China is a country with an amazing culture that spans several millennia. But not only culture is amazing here, but also religion and philosophy. Even today, the religion of Ancient China continues to flourish and resonate with the contemporary trends of culture and art.
About culture briefly
The celestial culture reached a special peak during the formation of the empire, during the reign of the Qin and Han dynasties. Even then, Ancient China began to enrich the world with new inventions. Thanks to him, the world heritage was enriched by such important inventions as a compass, a seismograph, a speedometer, porcelain, gunpowder, and toilet paper, which first appeared in China.
It was here that seaworthy devices, guns and stirrups, mechanical watches, a drive belt and a chain gear were invented. Chinese scientists were the first to use decimal fractions, learned to calculate the circumference, discovered a method for solving equations with several unknowns.
The ancient Chinese were literate astronomers. They were the first to learn how to calculate the dates of an eclipse; they compiled the world's first catalog of stars. In ancient China, the first guide to pharmacology was written, doctors performed operations using narcotic drugs as anesthesia.
Spiritual culture
As for the spiritual development and religion of Ancient China, they were caused by the so-called "Chinese ceremonies" - stereotyped norms of behavior that were clearly fixed in ethics. These rules were formulated in ancient times, long before the construction of the Great Wall of China.
The spirituality of the ancient Chinese was a rather specific phenomenon: the exaggerated significance of ethical and ritual values led to the fact that religion as such in the Middle Kingdom was replaced by philosophy. That is why many people are confused by the question: "What religion was in ancient China?" Indeed, try, immediately remember all these areas ... Yes, and it’s hard to call them beliefs. The standard cult of the gods here is replaced by the cult of the ancestors, and those gods that survived turned into abstract symbolic deities, without being likened to man. For example, Heaven, Tao, Heaven, etc.
Philosophy
It will not be possible to talk briefly about the religion of Ancient China, there are too many nuances in this matter. Take, for example, mythology. The Chinese replaced myths popular with other peoples with legends about wise rulers (based, by the way, on real facts). Also in China there were no priests, personified gods and temples in their honor. The functions of the priests were performed by officials, the highest deities were deceased ancestors and spirits, which personified the forces of nature.
Communication with spirits and ancestors was accompanied by special rituals, which were always furnished with special care, since they were a matter of national importance. Any religious idea had a high level of philosophical abstraction. In the religion of ancient China, there was an idea of the Higher Principle, which was given the name Tien (Sky), in rare cases, Shan-Di (Lord). True, these principles were perceived as a kind of supreme and strict universality. This universality could not be loved, imitated, and admire it did not make much sense. It was believed that heaven punishes the wicked and rewards the obedient. This is the personification of the Higher Mind, therefore, the emperors of Ancient China held the proud title of “son of Heaven” and were under his direct protection. True, they could control the Celestial Empire as long as they maintained virtue. Having lost her, the emperor had no right to remain in power.
Another principle of the religion of ancient China is the division of the whole world into yin and yang. Each such concept had many meanings, but first of all, the yang represented the masculine principle, and the yin - the feminine.
Yang was associated with something bright, bright, firm and strong, that is, with some positive qualities. Yin personified with the moon, or rather with its dark side and other dark beginnings. Both of these forces are closely interconnected, as a result of interaction, the entire visible Universe was created.
Lao Tzu
In philosophy and religion of ancient China, the first such direction as Taoism appeared. This concept included the concepts of Justice, Universal Law and Supreme Truth. The philosopher Lao Tzu is considered its founder, but since reliable biographical information has not been preserved about him, he is considered a legendary figure.
As one ancient Chinese historian Sym Qian wrote, Lao Tzu was born in the kingdom of Chu, for a long time he did the job of protecting the archive at the royal court, but, seeing how public morals were falling, he resigned and left for the West. How his further fate came about is not known.
The only thing left of him is the work "Tao de Ching," which he left to the caretaker of the border outpost. It marked the beginning of a rethinking of the religion of ancient China. In short, this small philosophical treatise collected the basic principles of Taoism, which have not changed even today.
Great Tao
At the center of Lao Tzu’s teachings is such a concept as Tao, however, it is impossible to give an unambiguous definition. In the literal translation, the word "Tao" means "The Way", but only in the Chinese language did it get such a meaning as "logo". This concept denoted rules, orders, meanings, laws and spiritual entities.
Tao is the source of everything. An incorporeal, foggy and indefinite something, which is a spiritual principle, which cannot be understood physically.
All visible and tangible being is far below the spiritual and ephemeral Tao. Lao Tzu even dared to call Tao non-existence, because it does not exist like mountains or rivers. His reality is not at all like earthly, sensual. And therefore, comprehension of Tao should become the meaning of life, this is one of the characteristics of the religion of ancient China.
Lord of the deities
In the second century AD, the followers of Lao Tzu began to deify him and perceived as the personification of the true Tao. Over time, the ordinary person of Lao Tzu turned into the highest Taoist deity. He was known under the name of the Supreme Lord Lao, or the Yellow Lord Lao.
At the end of the second century, the “Book of the Lao Tzu Transformations” appeared in China. Here it is referred to as a creature that appeared before the emergence of the universe. In this treatise, Lao Tzu was called the Root of Heaven and Earth, the Lord of deities, the forefather of the yin-yang, etc.
