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“The Concept of ‘Allah’ in the Qur’ān and Concept of “Tian” in Confucianism and Mohism”, Ma Zhanming, The Straight Path, Nov. 2020, 138-150 ISSN: 2757-6175 THE CONCEPT OF ‘ALLAH’ IN THE QUR’ĀN AND CONCEPT OF “TIAN” IN CONFUCIANISM AND MOHISM Ma Zhan Ming* & Min Wenjie* Abstract: This paper is going to present the Chinese understanding of ‘Tian’(天) as used in its traditional cultures along with history and is going to show some similarities & differences between the concept of the term ‘Tian’ as understood by the Chinese and the term ‘Allah’ as understood by Muslims. There were three philosophical schools in the history of China which represent ‘Chinese Traditional Culture’, namely: Confucianism（儒家）, Faism (or Legalism，法家) and Mohism（墨家）, and two religions, namely Taoism（道教） and Buddhism（佛教）. Our discussion will be limited to Confucianism and Mohism. According to these two schools, ‘Tian’ not only exists but also is the highest power; the permanent existence; the owner of heavens and earth; He has will; He loves mankind; He rewards good people and punishes evil ones; He likes justice (‘Yi’，义) and dislikes injustice; He is all-knowing and all-honorable; He should be obeyed by everyone in the world no matter whether they are emperors or beggars; His will is the compass and rule, He has arranged the criteria of everything. As a result of being influenced by such ancient thought, most Chinese people along with history till today have in their mind the concept of God, which is translated as ‘Tian’ (天) or ‘Shangdi’(上 帝) in the Chinese language, and they pray to Him consciously or unconsciously in their worldly life. This paper may benefit those who are interested in studying whether or not God had sent his divine teachings to Chinese people and chose anyone among them to be His messenger, which is frequently discussed by scholars in this field. Key Words: ‘Tian’; Confucianism; Mohism I. Confucianism and Mohism As we all know, there were three main philosophical schools in the history of China which represent ‘Chinese Traditional Culture’, namely Confucianism, Faism (or Legalism) and Mohism, and two religions, namely * Assoc. Prof., of Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China. [email protected] * Assoc. Prof., of the School of Marxism, Northwest University for Nationalities, China. Accepted and presented to 2nd Symposium in Ankara on Rethinking the Qur’ān, May10-11, 2014. 138 “The Concept of ‘Allah’ in the Qur’ān and Concept of “Tian” in Confucianism and Mohism”, Ma Zhanming, The Straight Path, Nov. 2020, 138-150 ISSN: 2757-6175 Taoism and Buddhism. Our discussion will be limited to Confucianism and Mohism. As the term suggests, Confucianism was founded by Confucius (孔 子, 551 B.C.-479 B.C.) during the Spring & Autumn Period（770 B.C,-476 B.C.）, and further expanded by Mencius (孟子, 372-299 B.C.)1during the Warring States Period（475 B.C,-221 B.C.）, and finally accomplished and stipulated as official teachings by Dong Zhongshu (董仲舒, 179-104 B.C.) during the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-25 A.D.) in Chinese history. Confucius’ main sources are the thoughts of Yao (尧), Shun (舜) and Yu (禹), the earliest three emperors in Chinese history, as well as Wen Wang (文 王) and Wu Wang (武王) during the Zhou Dynasty (11th century-771 B.C.),2 and his main aim was to renew the rites of the Zhou Dynasty and to teach people how to deal with relationships with one another. Confucianism’s main doctrine is: San Gang (三纲,Three Cardinal Guidances ) and Wu Chang (五常, Five Constant Virtues). The three Cardinal Guidances are: subjects must follow their monarch (君为臣纲); children must follow their father (父为子 纲); and wives must follow their husbands(夫为妻纲). The Five Constant Virtues are Ren (仁, Benevolence), Yi (义, Righteousness), Li (礼, Propriety), Zhi (智, Wisdom) and Xin (信, Fidelity).3 The doctrine of Confucianism is contained in their the Four Books (四 书)and the Five Classics (五经). The titles of the Four Books are: The Great Learning (大学), The Doctrine of the Mean (中庸), The Analects of Confucius (论语) and Menzi (孟子); the titles of the Five Classics are: The Book of Songs (诗经), The Book of History (书经), The Book of Changes (易经), The Book of Rites (礼记), and The Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋). These books were stipulated masterpieces that Chinese learners need to read in ancient China, 1 Mencius (372-299 B.C.), his name is Meng Ke (孟轲), his title is Ziyu (子舆), who studied Confucian thought, then traveled to states in his time to persuade the rulers following ancient Emperors and Kings in terms of governing societies but he failed. In his late age, Mencius turned back to his mother town and started to teach. He wrote “Mengzi”, only 7 chapters of which left. See Wang Jiafan and Xie Tianyou, Chinese Ancient Civilization, (Zhejiang Ancient Books Publishing House, 1999), 462. 