The Christian missionaries knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Going to China at the time was a one way trip to an unknown land. The task of converting China to Christianity was rife with challenges due to continued resistance to any sort of outside influence that was a tradition of China for many years. Never-the-less the missionaries still went to China and by leveraging what advantages they could find, they were able to find some measure of success over the years.
One of the men who made so much headway in China was a Jesuit named Ricci. Ricci was gifted, and knew the value of the gifts he possessed. As a linguist, Ricci used his western mnemonic techniques that were unfamiliar to the Chinese to impress the literati. The Chinese literati were considered higher members of society, and to be a high member of society it required a person passing a series of examinations. Examinations were the basis of almost all official positions as well. Such a practical tool was valued greatly, and it served Ricci well to gain the good favor of the Chinese when he showed them the technique. Ricci had more to offer though, using European cartography he produced a world map with names in Chinese and China at the center of the map. Accommodating for China as he did by placing it at the center of the map, he secured permission for a missionary residence in the capital of Beijing.
When the Jesuits first came to south China they quickly learned that the best way to fit in and make a connection with the Chinese was to engage with people of Confucianism. The Jesuits came from prominent families in Europe and were highly educated and in the upper levels of society. They found the literati were also the prestigious class in China and were high in...
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...o be retained in Beijing court and there they stayed close the Manchu Emperors. With a close proximity came close relationships. The first Manchu ruler developed a close personal relationship with Schall, a missionary. Schall consulted him in many of the affairs of the young emperor and became a grandfather figure to him. Close ties to the top of the power structure kept the hopes of Christianity spreading alive and legitimate.
The history of Christianity in china is not one of storied successes. It was a struggle to for the missionaries to balance their need to stay true to the tenants of the Christian faith while accommodating the Chinese ideals. Christianity may not have been widely adopted, but the missionaries still could point toward the upper members of society as examples of how the techniques they used were able to convert some people to Christianity.
One way to approach their goals was translating the thoughts and books in European to Chinese and made the people have access to understand knowledge...
legal action because of faith but as a whole it would not prosper. To understand the level
Buddhist popularity towards the Chinese grew following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 C.E. It’s influence continued to expand for several centuries. Between 220 C.E. and 570 C.E., China experienced a period of political instability and disunity. During this time, many of the Chinese, specifically scholars, sought for peace in Buddhism and approved of Buddhism. On the other hand, the strict confucianists and the government fought to end Buddhism and make people go against it.
Aikman, David. Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power. Lanham, MD: Regnery Publishing, 2003.
China has gone through many changes in its history. Changes include economic, political, and social. In the early 1500 and throughout history, mostly all social classes followed Confucianism. Confucianism is a type of religion based on an ideal society (Chang 2012, 22). China was molded though Confucianism but that slowly deteriorated as years went on. One main group that has been a main part in these changes is the Chinese literati. The Chinese literati include the higher-class people such as officials and scholars. The Chinese literati were the dominant social class during the 1500’s but their power slowly decreased throughout history. Throughout my paper, I will explain the Chinese literati involvement as centuries passed.
Regarding religion, Chinese culture saw the emergence of Confucianism and Buddhism as the major influence. Confucianism stressed filial piety which meant respecting elders and superiors, ruling righteously, and obeying commands and orders. Confucianism was introduced by the Chinese thinker Confucius. Buddhism was brought to China, but originated in India and was founded by Siddhartha Gautama. Followers of Buddhism worshipped Buddh...
...e, Europeans were finding themselves short of land and room for expansion due to numerous empires in a relatively small area. This led to the search for land. The political powers sought wealth and hoped to achieve this by conquering Asians markets as had been done in the west. Much like the political powers, the Christian church greedily sought mass expansion and conversion, pushing for missions in the foreign lands. In contrast to the Europeans motives, the reasons for Chinese commercial expansion were desires and curiosity of a single emperor in the Ming dynasty that was not pushed for by the aristocrats, church, or scholar-gentry. Whereas the general consensus of Europe pushed for expansion for economic, political, and religious reasons, the expansion was the doing of one emperor who looked for wealth for defense against the threat of the Mongols from the north.
