The Chinese Way
(Sao Chiao)
I. Introduction
A. Religion in the Far East quite different than
religion in India
1. Concern in India is “ultimate reality”—the Far
East is not concerned with such issues
2. There is a radical humanism—a desire to live in
this world
3. Humanity is the measure of all things
4. Humanity has no need for a savior, since humans
are not sinful or evil
5. Humanity is basically good and only needs
proper education of precepts or examples to live the
virtuous life—no word for “sin” in Chinese
6. Thought could be seen as an ethical system, with
stress on the state and peace
7. No concept of separating the sacred and secular
8. There are no dogmatic or categorical statements
9. The apprehension of truth is always partial
B. Three faiths in China co-exist and a Chinese could
belong to all three—they are complementary rather than
rivals—thus the Sao Chio
1. Tao Chiao—Taoism
2. Ju Chiao—Confucianism
a. Literally means the way of learning
b. It is the most revered of the 3 traditions
c. It stresses hope for humanity through
education
3. Fo Chiao—Buddhism
a. Fo is the word for Buddha
b. It is a special appeal in face of death and
afterlife
Pre-History
I. Three Cultural Heroes,
2800-2600 BCE
A. Fu Hsi—inventor
of writing, hunting,
trapping, and fishing
B. Shen Nung,
inventor of
agriculture and
mercantilism
C. Yellow Emperor
(c2700 BCE),
invented
government and
Taoist philosophy
II. The Three Sage Kings
A. Yao (2350 BCE)
B. Shun (2250 BCE)
C. Yu (2205 BCE)
D. These kings ruled
with perfect
wisdom, clarity, and
virtue
E. In Chinese model
of history, human
events follow
discernible cycles in
which times of great
virtue and wisdom
are followed by times
of decadence
and decline
First Emperor
Background of Chinese
Religion
A. Confucius and Lao-Tse emphasized they were only
transmitting the wisdom of the ancients
B. Political history
1. Like most ancient cultures, Chinese culture
centered around rivers
a. Most important is the Yellow River
b. Second most important is the Yangtse—it
divided North and South China
c. Third important river is the Si River
2. Government began with the Hsia
Dynasty (c. 2005 BCE-1765 BCE)
a. Last of sage kings, Yu,
founded a dynasty of kings, Hsia
b. Began with virtue and wisdom;
ended with rule of Chieh who was
decadent and cruel
c. In 1766 BCE, Husia dynasty
overthrown by T’ang, who
founded the Shang dynasty
3. The Shang Dynasty was from 17651122 BCE
a. Began worshipping Shang-ti—”Lord
on High
b. Ancestors dwelled in heaven after
their death and continued to show
interest in family
c. Obligations to remember the
ancestors
4. The Chou Dynasty was from 1122-721
BCE in the West and 276 BCE in the East
a. Confucius and Lao-Tse lived in
the East at this time
b. Both went through experience
of disillusionment with
government
c. Kingdom became divided
d. Chou invented the t’ien ming
(Mandate of Heaven)
e. Chinese character for emperor (ti)
consists of three horizontal lines joined
by a vertical line—represents the
connection between heaven (at top)
and earth (at the bottom)
f. Relationship is mediated by the
emperor represented by the horizontal
line
g. Heaven “t’ien” desires that humans
be provided for their needs; the
emperor function to provide those
needs
h. If the emperor fails to see to the
welfare of the people, heaven
withdraws its mandate and invests it in
another
5. From 722-221 BCE there was a gradual
decay of the feudal system
a. The Period of The One Hundred Schools
(551-223 BCE)
b. Most important figure is Kung Fu Tzu or
Confucius
c. Lao Tzu also wanted to reform
government
d. Mo Tzu was third major school
e. Legalists emerged during latter years
6. In 221 BCE Shih-Huant-Ti united China
again— considered to be one of the greatest of
emperors
C. Mythology of the first human
1. Pan-Kur was considered to be the first man
a. He formed the earth and sky out of
primeval chaos
b. He lived for 1800 years
c. His breath was the wind, voice the
thunder, and the world grew as he grew
d. His remains formed the sacred mountains
of China
e. His eyes became the sun and moon; hair
became the trees
2. The myth tells how certain human kings were
able to teach humanity arts, crafts, etc.
