Religion in Ancient China Essay Example for Free

Religion in Ancient China Essay The earliest information found about religion in ancient China is during the Shang Dynasty and so religion in the Xia dynasty remains unknown. Religious beliefs and rituals were prominent during the Shang Dynasty. The most significant deity was Shang Ti, Ti meaning ‘Deity Above’ or the ‘Lord on High’. He ruled as a supreme god over all the other gods and spirits. The gods and spirits were believed to symbolize objects found in nature; the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, everything from mountains and rivers to the stars in the night sky. Ti is believed to have punished those who disobeyed or offended him and rewarded those who pleased him. It is said that Ti formed a noble court in heaven consisting of all deceased worthy ancestors. The Chinese’s belief in family harmony was associated to belief in the afterlife. The ancestors who were considered commendable served Ti, helping him govern the world. Ancestors were also worshipped and were said to act a mediators between the gods and humankind. It was thought that if ancestors were appropriately honoured, respected, and provided for, they would promote the familys prosperity. A favour or grievance to a member of the family was considered a favour or grievance to the ancestors; consequently, people were reluctant to offense or harm descendants of a powerful family. It was believed that in the afterlife they would live in a celestial court in many ways similar to their earthly courts. Each Chinese family was expected to have an ancestral shrine in the centre of their home to honour and venerate their ancestors. Sacrifice to the gods and the ancestors were also a major part of the Shang religion. When a ruler died, slaves and officials were sacrificed with them in order to guarantee that their afterlife would be the same or similar as their life on earth. People were also sacrificed in smaller numbers when significant events, such as the founding of a palace or temple, took place. Along with their deceased ancestors, the Chinese had people on earth who acted as mediators between the celestials and the human race. Priests were among these intermediates and were responsible for a number of tasks including reading prayers and overseeing sacrifices and funerals. An augur is another type of mediator, responsible for asking gods questions on behalf of humans using various practices of foretelling to unearth the answers. The use of oracle bones was the most notable form of divination. The augur would ask the question, punching holes into the bone, usually the shoulder-bone from an ox, and in some cases the shell of a tortoise. The bone would then be held over a fire, until cracks appeared. These cracks would be made more evident by rubbing ink over the bone. The augur could now read the cracks and determine the answer of the god. Records of the questions and answers of readings were engraved on the bone. Questions on these oracle bones included issues of weather, warfare, agriculture, hunting, childbirth, and sacrifice. In reflection with their agricultural nature, the ancient Chinese use to honour the local deities of soil in order to increase the fertility of earth and to promote the growth of crops. Over time, this practice of earth worship began to dwindle and the veneration of Heaven increased. Divination was considered the only way to determine the requests and future actions of the ruler of Heaven who was also seen as a kind of ancestral figure. The Chinese were animistic and so believed that nature had many spirits. Good spirits, referred to as shen, and bad spirits, referred to as gui, were both thought to dwell in Heaven and Earth. The sun and the rooster were believed to have authority over the gui. This concept of shen and gui later influenced the formation of the yin and yang concept. The people of ancient China believed that there were two contrasting forces abiding in everything in nature; that is yin and yang. This concept was thought to be formed with the influence of the shen and gui concept from earlier ancient China. Yin is characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, or tranquil; and is associated with water, earth, the moon, femininity and nighttime. Yang, on the other hand, is fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, or aggressive; and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity and daytime. During the time of the Eastern Zhou, religion in China underwent an evolution. The early gods were forgotten and replaced with ideologies that worked as both philosophies and religions. A phenomenon called the ‘Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought’ took place in ancient China. Schools and philosophers flourished around this time and it was dubbed an era of great cultural and intellectual expansion in China. The four most prominent schools of thought that evolved during this epoch were Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, and Legalism. Confucius was born 551 BC and grew up to become one of the most influential philosophers in Chinese history. Confucianism is a composite philosophy of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought. He built his philosophy around five virtues: compassion, morality, decorum, wisdom and honesty. Compassion was considered the cornerstone, symbolizing loyalty, filial piety, patience and benevolence. He also believed that everyone should be in harmony with one another and establish a society ruled by standard etiquette and conduct. A legendary philosopher by the name of Laozi is believed to have established the religious philosophy of Taoism. The ‘forces of nature’ is the central belief behind the concept of Tao, which is literally translated as the path or the way. Taoism is in many ways the contrary of Confucianism, focusing on the individual within the natural realm rather than the individual within society. It also focuses on the affiliation between humanity and the cosmos, vigour and long life, and wu wei, that is action through inaction, which is said to create harmony with the Universe. Mo Di or Mozi was another Chinese philosopher form the Eastern Zhou period. He was strongly opposed to the teachings of Confucianism and Taoism. Mohism was based on the idea of universal love, ‘everyone is equal before heaven’. Mozi believed that everyone should practice communal love in order to create a heaven on earth. He also believed that an individual’s perception should be the basis of human cognition and not imagination or logic. Mozi advocated abstinence, and therefore opposed music, regarding it as excessive and a waste of resources which could instead be used to help those in need of basic necessities such as food, water and shelter. He even opposed elaborate funerals also regarding it as a waste of money which could be used in more useful matters. He also advocated pacifism thus disapproving of offensive war, only accepting aggressive action to defend the weak. Legalism, while the term itself was invented in the Han dynasty, was one of the major doctrines followed during the Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought. It was established by Han Feizi and Li Si and theorizes that the human race is evil and in order to prevent this evil causing chaos, laws need to be put in place. Legalism wasn’t concerned with the nature or purpose of life, not even the welfare of the public; rather it sought the states prosperity and military aptitude. Out of these four philosophies, only Confucianism and Taoism are considered religions by scholars, as only they contain spiritual elements. Confucianism and Taoism both became part of what is now known as The Three Doctrine. Buddhism is the third doctrine however it was imported from India and flourished during Imperial China.

