Download Chinese philosphy and religion

A Glimpse of
Philosophy and Religion
in China
Lecturer : Qin Xiaohui
Tel: 13972515350
QQ: 626520231
Contents:
• Session 1 Schools of Philosophy in China
• Session 2 The Main Ideas of Philosophical
schools in China
• Session 3 Religious schools in China
• Session 4 Confucianism and Taoism
(2 periods of classes for each session)
Session 1 Schools of Philosophy in China
1. General Introduction of Chinese religions and
philosophies
2. Schools of Philosophy
• 1] Confucianism
• 2] Taoism
• 3] Legalism
• 4] Naturalists
• 5] Mohism
• 6] Logicians
• 7] Agriculturalists
RELIGION IN GENERAL
• A number of religious and philosophical
systems are practiced in China.
• Traditionally Taoism and Confucianism
provide ethical guides to the proper behavior
of individuals and officials. Both of these
systems originated in China during the socalled Golden Age of Chinese thought,
several centuries before the beginning of the
Christian era.
• Taoism seeks to promote the inner peace of
individuals and harmony with their surroundings.
• Confucianism, based on the teachings and writings of
the philosopher Confucius, is an ethical system that
sought to teach the proper way for all people to
behave in society:
Each relationship--husband-wife,
parents-children,
ruler-subjects
--involves a set of obligations which, if upheld,
would lead to a just and harmonious society.
• Following his teachings would also promote a stable,
lasting government.
Confucius
• Buddhism, which came to China from India as
early as the 1st century AD, is a more
conventional religion. Its followers attend
occasional services, practiced rituals, and
supported a temple on a regular basis.
• It has been estimated that more than 68 million Chinese
consider themselves Buddhists. Prior to 1949, practices
that may best be called folk religions were common
throughout China. Although they incorporated elements
of Buddhism and, especially, Taoism, these religions
were usually local, often based on local gods, and
served the local people.
Guan Yin
• Christian missionaries have been active in China
since Roman Catholics belonging to the Jesuit
order arrived in the early 17th century. Protestant
missionaries first appeared in the early 19th century.
• Islam came to China mainly from Central Asia,
where it was practiced by many of the Turkic
peoples. Today there are believed to be more than
4 million Chinese Muslims. One autonomous region,
Ningxia Huizu, has been designated for Islamic
adherents.
THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHIES
• CONFUCIANISM
• CONFUCIUS is a latinized form of the honorific title
K'ung-fu-tzu (Master K'ung), given to a wandering
scholar from the state of Lu in Shandong Province in
northeastern China. Although little known in his
lifetime, Confucius was revered as the greatest of
sages throughout most of China's history. His
teaching, Confucianism, was the state teaching from
the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 202 BC to the
end of the imperial period in 1911.
• Disturbed by constant warfare among the
states, Confucius taught that most of the ills of
society happened because people forgot their
stations in life and rulers lost virtue. He
advocated a return to the golden antiquity of
the emperors Yao and Shun, when rulers were
virtuous and people knew their places.
Therefore, Confucius' primary concern lay in
social relations, proper conduct, and social
harmony.
• Confucius defined five cardinal relationships: between ruler
and ruled, between husband and wife, between parents and
children, between older and younger brothers, and between
friends. Except for the last case, all of the defined
relationships are between superiors and inferiors.
• He emphasized the complete obedience and loyalty of the
inferior to the superior but also mentioned the benevolence
of the superior to the inferior.
• The ideal Confucian family was an extended one of three or
four generations, in which authority rested with the elderly
male members. Filial piety (obedience to parents) was one
of the most important virtues emphasized by later
Confucians.
• Confucius reportedly spent his last years editing and
completing some of the books that came to be
known as Five Classics. These include the `Classic
of Poetry', `Classic of History', `Spring and Autumn
Annals', `Record of Rites', and `Classic of Changes',
or `I Ching'. Memorized by scholars for generations
in China, these books and four other works,
including the `Analects', a compilation of Confucian
teachings, were the subjects of civil service
examinations for over 2,000 years. (See Confucius)
• Confucianism commanded a greater following some
200 years later, during the time of Mencius, or
Meng-tzu (371-289 BC).
• Mencius was second only to Confucius himself in
shaping Confucianism.
• His three main tenets were the basic good nature of
human beings, the notion of society with a distinct
distribution of functions, and the ruler's obligation to
the people. On the last point, Mencius elaborated on
the concept of the mandate of heaven, which allows
that rulers lose support of heaven when they cease
to be virtuous. The concept served as the basis of
revolts in China and the succession of new rulers.
MENICIUS MENG-TZU
• The `Meng-tzu', meaning "Master Meng," was
written by the philosopher Mencius (a Latinized
form of the name Meng-tzu) in the 4th century BC.
The work earned for its author the title of "second
sage" in China. The book deals with government
and asserts that the welfare of the people comes
before all else. When a king no longer is good to
the people, he should be removed--by revolution if
necessary. Mencius, like Confucius, declared that
filial piety was the foundation of society. One
unusual doctrine that Mencius supported was that
of the natural goodness of mankind, for which he
found proof in the natural love children have for
their parents.
• Two other philosophies that have had an
enduring influence on Chinese thought are
Taoism and Legalism.
• Taoism gave the Chinese an alternative to
Confucianism--passivity and escape to nature-while Legalism provided the Chinese state
with one of its basic doctrines.
TAOISM
• In the Chinese language the word tao means "way,"
indicating a way of thought or life. There have been
several such ways in China's long history, including
Confucianism and Buddhism. In about the 6th
century BC, under the influence of ideas credited to
a man named Lao-tzu, Taoism became "the way".
Like Confucianism, it has influenced every aspect of
Chinese culture.
• Taoism began as a complex system of philosophical
thought that could be indulged in by only a few
individuals. In later centuries it emerged, perhaps
under the influence of Buddhism, as a communal
religion. It later evolved as a popular folk religion.
• Philosophical Taoism speaks of a permanent
Tao in the way that some Western religions
speak of God.
• The Tao is considered unnamed and
unknowable, the essential unifying element of all
that is. Everything is basically one despite the
appearance of differences. Because all is one,
matters of good and evil and of true or false, as
well as differing opinions, can only arise when
people lose sight of the oneness and think that
their private beliefs are absolutely true.
• This can be likened to a person looking
out a small window and thinking he sees
the whole world, when all he sees is one
small portion of it. Because all is one, life
and death merge into each other as do the
seasons of the year. They are not in
opposition to one another but are only two
aspects of a single reality. The life of the
individual comes from the one and goes
back into it.
• The goal of life for a Taoist is to cultivate a
mystical relationship to the Tao. Adherents
therefore avoid dispersing their energies
through the pursuit of wealth, power, or
knowledge. By shunning every earthly
distraction, the Taoist is able to
concentrate on life itself. The longer the
adherent's life, the more saintly the person
is presumed to have become. Eventually
the hope is to become immortal.
LAO-TZU (604?-531? BC).
• Some people believe that only one man, Laotzu, wrote the most translated work in all the
literature of China, the `Lao-Tzu' (also called
`Tao-te Ching'). The book is the earliest
document in the history of Taoism ("the Way"),
one of the major philosophical-religious
traditions that, along with Confucianism, has
shaped Chinese life and thought for more
than 2,000 years. It is a viewpoint that
emphasizes individuality, freedom, simplicity,
mysticism, and naturalness. (See Confucius)
• Knowledge of Lao-tzu is so scarce that only legends remain.
His earliest biographer, who wrote in about 100 BC, relates
that Lao-tzu lived in the district of Hu in present-day Henan
Province during the Chou Dynasty (1122-221 BC).
• Presumably he worked in astrology and divination at the
court of the emperor. The biographer tells of a meeting of
Lao-tzu with the younger Confucius, which would mean Laotzu lived in about 500 BC. Another story says that he left
China during the decline of the Chou Dynasty, and on his
way west wrote the `Tao-te Ching', after which he
disappeared. He was worshipped as an Imperial ancestor
during the T'ang Dynasty (618-907). Scholars today believe
that the book cannot have been written by one man. Some of
the sayings in it may date from the time of Confucius, while
others are from a later period. It is possible that the name
Lao-tzu represents a type of scholar and wise man, rather
than one individual.