D. Early Characteristics of Chinese Religion
1. Animism
a. Especially evident in early Taoism
b. The “spirits” were given an
important role in human life
c. Northing occurred by accident
d. Everything influenced by good
spirits (shen) or evil spirits (kwei)
2. Ancestor Worship—veneration and reverence for
one’s ancestors
a. Death does not break family bonds
b. They may be able to renounce gods, priests, and
religion before they would renounce an ancestor
c. Children always have first responsibility to their
parents—deeply ingrained
3. Religion was centered in the Emperor and sanctioned
by the state
a. Religion was a state religion
b. Center of religion was identified with imperial
rule
c . Chinese word for god is the same word as ruler
d. In Chinese Shang-ti--Supreme Ruler, Son of
Heaven
e. Loyalty to state is a religious dogma
f. Citizenship is part of religion
4. The Chinese concept of nature as a sacred and
essential context of human existence
a. Nature appeared to be both changing and
constant
b. No real concept of creator or creation
c. To help explain the dualism of change and
consistency, the Ying (darkness, cold, female) and
the Yang (light, warm, male) was established
d. Another aspect of nature was the mixture or
proportions of the five vital forces (water, fire,
wood, metal, and earth
e. With the Yin-Yang dualism and the five vital
forces, there is the Chinese explanation of nature
5. Folk Religion
a. Early folk religion was an attempt to explain nature and
employs a logic more symbolic than that of Yin-Yang and the
Five Elements
b. It emphasizes the similarities and differences within nature,
whatever shape, size, or name attributed to elements
c. Magic was popular due to the practice of feng-shui—the
study of winds and water—geomancy
(1) it has as its aim how to position a building most
auspiciously
(2) in a convoluted symbolism employing dragons and
tigers, it tried to make the living forces of nature yield
good fortune by figuring out the spiritual lay of the
land
(3) for example, straight lines were to be evil
influences
(4) trees or a fresh pond could ward off evil influences
d. Mediums and shamans played important roles
e. Evil was personified and capable of being exorcised
Confucianism
Introduction
I. Confucius (Kung Fu-Tsu; 551-479 BCE) can be seen
as the father of Chinese culture by transforming the
ancient traditions into the beginning of a code of
conduct for social relationships and a political philosophy
and would become state orthodoxy in the Han dynasty
(206-200 CE)
II. He lived during a time of great chaos and political
turmoil
A. Warring semi-independent states were fighting
for favor with the emperor during Chou Dynasty
B. Social structure was feudal land aristocracy
C. He became minister of justice in his home state
of Lu where he brought about reform and was
successful
D. The rule of Ch’I became jealous of the
improvement of Lu and tried to sabotage
Confucius by sending to him “wine, women, and
song”
E. Confucius left politics in disgust
F. He became a wandering teacher with a small band of
disciples and met with rebuff and disappointment
G. Many corrupt leaders did fear his influence
H. At age of 70 he returns to Lu and spent five years
writing
I. He was precise in personal appearance---he liked and
stressed ceremonies
J. He was not interested in pomp and majesty per se,
but did believe that outward acts are important
II Is Confucianism a religion?
A. Depends upon one’s definition of religion
B. It is not a theistic religion
C. He was not iconoclastic—just not concerned with
celestial matters with so many problems on the
terrestrial sphere
D. It can be seen as a religion in the sense that there
is an emphasis on faith, for example, commitment,
humanity will not be changed by precept but by
example
Confucian Classics—
two types
I.
The Wu Ching —the five classics
A. Book of History—Shu Ching —consists of
chronicles, speeches, and other material from the
Chou period
B. Book of Poetry— Shih Ching —consists of 305
songs or poems dating from 10th to 7th centuries BCE
C. Book of Rites— Li Ching —a 2nd century BCE
compilation of earlier materials dealing with
ceremonies
D. Book of Changes —I Ching —book of divination
E. Annals of Spring and Autumn— Ch-un Ch’iu —a
chronological record of important regents in the state of
Lu from 722 to 481 BCE
II.
Ssu Shu —The Four Books
A.
B.
C.
D.
Book of Great Learning— Ta Hsueh
Doctrine of Mean— Chung Yung
Annalects— Lun Yu
The Books of Mencius
Key Words
I.
II.
III.
