Chinese religion

Chinese religion

Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are the three main religions which together form the

basis of Chinese religious practices and beliefs. Far from eliminating traditional Chinese folk

customs, all three religions have continued to develop through the ages with a variety of local

names and colouring. In fact, Chinese religion is a fusion of several kinds of belief, which

developed over thousands of years by strongly influencing and interrelating with each other,

and it is extremely rare to find a pure Confucianist, Buddhist or Taoist as each of the three

religions has become inextricably interwoven with the other two.

Confucianism (Rujia,儒敎)

Confucianism is based on the teachings Confucius (Kongzi 孔子, c.551-479 BC) who was a

philosopher and political theorist. His teachings were amalgamated by his students and

recorded in the Analects (lunyu論語). Confucian writings discussed the role of the ruler and

the subject and proposed moral values to direct them both. The harmony of the natural world

was seen as responding to the moral conduct of the sovereign and its people, and the cosmos

was thus drawn into the ritual practices of the state. Confucian rituals also embraced all

aspects of family life, including ceremonies to show respect to ancestors and the preparation

of burials by subsuming the earlier ancestor cults. Confucianism has continued to deeply

influence the cultural background of Chinese people in their daily lives.

Buddhism (fojiao, 佛敎)

Buddhism was introduced to China in the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), along the trade

routes which are now known as the “Silk Road”. It was properly established and patronised

by the Northern Wei (386-535 AD) and other non-Chinese dynastic houses who ruled

northern China after the third century AD. The religion is based on the teachings of

Sakyamuni Buddha (born c. 563 BC), the founder of Buddhism who was born in ancient

India. The tenets of Buddhism were concerned primarily with individual salvation, teaching

that the release from suffering came through conquering worldly desires. Integrating the ideas

of Confucianism, Taoism and other folk religions, Buddhism has played an important role in

forming the mindset of Chinese people and ing to a recent survey, China now

has the largest number of Buddhist believers in the world, followed by Japan.

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Taoism (Daojiao, 道敎)

Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a religion which is indigenous to China and its name

comes from the Chinese dao (道), literally “path” or “way”. Taoism originated in the

Kingdom of Chu during the Warring States period (480-221 BC). Taoism stresses “non-action” (wuwei, 無爲), as opposed to the busy round of official and social rituals and

practices, in order to allow nature to reign. The Daodejing (道德經), a philosophical text

attributed to a figure known as Laozi (老子), emphasises the need to retire from the world

and master the dao (道). In other words, the only way to achieve a free, happy and

independent life is to stay away from the constraints of morality, ritual and politics. Along

with Buddhism, Taoism developed popular parallel branches. The two faiths also shared a

complex and interrelated relationship and had a number of religious ideas and practices in

common, which is also reflected in the fact that until recently most Chinese people tended to

consider themselves both Buddhist and Taoist.

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