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.
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