Jen —basic Confucian—virtue of man, authentic
character, supreme value—the measure of all men,
highest and most profound concept
Yi —righteousness—it is Jen operating, an attitude
toward moral situations; it is moral awareness and
doing it—a form of social relationships
Li —courtesy, politeness, proper procedures,
propriety, moral discipline; display of anger and
hostilities cause a loss of face, great stress on
discipline
IV. Hsin —constancy—loyalty, a supreme attribute
V. Chi —moral insight, points to being morally
enlightened
VI. Shu —”negative golden rule”, reciprocity
VII. Chu Tzu —the superior man, one who avoids
extremes
Importance of Jen
I. The word points to a stress on ideal humanity,
goodness, manner, human heartedness—how one
person relates to another
II. The Chinese character of Jen is the character of man
combined with the character of two
III. Jen could be translated as “living integration of
man’s essential function”
IV. Mencius said Jen is what best becomes a man
V. It is the product of successful interpersonal
relationships
VI. There are five basic human relationships
A. State-citizen
B. Father-son
C. Husband-wife
D. Elder brother—younger brother
E. Friends to friends; reciprocity of equals
VII. Three of the relationships (2,3,4) have to do with
entire family since the family is the logical beginning of
Jen
VIII. Jen may also be seen in psychological aspect; a
kind of psychic integration
IX. Mencius said of Jen, “It is the mind of man; great
aim of learning is to find the best mind”
X. Jen is achieved through the other four words
Specific Teachings
I. Ethics of family life—primacy of life
A. The family is not an ultimate, only an
intermediate step
B. The family must prepare the child for social living
C. The golden age cannot occur without proper
family relationships
D. Seems to give great place to women; held for
monogamous marriage
II. Government and Politics
A. He taught divine right and popular sovereignty of
kings
B. The king is bound to the laws of the state; if not,
the people should revolt
C. Every person has right of full participation in
society based on own merit
D. Aristocracy was not based on birth; it is a
scholarly class
E. A kind of democratic aristrocracy
F. Anyone has right to attend the best universities
III. A bias against wealth
A. One’s life does not consist of the abundance of
“things”
B. A person who wants only wealth has wrong
sense of value
C. Emphasis on education—primarily character
building
IV. Historical Development of Confucianism
A. Mencius (372-289 BCE)
1. Best known of post-Confucian scholar
2. Lin Yutang calls him the “democratic
philosopher”
3. A brilliant and active writer
4. Expounded on human nature
5. Stresses that humanity is intrinsically
good—came to be the Chinese view of
humanity
6. Evil is the result of ignorance, lack of
example, lack of culture
7. Changed concept of Jen to a more human
endeavor
8. He proposed a religious theory that history
moves in cycles, depending on how a given ruling
family handles the te (power to govern well)
(a) an unjust ruler would lose the mandate of
heaven—thus revolution may occur
(b) the king would bring prosperity only when
he convinced the people that the things of
the state were their own
B. Hsu-Tzu (294-238 BCE)
1. Wrote essay, The Nature of Man is Evil
2. claimed that only the imposition of laws
and the guidance of teachers could bring
about reasonable conduct among people
3. Without government, humanity would
evert to savagery
4. Attacked much of Mencius’s writings
C. Mo-Tsu (c. 491 BCE)
1. Somewhat critical of Confucianism
2. Stressed the concept of universal love and
equality of all people
3. Denounced extravagant ceremonies
4. Was utilitarian—proper motivation is necessary
D. Yang-Tsu (325-235 BCE)
1. Closest to hedonism
2. Stresses individualism almost to point of anarchy
E. The course for 400 years after Confucius would be
against Confucianism—Shin Hwang order all copies of
classical books burned since the scholars opposed him
F. During Tang Dynasty, Confucianism would become
established
V. Neo-Confucianism
A. During Sung Dynasty (960-1279 CE),
Confucianism would include some metaphysical
interpretations of nature and humanity
B. Partially due to influence of Buddhism
C. Neo-Confucian philosophy of nature involved
interaction of two elements, principle and ether
1. Ether was breath and basis of material
universe
(a) all solid things were condensed out of