• ‘Tao-te Ching’ The ‘Tao-te Ching’, meaning
"Classic of the Way of Power," is one of the great
works of ancient China not included among the
Confucian Classics.
• The presumed author, Lao-tzu, is considered to
be the founder of Taoism. He may have been alive
at the same time as Confucius but older. The book
is not only significant philosophically, but it is also
one of the most sacred scriptures of the Taoist
religion. (See Lao-tzu)
CHUANG-TZU (4th century BC),
• Chinese philosopher, author, and teacher;
classic work bears his name; influential in
development of Chinese philosophy and
religious thought; interpreted Taoism (from tao,
"way") differently from Lao-tzu; Chuang-tzu
taught that wise people accept the ebb and flow
of life without attempting to challenge it; true
enlightenment involves freeing oneself of
traditions and personal goals that stand in the
way of the mysterious, all-encompassing Tao.
• Communal religious Taoism is quite distinct
from its philosophical counterpart. It emphasizes
moral teachings and collective ceremonies.
Good moral conduct is rewarded with health and
long life, while bad conduct results in disease,
death, and suffering in the afterlife. There is an
array of gods who are administrators of the
universe, of which they are a part. From these
gods come revelations of sacred texts. There is
an order of married priests who live in the
communities they serve and perform exorcisms
and complex rituals.
• Folk religion Taoism is part of the everyday
lives of the people. The gods are intimately
connected with each individual's life as bringers
of calamities or givers of bountiful gifts. Each
object of daily life has its presiding spirit that
must be consulted and appeased.
• All types of Taoism have in common the quest
for a harmonious, well-ordered universe. They
emphasize the individual's and the group's need
for unity through mysticism, magic, and
ceremony.
*LEGALISM
• Legalism is a political philosophy synthesized by
a philosopher named Han Fei. With an essential
principle like "when the epoch changed, the
ways changed", it upholds the rule of law and is
thus a theory of jurisprudence.
• A ruler should govern his subjects by the
following trinity:
• Fa (法 fa3): law or principle.
• Shu (术 shù): method, tactic, art, or statecraft.
• Shi (势 shì): legitimacy, power, or charisma.
• Legalism was the chosen philosophy of the Qin Dynasty.
It was blamed for creating a totalitarian society and
thereby experienced decline. Its main motto is: "Set clear
strict laws, or deliver harsh punishment". Both Shang
Yang and Han Fei promoted the absolute adherence to
the rule of law, regardless of the circumstances or the
person. The ruler, alone, would possess the authority to
dispense with rewards and punishments. Ministers were
only to be rewarded if their words matched the results of
their proposals, and punished if it did not; regardless if
the results were worse or better than the claims.
Legalism, in accordance with Han Fei's interpretation,
could encourage the state to be a militaristic autarky.
• The philosophy was highly progressive,
and extremely critical of the Confucian and
Mohist schools. This would be used to
justify Li Si's large scale persecutions of
the other schools of thought during the Qin
dynasty, and the invariable denunciation
by Confucian scholars from the Han
dynasty and onwards.
BUDDHISM
• Although Buddhism first entered China from India during the Later
Han, in the time of Han Ming Ti (AD 58-76), it did not become
popular until the end of the 3rd century. The prevailing disorders,
aggravated by barbarian invasions and the flight of northern Chinese
to the south, heightened the attraction of Buddhism with its promise
of personal salvation, despite its lack of affinity with the societyoriented thought of the Chinese. Buddhism was founded by
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, a prince of the Sakya kingdom on
the borders of what are now India and Nepal and a contemporary of
Confucius. Intent on finding relief for human suffering, he received a
moment of enlightenment while meditating under a Bo tree. The
Buddha taught that desires are the source of pain, and that by
overcoming desires, pain can be eliminated. To this end, he
advocated meditation and pursuing the Eightfold Path, similar to the
Ten Commandments of Judaism and Christianity. The objective was
to reach Nirvana, the condition of serenity of spirit, where all
cravings, strife, and pain have been overcome, giving way to a
merging of the spirit with eternal harmony.
• At an early stage of its development, Buddhism split into
two major trends, Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) and
Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle). Hinayana remained closer to
the original Buddhism and is still the religion of the
Southeast Asian countries. The Buddhism of China,
Korea, Japan, Nepal, Tibet, and Vietnam, however,
stems largely from Mahayana. Mahayana Buddhism
contained more popular elements, such as belief in
repetitive prayers, heaven and deities--bodhisattvas-who would help people gain salvation. It also readily
adapted to the land and people it converted. In China, it
split into several schools, including Ch'an (Zen in Japan),
T'ien-t'ai (Tendai in Japan), and Pure Land.
Ch'an [or Zen] Buddhism
• Through his popular book `The Way of Zen'
(1957), the British-born American philosopher
Alan Watts introduced Americans to the Zen
school of Buddhism, which has a long tradition
of development in China and Japan. Zen (Ch'an
in Chinese) is a Japanese term meaning
"meditation." It is a major school of Japanese
Buddhism that claims to transmit the spirit of
Buddhism, or the total enlightenment as
achieved by the founder of the religion, the
Buddha (See Buddha; Buddhism).
• Zen has its basis in the conviction that the world and its
components are not many things. They are, rather, one reality.
The one is part of a larger wholeness to which some people
assign the name of God. Reason, by analyzing the diversity of
the world, obscures this oneness. It can be apprehended by
the nonrational part of the mind--the intuition. Enlightenment
about the nature of reality comes not by rational examination
but through meditation.
• Meditation has been an integral part of Buddhism from the
beginning. Nevertheless, a school of meditation grew up in
India and was taken to China by Bodhidharma about AD 520.
When the meditation school arrived in China, it had a strong
foundation on which to build: Taoism, the ancient Chinese
religion (See Taoism). This religion is based on the idea that
there is one underlying reality called the Tao. Taoists, like the
followers of the meditation school, exalted intuition over
reason. This Taoist tradition was easily absorbed by the
Chinese meditation school, the Ch'an.
• Within two centuries the meditation school had divided into
two factions: Northern Ch'an and Southern Ch'an. The
northern school, a short-lived affair, insisted on a doctrine of
gradual enlightenment. The southern school, which became
dominant, held to a doctrine of instantaneous enlightenment.
• The southern school evolved under the powerful influence of
Hui-neng (638-713), who is recognized as the sixth great
patriarch of Zen and the founder of its modern interpretation.
In a sermon recorded as the "Platform Scripture of the Sixth
Patriarch," he taught that all people possess the Buddha
nature and that one's nature (before and after being born) is
originally pure. Instead of undertaking a variety of religious
obligations to seek salvation, one should discover one's own
nature. The traditional way to do this, sitting in meditation, is
useless. If one perceives one's own nature, enlightenment will
follow suddenly.
• The goal of adherents of the southern Ch'an is
to gain transcendental, or highest, wisdom from
the depths of one's unconscious, where it lies
dormant. Ch'an tries to attain enlightenment
without the aid of common religious
observances: study, scriptures, ceremonies, or
good deeds. Reaching the highest wisdom
comes as a breakthrough in everyday logical
thought. Followers are urged to find within
themselves the answer to any question raised
within because the answer is believed to be
found where the question originates. Training in
the methods of meditation leading to such an
enlightenment is best transmitted from master to
disciple.
• Ch'an flourished in China during the T'ang and Sung
dynasties (960-1279), and its influences were strongly
felt in literature and painting. Ch'an declined during the
Ming era (1141-1215), when Ch'an masters took up the
practice of trying to harmonize meditation with the study
of traditional scriptures.
• Meanwhile, sects of Zen had been transplanted to Japan.
