China’s Sages: Confucius & Laozi

1. China’s Sages:Confucius & Laozi Rels 120 12 November 2013

2. Unit 4 Groups

3. Imperial China – main Dynasties 120 - appleby

4. http://www.unescoworldheritagesites.com/great_wall_of_china.htmhttp://www.unescoworldheritagesites.com/great_wall_of_china.htm 120 - appleby

5. http://www.uen.org/utahlink/activities/view_activity.cgi?activity_id=6482http://www.uen.org/utahlink/activities/view_activity.cgi?activity_id=6482 120 - appleby

6. Han Dynasty • 206 BCE to 220 CE • By 175 CE, Five Confucian Classics compiled to define Confucian teachings: • Yi-Jing (Book of Changes) • Shu Jing (Book of Documents) • Shi Jing (Book of Poetry) • Li Jing (Book of Rites) • Book of Chinese History • Emperor both political ruler and chief priest; held the “Confucian Mandate of Heaven” • Cult of Tu-di Gong, the “earth ruler” • Tiandi– kept accounts of good and bad actions to evaluate person’s record at death 120 - appleby

7. Post-Han • 206 to 617 CE • Mahayana Buddhism expands within China • Beliefs in karma, the Buddha, the quest for enlightenment, and the celestial bodhisattvas became widespread • Buddhism and Daoism regarded as revolutionary, antisocial, and counter-cultural in comparison to Confucian emphasis on proper roles, duties, and social hierarchies 120 - appleby

8. http://www.worldcoincatalog.com/AC/C1/China/AncientChina/AncientChina.htmhttp://www.worldcoincatalog.com/AC/C1/China/AncientChina/AncientChina.htm 120 - appleby

9. T’ang Dynasty • 618 to 907 CE • Buddhism is at its peak in China • Capital city marked by religious pluralism: Buddhist, Daoist, Christian, Hindu, Manichean, Zoroastrian, and Muslim • 845 CE – Emperor established Daoism as the state religion; all other religions were outlawed and sacred texts, statues, monasteries, etc., were destroyed • Followed by a return to Confucianism in political and social structures 120 - appleby

10. Song Dynasty • 960 to 1279 CE; Confucianism is central in education and government • 2nd Confucian Master was Zhu Xi (1130 to 1200 CE) • collected and edited Confucian texts • prescribed life-cycle rituals • social hierarchies understood as concentric circles 120 - appleby

11. Confucian concentric circles of relationships Final outer circle (not shown) would represent Heaven.All circles structured by hierarchical relationships of ruler (superior) and obedient (inferior) person; elders and youth; male and female 120 - appleby

12. Ming Dynasty • 1368 to 1644 CE • Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism = the three faiths • All 3 express a single spiritual reality in different manners • Seek harmony among them “If someone is a Confucian, give him Confucius; if he is a Daoist, give him Lao Zi; if he is a Buddhist, give him Shakyamuni; if he isn’t any of them, give him their unity.” Lin Zhao-en “Use Buddhism to rule the mind, Daoism to rule the body, Confucianism to rule the world.” Emperor Xiaozong 120 - appleby

13. Qing Dynasty • 1644 to 1912 CE • Confucian ideology and education • Performance of rituals, proper etiquette, music, archery, calligraphy, horsemanship, mathematics • Goal to become a sheng-ren – a perfected person; through “quiet sitting” to calm the mind; perceive one’s own primal human nature, the goodness of humanity • Rejected by Western learning and reformers • Seen as key obstacle to modernization • Colonists and missionaries eliminate Confucianism 120 - appleby

14. 1911 Revolution • To overthrow the Qing Dynasty; to modernize society and government; establish democratic governance based on social equality • End of Imperial rule; National Republic of China established; last Qing Emperor (still a child) was forced to abdicate • Turned into a dictatorship that erupted into tribal warfare from 1916 to 1927 • Nationalist government returned under Chiang Kai-shek in 1928 • Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Communist Party, was elected in 1945 • 1946 to 1949 – civil war in China between Communists and Nationalists 120 - appleby

15. Communist Revolution • Communism, under Mao Zedong, rules China from 1949 to 1976 CE • Marxist state government; civil, secular religion; officially atheist • Persecuted all religions, especially during the cultural revolution 1966 to 1976; destroyed religious objects and properties; statues of Confucius destroyed • Leader Mao Zedong, a cult hero; died in 1976; gradual return to religious pluralism 120 - appleby

16. Liu Xiaobowon the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize ... for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China – he has been under arrest or in prison since 1989 (http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_GB/laureates/laureates-2010/ ) • 1989 – Tian’anmen democracy movement; protesters including many university students; non-violent civil resistance; government dispersed protesters using tanks; some were crushed, others imprisoned • 12 January 2011 – 30-foot bronze statue of Confucius is erected in Beijing near Tian’anmen Square • Portrait of Mao Zedong is nearby • China remains a Communist country http://english.sina.com/life/2011/0113/355702.html 120 - appleby

17. Confucius now stands in Tiananmen Square; Statues and images of Mao stand oppositehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/14/confucius-statue-tiananmen-square_n_809038.html 120 - appleby

18. http://www.galenfrysinger.com/tiananmen_square_beijing_china.htmhttp://www.hereischina.com/city/beijing/maozhuxi.htmhttp://www.galenfrysinger.com/tiananmen_square_beijing_china.htmhttp://www.hereischina.com/city/beijing/maozhuxi.htm 120 - appleby

19. http://core.ecu.edu/hist/tuckerjo/china.htm 120 - appleby

20. Developing Your Spirituality • This is your spiritual assessment tool for this unit • Reflect on each of the 4 dimensions of spirituality • Evaluate the most useful (or strongest) and least useful (or weakest) aspects of the assessment tool for your Portfolio 120 - appleby