ether and would eventually dissolve back into
it
(b) in its dynamic form, ether was ultimate
form of yang; in its still form, it was
ultimate form of yin
(C) it preserved the tension of dualities
2. Principle, etymologically related to veins in
jade or the grain in wood, it was the pattern
running through all material things—their
direction and purpose
(a) If one opposed principle (went across the
grain) all things would become difficult
(b) Principle was considered to be innate in
human beings—it was nature’s guidance
D. Chu His (1130-1200 CE)
1. Was master thinker of Neo-Confucianism
2. He developed a kind of scientific
philosophy, stressed physical nature
VI. Rise of Confucianism
A. Taoism and Buddhism reached zenith during
Chang Dynasty (600-900 CE)
B. From 907 CE there is rise of Confucianism
C. Confucian temples becoming common over all
China as a result of Neo-Confucian thought
D. Temples usually faced south in order to put the
Confucian table (altar) at the north because it was
the center of worship
E. In the 1530s there were waves of antiConfucianism
E. The Ming emperors ordered that all statues and
tables of Confucianism be destroyed
F. The Manchu Dynasty in the 18th century would be
pro-Confucian for political reasons
G. With overthrow of Manchu Dynasty in 1911 and
influence of Sun Yet Sen, China become pro-Christian—
he identified Confucianism as being resistant to change
H. Confucian strength would gradually decrease
I. With Chian-Kai-Shek, Confucianism was
deemphasized
J. Mao and communism took over in 1949 and religion
was outlawed
Taoism
Introduction
A. Founder or systemitizer was Lao Tse (500 BCE)
B. He was a mystic and philosopher
C. His language was obscure because he distrusted
language
D. The Tao Te Ching was introduced by Lao Tse
E. Lin Yuntang wrote that the best single force to
understand Chinese thought is the Tao Te Ching
F. Taoism dominated by
a. humanism
b. naturalistic monism
c. mysticism
Meaning of Tao
A. Originally it simply meant a road or a path and the
way in which something was done
1. The Way of Heaven would be ruthless; when
autumn comes no leaf is spared because of its beauty
2. The Way of Man, among other things, meant
procreation, thus eunuchs would be far from the
Way of Man
B. Would come to mean the way in which the universe
works—ultimately seemed to be very much like God
C. Yin-Yang
1. Yin is black, negative, damp, female, principle
2. Yang is red, active, positive, bright, dry, sunny,
open, male
3. Goal of Tao is to find the rhythms of life—proper
balance of life
4. Harmony, balance of Yin-Yang, important in
Chinese thought
D. Taoist approach to life
1. Lao Tse taught the highest apprehension of life is
totality (Yin-Yang)
2. Goal of life is to live in harmony
3. Tao technically not identified with God; Tao
preceded God
E. Concepts from the Tao Te Ching
1. It is not possible to understand words by
translation
a. Tao is impossible to translate—can mean
many things—way, absolute law of universe,
first cause, creative force in nature
b. Lao Tse and Chuang –Tse used the term
“one” to help express Tao
2. Lao Tse seeks to show that comparisons are
relative with no objective reality
3. The achievement of Tao is not through
intellectual exercise
4. Each object has both qualities of the opposite
(potentially)
5. When Tao is one, it is emphasizing that it is a
higher unity, transcendental, the source of duality
6. The One is:
a. Chou—all pervading
b. Pain—all embracing
c. Shin—everything and everywhere
7. The Tao helps to break the self-ego; it is
identified with the “I”
8. Tao helps to bring one into the realm of Wu
(non-being); Wu is neither living nor dying
9. The concept of Wu-Wei would come to mean
quietism, non-aggression, non-meddlesome action
F. Taoism revolves around three words
1. Tao—nature and non-action; truth, eternal law of
nature
2. Te—virtue—building up of the ideal man
a. In early usage, Te could be good or bad
originally seemed to be similar to Indian
concept of Karma except that Te is
manifested in the present rather than the
future
b. Te is anything that happens to one or that
one indicating that as a consequence, one is
going to meet with good or bad luck
c. Te also associated with planting
d. Te also associated with potentiality—thus
a latent power
3. Nature—the natural, Taoism looking forward to
an idealistic society where one can live by nature
G. Chuang-Tsu (399-295 BCE) was greatest Taosit