Enlightenment in Latin America :: American America History

Enlightenment in Latin America How Did The Enlightenment Effect Latin America? Enlightenment ideas in Latin America took place during the 1700's to the early 1800's. These ideas were appealed to the people because they taught that man was free and that all were equal. These ideas were important especially in countries were slavery existed and countries under the control of foreign powers. The Spark that ignited wide spread revolt was napoleon's invasion of Spain. He ousted the Spanish king and placed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. Latin American leaders saw Spain's opportunity to reject foreign domination and demand independence from colonial rule. Two places that were influenced by the enlightenment were Haiti and South America. Toussaint L'Ouverture was also influenced by the enlightenment. Haiti had over a half million enslaved Africans working on sugar plantations owned by the French. The sugar was hugely profitable, but conditions for enslaved worker were horrendous. Many were cruelly over worked and under fed. Haiti also had a population of both free and enslaved mulattoes. Free mulattoes, however, had few right and were badly treated by the French. In 1791, a slave revolt exploded in northern Haiti. Under the able leadership of Toussaint L'Ouverture, Haitians would fight for freedom and pave the way for throwing off French rule. In South America, Native Americans had rebelled against Spanish rule as early as the 1700s. These rebellions had limited results, however it was not until 1800s that discontent among the Creoles sparked a widespread drive for independence. Educated Creoles like Simo ¢n Bolivar applauded the French and American Revolutions. He dreamed of winning independence for his country. When Napoleon occupied Spain, Simo ¢n returned to his South America and led an uprising that established a republic in his native Venezuela. But his newly found republic quickly toppled by conservative forces. Bolivar then got a daring idea; he would march his forces across the Andes and attack the Spanish at Bogotà ¡. He managed to free Caracas then moved into Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru to do the same. The man responsible for setting these uprising into action was Toussaint L'Ouverture. As a child he was born into slavery. His father thought him at an early age to take pride in his African heritage. Toussaint learned to speak both French and his native African language. Thanks to a kind master he also learned to read. When slave revolts broke out in 1791 he was almost 50 years old, his intelligence and military skills earned him a place as a leader.

Persistence Of Memory Essay

Art can be used in a number of  Ã‚   ways:   to communicate and activate persistence of memory in people. It is not only in the modern days that art is used for   communication and sensation of memory but also   in the olden times. Just to revisit the kind of writing in the olden times the cuniform way of pictures which represented actions or episodes. On seeing the pictures, one could figure out what that meant. In this, I refer to records maintained in sculptures, paintings, posters, puppets, cartons, shapes e.c.t A carving of an Ape like man could stir somebody’s memory about the early man and the evolution. Pictures drawn or painted and given the names of   some of the Medieval time inventors give   a clear picture of the type of people who lived during the time and their ways of life. This includes clothing mode of transport ( incase of a picture of an old   locomotive). The weapons they used, the houses they used to build e.t.c It is apparent that there were no cameras during those days and before   then, but artists have made things vivid for   scholars to see and figure out how things used to be in the past. Take for example, sculpture or   sculptural/ artifacts which   are all over in the   Museum and other   historic preservation sites. They are sites of   attraction to the modern generation   which   admire their beauty. They impart a lot into the minds of the viewers   and it is unlikely for one to forget what he/she has seen. Colour also has a lot of appealing before the eye of the viewer. Artist have it that different colours   stand for different meanings. For Example Red – May  Ã‚   among others things stand   for   danger Yellow for cowardice, green for peace   and e.t.c. Religious people have different   perspectives on the colours especially Christians associate red with the   blood of Jesus, black with sin and white   with glory   so you can see that colours also   form   persistent memory in people. Nowadays, political critics use cartons in the newspapers to criticize or ridicule politicians or an event they feel should not go uncommented. Cartons analysis enjoy seeing them and getting the fun of   them. You will find that with such cartons one   cannot easily forget the episode  Ã‚   displayed by the cartons. This is another artistic way of creating and maintaining memory in ones mind. Some painting works have remained in the memories of people from the time in the past   to date. If you take the impact the painting of Monalisa about   the last supper and the effect   has with   Christians today, you will marvel about   the magic it holds. Leornado Da Vincil   of Florence painted the Monalisa between 1503-08 but   although Monalisa was stolen in 1911,the effect it had on the Christians still lives today . Since copies   of it and the recreation of much more about it had   been scarred all over the world by the Christians   and the lovers of art.   Today   few makers   have produced   films which are showing   allover the world   over   his artistic   achievements. On seeing a film or paintings about the last supper, Christians are reminded a fresh in their memory of their salvation. Last supper not support   has the symbolism of Jesus giving to   his followers his body and blood in commemoration of their salvation. Educators say that seeing believes. When you watch a   film, you are not likely to forget what you have seen. So, films, play a great role in persistence memory enhancement   for it is not easy for one to forget what he has seeing in a film. The world is full of art. These artistic objects keep on recurring into   our memories when we talk about them or see similar objects. So, there   should be no   doubt that art elucidate in terms of   others and reveal about the way they see the world.

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