...the topic of religion in China. Right away it is told that the Chinese do not worship any one god, diety, or force. They are very spiritual but have no set predominant religion that most people worship. The Chinese culture can be said to be a mix between polytheistic, pantheistic, and atheistic. In the past some sinologists and sociologists such as Jan De Groot and C.K. Yang have sought to fully understand China’s religious position and have conducted many studies about Chinese spirituality and worship. Through time it was found that two types of religion exist in China, diffused and institutional. Diffused religion such as Confucianism is part of the country and its systems. It is within the families, education, and the state as a belief. Institutional religion exists as a separate entity of the systems and is in itself a system. Certain religions like Buddhism and Daoism can be said to be this because of their separate institutions and priesthoods. Before todays beliefs, however, existed many different cults and sects that practiced a variety of values and rituals. Way back in ancient times between 2000 and 1123 BC existed the ancient cults which included totemism, animism, and occultism. After that came the humanistic religions when the Zhou dynasty came into control between 1122 and 256 BC. Proceeding that came Confucianism and Daoism between 772 and 481 BC. This was followed by the introduction of foreign religions and their integration within China. Buddhism...
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...acupuncture, aromatherapy, meditation and reflexology. Acupuncture is a Chinese medicine that has been practiced for thousands of years. This practice uses needles that are inserted into the body at different points. When stimulated, these points open or unblock energy flows in the body which ultimately promotes healing and provides pain relief. Aromatherapy is an ancient therapeutic method that uses essential oils and other scented products to aid in disease prevention as well as other ailments. It is also used to revitalize the mind, body and spirit. Many of these ancient cultures used aromatherapy including Egypt, Persia and Greece. Another form of eastern medicine is Meditation. Meditation is a way of freeing one’s thoughts in order to achieve personal development. It involves sitting in silence and concentrating on the present moment of serenity. It is said to help understand the nature of the human mind and help focus on being aware of every aspect of life. There are many forms of Meditation and most of them are related to Eastern religions. Reflexology is also related to Eastern religions. Reflexology is a method of massage that uses points on the feet, hands and ears. These points correspond to...
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...philosophies of ancient China and India, but can also include Islamic, Jewish, and Persian philosophies | Frederick Streng: ways of defining religion.Mary Daly: religion reflects patriarchy | The problem of evilArguments of godFaith and resounding | Saint AnselmGauniloSt. Thomas Aquinas | What is religion?Is there true evidence of a god?Is there a heaven and hell? | | | | | | | Eastern and Western philosophy are similar but different in many ways. Eastern philosophy includes the various philosophies of ancient China and India, but can also include Islamic, Jewish, and Persian philosophies. Western philosophy refers to the philosophies developed by the ancient Greeks and Indians. There are many differences between Eastern and Western philosophy. One is the east uses concepts by intuition while the west uses concepts by postulations. Another is the west wants logical concrete proof while according to the east reality is known by intuition. The eastern philosophers are primarily practical while the western philosophers are primarily theoretical. The west is concerned basically with the modern world while the east is concerned with the ancient and past world. Lastly eastern philosophy relationship with religion is integration while western philosophy relationship with religion is opposition. There are many similarities between eastern and western philosophy. The first one is both deal with god in relationships. They also deal with beliefs. Lastly the both talk about religion. ...
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... REL 212: World Religion Instructor: Professor Joel Goldstein Daoism is one of China’s major religions indigenous to the country. The primary belief is in learning and practicing “The Way” (Dao) which is the ultimate truth to the universe. Confucianism and Taoism are both ancient Chinese styles of living. Confucianism believes in setting good examples for others to follow primarily in 5 key relationships: ruler & subject, wife & husband, older & younger sibling, friend & friend, father & son. While Daoism (Or Taoism) was a way of living in which there were not many rules and believes in the dialectical philosophy of inaction. Through nature and harmony you can be happy. This is where yin and yang come from. Daoism is also known as Taoism, Daoism traces its beginnings to Sixth Century BC when Chinese philosopher Laozi wrote the iconic book Dao De Jing on the tenets of the Dao. Laozi’s successor, Zhuangzi, further developed Daoist principles. Daoism is an organized religious tradition that has been continuously developing through China, Korea and Japan for a little over two thousand years. Daoism has now spread around the globe from Sydney to Toronto and includes among its followers people from a whole range of ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. Day by day, Daoism is truly becoming a world religion. In the 4th Century BC, Zhuangzi recounted his famed “Butterfly...