teacher after Lao Tse
1. He developed Taoist concept of logic
2. What impressed him was the influence of one’s
viewpoint
3. The way to peace, spiritual ecstasy, and long life
is to join nature’s rhythms
4. The Tao throws off human judgments
5. He attacked those who believed they could tie
language directly to thought and, thus, able to
clarify all discourse
6. Language is only symbolic
H. Taoism would develop into a religion and would
begin a decline
1. Magic took place of mysticism
2. For centuries it was a faith of spirits—bad magic
3. A hierarchy develop similar to Roman
Catholicism—there was a “bishop” above all
“bishops”
4. In the 7th century CE it became the official
religion of China and was a powerful religio-political
institution
5. Beginning of Taoist religion starts about 345 CE
with Chang-Tao-Ling
a. In spite of its degenerating into a religion,
it still had positive vales
b. It had an emphasis on physical culture,
affirmation that body is the starting place of a
good life
c. It had a cheerful outlook on life
d. It promoted community service
Chinese Buddhism
Introduction
I. Buddhism entered China through central Asia and
later from India about the time of Christ
II. The presence of monks and lay believers at court
was favorably mentioned in a decree by Emperor Ming
(58-75 CE)
III. By the 2nd Century CE main outlines of Buddhism
established
IV . Accepted by Chinese at first with hesitation but by
3rd century Chinese emperors were adopting Buddhism
by creation of a divine hierarchy, a voluminous canon,
and a monastic community
V. By the 4th century Buddhism in China was flourishing
A. Splendor of the Buddhist pantheon and ritual,
with its novel conceptions which embrace 10
heavens, 10 hells, rebirth, and salvation of individual
souls of common people proved irresistible
B. Sutras were translated in terms borrowed from
philosophic Taoism
C. Chinese Buddhism tended to increasingly ignore
the intangible goal of Indian theology and the
complex theories of the Buddha
D. They tended to stress more practical objects,
such as immediate response to prayer by the
protective Bodhisattva Kuan Yin, direct rebirth into
the Western Happy Heaven of Amitabha, and
salvation by coming Buddha Maitreya
VI. By the time of the Mongols (1190-1294 CE),
Buddhism was the most popular religion
A. Kublai Khan welcomed a gift of relics from the
raja of Ceylon
B. He conferred the title “Teacher of the State”
upon a Tibetan Lama
VII. By the time of the Ch’ing (Manchu) Dynasty (16401912 CE) Buddhism had become completely naturalized
and regarded as an indigenous faith
Chinese Buddhist
Sects
I. T’ien T’ai (Heavenly Terrace)
A. Founded by Chih-I (538-597 CE)
B. Believed that the Lotus Sutra contained essence of
Buddhism
C. Main writing was The Profound Meaning of the Scripture of
the Lotus of the Wonderful Law
D. A Chinese version of Nargarjuna
E. He stressed that the cosmic mind is defined as universal
emptiness
II. Ching-T’u (Pure Land Buddhism)
A. A very different form of Buddhism
B. Traditional founder considered to be Hui-Yuan (c.
402) who founded the White Lotus Society, united in
a vow to be reunited in the pure land or western
paradise of Amitabha Buddha
C. Forumulator of the doctrine was T’an-Luan (476-542)
1. Sought religious solace due to a grace illness
2. Came to the doctrine of the Amitabha Buddha (the
Buddha of the Pure Light)
3. Humans are sinners and by personal relationship to
the savior Amida they may be rescued
4. His commentary on Vasundhu’s Essay On Rebirth
emphasizes the faith of Pure Land
5. Humans must call upon the name of Amida,
repeating his name in fidelity; the chant is na-mo amit’o-fo (greetings to Admida Buddha)
6. In the Pure Land, all is happy
Ch’an (Meditation)
I. Founded by Indian monk Bodhidharma (late 5th or
early 6th century)
II. Stresses enlightenment rather than knowledge or
good deeds
III. Ch’an is Chinese translation of Sanskrit dhyana
(meditation)
IV. Principle text is the Lankavatara Sutra
V. Most imminent successor was Hui-neng (6th patriarch)
A. Teaching is found in the Platform Sutra
B. Believed that enlightenment comes suddenly; since
the Buddha-nature is intrinsically pure, one need
only let it manifest itself
C. This belief would cause a split in the sect; would be
called Southern Ch’an school
D. The Northern school held that enlightenment must
come gradually and thus counseled regular
meditation