2 Yao and Shun are two of the five emperors and leaders of tribes in ancient China 4000 years ago; Yu is the first emperor of Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 B.C.); while Wenwang and Wuwang are the Kings of Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 B.C.). These men managed their societies successfully and thereby, they were considered wise men and admired very much by later generations of Chinese people especially Confucius and his followers. 3 See: Modern Chinese English Dictionary, 756. 139 “The Concept of ‘Allah’ in the Qur’ān and Concept of “Tian” in Confucianism and Mohism”, Ma Zhanming, The Straight Path, Nov. 2020, 138-150 ISSN: 2757-6175 and from which both local and central governments educated students and examined candidates as required references before the 20th century. It happened in the history of Confucianism that it conflicted and mixed with Taoism and Buddhism several times, resulting in some qualitative changes taking place in its doctrine. Mohism was founded by a man named Mo Di. Let us stay for a while to know who he was. If we looked at his contributions to Chinese philosophy and thought, and evaluated it in comparison to other great thinkers in the history of China, Mo Di’s name should come after Confucius and Lao Zi, because he was definitely one of the greatest wise men in ancient China. Unfortunately, scholars know very little about the date of his birth, his origin, his native place and his life. What we can inform you here is as follows: Mo Di was born after Confucius and before Mencius at around the middle of the 5th century B.C., and he died at around the beginning of the 4th century B.C. Regarding to his native place, it is variously said he was from Lu Guo (鲁国, today’s Shangdong Province East China), from Song Guo (宋国, today’s Henan Province Central China), or from Chu Guo (楚国, today’s Hubei and Hunan Province Central China). 4 Interestingly, there are some scholars who believe that Mo Di was from either India or Arabia. Mo Di learned Confucian doctrine first, then gave it up and established his own school called “Mo Jia” ( 墨家) which was as well known as Confucianism in its early time. It is recorded in “Han Feizi. Xianxue” (<韩非 子∙显学>) that “the dominant schools in the world are Confucianism and Mohism.” This shows that Mohism was very powerful and even more popular than Legalism and Taoism.5 Mohism’s main doctrine is to call people to obey Tian’s will, to love and help each other, and to economize in funeral rites as well as in their daily life. Mo Di encouraged people to be positive in facing of the pressures of life; he tried to stop states from fighting one another; he wanted people,both individuals and states, to coexist in peace and harmony. These thoughts can be clearly seen in the book “Mozi” (<墨子>) which was written partially by Mo Di himself and partially by his disciples. The book contains three main contents: firstly, the key or central thoughts of Mohism, which includes ethics 4 These are names of three states in the period of warring States in history of China. 5 Li Xiaolong, Mo Zi, Zhonghua Publishing House, 2007, P.5. 140 “The Concept of ‘Allah’ in the Qur’ān and Concept of “Tian” in Confucianism and Mohism”, Ma Zhanming, The Straight Path, Nov. 2020, 138-150 ISSN: 2757-6175 or moral thoughts, political thoughts, economic thoughts and religious thoughts; secondly, social and natural sciences and thirdly, military thoughts. According to some scholars, the idea of love in Christianity was originated from Mohism, as well as the western idea of human rights Yang Xiangkui (杨绛奎), one of the scholars in this field, evaluated this book and said: “The book of Mozi exceeded all Greece in all aspects of science, or, at least, equal to all Greece.” We do not necessarily agree with this statement; however，it shows us in a certain sense the value of the book and the school.6 Both Confucius and Mo Di lived in the period of Warring States（475 B.C.-221 B.C.） and therefore, Chinese society at their time needed to change and improve. Confucius tried to do that by reviving the Rites of Zhou（周 礼）, by which, in his view, man’s heart could be purified, his actions could be regulated, his family could be managed well, his state could be ordered and, as a result of all that, the world would be in peace and stability. Confucianism gained a dominant position in China which lasted more than 2000 years.
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