The Rinzai school was taken there in 1191 by the priest
Enzai (1141-1215), and the Soto tradition arrived in 1227,
taken there by Dogen (1200-53), the most revered figure
in Japanese Zen. These schools had their origin in China
during the 9th century, when Ch'an divided into five sects
that differed from each other in minor ways.
• The Rinzai sect evolved from the work of Lin-chi (died
866), who was an exponent of sudden enlightenment.
The Soto was founded by Liang-chieh (died 869) and
Pen-chi (died 901). The Soto stressed quiet sitting in
meditation to await enlightenment. A third group, the
Obaku, was established in 1654. The Obaku school is
closer to the Rinzai tradition except for its emphasis on
invoking the name of Buddha.
• Zen gained an enthusiastic following among the Samurai
warrior class and became in effect the state religion in
the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 16th century Zen
priests were diplomats and administrators, and they
enhanced cultural life as well. Under their influence
literature, art, the cult of the tea ceremony, and the No
drama developed.
• The focal point of Zen is the monastery, where
masters and pupils interact in the search for
enlightenment. A newcomer arrives at a monastery
with a certificate showing that he is a regularly
ordained disciple of a priest.
• He is at first refused entry. Finally being admitted, he
spends a few days of probation being interviewed by
his master. When he is accepted he is initiated into the
community life of humility, labor, service, prayer and
gratitude, and meditation.
Centered on Man and Stressed on Deeds
• “The fundamental goal shall be established for
Heaven and Earth; the subsistence shall be
granted to the living public; the learning
advocated by the past sages shall be inherited;
and the social fortunes and peaceful order shall
be elongated for upcoming generations.”
•
----Zhang Zai (from the Song Dynasty)
• The Chinese nation is a general term
comprising many a nationality, which had
molded a comparatively complete system of
philosophy of their own toward the decline
of the Spring- Autumn Period leaving an
impressive footprint over the history of the
Chinese culture, the Eastern Asian culture
and even the global culture.
• The traditional philosophies in question roughly
progressed through the various phases below:
• 1) The Pre-Qin Period when the inchoate occurrence of
ancient philosophical views was being staged, the primeval
religions were being unceasingly disrupted and a flock of
schools was successively looming up, the Hundred Schools
period—the brand new scientific concepts took root in the
minds of the philosophers to the effect that they could be
wielded to recognize the universe while the rapidly growing
natural sciences dissented slowly with philosophy, forming
an independent discipline.
• 2) The Wei-Jin Period that was
characterized by a newly-born ideology
Metaphysics that, incorporated from
Confucianism and Taoism and based on
certain classics such as the Book of
Changes, the Book of Master Lao and the
Book of Master Zhuang, laid down its
priority upon a group of propositions
• “Existence vs Nonexistence,”“Essentials
vs Nonessentials”, “Words vs Ideas,”
“Fundamentals vs Practices” and “Logic vs
Nature.” The argumentation and disputes
involving these views enriched the
Chinese philosophy, motivated the
scholastic atmosphere and heightened the
reflective aptitude sharpening the Chinese
thinking.
• 3) The Sui-Tang period when Buddhism
gained momentum that attached due
consideration to the relationship between the
subjective and the objective, particularly the
scrutiny of spiritual phenomenon related to
the retrospection of human reasoning and
the perception of the universe and human
beings, maintaining that man and nature
were omnipresent in a high degree of
wisdom.
• 4) The Way doctrine in the Song-Ming period that
was recognized a neo-Confucianism derivative of
Taoism and Buddhism. It had furthered the
Confucianism system thinking highly of natural
sciences, emphasizing such propositions as Grand
Terminus, Yin vs Yang (the positive and the
negative), Mind vs Disposition with such a thinking
pattern as “Heaven-Man-Learning,” concentrating a
due concern on the nature of human beings. The
Way doctrine was amalgamated from many sects
that contended and debated mutually, proceeding
to the upgraded realm.
• 5) The Ming-Qing period when the
philosophy was on the way to the “selfexamination,” paying tribute to the current
social affairs or pragmatism and creation
of philosophical views. The scholars living
in this period were profoundly erudite and
well versed in philosophy.
I.
The Incipient Wisdom Sparked by the Pre-Qin
Philosophers
•
The Spring-Autumn Period and the Warring States Period
were challenged by the radical emancipation, the giant leap
and the adventurous exploration in Chinese cognition with
scores of philosophers sparked with the incipient spiritual
wisdom. Confronted with the day when the rites and
ceremonies collapsed, unrest and upheaval set in and dukes
or princes struggled against one another in pursuit of
supremacy, certain scholars became profoundly distressed
with the happenings putting forward their viewpoints to
redeem the world from disorder.
•
Some traveled across the different kingdoms devoting the
political plans to the warlords; some concealed themselves in
an academic circle collecting disciples and diffusing their
teachings; and some retreated in seclusion writing books or
expounding doctrines.
• There sprang up a succession of philosophical schools:
Confucianism, Taoism, Mo Doctrine, Legalists, Yin-yang
Doctrine contending for their own systematic viewpoints in
philosophy and politics, laying down a sound ideological
basis for Chinese philosophy.
• The talents of those ancient sages were brilliantly mirrored
in the philosophical views in the Pre-Qin Period that
comprised respectively of the noble realm “Heaven and Man
Combined into One”, the moral concept holding harmony as
highly exalted, the broad bosom of “The Benevolent Love
Man”, the humble behavior code “ Restraining Myself and
Restoring Rites”, the viewpoint of the ever-changing world
and the Mean preferring the flexible policy to two extreme
ends, all shining with sagacity and being an invaluable
spiritual treasure to the present day.
• In the light of the relationship between Heaven and Man
there existed three opinions: “Heaven and Man
Combined into One”, “Heaven and Man Separated Apart”
and “ Man Joined in Heaven and Earth”. The first
weighed on the natural laws and the human nature, and
the harmonious union between Heaven, Earth and man,
which was exclusively interpreted by Mencius and
Master Zhuang etc. Menfucius proposed “ Exercising the
mind to know human nature and Heaven” advocating
that human nature and natural laws were integrated ,
and that human mind was the perceived subject; if man
could exercise the mind, he or she was capable of
comprehending their own nature, accordingly aware of
Heaven since man was endowed with the nature by
Heaven. In this case, Heaven was proclaimed as both
the supreme dictator and the decisive imperative law.
• Master Zhuang also appreciated Heaven and Man
Combined into One, holding it as the supreme realm that
“ Heaven lives together with Me, and Nature and Me are
alloyed into One” (On Nature from the Book of Master
Zhuang). The second opinion “Heaven and Man Separated
Apart” emphasized the distinction between Nature and
Human Deeds reflecting that the positive human behavior
should be directed to change Earth, Master Xun remaining
the representative. He defied the fact that Heaven was
bestowed upon such consciousness as man, which could
exercise power over the auspicious, the ominous, the
disastrous and the fortunate in human life, instead arguing
that Heaven existed in the appearance of materials or
nature. He wrote, “Heaven is in progress; Earth is rich in
resources; and man is in undertakings.”
• The third one “Man Joined in Heaven and Earth”
pointed out that man could participate in the
transformation of nature on condition that the natural
law was both differentiated from and united with the
human nature. The Doctrine of the Mean submitted a
systematic articulation of the view aforesaid: “Able to
give its full development to the nature of other men,
he can give their full development to the nature of
animals and things.
• Able to give their full development to the nature of
creatures and things, he can assist the
transformation and nourishing powers of Heaven and
Earth. Able to assist the transformation and
nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth, he may with
Heaven and Earth form a ternion.
• In respect of morality the philosophy in the Pre-Qin Period
there emerged a consequential presentation of such ideas as
“The Benevolent Love Man”, “Harmony as Highly Prized”,
“Five Ethics” and “Ten Aspects of Righteousness.”
“ Benevolence” arising from “ The Benevolent Love Man” was
acclaimed to be the supreme moral code constituted by
Confucius, the nucleus resting on “ Love Man”, that is to say,
showing due concern and reverence to others. In a broader
sense “Benevolence” was laden with reverence, generosity,
trust, sensitivity, virtuousness, intelligence, gallantry, loyalty,
forbearance and filial piety.
