Transcript Unit 2

A Glimpse of Chinese Culture
Chapter 2
Philosophy and Religions
本章教学的目的
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1. 中国古代哲学发展及内容的基本了解;
2. 中国主要宗教的基本概况;
3. 中国传统美德的继承和发扬。
本章教学的重难点
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1. 中国古代哲学的发展史;
2. 中国哲学的基本特点及伦理道德;
3. 中国道教和佛教;
4. 学生PPT展示。
本章教学的时间安排
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教师课堂讲解 (70 minutes)
Chinese Philosophy (40 minutes)
 Chinese Religions (30 minutes)
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PPT 展示 (30 minutes)
Chinese Philosophy (40 minutes)
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The Development of Ancient Chinese Philosophy
(20 minutes)
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The Basic Features of Ancient Chinese Philosophy
(10 minutes)
Characteristics of Chinese Ethics and Morality (10
minutes)
The Development of Chinese Philosophy
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The philosophy in Pre-Qin times (先秦子学)
The orthodox philosophy during the Han
Dynasty (两汉经学)
Metaphysics during the Wei and Jin dynasties
(魏晋玄学)
The buddhist philosophy during the Sui and
Tang dynasties (隋唐佛学)
Neo-confucianism in Song and Ming dynasties
(宋明理学)
Application philosophy in the Ming and Qing
dynasties (明清实学)
The philosophy in Pre-Qin times
(先秦子学)
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The philosophy in Pre-Qin times was
marked by the emergence of various ancient
philosophical views.
The most influential schools were
Confucianism (儒家), Taoism (道家),
Mohism (墨家) and Legalism (法家)
Confucianism
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The school takes the teachings
of Confucius as its core of
thought and regards the words
and deeds of Confucius as its
highest code (准则) of
behavior.
It advocates the benevolence
and justice, allegiance and
forbearance (仁、义、忠、恕),
the doctrine of the golden
mean (中庸) and values the
ethical relations of men.
Taoism
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Founded by Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi,
the school advocates the doctrine
that the Dao is the course, the
principle, the substance, and the
standard of all things, to which all
of them must conform.
Based on the work of Dao De Jing, Taoism promotes
the belief that a person should live a simple life, not to
strive for wealth, fame or power, which will only give
one worries and trouble.
The school favours the political principle of
“achieving good government through non-action”(无
为而治)
Mohism
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Base on the teaching of Mozi, the
school cherishes universal love
which states that if all the people
in the world loved one another,
there will be no hatred, calamities,
and hostilities.
In politics and ethics, Mohism proposes
honoring virtuous people, opposing fatalism (宿
命论) and aggressive wars, and upholding
thriftiness and simple funerals.
Legalism
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Legalism, begun by Hanfeizi,
espouses (主张) laying down
laws to unify the thought of
people, promoting
agriculture to achieve
affluence (富裕), waging (进
行) wars to gain strength and
power, and establishing a
system of bureaucracy (官僚
制度).
The Basic Features of Chinese Ancient
Philosophy
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Stress on spiritual existence
Stress on practice
Stress on morality
Stress on harmony
Stress on intuition
Stress on Spiritual Existence
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Ancient Chinese philosophers studies different
kinds of philosophical problems based on reality
and experience, but all of them paid attention to
the study of existence. all pursue in order to
achieve the highest spiritual state.
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e.g.
 Confucianism’s knowledge of life through
disposition and consciousness;
 Taoism’s search for spiritual freedom;
 Buddhism’s “Nirvana” (涅磐).
Stress on Practice
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Chinese ancient philosophers were concerned with
the relationship between knowledge and practice.
Example:
“To prefer it is better than only to know it. To delight
in it is better than merely to prefer it, To delight in it
is better than merely to prefer it.”(知之者不如好之
者，好之者不如乐之者。)
Stress on Morality
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Every school of ancient Chinese philosophy
was a kind of moral philosophy. Almost
every philosophy stressed moral practice.
Stress on Harmony
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Ancient Chinese philosophy stresses on harmony,
and the pursuit of harmony between man and
nature and also between man and man.
E.g.
Mencius said “Opportunities vouchsafed by
Heaven are less important than terrestrial
advantages, which in turn are less important than
the unity among people. (天时不如地利，地利不
如人和) ”
Stress on the Intuition
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Chinese ancient philosophy did not adhere
to formal rules of structure and system in
thought and often resulted in fragmented
(片断的) thoughts written on paper. It was
through reflecting on life’s experiences and
intuition that philosophical ideas were
formed.
