CHINA
China has its origins in the second millennium BC when the Shang kings founded a state along the banks of the Yellow River. This formed the basis for all subsequent development. Worshipped as the ancestor of the dynasty, Shang Di came to have an important role in Chinese religious thought. The Zhou invaders worshipped a deity known as Tian (heaven). The emperor known as the son of heaven was considered to act as an intermediary between Tian and his people on earth. Confucianism emerged later but it was not until the Han dynasty (206BC - AD220) that it was adopted as the philosophy of the state. Confucianism stressed the importance of respect for authority and education and drew its adherents from all social classes. Daoism which emerged at about the same time tended to appeal to the underprivileged, seeking a Dao (way), a divine principle underlying nature. The followers aim to achieve harmony by stilling and emptying the mind. During 1000 AD Daoism developed a pantheon of gods and goddesses including the Xian, immortal beings who were not gods but had been granted eternal life and dwelt in a mythical land on earth. The principal Daoist deity was “ Jade Emperor” who determined everything that happened in heaven and on earth. Buddhism entered China via the Silk road but it was a peaceful invasion as the monks did not reject the gods and spirits of popular religion. They simply encouraged people to realise that only the Buddha could offer true salvation. Both religions complimented one another with interior enlightenment as their goal rather than depending on the blessings of external deities. Ultimately Chinese civilisation for more than 3 millennia has evolved with various emperors serving as a living link with the heavens and addressing the forefathers on behalf of the Chinese nation. Politically the emperor dominated a tightly governed nation in which the gods themselves sometimes seemed like divine bureaucrats whose powers mimicked imperial rule on Earth. So in contrast to the Aboriginal belief system, the myths and legends of China are a blend of mythical kings (Yellow Emperor, Fu Xi) along side later dynastic rulers as propagators of Chinese culture which continued uninterrupted until the last emperor of 1912. China’s influences on the rest of Asia.
China has its origins in the second millennium BC when the Shang kings founded a state along the banks of the Yellow River. This formed the basis for all subsequent development. Worshipped as the ancestor of the dynasty, Shang Di came to have an important role in Chinese religious thought. The Zhou invaders worshipped a deity known as Tian (heaven). The emperor known as the son of heaven was considered to act as an intermediary between Tian and his people on earth. Confucianism emerged later but it was not until the Han dynasty (206BC - AD220) that it was adopted as the philosophy of the state. Confucianism stressed the importance of respect for authority and education and drew its adherents from all social classes. Daoism which emerged at about the same time tended to appeal to the underprivileged, seeking a Dao (way), a divine principle underlying nature. The followers aim to achieve harmony by stilling and emptying the mind. During 1000 AD Daoism developed a pantheon of gods and goddesses including the Xian, immortal beings who were not gods but had been granted eternal life and dwelt in a mythical land on earth. The principal Daoist deity was “ Jade Emperor” who determined everything that happened in heaven and on earth. Buddhism entered China via the Silk road but it was a peaceful invasion as the monks did not reject the gods and spirits of popular religion. They simply encouraged people to realise that only the Buddha could offer true salvation. Both religions complimented one another with interior enlightenment as their goal rather than depending on the blessings of external deities. Ultimately Chinese civilisation for more than 3 millennia has evolved with various emperors serving as a living link with the heavens and addressing the forefathers on behalf of the Chinese nation. Politically the emperor dominated a tightly governed nation in which the gods themselves sometimes seemed like divine bureaucrats whose powers mimicked imperial rule on Earth. So in contrast to the Aboriginal belief system, the myths and legends of China are a blend of mythical kings (Yellow Emperor, Fu Xi) along side later dynastic rulers as propagators of Chinese culture which continued uninterrupted until the last emperor of 1912. China’s influences on the rest of Asia.