This course provides an introduction to the study of the history, major teachings, and practices of the major Chinese religions and spiritual practices and is deigned to give conceptual tools to appreciate diverse religious practice in East. It covers the development of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and wide range of popular and local religions. From historical perspective we will also explore the development of key theological, religious and philosophical doctrines as well as associated practices. An effort will be made to spend time on each tradition according to its importance to Asia as a whole. We will explore the role of religions in politics and social relations in East and South, South East Asia and China in particular, and will analyze the origins, central teachings, divisions and branches, rituals and practices, influences on culture, and responses to modern challenges for each tradition. The emphasis throughout the course is on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and Asian religions in particular. We will explore new Asian religions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies.
The Idea and Society of Salvation in Chinese Folk Religion
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Из курса от партнера National Research University Higher School of Economics
Religions and Society in China
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Chinese folk religions: ancestor worship, temples, festivals and communal identities
This module's content describes the characteristic traits of Chinese sects and popular cults. This module introduces one of the most important notions in Chinese religious studies: Chinese synctretism.
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Aleksey A. MaslovHead
School of Asian Studies
[MUSIC]
The idea of salvation became a core of activity of all these folk
groups from the beginning of the 18th century.
But, let's discuss the base of this idea, and
why some of these folk religious groups were banned in China.
Some of them were prohibited in China, for example in 19th century.
Some of them still banned in China even today.
But, the ideal is also called the orthodoxy and
heterodoxy in Chinese tradition or
in Chinese language it's orthodox or sectarianism Zheng and Xie.
What does it mean sectarianism in China?
How we can distinguish sectarian from the normal or
orthodox kind of Chinese religion?
Why some for example Taoist sects where proclivity
is a normal or Orthodox and were supported by the state, is sponsored by the state.
Some other sects were proclaimed as illegal or banned or
secret and sectarist and in this case were completely oppressed by the state.
What's the difference?
Does this means that it's a result of some religious frictions?
No, for example if we look to the western tradition, orthodox and
heterodox, first of all it's a result of some
discussion between several groups of religious believers.
It could be discussion about the ritual.
The discussion about, for example, the nature of Jesus Christ.
Or it could be discussion about what kind of
every day life to follow and should follow the member of some religious group.
But in China it was a little bit different.
Orthodox or orthodoxy in Chinese tradition, it's a group of sects or
religions that were supported by the state.
This group was supported by the state, not because it was the best group or
most loyal to the state.
But usually because we can find some connection between, for example,
the royal house and the group that was supported by this royal house.
So maybe it was a clan of family ties
between a religious group and a local officials, or a royal court.
At the same time, some groups proclaim themselves completely sacred and
tried to form a little bit different ritual.
For example, during the ritual the holding hands not on just in this point,
just near the chest, but raise it up to the head.
So it means in this difference it mean the sectarianist tradition.
So sectarians was something different like inner and outer like Yin and Yang.
These groups supported each other in the dialectical way.
So, Chinese usually prohibit I mean Chinese government in
traditional China and even in today China burnt some of these cults,
and some of these cults could be dangerous for the human so, they forward.
They practices some very dangerous retails for
example the use swords to cut the bodies or they use some drugs.
So, in some cases, it could be dangerous, but in some cases,
in majority of cases, it could be a little bit different, not really dangerous and
illegals or the illegal groups in traditional China was very popular.
And in reality, no one could completely oppress or
just destroy all these groups and all these traditions.
They still existed, but they were limited by the framework of the county or
the framework of the village.
So they were not very big.
But at the same time a very good example is called the prohibitive and
banned secret society.
It's a triad which was banned.
It was called the, the official name is tiandidao or
tiandidao, the teaching of the Heaven and Earth.
So officially these religions was prohibited in China.
But it's existed almost legally in Hong Kong or in the south part of China,
and even supported by the local officials or local merchants.
So it means that when the such a religion is prohibited it's it
doesn't mean that it's prohibited completely and it's not exist.
It's not clandestine religion it's really open for
all foreigners but in some limited frame working.
We can find even today, China a lot of such, not a lot but
some of religions that are banned in China.
For example, the last example, the so-called Falun Gong,
which became very popular in 19s in China, and
after some very crucial events, became banned in People's Republic of China.