Characteristics of Chinese Ethics and
Morality
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Traditional Chinese ethics that reflect the high
standard or moral pursuit of the Chinese people
and embrace ethical wisdom of lasting value:
Seeking Harmony and Maintaining
Equilibrium(平衡)
 2. Collectivism over Individualism
 3. Spiritual Life over Material Life
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Seeking Harmony and Maintaining
Equilibrium (平衡)
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To Chinese people, harmony is powerful word.
Maintaining equilibrium is the ultimate
purpose of harmony.
Collectivism over Individualism
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Traditional Chinese values attach great
importance to collective interest. An individual’s
values can be realized only within society as a
whole, as that is the groundwork of one’s
existence.
Spiritual Life over Material Life
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Chinese people advocate morality in their
behavior.
Self-cultivation in morals is emphasized, and
is considered to be more important than
one’s material life.
Chinese Religions (30 minutes)
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The Taoist Religion (15 minutes)
Buddhism (10 minutes)
The Taoist Religion (15 minutes)
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Taoism is the indigenous (土生土长的) relegion
in China.
Lu Xun once said, “The Chinese roots are deep in
Taoism. If one tries to comprehend Chinese
history and culture, he must first comprehend
Taoism and the Taoist religion.”
The Taoist religion evolved out of witchcraft (巫
术), necromancy（方术 ) and self-cultivation
techniques. Its highest belief is called “Dao”, its
bible is called “Dao De Jing”.
Zhang Daoling
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The Taoist religion was
founded by Zhang Daoling in
the Eastern Han Dynasty and
became very popular during
the Southern and Northern
Dynasties.
Taishang laojun
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Taoists revered (尊崇) Lao Zi
as the originator of the Taoist
religion and called him
“Taishang Laojun” (太上老
君).
Taoism Temples
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Taoism temples are places for Taoist priests to
self-reflect and carry out their religious activities.
The layout of the Taoism temples evolved from
the traditional square-shaped Chinese courtyard,
also resembling that of Buddhist temples in
design.
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In front of Taoist temples,
there are mountain gates,
Huabiao (marble pillar)
and fan’gan (幡杆).
Outside the Huabiao is the
earthly world (俗界), inside
it is the celestial place (仙
界).
The most sacred Taoist mountain
—Dragon-Tiger Mountain
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Dragon-Tiger Mountain is located at the
southwestern suburb of Yingtan, Jiangxi Province.
It is the birthplace of the Taoist religion.
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According to a legend, when the
elixirs were made, a dragon and a
tiger were seen above the mountain.
So, the mountain was renamed after
the celestial animals (“丹成而龙虎
现，山因以名”).
Buddhism (10 minutes)
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Buddhism originated in India in the 6th century
B.C. Sakyamuni is said to be the founder of
Buddhism.
Buddhism was first introduced into China in the
first century. During the Sui and Tang dynasties,
Buddhism entered its golden age.
The theory of Buddhism is based on the theory of
samsara (轮回)，meaning that living beings orbit
around the six spheres of heaven, hell and earth,
just like an ever-turning wheel.
The doctrine of Four Noble Truths
(四谛)
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life is suffering,
the cause of suffering is desire,
the answer is to quench (抑制) desire,
the way to this end is to follow the Eight-Fold Path
(八正道).
Buddhism Temples
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Chinese Buddhist architecture
includes pagodas, temples and
grottos. Earlier Buddhist temples
usually combined pagodas and a
courtyard-style temple.
The First Buddhist Temple
—The White Horse Temple
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The White Horse Temple, located 21 km east of the
Luoyang City, Henan Province, was the first officially
built Buddhist temple in China in the Eastern Han
Dynasty.
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It was named after the white
horse that carried the
Buddhist scriptures from
India to Luoyang, then the
capital of the country.
The Famous Buddhism Mountains
Islam
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Islam was founded by the Arabic prophet
(先知) Mohammed and was introduced into
China in the seventh century. For people of
Islamic faith, there is only one God, Allah.
The Arabic word “Islam” simply means
“submission and obedience”.
Mosque
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A mosque is always a high-domed building
with sweeping arches, flowing arabesques
(蔓藤花纹) and towering minarets (高耸的
尖塔).
Inside, a mihrab, or niche (壁龛), which
symbolizes the place where the prophet (先
知) led the prayer, is set into the middle of
the qibla wall in order to indicate the
direction of Mecca (麦加).
Students’ PPT Presentation (30’)
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Group 1
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Title :
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Participants:
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Presenter:
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Time: 10 minutes
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Comments: 5 minutes 
Group 2
Title :
Participants:
Presenter:
Time: 10 minutes
Comments: 5 minutes