holy mountain, Kongtong Mountain, in northwest China. It gives the readers a glimpse of religious landscape of China today. After a short introduction of the history of Chinese philosophy and religion, five topics are covered: divinity and transcendence; human nature; perspectives of an ideal life and ideal society; the impact of Daoism on traditional Chinese medicine; the impact of Daoism on Chinese art. The last chapter, How Do You Say Unitarian Universalism in Chinese, was from an article I wrote in 2009. It highlights both the potential and ambiguity inherent in Unitarian Universalism and the difficulty in translation. Apart from the first and last chapters, most of the materials of this booklet come from different sources: books, articles, and online databases. The source of each work is identified in the footnote. In addition, some recommended books/articles are listed at the end of the booklet. There are several different ways of translating Chinese names into English. The two main Romanization systems are Wade-Giles system (developed by British linguists) and Pinyin system (developed by the Chinese linguists in the 1960s). For example, Tao De Ching and Lao Tze are transliterations based on the Wade-Giles system, and Dao De Jing/Lao Zi are transliterations based on the Pinyin system. In academic publications, the Chinese names are mostly translated in the Wade- Giles system before the 1980s, and it is becoming more and more popular to use the Pinyin system after the 1980s. Both Wade-Giles and Pinyin systems are used here to transcribe the proper Chinese names depending largely on the conventions in translating names from Chinese into English. 3 Chapter 1 An Overview of Religion in China -- A Personal Experience Traditionally Chinese religious temples, especially Daoist temples, are nestled in big mountains. This is because Chinese people traditionally believe humans are closer to gods when they are in nature than in man made environment. Most Chinese know about at least a few sacred mountains associated with either Buddhism or Daoism even if they are not religious. There are hundreds of sacred mountains in China. Those who love to travel know about Four Great Sacred Mountains of Buddhism and the Four Great Sacred Mountains of Taoism in China .2 However, most Chinese who go to those sacred mountains are not for religious reasons but to enjoy the beautiful sceneries, unique architecture and art of the temples dotted in the sacred mountains. In July 2015, I visited Kongtong Mountain (Chinese: 崆峒山; pinyin: Kōngtóng Shān). It is an important yet lesser- known sacred mountain in the Northwest China. In addition to numerous Daoist temples, it also has temples dedicated to Confucianism and Buddhism. I chose Mount Kongtong because it was cool in the summer and it was less commercialized than those well known scenic and sacred mountains full of tourists. Here is a short description of Kongtong Mountain3: Lying 7.5 miles to the west of Pingliang City in Gansu Province, Kongtong Mountain is noted for its marvelous natural scenery and exquisite manmade landscapes. It enjoys the reputation as "The Holy Land of Taoism", "The Remarkable Spectacle of Western China" and "The First Mountain in Western China". 2 . For more details, please read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Mountains_of_China 3 From Travel China Guide, http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/gansu/pingliang/Kongtong- mountain.htm 4 Beautiful Natural Scenery Kongtong Mountain is a branch of Liupan Mountain. Though located in the western plateau area, the mountain is endowed with the characteristics both of the magnificence of China's northern mountains and the beauty of southern mountains. Huge mountains stand one after another with vast patches of green forests as their clothes and ethereal mist as their white belt. This mountain is abundant in stone caves and houses, many of which are located in the cliffs or dense forest where nobody sets foot. The famous ones include Guangcheng Cave, Zhaoyang Cave, Xuanhe Cave and Kongtong Cave. In addition, it is a rich water resource. The Yanzhi River flows from the north. Every spring, peach blossoms fall into the water and float on the current: a lovely sight. At the foot of the mountain, Tanzheng Lake flows calmly like a mirror, and its murmuring water sounds like a Chinese zither, giving the lake its name, Tanzheng Lake (Playing Zither Lake). Long History and Profound Religious Culture The father of Chinese culture, the Emperor Xuan Yuan, once visited Kongtong Mountain to consult the wise man Guang Chengzi on how to manage the country and maintain good health. From then on, Kongtong Mountain rapidly gained prestige. Later on, the King of Mu in the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC-771 BC), the Emperor Qin Shi Huang and the Emperor Wu in Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 24 AD), all followed him to visit Kongtong Mountain, which made the mountain more and more famous. Kongtong Mountain is the holy mountain of three religions: Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. It is said that Taoism temples were being built on the mountain as early as in the Wei (220-265) and Jin (265-420) Dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), construction began on Taihe Palace and other attached Taoist buildings. Since then, Taoism has been handed down from one generation to another. Buddhism also flourished in Kongtong Mountain, as evidence of Buddhist rituals can be found in it from the Tang Dynasty (618-907). There are 19 Buddhist temples from the early Qing Dynasty (1644- 1911). Today Buddhism and Taoism grow together in a harmonious atmosphere on the mountain, a situation which is unique to Kongtong Mountain. In addition, Kongtong Mountain has cultivated many Confucianism scholars such as Huang Fumi, the talented founder of Chinese Acupuncture. 5 My journey into the Kongtong Mountain, July 23 to 25, 2015 Initially, I planned to spend at least a week to experience the life as the Taoists do in the mountain. My plan was changed after I learned that I had to carry everything I needed on my back and climb to the top of the mountain (three hours of climbing). In addition, the Daoist living quarters have neither shower nor restroom (there are public restrooms outside the room). My cousin thought it would be too tough for me to stay there by myself and volunteered to go with me, but only for 2-3 days.
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