There is a debate whether or not Marco Polo truly went to China. The side that does not believe Marco Polo traveled to China has this view because Marco Polo did not mention the Great Wall. In addition, the Chinese culture was not noted of. Being a foreigner, Marco Polo did not write about these strange things such as foot binding, calligraphy and etcetera. Not only that, but Marco Polo did not catch onto and learn the Chinese language due to the time he was there. Also, Marco Polo was not mentioned or documented about directly in the Chinese writings. However, three Venetians were written about.
Confucianism, one of the most renowned Chinese ideologies, was begun by Confucius, a Chinese scholar born in 551 B.C. At the time of his birth, there was crisis and violence occurring in China. In order to combat this problem, Confucius came up with the five relationships. Following these “relationships” (ex. Ruler and subject, older brother and younger brother) would help to establish harmony between all. The majority of these relationships pertained to family matters, which went hand in hand with Confucius’s stressing of filial piety, or respect shown by children for their parents and elders. This single value led to many changes in people’s daily life and attitudes.
the Chinese see religion as a form of education. The purpose of Confucianism was mainly
...nsidering that Confucianism had no missionaries, monks, or pilgrims, unlike Buddhism. Confucianism and its ideas never left China. The most important idea was the family and the state.
In China, the citizens' inclination of Buddhism varied from that of other states. There was a plethora of mental outlooks on how Buddhism was changing the Chinese society as it expanded from India, where it was founded in the sixth century BCE. The responses are organized depending on their acceptance, rejection, or encouragement of a combination of Buddhism with other religions. These categories are illustrated by the following documents; the acceptance by documents two and five, the rejection by documents four, six, and three, and last, the encouragement by documents two, five, and three. Additional documentations that would be helpful in classifying the reactions of the Chinese people would be a testimony or statement of a Chinese woman, or group of women, and of peasants. These would be helpful as we'd be able to examine exactly how the Chinese were affected by Buddhism's grasp. We would be able to see how Buddhism affected their daily lives and what they thought about the sudden religion.
Even though Taoism and many other folk religions have shaped the Chinese mind, Confucianism remains, by any historical measure, its chief mentor” (Novak 113). Therefore, since the two religions grew up together, there are similarities, such as their views on humans, attempting to find harmony in life and in nature, and serve as guides for their followers through self-cultivation and improvement techniques. Confucianism believes that their congregation should have human conduct over the idea of God in their lives, whereas Taoism is formed on the belief that its congregation should create a relationship with nature. This is pointed out by Smith in Experiencing the World’s Religions, “Confucius represents the classical, Lao Tzu the romantic; Confucius stresses social responsibility, Lao Tzu praises spontaneity and naturalness; Confucius focus is on the human, Lao Tzu’s on what transcends the human” (Smith 218).
In many countries, religion is very important, so important that some cultures use it in every aspect of their lives. China, like some other countries, is a multi-religious country.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Over the last 3000 years, China has had many inspirational leaders who have greatly influenced China's economy, literature, and philosophy. Not only have each one of China's historical and contemporary leaders had an impact on China as a nation, but many of their ideas have flourished throughout literature which has allowed other countries around the world to attain those ideas and learn from them. One of China’s great leaders whose ideas, theories and philosophical ponderings have had a great impact on China's ancient and modern day societies is Master Confucius. Confucius has inspired the literature of modern and ancient China through important books which are still being read by Chinese authors today. Moreover, Confucius has had many achievements which have revolutionized philosophy in contemporary China through his philosophy of “The Five Relationships” which teach us truth to being human. Lastly, Confucius has had a major influence over religion throughout China's ancient age, as his religion known as Confucianism, is still being pursued today by many people in China. Confucius is evidently one of the most significant and important people ever to exist in ancient China.