ANALYSIS. | REFERENCES. |
XVII. Beliefs of China: 1. The Empire. 2. Religious Teachers and Literature. 3. General Character of Chinese Religious Faiths. 4. Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism. | Myers' "General History," Ch. ix. Dobbins' "World's Worship," Ch. xxxiii. Burder's "History of All Religions," Part VI, Sec. viii. Science of Religion (Muller). Chips from a German Workshop, Vol. I, Chs. x-xiii. |
SPECIAL TEXT: "Do not to another what you would not have him do unto you. Thou needest this law alone. It is the foundation of all the rest." Confucius.[1]
NOTES.
1. China: "China was the cradle of a very old civilization, older perhaps than that of any other lands save Egypt and Babylonia; yet Chinese affairs have not until recently exercised any direct influence upon the general current of history. All through the later ancient and mediaeval times the country lay, vague and mysterious, in the haze of the world's horizon. During the Middle Ages the land was known to Europe under the name of Cathay.
"The government of China from a remote period has been a parental monarchy. The emperor is the father of his people. But though an absolute prince, he dare not rule tyrannically; he must rule justly and in accordance with the ancient customs." (Myers' General History, p. 67.)
2. The Teachers Confucius and Mencius: "The great teacher of the Chinese was Confucius (551-478 B. C.). He was not a prophet or revealer; he laid no claims to a supernatural knowledge of God or of the hereafter; he said nothing of an Infinite Spirit, and but little of a future life. His cardinal precepts were obedience to parents and superiors, and reverence for the ancients and imitation of their virtues. He himself walked in the old paths, and thus added the force of example to that of precept. He gave the Chinese the Golden Rule, stated negatively: "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." The influence of Confucius has been greater than that of any other teacher excepting Christ, and perhaps Buddha.
"Another great teacher of the Chinese was Mencius (372-288 B. C.). He was a disciple of Confucius and a scarcely less revered philosopher and moral teacher." (Myers' General History, p. 68).
3. Chinese Literature: "The most highly-prized portion of Chinese literature is embraced in what is known as the Five Classics and the Four Books, called collectively the Nine Classics. A considerable part of the material of the Five Classics was collected and edited by Confucius. The Four Books, though not written by Confucius, yet bear the impress of his mind and thought, just as the Gospels teach the mind of Christ. The cardinal virtue inculcated by all the sacred writings is filial piety.
"It would be difficult to exaggerate the influence which the Nine Classics have had upon the Chinese nation. For more than two thousand years these writings have been the Chinese Bible. But their influence has not been wholly good. The Chinese, in strictly obeying the injunction to walk in the old ways, to conform to the customs of the ancients, have failed to mark out any new footpaths for themselves; hence one cause of the unprogressive character of Chinese civilization." (Myers' General History, p. 69).
4. The Religion of China: Turn your attention now northward from India, and take into account those great masses of our race inhabiting China; and you will find there, according to the statement of Max Muller: