TheEarlyChineseWorldandtheRiseofConfucianism.pptVIP

The Early Chinese World and the Rise of Confucianism Jeffrey L. Richey, Ph.D. REL 232 Religions of China and Japan Berea College Fall 2004 ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES Large population Agricultural society Climactic extremes (hot summers, freezing winters, regular floods) Relative isolation (bounded by Pacific, Himalayas, deserts) CULTURAL ORIENTATIONS Intense pressure for social harmony Ideal unity of natural and social orders Confidence in human ability to discern and manipulate environment Ethnocentrism Alternating cycles of xenophobia and xenophilia Assumption that religion is subordinate to ruler EARLY CHINESE RELIGION “Oracle bones” used in divination rituals Ancestral spirits seen as powers to be appeased Shang-di 上帝 (“Lord on High”) = divine ancestor of Shang 商 rulers (c. 1500-1050 BCE) Shang-di later identified with Tian 天 (“Heaven”), deity of Zhou 周 rulers (c. 1050-256 BCE) EARLY CHINESE COSMOLOGY Triangular relationship: humans, earth, heaven 天人合一 (Tian ren he yi) = Heaven and humanity in harmonious unity Dao 道 = eternal, cyclical exchanges of yin 陰 and yang 陽 energies In human beings, flow of such energies takes place in qi 氣 (“vital energy”) THE CRISIS IN THE ZHOU ORDER (c. 771-221 BCE) After 770 BCE, Zhou rule was weakened by foreign invasions and internal divisions 771-481 BCE: Chunqiu 春秋 (“Spring and Autumn”) period of unstable feudal coalition 403-221 BCE: Zhanguo 戰國 (“Warring States”) period of constant civil war among feudal lords competing to impose rule and restore unity of Zhou territory The Baijia百家 (“Hundred Teachings”) arise in response to cultural crisis and “free market” for political, philosophical, and ritual expertise KONGZI 孔子(“CONFUCIUS”), c. 551-479 BCE Minor official in small state of Lu 魯 Attracted both upwardly-mobile and counter-cultural male disciples Teachings presented in Lunyu 論語 (Analects) Central concepts: li 禮 (ritual) de 德 (moral power) xiao 孝 (filiality) ren 仁 (human potential) WHAT KONGZI TAUGHT GOAL: to be a junzi 君子(