By Caitlin, Trent, Noel, Keyana
MONKEY
Journey to the West
Is one of the Four Great Classical
Novels of Chinese literature
Took place during the Tang
Dynasty(618-907)
It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the
16th century
published anonymously by Wu
Cheng'en
WU CHENG’EN





Born 1500?-1582
novelist and poet of the
Ming dynasty (1368–
1644)
Wu repeatedly failed the
civil service exams.
Was 63 years old when
he was appointed to the
post of Vice Magistrate in
Changxing county
was thrown into prison on
a trumped-up charge of
corruption.
Xuan Zang or Tripitaka
• Tripitka means "Three
Baskets"
• born 602 - 664
• entered Buddhist
monkhood at the age
of thirteen
• left Chang'an in 629
reaching India in 630.
Xuan Zang or Tripitaka
travelled in India for the next thirteen years,
 left India in 643 and arrived back in Chang'an in
646 to a warm reception by Emperor Taizong of
Tang.
 In 646, under the Emperor's request, Tripitaka
completed his book Great Tang Records on the

Western Regions

The Xingjiao Monastery was established in 669
to house his ashes.
BUDHISM





currently has about 376 million followers and is
generally listed as the world's fourth largest
religion after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
Main objective is to achieve enlightenment or
Nirvana- release from suffering
Buddhist texts
Pāli Tipitaka
Mahayana sutras
BUDHISM
 Founder: Siddhartha
Gautama: The Buddha
born 566(?) died 480(?)
B.C
 In Buddhism there are
celestial buddhas,
bodhisattvas, and deities
that assist and inspire the
Buddhist practitioner.
Among the most popular
are Kuan Yin, the Medicine
Buddha, the Laughing
Buddha and the Green
and White Taras.
BUDHISM
The Three Trainings or Practices:
Sila: Virtue, good conduct, morality.
Samadhi: Concentration, meditation, mental
development. .
Prajna: Discernment, insight, wisdom, enlightenment.
The Four Noble Truths:
Dukkha: Suffering exists
Samudaya: There is a cause for suffering.
Nirodha: There is an end to suffering.
Magga: In order to end suffering, you must follow the
Eightfold Path.
BUDHISM











The Eightfold Path:
Panna: Discernment, wisdom:
1) Samma ditthi Right Understanding of the Four Noble Truths
2) Samma sankappa: Right thinking; following the right path in life
Sila: Virtue, morality:
3) Samma vaca: Right speech: no lying, criticism, condemning, gossip,
harsh language 4) Samma kammanta Right conduct by following the Five
Precepts
5) Samma ajiva: Right livelihood; support yourself without harming others
Samadhi: Concentration, meditation:
6) Samma vayama Right Effort: promote good thoughts; conquer evil
thoughts
7) Samma sati Right Mindfulness: Become aware of your body, mind and
feelings
8) Samma samadhi Right Concentration: Meditate to achieve a higher
state of consciousness
BUDHISM
 The Five Precepts:
 Do not kill. This is sometimes translated
as "not harming" or an absence of
violence.
 Do not steal.
 Do not lie.
 Do not misuse sex.
 Do not consume alcohol or other drugs.
BUDHISM
• Karma
• The Cycle of Rebirth
• There are six separate planes into which any living being
•
•
•
can be reborn -- three fortunate realms, and three
unfortunate realms.
Those with favorable, positive karma are reborn into one
of the fortunate realms: the realm of demigods, the
realm of gods, and the realm of men.
The realm of man is considered the highest realm of
rebirth.
The three unfortunate realms consist of animals, ghosts
and hell
TAOIST






characterized by an awareness of man's close
relationship with nature and the universe.
Taoists stress the importance of harmonizing
with nature by balancing yin and yang, and
developing chi, the essential energy of action
and existence, through meditation and
disengagement.
Formed: around 550 B.C.
Origin: China
Followers 20,000,000
Originator: Lao Tzu
TAOIST
•
•
•
•
•
More of a philosophy
then a religion
Symbolized by Ying Yan
symbol
Based on the Daode jing
(Tao Te Ching), a
philosophical and political
text written by Lao Tzu
Tao means the way or
path
Three Jewels of the Tao:
compassion, moderation,
and humility
TAOIST