•
The elementary principle and approach to practice
Benevolence was to abide by “ the moral of loyalty and
forbearance” , i.e., “ Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to
be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing
to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.”
• (Yong Ye from the Analects) as well as “What you do not want
done to yourself, do not do to others.” (Wei Ling Gong, ibid)
Master Mo proposed “Love Each Other”, advocating a general
love as you do for yourself in case of combining “ Love Each
Other” with “Benefit Each Other” before the goal of “ Love
Each Other” would be realized.
•
The “Harmony” out of “Harmony as Highly Prized” made
reference to the harmonious unification among a medley of
things. Confucian scholars and disciples held that “The
superior man is affable, but not adulatory; the mean is
adulatory, but not affable” (Zi Lu, ibid), regarding “Harmony” as
a code to handle interpersonal relationship. Master You said,
“In practicing the rules of propriety, Harmony is to be
prized.”(Xue Er, ibid) obviously reaffirming Harmony as the
core of values to bear all social institutions.
• Mencius argued, “Opportunities of time vouch saved by
Heaven are not equal to advantages of situation afforded by
the Earth, and advantages of situation afforded by the Earth
are not equal to the union arising from the accord of Men.”
(Gong Sun Chou Part II, from The Book of Mencuis) He laid
down stress on “the union arising from the accord of Men”
served to be the ultimate factor of success. The view
“Harmony” was intended to treat positively the differences,
discrepancies and contradictions occurring in the natural
things and human communities, assisting the individual in
playing an active role and attaining the social harmony and
progress on such basis as a whole, which has long been
cherished as the nucleus of Chinese values.
• “Five Ethics”, in line with Mencius, was
referred to as the five elementary ethical
relations “father vs son, the superior vs the
inferior, husband vs wife, elder brother vs
younger brother, and between friends” The ten
characters therein should be required for
anyone to perform the essential ethical code,
otherwise nominated or dubbed as “Ten
Aspects of Righteousness”.
• One of Chinese classics entitled Li Yun in the Book of
Rites delivered an articulate assertion hereof: “Father
should be affectionate and son filial; elder brother should
be kind and the younger loving; husband should be
righteous and wife obedient; the senior should be
generous and the junior catering; the superior should be
benevolent and the inferior loyal.” The Aspects of
Righteousness” laid emphasis upon the mutual
connection between the rights and the obligations
relating to the ten characters, as being on the contrary to
the case proceeding ever from the Han Dynasty onwards
that one character should absolutely be subject to the
other.
• With regard to the thinking style the philosophy
thereof embodied the dialectical thinking
susceptible of the all-round style, the changing
style, the reverse style and the mean style.
•
The Integral Concept functioned as the major
concern to Confucianism, Taoism, Logicians and
the Yin-Yang School who maintained that the
universe was an integral body, and so was the
same case of Man and natural phenomena.
Therefore people were required to make sense
of the integral prior to being acquainted with the
partial.
• All the philosophical schools in question held
that in the universe was available nothing
unvarying and that the nature and the human
society were plunged in the cycle of changes.
Upon standing by a river, Confucius ever sighed,
“It passes on just like this, not ceasing day or
night！”; Master Lao remarked his book, “Since
Heaven and Earth can not endure long, how can
Man survive persistently?”
•
By means of the Reverse view, they also
offered a paraphrase of the sources and rules of
changing things, which deemed anything as an
antithesis with two ends interrelated with each
other.
• The maxims “Fortune lies within mishap; mishap lies
within fortune,” and “ when things are damaged, it may
do good to them ; when things are benefited, it may do
harm to them.” provided exemplars to demonstrate the
unity of opposites as a fundament law in the universe.
The Chinese military canon The Arts of War by Master
Sun was charged with plenty of cases in accordance
with the Reverse view, where an elaborate discussion
was conducted concerning a series of antitheses such
as peace vs commotion, gallantry vs cowardice, strength
vs weakness, the numerous vs the scant, stationing vs
mobility that could be altered in a reverse way under
certain circumstances. The well-quoted phrase “Being
aware of enemy and you, you can triumph consecutively”
is another proof hereto.
• Confucius commended the Mean as the perfect virtue,
saying “Perfect is the virtue which is according to the
Constant Mean. Rare for a long time has been its
practice among the people.” (Yong Ye from The
Analects); meanwhile he acclaimed the Mean as a
thinking style expecting the people to “practice the Mean
at times” and “practice the Mean in specific cases.”
II. Characteristics of Chinese Philosophy
• Chinese philosophy has stood out as one instance of the
philosophical genre that has been surging in an
independent course with its own characteristics in the
sea of world philosophy. In the first place Chinese
philosophy was inaugurated during the Pre-Qin Period
and has been in remote antiquity that fell within the few
that had attained a high degree compared with the rivals
occurring in other civilizations in the same historic stage.
• Nourished from the long-run leading sciences and
technology across the global sphere as well as the
comparative stability of the feudal monarchy, Chinese
philosophy had been molded into the long-established
high-state order of the feudal society based upon the
philosophical tradition handed down from the ShangZhou Dynasties. Consequently it doesn’t sound queer
that Chinese philosophy had outgrown its alien peers
scattered elsewhere on the globe. In the second place
Chinese philosophy was chiefly fused with the Study of
Classics other than theology. Though derived from the
traditional concept Destined by Heaven, it had affixed
prior concern to this this-world, not to that-world
concentrating on moral discipline in stead of religious
sermon.
• There appeared some materialistic-inclined ideologists
who thought highly of themselves as “philosophical
orthodox” and waged an assault at the religious theology.
In another aspect Chinese philosophy was engaged in
close connection with ethics, of which ontology and
epistemology penetrated into the study of morality
featuring a pronounced ethical color. In the Pre-Qin
Period Confucianism, Taoism, Moism and Legalism
confirmed without exception the Heavenly Way as the
theoretical foundation of their respective ethics. From the
Qin-Han Dynasties on Confucianism had been esteemed
the orthodox among the varied philosophical schools, for
whose Three Disciplines and Five Constants both the
view Heaven Interacted with Man held by Dong
Zhongshu and another proposition “Confucian Rites
Born From Nature” by Wang Bi executed a
demonstration in their own ontological standpoints.
• Such merger of ontology, epistemology and the study of
morality seemed even more striking in the Way Doctrine
prevailing in the Song-Ming Dynasties. Zhang Zai regarded Gas
as the origin of the universe, propagandizing the benevolent
spirit under the slogan of “People are my compatriots, so are
things.” Double Chen (Chen Hao and Chen Yi) and Zhu Xi
acknowledged Heavenly Way as the ontology, affirming it the
supreme principle of human conduct.
•
Regarding the thinking style Chinese philosophy was inclined
to the integral, the inherent and the inheritable. It was rich in the
plain thinking tradition of dialectics, of which a bench of the
philosophers exercised varied terms, for instance, “The
Reverse of the Way is Motion” by Master Lao, “Yin interacted
with Yang makes the Way” in the Book of Changes, “One Thing
Separated into Two Bodies,” or “One Divided into Two and Two
Blended into One” by the scholars pertaining to the Way
Doctrine.
• In their minds the evolving course of the universe was
transformed into a series of generation and change
whereas such couples of the concepts as Heaven vs
Earth, Man vs Nature, Motion vs Stillness, Form vs
Spirit were defined into antitheses that are both
differentiated from and integrated with each other.
•
Chinese philosophy maintains a scope of specific
concepts of its own: Way, Vigor, Principle, Spirit,
Emptiness, Trustworthiness, Knowledge, Fundamental,
Practice, Grand Terminus (Supreme Ultimate), and
Yin-yang (the Negative vs the Positive), all
incorporating the wit of Chinese philosophers.