And the official name of this cult is a Cultivation of the Wheel of Law.
And it's based mainly on the Buddhist ideas of the ideas of self-cultivation,
then your limitation, the idea of helping of other person.
But they try to establish their own, not only religious, but
also social and political order, and offer some political demands.
So it means, once these religions crossed the line of religion,
and made a step forward to the political field,
this group was completely banned in China and is still banned today.
So, all this religion, legal and illegal, secret and
open, based on the main soteriological doctrine and
of the sectarism is the main idea sectarians is how to save humankind.
Some of sects became for some period of time very dangerous for
the state, because this idea of the changing of the order of things,
the changing of the political order.
This idea push forward a lot of members of such societies
that raised uprisings, or rebellions in China.
For example the Yuhetuan rebellion or White Lotus rebellion, White Lotus
tradition that raised rebellion many times in the history of China.
And not because they wanted Completely to destroy the imperial order.
The main idea was to make the political order softer and
more open-minded to the humankind and this way to bring a salvation to the people.
That's why this society played the role that's called the redemptive society.
And people joined the society because they explained
a very simple idea, or sometimes it's very simplistic idea.
If you join us, you can gain redemption you can gain rebirth,
and you can help not only you but also can help the members of your family to save.
So the idea of salvation it's a very common idea,
especially folk religion and especially for the popular mind.
In some case you can find the same idea, for example, in Buddhism.
And Buddha or Buddha also save people, but
in Buddhism it's included to the very highly developed Buddhist logic,
in the highly developed Buddhist ritual.
Which is not very simple for understanding for the common people,
especially for example, for Chinese peasants or for
very ordinary Chinese merchants so for ordinary Chinese people.
So it means that some sectarian ideas
is just a simplification of the already existing religious idea.
For example Buddhist ideas.
And meditation became a main part of such of practice.
Meditation and for example fasting and building of the shrines.
The rituals in these shrines became a part of the everyday activities
of such society.
So if you look to this list it just may be one third or
maybe one tenth of the such religious groups that were established
in China in the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
Just in this main groups, some of them we discuss today but
some of them are very close to each other, but its indoctrination by the teachers,
so cannot divide it completely one from each other.
But at the same time, just to give you a general picture,
that these four groups became very popular and sometimes outnumbered by the people.
Some groups or some tradition because it was not just one group,
it was a tradition that could include dozens of groups.
Some of them included more than one million or
some of them several millions of people in China.
So it was not just a local secret society.
It was a large, very large religious groups.
These groups finally step by step try to establish the old organizations.
In the traditional China, for example, in 18th century or
even earlier, these groups were organized around so
called alters or in Chinese the tan or
around some holes which also means shrine.
So for example the hole of the [FOREIGN] of Old Mother.
And some of these organizations had no any specific name.
Because it was just a local organization of some village.
So everyone, everyone knew each other didn't need any name.
But some of these organizations were connected some groups were
connected to each other.
And they identified themselves as a member of some traditions.
For example, Yiguandao or tradition of Xiantiandao.
So that's why they establish a different kind of societies or
ways, which is a name for the organization, or gates.
So in Chinese hui dao mong hui means society.
Dao, it means way.
And mong means gates, or doors.
Gates to the true teaching to the idea the gates for salvation.
Even today, especially in Hong Kong, in Taiwan, and among the Chinese
community outside China, for example, United States, or in United Kingdom.
We can find such a Hui, so it means societies.
And there are religious societies but at the same time,
they play a role of the self supporting societies for
the chinese who came from other provinces or other countries, and support them,
give money, give a bridge and support, for example, to find a good job.
So, today these organizations, especially outside China,
play a very important social role.
In mainland China today, the Peoples Republic of China,
such group should be registered and should have a legal status.
It means they have a special registration.
And should be connected to some State organization,
like a department of culture, or some religious official organization.
In Taiwan or in Hong Kong,
the majority of these organizations are so-called the self-organizing.
They just proclaim themselves.
They put some labels, some table, or some tablet,
on the door of some shrine, which was written name of these organizations.
And that's it, if they don't break some rules or regulations,
especially state regulation, state in Taiwan or in Hong Kong.
They don't pay too much attention to them.
If they follow some rules or regulations.
First of all in general, support the official politics.
[MUSIC]
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