China - Cultural Background
East Asia: Shared Cultural Characteristics
Confucian civil ethics
Imperial rule
Buddhist philosophy
Calligraphic writing (picture symbols)
Ancestor worship
Decorum & restraint
China
Largest population
Diverse geography & population
Enduring civilization - 3000 years
Dynasty system since 2183 BC
Alternating periods of order & chaos
Agrarian society
Droughts/floods/monsoons
Water management necessary
government involvement
Role of Government
Controlled all aspects of life
economy, culture, morality, religion, intellectual activity
Political elite
selected by merit
Education highly esteemed
preparation for entering bureaucracy
Characteristics of the system
idealism (compassion)
authoritarianism
corruption & factional divisiveness
Governmental Structure
Emperor - monopolized power
prohibited political participation
controlled growth of commerce
2 Elite groups
Scholar-officials
staffed imperial government
trained in Confucian classics
Wealthy landowners
maintained law & order
administered public works
operated schools, shrines & temples
acted as link between imperial govt. & village
Philosophical Systems
Spiritual & moral basis of Chinese civilization
Ancient period
2500 - 500 BC
San-ts’ai - 3 forces
Heaven, earth & man
Ancestor worship
Yin & Yang
Virtue & righteousness as ideals
Period of One Hundred Philosophers
Classical period
500 - 400 BC
Order & reason
6 main philosophical schools
2 survived:
Confucianism
Taoism
Confucianism
Life of action
Emphasis on man & morality
Harmony
Right conduct
Noble character
Moral perfection
Jen - Yi - Li
Benevolence, righteousness, decorum
Rule by virtue & personal example
not legal authority
Confucianism Reinterpreted
5 virtues
jen - benevolence
yi - righteousness
li - decorum
chih - wisdom
hsin - trustworthiness
Important personal relationships
kinship
landlord-tenant
teacher-student
patron-client
Confucianism Reinterpreted
5 social relationships
ruler & subject
father & son
husband & wife
brother & brother
friend & friend
3 great personal bonds
subject to ruler
son to father
wife to husband
Resulting effects:
Elaborate & rigorous social hierarchy
Stability, family & strong social order
Resulting social & family dynamics:
Interdependence, loyalty & respect
Fear, subservience & exploitation
Family loyalty stronger than national identity
Taoism
Tao - way or path
Wu - “non-being”
highest state
unconditional freedom
indifference to life & death
Wu-wei - “non-doing”
highest ideal
non assertion, non interference
Humility, quietude
Denunciation of force, pride & self assertion
Separation from world
Buddhism
From India - before 300 AD
Chinese Buddhism
Incorporates concepts from Confucianism & Taoism
No Indian caste system, makes possible
Universal salvation & sudden enlightenment
Foreign ideas:
Maya - illusion
Chinese - realness of world - not mental creation
Nirvana (extinction of self)
changed to ideal of perfection
Blending of beliefs
Periods of chaos
Alternating dominance of one philosophy
Governmental sanction of Confucianism
Through educational system
Greatest influence
