Chinese Religious Traditions

Chinese Religious Traditions
Author: Joseph Alan Adler
Publisher: Pearson
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2002
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN:

This series provides succinct and balanced overviews of the religions of the world. Written in an accessible and informative style, and assuming little or no prior knowledge on the part of the reader, each book gives a basic introduction to the faith--its history, beliefs, and practices--and emphasizes modern developments and the role and impact of the religion in today's world. Chinese Religious Traditions provides a concise introduction to the history of religion in China and its ramifications in China today. Focusing on the four major religious traditions of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and popular religion, this book covers the religious and ethical ideas as well as the practices within each tradition. The book traces themes that are common to Chinese society from earliest times to the present day. It also highlights the ways in which each tradition has responded to and influenced political and cultural change.

The Souls of China

The Souls of China
Author: Ian Johnson
Publisher: Pantheon
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2017
Genre: History
ISBN: 1101870052

From the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist: a revelatory portrait of religion in China today, its history, the spiritual traditions of its Eastern and Western faiths, and the ways in which it is influencing China's future. Following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is now awash with new temples, churches, and mosques as well as cults, sects, and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty over what it means to be Chinese, and how to live an ethical life in a country that discarded traditional morality a century ago and is still searching for new guideposts. Ian Johnson lived for extended periods with underground church members, rural Daoists, and Buddhist pilgrims. He has distilled these experiences into a cycle of festivals, births, deaths, detentions, and struggle a great awakening of faith that is shaping the soul of the world s newest superpower. (With black-and-white illustrations throughout).

Histories of Spiritual Traditions in China

Histories of Spiritual Traditions in China
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2024-10-03
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9004714316

Discover China's rich spiritual history through the monumental works of polymath Jao Tsung-i, presented in English for the first time. Throughout his far-reaching discussions of Chinese religious history ranging from prehistoric ancestor worship to Daoist immortality cultism and beyond, Jao’s studies draw upon an immense range of sources, including stele inscriptions, excavated manuscripts, and prehistoric artifacts. Engage with the very best of 20th-century Chinese-speaking sinology and gain new insights into China’s fascinating history of spiritual traditions. This tour de force in Chinese religious history is a must-read for anyone seeking to unravel the complexities of China's intersecting spiritual traditions.

The Shaolin Monastery

The Shaolin Monastery
Author: Meir Shahar
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2008-01-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 0824831101

This meticulously researched and eminently readable study considers the economic, political, and religious factors that led Shaolin monks to disregard the Buddhist prohibition against violence and instead create fighting techniques that by the 21st century have spread throughout the world.

The Religious Traditions of Asia

The Religious Traditions of Asia
Author: Joseph Kitagawa
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2013-09-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136875905

This essential student textbook consists of seventeen sections, all written by leading scholars in their different fields. They cover all the religious traditions of Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Tibet, and East Asia. The major traditions that are described and discussed are (from the Southwest) Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Islam, and (from the East) Taoism, Confucianism and Shinto. In addition, the tradition of Bon in Tibet, the shamanistic religions of Inner Asia, and general Chinese, Korean and Japanese religion are also given full coverage. The emphasis throughout is on clear description and analysis, rather than evaluation. Ten maps are provided to add to the usefulness of this book, which has its origin in the acclaimed Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by Mircea Eliade of the University of Chicago.

The Religious Question in Modern China

The Religious Question in Modern China
Author: Vincent Goossaert
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2011-03-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0226304183

Recent events—from strife in Tibet and the rapid growth of Christianity in China to the spectacular expansion of Chinese Buddhist organizations around the globe—vividly demonstrate that one cannot understand the modern Chinese world without attending closely to the question of religion. The Religious Question in Modern China highlights parallels and contrasts between historical events, political regimes, and cultural movements to explore how religion has challenged and responded to secular Chinese modernity, from 1898 to the present. Vincent Goossaert and David A. Palmer piece together the puzzle of religion in China not by looking separately at different religions in different contexts, but by writing a unified story of how religion has shaped, and in turn been shaped by, modern Chinese society. From Chinese medicine and the martial arts to communal temple cults and revivalist redemptive societies, the authors demonstrate that from the nineteenth century onward, as the Chinese state shifted, the religious landscape consistently resurfaced in a bewildering variety of old and new forms. The Religious Question in Modern China integrates historical, anthropological, and sociological perspectives in a comprehensive overview of China’s religious history that is certain to become an indispensible reference for specialists and students alike.

Sources of Chinese Tradition

Sources of Chinese Tradition
Author: Wm. Theodore De Bary
Publisher:
Total Pages: 604
Release: 1964
Genre: China
ISBN: 9780231086028

This volume contains a chronological table of Chinese history beginning with 2852 B.C. up to A.D. 1849. In addition to presenting the major schools of classical philosophy, this volume discusses yin-yang theories of cosmology and geomancy and the rationale of monarchy and dynastic rule.

Reasonable Faith

Reasonable Faith
Author: William Lane Craig
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2008
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433501155

This updated edition by one of the world's leading apologists presents a systematic, positive case for Christianity that reflects the latest work in the contemporary hard sciences and humanities. Brilliant and accessible.

Early Chinese Religion: Part One: Shang Through Han (1250 BC-220 AD) (2 Vols)

Early Chinese Religion: Part One: Shang Through Han (1250 BC-220 AD) (2 Vols)
Author: John Lagerwey
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 1281
Release: 2008-12-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004168354

Together, and for the first time in any language, the 24 essays gathered in these volumes provide a composite picture of the history of religion in ancient China from the emergence of writing ca. 1250 BC to the collapse of the first major imperial dynasty in 220 AD. It is a multi-faceted tale of changing gods and rituals that includes the emergence of a form of “secular humanism” that doubts the existence of the gods and the efficacy of ritual and of an imperial orthodoxy that founds its legitimacy on a distinction between licit and illicit sacrifices. Written by specialists in a variety of disciplines, the essays cover such subjects as divination and cosmology, exorcism and medicine, ethics and self-cultivation, mythology, taboos, sacrifice, shamanism, burial practices, iconography, and political philosophy. Produced under the aegis of the Centre de recherche sur les civilisations chinoise, japonaise et tibétaine (UMR 8155) and the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris).

Chinese Buddhism

Chinese Buddhism
Author: Chün-fang Yü
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2020-06-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0824881583

What are the foundational scriptures and major schools for Chinese Buddhists? What divinities do they worship? What festivals do they celebrate? These are some of the basic questions addressed in this book, the first introduction to Chinese Buddhism written expressly for students and those interested in an accessible yet authoritative overview of the subject based on current scholarship. After presenting the basic tenets of the Buddha’s teachings and the Chinese religious traditions, the book focuses on topics essential for understanding Chinese Buddhism: major scriptures, worship of buddhas and bodhisattvas, rituals and festivals, the monastic order, Buddhist schools such as Tiantai and Chan, Buddhism and gender, and current trends—notably humanistic Buddhism in Taiwan and the resurgence of Buddhism in post-Mao China. Each chapter ends with discussion questions and suggestions for further reading. A convenient glossary of common terms, titles, and names is included.