Transcript RELIGION IN ANCIENT CHINA

RELIGION IN ANCIENT CHINA
• Taoism
• Buddhism
• Confucianism
← Who is this
guy??
RELIGION….
• A set of beliefs and practices that guide
our lives.
• Usually has a supreme being or God.
• Religion explains what happens to us
when we die.
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS
SYMBOL? WHAT DO YOU
THINK IT MEANS?
TAOISM (pronounced
Daoism)
• From China
• Started by Lao Tsu in 600 B.C.
• Believe that the way to happiness is for people to
learn to “go with the flow”
• Taught everything had a life force
– Ying and Yang
• Yin= dark side- moon, death
• Yang= light side- sun, birth
• Ying and Yang need to be balanced
• Tsu was against too many rules and laws- he
thought people should make their own decisions
BUDDHISM
• 500 B.C.
• Stared in India - spread to China
during the Han dynasty (200s
A.D.)
• Buddhism is based on the
teachings of Siddhartha
Gautama Buddha
• He was an Indian prince who
gave up the royal life in search
of a good and pure life
HOW BUDDHISM SPREAD
WHY BUDDHISM?
• People in China were attracted to
Buddhism during the Period of
Disunion
Who can remember what was happening
during that time?
• People were troubled and Buddhism
offered comfort by teaching that people
could escape suffering and achieve
peace
BUDDHIST BELIEFS
• Buddhists worship in temples housing a statue of
Buddha, many temples were built in China
Tang dynasty temple
BELIEFS
• teaches that suffering is unavoidable
• people can end suffering by reaching
enlightenment- Nirvana
• follow the eight-fold path to reach
enlightenment
– Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right
Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right
Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration
BELIEFS
• people can be reborn to achieve
enlightenment
• Buddhists also believe in
Karma: the good/bad actions
people perform in their
lifetime affect happiness
CHINA & BUDDHISM
• During the Sui and Tang dynasties Buddhism
grew and spread
• Chinese missionaries spread Buddhism to
Japan, Korea and other Asian islands
• influenced art, literature and architecture
• Buddhism was so important that the period
from 400-845 is called the “Age of
Buddhism”
BUDDHISM IN CHINA
• An emperor in the Tang dynasty tried
to get rid of Buddhism
• Buddhist books and temples were
destroyed
• But, Buddhism lived on in China and
blended with other religions
CONFUCIANISM
• 500 B.C.
• China
• by a man named Confucius
• “I hear and I forget. I
see and I remember. I do
and I understand.”
•
“Wheresoever you go, go
with all your heart.”
•
“Have no friends not equal
to yourself.”
WHY CONFUCIANISM?
• Scholars and historians liked Confucianism
because they thought it would improve
society
• Confucius’ ideas lost influence,
but became popular again in
China during the Song dynasty
-this is called neo-Confucianism,
-neo= new
• Neo-Confucianism blended ethics with
spirituality
BELIEFS IN CONFUCIANISM
•
•
Confucius believed in ethics, or
proper behavior, for individuals
and governments
People should live their lives
according to two principles
1. Concern for others (ren)
2. Appropriate behavior (li)
•
Everyone has a role to play in
society
–
For example, young people should
obey their elders and follow the
rules!!
CONFUCIANISM & CHINA
• had a religious and governmental role
• China created a bureaucracy of civil servants
to work for the government
– To be a civil servant you had to pass a test on
Confucianism and other topics
– If you passed you became a scholar-official
– Scholar-officials were admired for their smarts
and ethics
– Look at page 178 in your text