In the culture and religion of Ancient China, Lao Tzu was considered the source and life base of all things. He reincarnated 9 times internally and changed the same number of times externally. A couple of times he appeared in the guise of advisers to the rulers of Antiquity.
Confucius
The main religions of ancient China have largely developed thanks to Confucius. It was he who opened the era in which the foundations of modern Chinese culture were laid. It is difficult to call him the founder of religion, although his name is mentioned in the same row with the names of Zarathushtra and Buddha, but questions of faith occupied little place in his ideology.
Also in his appearance there was nothing of a non-human being, and in stories he was mentioned as an ordinary person without any mythical additions.
They write about him as a simple and ugly prosaic person. And yet he managed to enter the annals of history, leaving his mark not only on culture, but also on the spirit of the whole country. His authority remained unshakable, and there were reasons for that. Confucius lived in an era when China occupied a small part of the modern territory of the Celestial Empire, this occurred during the reign of Zhou (about 250 year before the birth of Christ). At that time, the emperor, who bore the title of son of Heaven, was an authoritative person, but did not possess power as such. He performed exclusively ritual functions.
Teacher
Confucius became famous for his scholarship, because of which he was close to the emperor. The philosopher constantly improved his knowledge, did not miss a single reception in the palace, systematized Zhou ritual dances, folk songs, composed and edited historical manuscripts.
After Confucius turned 40, he decided that he had the moral right to teach others, and began to recruit students. He did not distinguish by origin, although this did not mean that everyone could become his student.
Great instructions
Confucius gave instructions only to those who, having discovered their ignorance, sought knowledge. Such classes did not bring a lot of income, but the teacher’s fame grew, many of his students began to occupy enviable public posts. So the number of people wishing to study with Confucius grew every year.
The great philosopher did not care about the questions of immortality, the meaning of life and God. Confucius always paid great attention to everyday rituals. It is with his filing that today in China there are 300 rites and 3000 rules of decency. For Confucius, the main thing was to find a path to the quiet prosperity of society; he did not deny the highest principle, but considered it distant and abstract. The teachings of Confucius became the foundation for the development of Chinese culture, since they concerned man and human relations. Today, Confucius is considered the greatest sage of the nation.
Zhang Daolin and Taoism
As already mentioned, Lao Tzu's philosophy influenced all spheres of culture and formed the basis of a new religion - Taoism. True, this happened several centuries after the death of the founder of Tao.
The direction of Taoism began to develop a preacher Zhang Daolin. This religion is complex and multifaceted. It is based on the belief that the world is completely inhabited by countless good and evil spirits. You can gain power over them if you know the name of the spirit and perform the necessary ritual.
Immortality
The central doctrine of Taoism is the doctrine of immortality. In short, the mythology and religion of ancient China did not have any doctrine of immortality. Only in Taoism did the first mention of this issue appear. Here it was believed that a person has two souls: material and spiritual. The followers of the current believed that after death, the spiritual component of a person turns into a spirit and continues to exist after the body dies, and then dissolves in the sky.
As for the physical component, it became a "demon", and after a while it went into the world of shadows. There, its ephemeral existence could be supported by victims of descendants. Otherwise, it will dissolve in the earth's pneuma.
The body was considered the only thread that connected these souls together. Death led them to disunite and die - one earlier, the other later.
The Chinese were not talking about some kind of gloomy afterlife, but about the endless extension of physical existence. Taoists believed that the physical body is a microcosm that needs to be turned into a macrocosm, similar to the Universe.
Deities in Ancient China
A little later, Buddhism began to penetrate the religion of Ancient China, the Taoists turned out to be the most susceptible to the new teaching, borrowing many Buddhist motifs.
After some time, the Taoist pantheon of spirits and deities appeared. Of course, the founder of Tao, Lao Tzu, stood in a place of honor. Widespread cult of the saints. Famous historical figures and virtuous officials were ranked among him. Deities were considered: the legendary emperor Huangdi, the goddess of the West Sivanmu, the first man of Pangu, the deities of the Great Beginning and the Great Limit.
In honor of these deities, temples were built where the corresponding idols were exhibited, and the people of China brought offerings to them.
A special category of deities were considered the eight immortal gods ba-hsien. According to Taoist teachings, this eight saints travels the earth and intervenes in human affairs.
Art and culture
Evidence of the interconnectedness of traditional religions and art in ancient China can be found in literature, architecture, and the visual arts. Most of them developed under the influence of religious and ethical-philosophical knowledge. This applies to the teachings of Confucius and Buddhism, which penetrated the territory of the country.
Buddhism has existed in China for about two millennia, of course, it has changed markedly, while adapting to a specific Chinese civilization. On the basis of Buddhism and Confucian pragmatism, the religious thought of Chan Buddhism arose, and later it came to its modern, complete form - Zen Buddhism. The Chinese never accepted the Indian image of Buddha, creating their own. Pagodas also differ in the same way.
If we talk briefly about the culture and religion of Ancient China, then we can draw the following conclusions: religion in the old era was distinguished by special rationalism and pragmatism. This trend is present today. Instead of fictional deities in the religion of China, there are real historical figures, dogmas are philosophical treatises, and instead of shamanistic rituals, 3000 rules of decency are used.