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...Assignment 2: Ancient Chinese Contributions Strayer University Professor: After reading thru several different sources of information, I feel the top 10 ancient Chinese inventions that need mentioning are as follows: 1. Paper: Though it is commonly believed that Egyptians are the true inventor paper (papyrus), they are 2 completely different things. The papyrus that the Egyptians used was not really paper. Papyrus is more or less the bark of a raw unprocessed plant. Paper, by its definition, is a processed material that is made from several raw materials. So the person on earth who actually came up with the brilliant idea of inventing paper was T’sai Lun around 105 A.D. 2. Porcelain: Porcelain is a kind of ceramic produced by the extreme temperatures of a kiln. The materials used fuse and form a glass and mineral compound known for its strength, translucence and beauty. Believe to have been invented during the Sui Dynasty (possibly earlier) and was perfected during the Tang Dynasty. 3. Printing (movable type): Bi Sheng invented the first movable type using clay fired characters that he made. In 868 the first printed book, using full page woodcuts, was produced. Bi Sheng developed typesetting techniques to print books, but his technology was not perfected until 1298. 4. Compass: The Chinese the lodestone compass in the 4th century BC. These compasses pointed south instead of north and were mostly used on land. Thermo-remanence needles were being produced...
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...The ancient "Olmec’s" of Mexico and Mesoamerica are one of the most intriguing civilizations of the Americas. In fact, they are the first civilization in Mexico and it was from them that all other civilizations in Mesoamerica followed. There society emerged from around 1200 B.C. to about 400 and they settled in the forests, savannas, and rivers of the Gulf of Mexico. Yet, the theories of the Olmec’s origins strike a controversy that’s baffling between many scholars. Studies done by researchers such as Ivan Van Sertima have presented evidence that identifies the Olmec’s with the Mandé people of West Africa. According to Betty Meggers of the Smithsonian Institution the Olmec civilization originated due to Shang Chinese influences around 1200 BC. The ancient Olmec’s of Mexico and Central America were a fascinating people. Upon the discovery of colossal stone heads in Mexico during the early part of the twentieth Century, there was no doubt that the facial features and hair texture (including cornrows) represented in the colossal Olmec sculpture represented African people. The assertion that the Olmec came from Africa is supported with scientific evidence via genetics, writings, religion, language and archaeology. To elaborate, the Olmec’s were not Indians with "baby faces," or Indians who looked like Blacks. They were Africans no different from Africans found in the Mende regions of West Africa. Studies done by Ivan Van Sertima show that the Olmec’s used the Mende script, a writing...
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...Abstract The Chinese are people who are strong and independent. As they have began to immigrate to the Americas they have started to lose some of the culture of their country. They have also taken some of their culture and integrated it into the American Culture. As the years have come and gone, there have been many different things happen to many different cultures. The cultures that started out dominating the world now are found to be one of the smallest cultures left in the world. They have been shut out by the rest of the world. How do you describe decentering of culture? Decenter is defined as: to cause to lose or shift from an established center or focus [ (Decenter, 2012) ]. I would take this meaning as the focus of an established culture is shifted due to different influences of globalization. There are so many changes that a culture goes through, and with all these changes the things that were important in the beginning tend to fade out of focus as other things become important. There are many things that can be an influence to the decentering of a culture. The practices, traditions, beliefs, and history of a certain culture can become disconnected in the present day from what was originally practiced in history by an individual or group. Immigrant children that come from a second generation are an example of this. They are a great example because the children and the parents may still practice the culture, but they may live in another country and have...