III. Quintessence of Chinese Philosophical
Ideology
• Considering the quintessence of the Chinese
philosophical ideology there was available an
overwhelming viewpoint that proclaimed “Central” as the
nucleus concept of Chinese philosophy. Distinguished as
Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were in
expounding it due to their various ambitions and ideals,
they invariably identified the supreme realm perceived by
the individual “Mind” as the cardinal indicator, which
appeared as the “Sole Knowledge” generated from “Mind”
in accord with the natural things.
• The proposition hereof declared that the
archeological findings in etymology made
no secret of a complicated source of the
word “Central”.
• The Explanation and Study of the Principle of
Composition & Characters, a philological masterpiece
written by Xu Shen in Han Dynasty interpreted “Central”:
“Central (中) refers to Inside. From “口”and “1”, it is
combined.” The “Inside” in this case is in contrast to
“Outside”. Relevantly there came another momentous
connotation, “Location in Center”. The conception Center
in location is further more advanced than the conception
Central relating to Inside and Outside in epistemology.
The birth and evolution of the conception Center dates
back to an intriguing phenomenon that Yellow, one of the
earth colors in the topography of China had been linked
to the location Center and the Polestar established as
the universal center in astronomy.. Yellow is claimed to
be the basic skin color of Chinese nation, equally the
earth color of Cathay where the Central Plains lies at the
geographical center.
• Conspicuously Yellow appeared sacred and mysterious
in the ancient times, and the Doctrine of Yin-Yang and
Five Elements, which adopted it as the color of the
center, was the prototype of the ideological system
thereof, wherein the ultimate conception of Center was
concealed within the representation of Yellow.
• Anywhere in Chinese philosophical classics could be
beheld the diction and connotation of “Central”. The
nuclei concepts involved in the Doctrine of the Mean
were: the Golden Mean, the Harmonious Mean, the
Constant Mean and the Adherent Mean, which were
sponsored by the Pre-Qin Confucianism headed by
Confucius not only as a view relating to the universe,
methodology and a moral state, but as an embodiment
of Confucian ethics and aesthetic ideas.
• “The Golden Mean” was derived from Yong Ye of The
Confucian Analects: “Perfect is the virtue which is
according to the Constant Mean. Rare for a long time
has been its practice among the people.” Out of 中庸
(the Mean) in Chinese, “中” refers to Central or
Unbiased; “庸” refers to constant, ordinary and
applicable. Confucius himself abode by the Mean as a
“Perfect Virtue” by his deeds and statements: “The
Master was mild, and yet dignified; majestic and yet not
fierce.” (Shu Er of The Confucian Analects) was
applicable in coping with interpersonal relations; “The
philosopher Ji Wen thinks before he conducts; on
hearing it the Master said, “Do it again, that is good.” in
handling human affairs; and “In practicing the rules of
propriety, harmony is to be prized” (Xue Er of The
Confucian Analects) in governing the states.
• The core and essentials incarnated in Confucius’
Constant Mean lie in that you shall not go beyond the
Mean and not fail to reach the Mean, which serves as
the bench mark installed in the Doctrine of the Mean for
inheritance and development of Confucianism.
• The first chapter in the Doctrine of Mean presents a
distinct definition of “中”(Central): “While there are no
stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, the mind may
be said to be in the state of “mean.” Related to “中” was
another nuclei concept Harmony hereto: “This “mean” is
the great root where grow all the human actions in the
world, and the “harmony” is the universal path which
they all should pursue. Let the states of Mean and
Harmony coexist in perfection, and happy order will
prevail throughout Heaven and Earth, and all things will
be nourished and flourish.”
• This definition conferred upon the Golden Mean
with a new connotation “Harmonious Mean” had
been upgraded as the determining code of
Heaven and Earth and all things, and as the
eventual aim of moral cultivation. The gist
conceived therein lies in “Constant Mean” and
“Adherent Mean.”
•
The second chapter in the Doctrine of the
Mean quoted Confucius as saying “The superior
man embodies the course of the Mean; the
vulgar man acts contrary to the course of the
Mean. The superior man follows the course of
the Mean because he is a superior man, and so
practice the Mean in times. The vulgar man acts
contrary to the course of the Mean simply
because he is a vulgar man, having no caution.”
• Under such circumstances “Constant Mean“, contrary to
“Having no caution”, distinctly arrests a trace of “having
caution”, implying that one can conduct something, and
yet can not conduct something else, as being the pivot
that was reflected in the purpose of the Mean that you
shall not go beyond the Mean and not fail to reach the
Mean in daily behaviors.
•
The proposition of such four concepts as Golden Mean,
Harmonious Mean, Constant Mean and Adherent Mean
in emerging out of the Doctrine of the Mean had placed
the concept “Middle” on the nuclei position in
Confucianism. This “Middle” not only referred to certain
individual subjective state, or the intrinsic sentiment
awaiting to burst, but also the norm and code embodied
in the individual extrinsic speeches and deeds in the
social life. The two aspects were to be incorporated into
one: the “Middle” within human mind functioned as a
prerequisite for the “Middle” in human behavior or vice
versa.
• The Book of Changes was deemed another crucial origin
relating to the “Middle”, wherein the term “Middle” made
an exhibition as frequently as 119 times ( exclusive of
the Zhong Fu or Inmost Sincerity as the name of the
linear signs), the majority of them being included in the
Commentaries. The essential concepts in connection
with the “Middle” in the Commentaries exhibited an
elongated inventory: “Mean Justice,” “Mean
Resoluteness,” “Mean Conduct”, “Mean Thrifty”, “Mean
Gains”, “Mean Way”, “Mean Auspiciousness”, “Mean
Softness” and “Inmost Sincerity” as the name of the
linear signs. The “Central” embedded in the linear sign
system was originally coupled with a specific reference
to the “Central Position” and “Central Text”.
• Instead in Taoism that shared a common cultural source
with Confucianism, the “Middle” in question did not weigh
as a nuclei concept, differentiated from the “Golden
Mean” and “Harmonious Mean” held therein. The “Middle”
in Taoism incarnated roughly four connotations: the
beginning was concerned with the rules of things, the
“Middle” meaning “Correct” or the correct way applicable
in handling affairs; the next was involved in the change
of things, the “Central” hinting “Limit” wherein human
behaviors shall be checked and constrained; the third
related to space, the “Middle” indicating “Nothingness”
which, in pursuance to Taoism, was supposed to be
observed in daily life and to bear life and opportunities;
the concluding touched upon time and space, the
“Middle” being converted into “Opportunity”; specifically
“Take opportunities in proper time” and “Have no
alternative but to take the decisive extreme act.”
• In the Book of Master Lao can be disclosed the relevant
articulate remarks: “The Way of Heaven, damages the
surplus and supplement the scant.”(Chapter 77, ibid),
“Being aware of satisfaction, you will not meet insult;
being aware of stopping, you will not meet danger.”
(Chapter 44) and “The Way, applied in the Mean, will not
limited in use.” (Chapter 4, ibid). The “Middle” advocated
by Master Lao maintained the implication the “Middle
Emptiness”, a concept of Nothingness, an embodiment
of the Way. Adherence to “Middle” was justifiably
equivalent to adherence to “Way”. Accordingly, “Deprived
of private sentiment and desire and deterring to the
Mean Harmony, you will step into the entrance to the
Way”. It proves true that the essential gist of Taoism was
ingrained in “adherence to the Mean to achieve
Harmony”.
• In Buddhist studies the core relating to “Middle” was the
so-called the “Mean Way” or Madhyamapractipad that,
though repeatedly utilized by Confucianism as a
synonym to the “Mean Conduct” contending for a mean
and fair behavior, retained a specific implication in the
Buddhist canons of Chinese version. In the history of
Buddhism there existed a miscellany of distinct
comprehension governing the “Mean Way”. Hinayana
Doctrine or the Little Vehicle usually strove for virtues in
compliance with “Eight Fair Ways” or recognized “Twelve
Causes” as the “Mean Way”. The School of Mahayana
Doctrine or the Greater Vehicle adapted “Eight NonMean Ways” to “the Mean Way”; instead the Yogacara
Sect of Mahayana Doctrine regarded Non-Emptiness
and Non-Being as the “Mean Way”. Regardless of the
varied interpretations hereto, “the Mean Way” was
universally reaffirmed as the supreme truth in Buddhism,
paralleling with Dharma, Buddha and so forth. Of these
doctrines the “Mean Way” held by the Mean-Held School
claimed to be the prototype.
