This course provides an introduction to the study of the history, major teachings, and practices of the major Chinese religions and spiritual practices and is deigned to give conceptual tools to appreciate diverse religious practice in East. It covers the development of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and wide range of popular and local religions. From historical perspective we will also explore the development of key theological, religious and philosophical doctrines as well as associated practices. An effort will be made to spend time on each tradition according to its importance to Asia as a whole. We will explore the role of religions in politics and social relations in East and South, South East Asia and China in particular, and will analyze the origins, central teachings, divisions and branches, rituals and practices, influences on culture, and responses to modern challenges for each tradition. The emphasis throughout the course is on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and Asian religions in particular. We will explore new Asian religions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies.
Confucian Canon
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Confucianism in Chinese society: from sacrality to morality
This module's content describes the main ideas and principles of Confucianism, outlines the paths of its developments, explains the difference between what is Confucianism in its particular totality of traits and what is understood as a religion or a philosophy in the West.
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Aleksey A. MaslovHead
School of Asian Studies
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All the ideas of the early Confucian were generalized in these called
the Confucian canon.
It's not the one canon.
Usually when we speak about the Confucian Canon, we speak about the nine main books.
Man made books consist of five classics and four books.
So five classics it's a compendium of Confucius
knowledge originating in Zhou dynasty.
So it was systematized during the Han Dynasty, and
it caused several books that were not written by Confucius.
But may be commented by Confucius.
The first one?
It's a book of changes.
The I Ching, which is venerated not only by Confucianists but also by Taoists.
Another one?
It's a book of Documents or Book of History, describing
several main events of the ancient history of China in different states.
The third book, it's a book of Odes, or Book of Poetry,
that includes different kinds of chanting, early chanting,
poetry, and some chanting for the ritual.
Another book, it's a book of the Records of Rites, or
the Book of Rites, which was very highly venerated by Confucius himself.
And finally it says Spring and Autumn Annals.
It's kind of gesitters of that period.
According to sun version, Spring and
Autumn Annals was written by Confucius himself.
So these five books combine historical approach,
the approach philosophical and religious approach.
And this book became a base for
the Confucius education in the Confucius schools and
this tradition to start this education from the Five Classics and four books.
Kept almost up to the 19th century.
So the Ideology of the Five Classics is very wide.
First of all it described the conduct inside the family.
The right rule of behavior, how to behave of a man,
of a woman, of a husband and wife.
Another one, it's individual, moral, and spiritual transformation.
How to transform, how to educate yourself according to Confucius tradition.
Another one is a description of the different kind of deities, ghosts,
spirits, and rituals that you have to pray for
these kind of spirits, and perform it for deities.
Another one, it's a different kind of philosophical text, and
philosophical passages explaining the order of things.
The development of the state and
how the ruler should behave in different situations.
Finally, it's a principle of moral conduct which became
a very important part of the Confucianism.
If you look to all these topics or all these themes, we can understand that
it is not the same as the, for example, Buddhist or Taoist canon.
Buddhist and Taoist canon usually speak about the very mystical things and
usually discuss the ideal of the communication between human and spirits.
And about the mentality of the spiritual person mediation, breathing exercises.
So Confucius classic, it's more about the moral behavior.
Beside five classics, or five canons, we can find so-called the four books, Sishu.
The main books of great philosophers of China.
Four books, for example,
includes Lúnyǔ by Confucius himself, [FOREIGN] and other books.
It was a general introduction to the Confucian thought.
And four books illustrate core values and belief system of Confucianism.
These books were selected by Zhu Xi,
Great neo-Confucianist of the medieval China during
the Song dynasty, and to save as an ideal way of behavior.
And to understand what is mean the Confucius The Confucianist ideas.
Zhu Xi commanded these books.
So mostly when we speak about Confucianism, we speak not about
the initial Confucianism of Confucius and of Manza of ancient times, but
first of all about the understanding of Confucianism by Zhu Xi.
So for the 17th century, all these books became an official curriculum for
the civil service examinations.