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...examining the early Chinese dynasties and ancient Japan, we can see that China was the leading and more dominant country of the two and that the Japanese copied the Chinese nature in quite a few ways. The heaviest influences China had on Japan were intellectual and technological. Although China never actually conquered Japan, the Japanese accepted Chinas hegemony actively and enthusiastically. (Spodek 232)This was quite unlike the Vietnamese whom were conquered by China, but resented foreign hegemony, possibly because they thought it was disturbing their country’s individualism. Japan attempted to model its state religion, technology, art, and language after those of China. (Spodek 232) It was almost like Japan was China’s number one fan and wanted to mimic their every move. When waves of immigrants from Korea and China arrived in Japan between 200B.C.E. and 500 C.E. about one third of all Japan’s population claimed they were Korean or Chinese. (Spodek 233) Japanese rulers were so fond of China, they sent delegations of hundreds of members...
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...History of Religion The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious experiences and ideas. The religious history began with the invention of writing about 5,000 years ago in the Near East. It was interesting to find out that prehistory of religion relates to a study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records. It is interesting to note that the Religions were divided into stages of progression from simple to complex societies such as polytheistic to monotheistic. However, there are now claimed "that religion evolved from polytheism to monotheism has now been discredited" (p. 1763, Man, Myth & Magic, 1995) Value of Religion Organized religion emerged as a means of providing social and economic stability to large populations through the following ways: 1.) Organized religion served to justify the central authority, which in turn possessed the right to collect taxes in return for providing social and security services to the state. Example the empires of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were theocracies’s. 2.) Organized religion emerged as means of maintaining peace between unrelated individuals (Armstrong, 1994). Neolithic Religions Humans used to live a nomadic and hunter gatherer lifestyle. We can say here that Neolithic period started when humans gave up their nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles in order to begin farming. As a result, States and Empires resulted in more specialized and developed forms of religion that were...
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...China is one of the oldest civilizations,dating back thousand of years with continuous history. The first period in ancient China was the neolithic period followed by the Xia Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty and the Western Zhou. The Yangtze River considered to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. Ancient historical text have provided some proof of the possible existence of the Xia Dynasty that existed even before the Shang Dynasty of 1700-1046 B.C. The last time period considered to be included in the Ancient China time period was the Eastern Zhou. Imperial China followed Ancient China beginning with the Qin Dynasty. The Xia Dynasty ruled from the 21st to the 17th century B.C. The Shang Dynasty ruled from the 17th century to 1046 B.C. They ruled a lot of the area along the Yellow River. It’s founder w2as Tang. The Zhou ruled from 1046 to 256 B.C. This was the longest ruling dynasty in China’s history. The Western Zhou, the first part of the Zhou Dynasty ruled from 1046 to 771 B.C. Its founder was King Wu. The eastern Zhou, the second of the Zhou Dynasty ruled from 770 to 256 B.C. The Peking Man that was discovered in 1923 is the most famous Homo erectus specimen of Paleolithic man in Ancient China. By Shang times, the Chinese had developed complex religious beliefs many of which continued to be practiced for...
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...Chapter 8,9,& 10 1. Are Taoism and Confucianism truly religions argue both sides. Taoism and Confucianism are two very different religious traditions of ancient China. Both Taoism and Confucianism cannot clearly be explained as a religion with certain doctrines and rituals as other well –known religions. As religious and social forces, they have coexisted for centuries in China and have spread to other Asian regions. The name Taoism is taken from the title of the book called “Tao Te Ching, which translates to “the way of nature. Taoism is based on the ancient Chinese understanding of the universe. Historically, the origin of Taoist philosophy is unclear, but it is said that the founder of Taoism is Lao-tzu, who lived in the sixth century B.C.E. Taoism can be described in terms of its history and its effects on Chinese people, nut it cannot be clearly delineated as a religion with a certain body of doctrine and rituals of Chinese antiquity. Philosophically, for Taoism, the ideal life is one that is lived in harmony with the way of this shifting nature. By the early centuries of the Common Era, Taoism had been converted into a religion complete with gods, priests, temples and sacrifices. In the modern days, Taoism is mainly associated with charms, exorcisms and magical attempts to prolong life, in which there is a self-generating force called chi (rather than there being a Creator Deity). This force manifests two interplaying aspects: yin and yang. Yin is the dark...