• The view of the “Mean Way” was treated as the
nuclei structure in Prajna Doctrine of Buddhism.
The Prajna, a Sanscrit term, conveyed the
conception of the Non-Distinction, the Emptiness,
the Mean Way, the Two-Truths and the negativestate thinking approach and so on. The theoretic
nucleus of the Mean-Held School was
established on the basis of “The Mean Way” or
Madhyamapractipad as a peculiar thinking style.
Viewed with the School, everything in the world
depended on certain circumstances, no
substance of which failed to be in the changing
course. Long Shu designated this type of being
as “Emptiness”, further arguing that this
“ Emptiness” could not mistaken for
“Nonexistence”; on the contrary it was as sort of
being so vague as not to be portrayed, the
foremost arrangement and origin of everything.
• While employing the view to things, people could
not be constrained to both sides of “Existence”
and “Nonexistence”; in turn they arrive at the
Mean Way consisting of “Non-existence, Nonnonexistence, Non-Nonexistence, and Non-Nonnonexistence,” that is, a supreme existence
indistinguishable in language and unvoiced in
concept. A penetrating exposition of this
ideology was presented in On
Madhyamapractipad (On the Mean), a
representative work of the Mean-Held School;
“Dharma was generated from all principal and
subsidiary causes; I hold Emptiness as my
doctrine. It sounds only a pseudonym referring
to the Mean Way.” (A Glimpse on Four Essences)
•
In conclusion, even though the “Mean” was reckoned
meaningful in ontology by Confucianism, a prime
importance was fastened to its application or “Adherent
Mean”, which was incarnated in “Practicing Goodwill” in
the secular world; the “Mean” assumed by Taoism
sounded more pragmatic in methodology contemplating
that the awareness of the “Way”(the philosophical
essence) would give access to the realm of transcending
the worldly society and becoming deities. And the “Mean
Way” permeated into Buddhism seemed to be even
more comprehensive and elaborate wherein linger both
the essence and methodology, and the philosophical gist
of the Mean was structured in the Mean Way of The
Prajna Doctrine. There is a certainty that the “Mean”
imbued in Chinese philosophy, consisting of such core
concepts as “Golden Mean”, “Harmonious Mean”,
“Constant Mean”, “Adherent Mean” and “Mean Way”,
was implanted in the three systems of Confucianism,
Taoism and Buddhism, as renders the “Mean”
remarkably different in implications.
CHAPTER 3 Miraculous, Mysterious & Sacred
—The Patriarchal Traditional Religions
•
“All land under Heaven never fails to belong to
Emperor; all ministers on Land never fail to be
His subjects”, which was the conception of the
imperial power in Chinese traditional culture.
Consequently everything, of course, inclusive of
all religious institutions, had been obliged to be
subjugated and to be in service to the royal
sovereignty. Any religion or ideological system
must have been authorized by the secular
monarchs, as being virtually the norm of prime
importance, for the more an ideological system
had been confirmed, appraised, supported and
endorsed by the authorities, the more easily it
would sound a religion.
• As regards humans, whether communities or individuals,
religion seems permanently a ghost that can never be
dismissed anyway as well as an intimate partner that is
greeted in awe by the masses being afraid of its
departure. Confucianism, in China, had been superior to
Buddhism and Taoism with other minor ones as
supplements. Each school of secular moral teaching
complexes conceived both a religion and a branch of
philosophy. Take an example of Confucianism, when
considered a religion, it was a traditional patriarchal
religion with the Lord of Heaven worshipped; when
accepted a branch of learning, it was Confucian
philosophy. Usually traditional patriarchal religions were
packed with a large stock of religious creeds but no
learning while Confucian philosophy appeared scholastic,
but without religious flavor. Buddhism was classified
internally into Buddhist religion and Buddhist studies;
Taoism consisted of Taoist religion and Taoist
philosophers.
• Given a philosophical diagnosis to the
traditional philosophies, Confucianism
stood as the philosophy of patriarchal
religion; Taoism served to be the aim to
individualism pursued by the perceiver of
patriarchal religious power; and Buddhism
unveiled a taciturn world of the daily life
being shared by the populace under the
rule of patriarchal political and religious
complex. Confucianism, Buddhism and
Taoism were none other than the packing
of patriarchal religions.
• Traditional Religions Influential in China
•
Whether the ancient China was a religious country or a
secular community has remained a puzzle in the long run,
but it seems certain that exclusively a scant cluster of
people agreed to the view “Confucianism is a religion.”
However, Mr. Ren Jiyu, the director of China National
Library, contended that “Confucianism shall be rated as a
specific traditional religion of Chinese nation. Any
traditional religions that ever existed in China, any
nationalities that eve survived on this ancient land…, and
all the dynasties adored Confucianism as the national
religion, and esteemed Confucius as the master of the
religion. …Confucianism, taking advantage of the merger
of the political influence and the religious doctrine, had
grown into the national religion, in which the religious
power and imperial sovereignty were amalgamated and
could never be dissected.”
• Over the history of China Confucianism made
appearance as a traditional religion system incorporated
with divinities, sacrificial rites and Confucian learning
“Lord” was worshipped as the supreme god and it had
been a prevalent conviction that those individuals would
be sublimated to be deities after death who “tamed
people by virtues and founded states by wit and energy,”
and “resisted natural catastrophe and defended states
by defeating invaders”. For instance, Liu Zongyuan, a
renowned statesman and writer in the Tang Dynasty, was
conferred upon a title of deity after his demise. The
cardinal principle deferred to in Confucianism was “ManDeity-Way” that required individuals’ appropriate
behavior and sacrificial ceremonies and rites to deities
be dissolved.
• Confucianism advocated the governing of
civilians and Mencius in the Warring
States Period proposed “Masters should
be required to administer states.” Later in
the Han Dynasty prevailed the atmosphere
“Confucianism should solely be adored”
with Confucius as the master laying down
the foundation for the formation of
Confucianism as a religion.
• Confucius had traveled through the kingdoms
and disseminated his teachings to a huge circle
of disciples so as to furnish a theoretical basis
for the political-religious patriarchal religion. His
attitude toward “Rites” betrayed in profile his
piety to a patriarchal religion. “Yan Yuan asked
about perfect virtue. The Master said: “To
subdue oneself and return to propriety is perfect
virtue. If a man can for one day subdue himself
and return to propriety, all under Heaven will
ascribe perfect virtue to him. Is the practice of
perfect virtue from a man himself, or is it from
others？”.
• In other phrase, as long as all people
could subdue or restrain their own desires
and behave in conformity with the social
conduct code specified in the Rites of the
Zhou Dynasty, all the world would
progress into perfect harmony. The term
“Rites” in etymology sounded highly
religious; for this matter Confucius
converted “Rites” to “Propriety” that
seemed to cover a wider range of
connotations, including such
superstructures as social institutions,
political establishments and social order.
• “Perfect Virtue” was the most controversial and
the most typical concept in Confucianism.
Exclusively in a short anthology of The
Confucian Analects appeared “Perfect Virtue” for
66 times wherein “Noble-minded people would
not stain Perfect Virtue to survive life, and would
rather die to retain Perfect Virtue”, “The firm, the
enduring, the simple, and the modest, are near
to Virtue.” (Zi Lu of The Confucian Analects),
“Fine words and insinuating appearance are
seldom associated with true virtue.” (Xu Eer of
The Confucian Analects), and “It is the truly
virtuous man, who can love, or who can hate
others” (Li Ren of The Confucian Analects), all of
which projected Confucius’ outlook on “Perfect
Virtue.”
