Chinese Religion and Philosophical System

A number of religious and philosophical system where practiced in China. Before any philosophical system arise, the Chinese worshipped gods of nature – sky god, river god -- and they call their higher god who ruled over other gods as Shang-Ti (this was during the Shang dynasty). Later, under the Chou dynasty, they worship a natural god called T’ien usually translated as Heaven. Like Shang-Ti he is also the god of all Gods. It is during this time that people believed in mandate of heaven when choosing the next emperor or empress. They also practice ancestor worship. They believe that when their parents or grandparent die, they became like gods and they wanted to be worshipped too.

For the next two hundred years wise men introduced their philosophies, which affects the lives of Chinese people. Here are the important philosophical system introduced in China:

TAOISM - The word “Tao” means the way. It emphasize that people should not try to get their way by force, but through cooperation and using natural forces in their favor.

• Lao Tzu (may be a mythical man), who lived presumably about 500 BC, introduced Taoism.
• Chuang-tzu (4th century BC) a philosopher, author, classical teacher who interpreted Taoism different from Lao Tzu.

CONFUCIANISM – another philosophical system that disagrees with Taoism. It holds that people must do what ought to do. If they just follow their duty, their leaders and the gods faithfully, then there wont be any fighting and nobody will be upset.

• Confucius created Confucianism. He was honored as the greatest of sages throughout most of China's history.
• Mencius was second to Confucius in shaping Confucianism. His three main tenets were the basic good nature of human beings, the notion of society with a distinct distribution of functions, and the ruler's obligation to the people.

BUDDHISM– Buddhism came from India, which was founded by Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism split into two major trends during its early stage of development. The Mahayana and Hinayana. Chinese Buddhism stems from Mahayana, which contains more popular elements, such as belief in repetitive prayers, heaven and deities. It was actually present during the Han dynasty but it became popular during the period of three kingdoms.

For more information follow these links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_China

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_philosophy