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...Tour of the World Research Paper-India A Business Report on India A business partnership with at global level demands that the country chosen for business must promise the new business with growth, diversification profit. A lot has been said about the countries of the West regarding their age old stable systems and their efficiency at handling business. However, western markets are highly saturated and suffer from several issues, including sanctions, clandestine policies and reduced distribution of power. Newly developed or developing countries, on the other hand, have the potential to not only accommodate a new business in their markets. Amongst the top developing countries in the world, India is considered as one of the fastest developing economies (Thapar, 2002). It is also claimed that setting up a business in this economy is beneficial in terms of growth and profit. Research of information available in the market and the media is required to understand how and why India can be considered as an option of a new market for the purpose of expanding business. India is the seventh largest country in the world, the second most in population levels and the largest democracy in the world. The government system in the country is quasi-federal, which means that it has a bipartisan political system that is based on American federal government as well on the Westminster system of the United Kingdom which has followed a two house system. The states have their own...
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...The Influence of the Buddhism Expansion on the Creation of Languages In the third century B.C.E., Buddhism appeared in ancient China. But it was not until later in the first century A.D. that there was more of a regularity in the religion being practiced. Buddhism was greatly and strongly opposed by the Taoists, another religion occupying China at the time. However, over the course of many centuries, the two religions began to coexist without to much aggression towards each other. Over time, both religions also began to borrow ideas from one another. According to the philosopher Chu Hsi, “Buddhism stole the best features of Taoism; Taoism stole the worst features of Buddhism. It is as though one took a jewel from the other, and the loser recouped the loss with a stone.” Nevertheless, both religions and later Christianity expanded throughout China, and eventually made their way along with explorers and warriors into modern day North Korea, South Korea, and then into Japan. The languages throughout these four countries developed along with the religions, proving that the spread of Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity throughout China and the surrounding countries was a great influence on the creation of the modern day Korean and Japanese languages and writing systems. The Japanese language had no writing system prior to the introduction of the Chinese writing system, originally used by Chinese people who lived in Japan during the early Christian era. Educated Japanese scholars...
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...The history of the world is the history of humanity, beginning with the Paleolithic Era. Distinct from the history of Planet Earth (which includes early geologic history and prehuman biological eras), world history comprises the study of archeological and written records, from ancient times on. Ancient recorded history begins with the invention of writing.[1][2] However, the roots of civilization reach back to the period before the invention of writing. Prehistory begins in the Paleolithic Era, or "Early Stone Age," which is followed by the Neolithic Era, or New Stone Age, and the Agricultural Revolution (between 8000 and 5000 BCE) in the Fertile Crescent. The Neolithic Revolution marked a change in human history, as humans began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals.[3][4][5] Agriculture advanced, and most humans transitioned from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle as farmers in permanent settlements. Nomadism continued in some locations, especially in isolated regions with few domesticable plant species;[6] but the relative security and increased productivity provided by farming allowed human communities to expand into increasingly larger units, fostered by advances in transportation. World population[7] from 10,000 BCE to 2,000 CE. The vertical (population) scale is logarithmic. As farming developed, grain agriculture became more sophisticated and prompted a division of labor to store food between growing seasons. Labor divisions then led to the rise of a leisured...
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...Confucianism Religion in China Name Institution Course Date Confucianism comprises one of the religions of the world in China. The current China puts all efforts in a bid to see that the religion comes back and people start worshiping it. Confucianism termed as a religion, which used to exist in the 6th century BCE in China, and, which many Chinese loved to practice can come into practice again today by introducing it in schools as a subject. The religion finds its roots back after so many years not in practice. Many religious practices of the word have existed in china for so long and the Chinese respond to the traditions positively. The practices vary and the divergence of understanding increase. Confucianism named after the founder Confucius meant to unite the people of china. It got adopted as a rule to bring together the people of china. The exams set on Confucianism took only 24 to 72 hours and any male could sit for the exam. It existed from 600 to 1900 era. Under Confucianism, the humanists control the affair of the country and thus the lack of performance of the government becomes lack of performance of the Confucianism. Confucianism has helped revive businesses and lead to evolution of several achievements and thus the need for its revival. However, the idea to revive Confucianism has not gone quite well with some of the citizens in china and thus they have opted to resist it. The Christians do not see the form of religion as Godly and they decide to resist it no matter...
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