• “Human characters are similar” raised
incipiently by Confucius was the ontological
basis of the identity involved in the human
behavior code, matched with a methodological
criterion “Aptitude can be obtained from
examples nearby”, affirming the basic orientation
in the exposition of human characters by
Confucianism. Mencius accomplished the
preliminary undertaking in respect with the
exposition aforesaid by differentiating the sages
from the magnitude. The Confucian proposition
regarding human nature fabricated the identity
by which all humans should be compatible with
one another, the harmonious union out of which
was condemned to serve political aims,
whereupon surely bringing forth a divergence
principle.
• No matter what divergence occurred between emperors
ad subjects, and no matter what discrepancies crept up
between the sacred and the mortal, they were in parallel
the inherent embodiment of the harmony thereof. This is
the logical structure of the widely-acknowledged religious
ideologies. Confucianism succeeded in creating the
religion that was not entitled by any religious terms, as
being a great invention in China and the unique of the
genre throughout the world.
• The two divergent orientations in Confucianism, after
Confucius, were inherited by Mencius and Master Xun.
Dong Zhongshu, an official philosopher in the Han
Dynasty, used to conceive an idea of transforming
Confucianism into a sheer religion outright, but his great
ambition failed as a result of the conflict arising between
the traditional patriarchal religion and itself.
• Taoism took a native root in China, an incarnation of the
national spirit of Chinese people as its counterpart
aforesaid. Lu Xun proclaimed that“if someone is eager to
apprehend Chinese history and culture at a profound
level, he or she must resort to Taoism, and accordingly
must place priority on its source and development. ”
• Upon the basis of the ancient Chinese religious beliefs, it
emerged featuring the ideology and conviction of the
Han nationality. Originated out of the witchcraft and
sacrificial ceremonies to deities in the Shang (Yin)
Dynasty and the necromancers who prayed in search of
elixir from the Warring States period to the Qin-Han
Dynasties, it assimilated in the proceeding course the
nourishment from the Yin-Yang & Five-Element Doctrine,
Taoism and Confucianism, incorporating the worship for
ghosts and deities, the alchemy and the ancient
philosophical propositions into a whole in order that it
sounded theoretic as a theology of Taoism in possession
of complex content.
• During the reign of Emperor Shun of the Eastern
Han Dynasty Taoism was instituted by Zhang Ling,
a celebrity from Feng County in Pei Kingdom who
was respectfully referred to as Zhang Daoling,
which valued “Dao” (Way) as the paramount belief,
otherwise nominated “Metaphysical Religion” or
“Celestial Dao”. Taoism respected Master Lao as
the founder, venerably called the Greatest
Superior Man. There were no uncertainties in the
minds of its disciples that “Dao” worked as the
source of things and changes in the universe,
which were reversely derived from “Dao”.
• Taoism held it the purpose that anyone could be
raised celestial or immortal and would become
conscious of Dao provided that the longing for the
celestial and the belief in Dao (Way) were
combined, believing that by psycho cultivation
man could live as free and unfettered as the
celestial deities with life and Dao blended into
eternity, thus molding a consummate belief
system. A Double-Life View sprouted therein that
“My life is cherished by the Celestial Dao” and
“My life belongs to Me, not to Heaven and Earth”.
The knack of psycho-cultivation was veiled in the
Double Cultivation, i.e., the cultivation of one’s
character, and the exercising of one’s life.
• Taoism revered the Yellow Emperor, a legendary originator
of Chinese nation, as the master of great learning and
integrity, having inherited and adhered to the national
tradition of offering sacrifices to deities and devoting
veneration to ancestors, and having pushed it onto a
conventional and religious way. The deities worshipped in
Taoism ranged from the Lord in Heaven to the gods and
goddesses on Earth, and from the ancestors of Cathay to
the sages and devoted disciples over the history.
• Toward the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty sprang up the
organized religion of Taoism tracing from the two religious
schools, the Celestial Witchcraft and Huang-Lao Doctrine
(in the name of the Yellow Emperor Huang-ti and Master
Lao), which gained circulation among the populace.
Having derived the official support in the Wei-Jin Period, it
elbowed its way into the upper class.
• From the Sui-Tang Dynasties to the Northern
Song Dynasty, the religion was in the ascending
phase, its status highly raised, when the large
scale abbeys and temples loomed up everywhere
in the country, a herd of scholars relating to
Taoism came up in succession and a mammoth
library of the scriptures concerned were compiled
and stored. Later from the Southern Song
Dynasty to the mid-Ming period it rolled on with an
aid of the sovereigns; however occurred the
discrepancies among the various sects that were
historically ingrained in the military confrontation
between the Jin Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty
as well as the resulting national conflicts.
• Embittered in the interior and on the border, the imperial
court had no more strength to continue the financial
assistance to it. After the entry of Manchu cavalry into the
Great Wall the new ruling bloc developed no interest in
Taoism, which, on account of the loss of political support,
was compelled to be transferred from the literati to the
populace, and then gradually withdrew into a secret
religious gang.
• Ever since the Eastern Han Dynasty down to the present
day there has been accumulated an enormous ocean of
the scriptures in that issue. The Reserves of Taoism, an
aggregate anthology of its canons, was rivaled by a wide
range of literatures regarding commandments, scientific
apparatus, magic figures, psycho-cultivation, physical
exercise, medicine, pharmacy, alchemy and the principal
works of some scholars, acting as one of the Chinese
cultural treasure.
• Despise a variety of factions in the organization,
“Dao”(Way) had unexceptionably been prized as the
nucleus in belief from which were inferred their own
creeds. Above all “Dao” was confirmed as the supreme
conviction, which was the gist of Nonexistence, the source
of the universe and the eternal being that transcends time
and space, remaining unique in dignity. Secondly “Dao”
appeared as the incarnation of Master Lao, and could be
transformed into a mob of Heavenly deities, Earthly gods
and human apparitions. Thirdly “Dao” could be obtained
through psycho-cultivation. Having practiced the various
creeds, the followers were capable of integrating deities
with Dao, as being termed the Acquisition of Taoism.
Fourthly those who had acquired the knack could be
benefited from such rewards as oracular wonders,
longevity and becoming celestial.
• Of the three major religions in China, Taoism
arose latest and was maintained in contact with
Confucianism and Buddhism upon its founding.
During the Han-Wei Period and the WesternEastern Jin Dynasties when Confucianism was
lingering at the status of arbitrary power,
Buddhism, though unstable on footing, unveiled a
powerful vitality in a “religion-learning” manner.
The late-arriving Taoism, to eliminate its inborn
primitive elements, began to learn form
Confucianism, notably Buddhism, for both its
institutions and cognitive proficiency were still in a
naïve phase. Without the high quality exemplar of
Buddhism it could not be imagined that Taoism
had proceeded to such an extent.
• The pursuit for “being celestial” by Chinese
ancients, which was an idealized entity bestowed
upon with longevity and some oracular wonders
they had been yearning for, exercised an
immense impact on Taoism. The core of the
religion was concealed in the fact that anyone
could be sublimated as the celestial deities by
means of retainable efforts. Prior to its arrival
Chinese ancients had been engaged in a number
of attempts in “being the celestial”. The Canon of
Mountains and Seas registered a legend
concerning “elixir” and “immortal man”. As per
The Records of the Historian, King Wei of Qin
Kingdom and King Zhao of Yan Kingdom as early
as the Warring States Period ever accredited
ships at sea in search of elixir and celestial men.
Lao zi
and
Taoism
• Lu Xun said:
"China roots deep in Taoism. If one
wants to comprehend Chinese history
and culture, one must comprehend
Taoism first."
Yin
and
Yang
• The Yin/Yang symbol is one of the oldest
and best-known life symbols in the world,
but few understand its full meaning.
• It represents one of the most fundamental
and profound theories of ancient Taoist
philosophy. At its heart are the two poles of
existence, which are opposite but
complementary.
• The light, white Yang moving up blends into
the dark, black Yin moving down. Yin and
Yang are dependent opposing forces that
flow in a natural cycle, always seeking
balance. Though they are opposing, they
are not in opposition to one another.