Principles
Naturalness
Vitality
peace "non-action" wu wei, or "effortless effort
emptiness,
detachment
flexibility
receptiveness
spontaneity
TAOIST
 Taoism is polytheistic, it has many deities are part
of a heavenly hierarchy that mirrors the
bureaucracy of Imperial China. According to their
beliefs, Chinese deities may be promoted or
demoted for their actions.
 Popular Taoism typically presents the Jade
Emperor as the official head deity.
 some Taoists in the old days let their hair grow as
long as possible, refused to talk and expressed
themselves by whistling
TAOIST
five basic elements: wood, fire, metal, water, and
earth
In Taoist thought the path to heaven is through
nature and the terms "heaven” and "nature" are
often used interchangeably.
The concept of a hell is largely absent.
Immortality is an important idea in Taoism
Texts
Tao Te Ching
Zhuangzi
Daozang
TAOIST-POLE STAR


Taoist Nine Star Astrology is
the essence of the all the
Taoist practices and is
based on the Pole Star
(Yang), the Big Dipper (7
Points), and the Vega Star
(Yin).
The Pole Star is the
residence of Taiyi, the
supreme sky god. To return
to the One is to return, on
one level, to the Pole Star.
It is the place where all
things begin and to which
all things return.
CONFUCIANISM
Formed c. 500 B.C.
Started by: Confucius 551–478 BC
Origin China
Followers 5,000,000
Unlike Taoism, which emphasizes the
natural way, Confucianism
emphasizes the social way
 There are no deities or gods





CONFUCIANISM
 Confucius was not interested in religious salvation




and the afterlife making this more of a philosophy
then a religion
Confucianism focuses on humanism, the cultivation
of virtue and maintenance of ethics
Golden Rule: "do not do unto others what you would
not have them do unto you."
Confucianism expressed the ideal of a "gentleman"
or "perfect man". A man that combines the qualities of
saint, scholar, and gentleman.
Confucians taught that women was supposed to
uphold “three subordinations”: be subordinate to her
father before marriage, to her husband after
marriage, and to her son after her husband died
CONFUCIANISM












The five virtues
Ren (仁, Humaneness),
Yi (義, Righteousness or Justice),
Li (禮, Propriety or Etiquette),
Zhi (智, Knowledge),
Xin (信, Integrity).
The Five Bonds
Ruler to Ruled
Father to Son
Husband to Wife
Elder Brother to Younger Brother
Friend to Friend
CONFUCIANISM












Confucian Texts
The are five Confucian classics
1) Book of History
2) Book of Songs
3) Book of Changes
4) Rites
5) The Spring, Autumn
The Four Books
The Analects
The Doctrine of the Mean
The Great Learning
Mencius
DRAGONS
 The ancient Chinese believed
that dragons were real and
possessed supernatural
powers. Dragons were a
symbol of power, strength,
success, luck and honor
 It is the first of the four Divine
Creatures to Chinese-the
others being the unicorn, the
phoenix and the tortoise
 the Chinese Dragon is a
beneficent and gracious
creature and is worshipped as
the divine ruler of Lakes,
Rivers and Seas
Yanluo AND THE COURT OF
THE DEAD



Yanluo is not only the
ruler but also the judge
of the underworld and
passes judgment on all
the dead
Yanluo is considered to
be an office or
bureaucratic post, rather
than an individual god.
his minions include a
judge who holds in his
hands a brush and a book
listing every soul and the
allotted death date for
every life
Yanluo AND THE COURT OF
THE DEAD
 Yanluo divided Diyu, realm of the dead, into ten levels or
courts
 Men or women with merit will be rewarded good future
lives, or even revival in their previous life. Men or women
who committed misdeeds will be sentenced to torture
and/or miserable future lives.
 The spirits of the dead are supposed to either pass
through a term of enjoyment in a region midway between
the earth and the heaven of the gods, or to undergo their
measure of punishment in hell. After this time they may
return to Earth in new bodies.
 Hell in ancient Chinese cultural is consisted of 18 levels
that punishes a person for a specific sin that they
committed in life