So if someone wanted to pass through official exams in different levels,
in three main levels, from the county level to the imperial level,
this person, first of all, should learn all these books and
to write a set, according to these books.
And when he quoted the passages of the four books and five classics,
one of the books that was included to the book it's called the Great Learning Daxue.
Great Learning originally was a chapter from the Book of Rites.
And this book attributed to Confucius, but we don't know exactly.
But anyway, maybe Confucius commanded this book.
We can find also nine commentary chapters by Confucius disciple Zeng Zi.
So anyway, great learning described the idea how to serve spirits and
how to serve rules.
It means that if we want to understand what rituals were performed by
a Confucianist we have to read this great learning.
One of the book of the Confucian classics.
Another book called the Doctrine of the Mean, Zhong young.
So it was once again the original,
the book, the part of the book of reads of the book of rituals.
It's also attributed to the Confucius grandson Zisi.
And merely this book is focused on the AD of Tao a way.
But this Tao is not the same as the Tao in Taoist.
Merely it's more order or more behaved.
And it's prescribed by a heavenly man and they will appear in heaven.
So in that time Confucianist and
Taoist understood the way the Tao in different way.
So the middle way you have to follow the middle
way to gain a perfect vision in your life.
Once again, this idea of the harmony of the [FOREIGN] of the great community
that you have to follow to harmonize the situation in this state and
inside yourself.
In the first century, Confucian was established as the state Confucianism.
Before that time, Confucianism was just a different
streams of different local philosophers and not as a state religion.
So from the first century, BCE we can speak about the Confucius as a religion or
as state, institution or state structure.
After by the later Han period, the Classic of
Filiality and the Confucius Analects have been added to the Five Classics.
So the Seven Classics from that time it became a basis for education.
So it means that even from the.
First and second centuries, we can speak about the Confucianism as a institutional
religion and the system of education.
Beside this Confucius classic, we can find a classic for woman.
That's very interesting about Chinese tradition.
Maybe the first lessons for
women were accepted by Liu Xiang at the 1st century BC.
But the most famous and the most important scripture about the education
of woman was made by Ban Zhao, who wrote the Lessons for Women.
The lady who contributed to the history of
[INAUDIBLE] book of Han, so the history of the Han.
So she was a writer, a poet, a highly educated person, and
at the same time, she tried to combine the very strict moral rules and
the obedience by the woman with the idea of education for the woman.
And Xiabook Minigia, the lessons for
women became for the next several centuries, became
of the most important scripture how to decode women of the aristocratic families.
In her scripture, Ban Zhao wrote, for
self-culture nothing equals respect for others.
To counteract firmness nothing equals compliance.
So in this idea, how a lady of that time
should behave herself to follow the rules and regulations of Confucius.
At the same time Ban Zhao.
Womanly words need be neither clever in debate nor keen in conversation.
Womanly appearance requires neither a pretty not a perfect face and form.
Womanly work need not to be work done more skillfully than that of other.
So it means the idea that women
should behave as a secondary after the man who is dominant.
That was the Confucius idea of the women place in the society.
The most interesting thing about the Ban Zhao scripture as well
as the Liu Xiang scripture that both didn't discuss the religious idea.
They didn't speak about spirits, they didn't speak about the ancestor
veneration or they didn't speak about how to follow the demands of the spirits.
So it mean the education in Confucius society became much more important
than the follow spirits and deities.
That the difference between Taoist way and Confucianist way.
Confucius and Confuciust way was much more.
Stressed by the idea, how to educate people, and how to behave in this world.
And how to venerate your ancestors by your behavior in this world, in this moment.
For Taoists, the idea of this present-day life was not very important.
For Taoists, the ideal of the spiritual connection, and the Spiritual and
the dialectical spirit was much more important than the right behaviour.
So that's why Confucianism and Taoism in that time just separated from each other,
by the way which is more important, this world or other world.
Confucianism became much
more needed by the state and by the administration.
That's why Confucianism finally became a state religion and not only state
religion but also a part of the state moral and the right behavior of every man.
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