•
• As part of the Tao, they are merely two
aspects of a single reality. Each contains
the seed of the other, which is why we see
a black spot of Yin in the white Yang and
vice versa. They do not merely replace
each other but actually become each
other through the constant flow
of the universe.
• The symbol is a visual depiction of the
intertwined duality of all things in nature,
a common theme in Taoism.
• It is believed to be derived from the
Taijitu (Diagram of the Ultimate Power).
• Yin yang are complementary opposites
within a greater whole. Everything has
both yin and yang aspects, although yin or
yang elements may manifest more
strongly in different objects or at different
times.
• Yin yang constantly interacts, never
existing in absolute stasis.
• The concept of yin and yang is often
symbolized by various forms of
the Taijitu symbol, for which it is
probably best known in western cultures.
The nature of yin–yang
• In Taoist philosophy, yin and yang arise
together from an initial quiescence or
emptiness (wuji, sometimes symbolized by
an empty circle), and continue moving in
tandem (双) until quiescence（静止） is
reached again.
• Yin and yang are always opposite and
equal qualities. Further, whenever one
quality reaches its peak, it will naturally
begin to transform into the opposite
quality: for example, grain that reaches
its full height in summer (fully yang) will
produce seeds and die back in winter
(fully yin) in an endless cycle.
• It is impossible to talk about yin or yang without
some reference to the opposite, since yin and yang
are bound together as parts of a mutual whole (i.e.
you cannot have the back of a hand without the
front). A way to illustrate this idea is to postulate
the notion of a race with only men or only women;
this race would disappear in a single generation.
• Yet, men and women together create new
generations that allow the race they mutually create
(and mutually come from) to survive. The
interaction of the two gives birth to things.
• Yin and yang transform each other:
like an undertow（回头浪） in the ocean,
every advance is complemented by a
retreat, and every rise transforms into a
fall. Thus, a seed will sprout from the
earth and grow upwards towards the sky
– an intrinsically yang movement. Then,
when it reaches its full potential height,
it will fall.
• 道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。万物负阴而
抱阳，冲气以为和。
•
Out of Tao, One is born;
Out of One, Two;
Out of Two, Three;
Out of Three, the created universe.
The created universe carries the yin at its
back
and the yang in front;
Through the union of the pervading
principles it
reaches harmony.
Philosophical Taoism
• speaks of a permanent Tao in the way that some
Western religions speak of God.
• The Tao is considered unnamed and unknowable, the
essential unifying element of all that is.
• By shunning every earthly distraction, the Taoist is
able to concentrate on life itself. Eventually the hope is
to become immortal.
Wu-wei
• Wu-wei literally means “non-action,” but
it doesn’t mean don’t ever move.
• It means to always act in accordance with
the Dao, and not to do things that don’t
“go with the flow.” Water does not flow
uphill—does it? No, it always flows
downhill—it always finds the path of least
resistance, as does a good Daoist
Water
• Water is the perfect substance according to
Daoism. Water always seeks the lowest point and
always takes the shape of any vessel into which it
is poured. Water always flows downhill, and it
always flows around any obstacle.
• Water seems to be the weakest substance, but
it’s really the strongest. A steady drip of water can
wear away a rock, a stream can create a canyon,
a glacier (frozen water) can create a Grand
Canyon, and water in the form of a hurricane or
typhoon can erode the very continents away.
•
上善若水。水善利万物而不争
The best of men is like water;
Water benefits all things
And does not compete with them.
• 天下之至柔，驰骋天下之至坚。
The softest substance of the world
Goes through the hardest.
• 天下莫柔弱于水，而攻坚强者莫之能胜，以其
无以易之。弱之胜强，柔之胜刚，天下莫不知，
莫能行。
There is nothing weaker than water
But none is superior to it in overcoming
the hard,
For which there is no substitute.
That weakness overcomes strength
And gentleness overcomes rigidity,
No one does not know;
No one can put into practice.
• 大成若缺，其用不弊。大盈若冲，其用不穷。
大直若屈，大巧若拙，大辩若讷。躁胜寒，静胜热，
清静为天下正。
The highest perfection is like imperfection,
And its use is never impaired.
The greatest abundance seems meager,
And its use will never fail.
What s most straight appears devious,
The greatest skill appears clumsiness;
The greatest eloquence seems like stuttering.
Movement overcomes cold,
(But) keeping still overcomes heat.
Who is calm and quiet becomes the guide for
the universe.
• 道生之，德畜之。长之育之，亭之毒之，养之覆之，生而不有，
为而不恃，长而不宰，是谓玄德。
Tao gives them birth,
Teh (character ) fosters them,
•
Makes them grow, develops them,
Gives them a harbor, a place to dwell in peace,
Feeds them and shelter them.
It gives them birth and does not own them,
Acts (helps) and does not appropriate them,
Is superior, and does not control them.
- This is the Mystic Virtue.
•
刘备，字玄德
• 祸兮，福之所倚，福兮，祸之所伏。
孰知其极？其无正。正复为奇，善复为妖。
•
Disaster is the avenue of fortune,
(And) fortune is the concealment for disaster.
Who would be able to know its ultimate results?
(As it is), there would never be the normal.
But the normal would (immediately) revert to the
deceitful.
• 江海所以能为百谷王者，以其善下之，故能为百谷王。
•
How did the great rivers and seas become the
Lords
of the ravines?
By being good at keeping low.
That was how they became Lords of the
Ravines.
• 是以圣人欲上民，必以言下之；欲先民，必以身后之。
是以圣人居上而民不重，居前而民不害。
•
Therefore in order to be the chief among the
people,
One must speak like their inferiors.
In order to be foremost among the people,
One must walk behind them.
Thus it is that the Sage stays above,
And the people do not feel his weight;
Walks in front,
And the people do not wish him harm.
• 善为士者，不武。善战者，不怒。善胜敌者，不与。善
用人者，为之下。是谓不争之德，是谓用人之力，是谓
配天，古之极。
The brave soldier is not violent;
The good fighter does not lose his temper;
The great conqueror does not fight (on small
issues);
The good user of men places himself below
others.
- This is the virtue of not-contending,
Is called the capacity to use men,
Is reaching to the height of being
Mated to Heaven, to what was of old.
• 天之道，不争而善胜，不言而善应，不召而自来，
姗然而善谋。天网恢恢，疏而不失。
Heaven's Way (Tao) is good at conquest
without strife,
Rewarding (vice and virtue) without words,
Making its appearance without call,
Achieving results without obvious design.
The heaven's net is broad and wide.
With big meshes, yet letting nothing slip
through.
• 人之生也柔弱，其死也坚强。草木之生也柔脆，其死也枯槁。
故坚强者死之徒，柔弱者生之徒。
• When man is living, he is tender and weak;
At death, he is hard and stiff.
• When the things and plants are alive, they are
soft and supple;
When they are dead, they are brittle and dry.
•
Therefore hardness and stiffness are the
companions of
death,
And softness and gentleness are the companions
of life.
• 是以天下乐推而不厌。以其不争，故天下
莫能与之争。
•
Then the people of the world are glad to
uphold him forever.
Because he does not contend,
No one in the world can contend
against him.
• 将欲歙之，必故张之；将欲弱之，必故强之；将欲废
之，必故兴之；将欲取之，必故与之。是谓微明。
•
---He who is to be made to dwindle (in power)
Must first be caused to expand.
He who is to be weakened
Must first be made strong.
--- He who is to be laid low
Must first be exalted to power.
He who is to be taken away from
Must first be given,
•
- This is the Subtle Light.
• 柔弱胜刚强。鱼不可脱于渊，国之利器不可以
示人。
• Gentleness overcomes strength:
Fish should be left in the deep pool,
And sharp weapons of the state should be left
Where none can see them.
Tao Te Jing, by Lao Tzu
道，可道，非恒道。名，可名，非恒名。
无名，天地之始；有名，万物之母。
• The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
• The Name that can be named is not the eternal Name
• The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
• The named is the mother of myriad things--
• Thank you !