The Landscape of Taoism Religion in Tradition Chinese Society

The Chinese Society and Culture
Name
Institution
Course Code
Date
 
Question 1
The Chinese Society and Culture
The Chinese society has been a host and foundation of various and most stable religion-philosophical customs in the world. There are several religions in the Chinese society that includes Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism and also Protestantism. However, the Chinese emperors appealed to the Mandate of Heaven and have been participating in the religious activities. In the early 20th century, the Chinese religions were attacked by reform-minded officials and since then, the Communist Party of China has been governing China and forbids its party members from engaging in religious practices. Although the Chinese constitution allows its people to have freedom of religious beliefs, the CCP prohibited approximately 90 million people from holding any religious beliefs. Accordingly, the understudy will discuss the landscape of the Taoism religion in a traditional Chinese society and also explore the most crucial changes that happened during the Maoist and the reform period. Finally, it will shed light on the recent eviction of migrant workers in Beijing.
The Landscape of Taoism Religion in Tradition Chinese Society
Taoism is a Chinese oldest religion also known as Daoism that emphasizes on living in accord with the Tao. Taoism was started back in the 4th century BC and drew its cosmological concepts from School of Yinyang the ‘Naturalists'. Taoism was founded by Laozi and was highly influenced by Yijing one of the ancient Chinese culture texts which illustrate about how to maintain human behaviors in accord with nature (Yao & Wei, 2007). Also, Shen Buhai the ‘Legalist' influenced Taoism by illuminating realpolitik of the ‘Wu Wei'. The Writings of Zhuangzi and the Tao Te Ching which is a book that contains attributed teachings to Laozi are considered as the foundation work of Taoist tradition. In Chinese philosophical institutes, Tao is taken as a significant idea, however; Taoism signifies the belief that is the pattern, source and the substance of every living thing (Yao & Wei, 2007). In China, Taoist ethics emphasizes on naturalness ‘wu Wei', simplicity, spontaneity as well as the Three Treasures that include Frugality, compassion, and humility. For more than 2000 years, Taoism religion has been shaping the Chinese life and can be characterized by its active and positive attitude towards the metaphysical and occult (Yao & Wei, 2007).
During the early age, the Chinese society thought the Taoists were recluses or hermits who never participated in political issues. For instance, Zhiagzi who lived in the Southern region was best known for engagement in Chinese shamanic traditions. However, Taoism institutional orders evolved in different strains that recently are conservatively assembled into two branches that are Zhengyi Taoism as well as Quanzhen Taoism. After the Zhuangzi and Laozi teachings, the Taoism literature grew gradually and was therefore compiled into a canon form ‘Daozang' which was established through the command of the emperor. Huizong and various Song emperors actively promoted Taoism by assembling Taoist texts as well as publishing versions of Daozang (Yao & Wei, 2007). However, throughout the Chinese history, Taoism has been selected as a state religion several times. This religion has a philosophical influence to the Chinese culture for centuries and ‘daoshi' a Taoists clergy, have been taking care of dissimilarities that happen between the Taoists tradition rituals and the Chinese folk religion practices as well as the non-Taoist vernacular rituals which are recognized as affecting the Taoism (Wolf, 1974). Moreover, the Chinese astrology, Chinese alchemy, and Chinese traditional medicine have been connected to Taoism for centuries. Therefore, today, Taoism is among the five religious doctrines that are officially acknowledged by the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The Taoism has various symbols and images that are significant to the Taoism religion. The ‘taijitu' generally known as ‘yin and yang' and the bagua ‘Eight Trigrams' are the two important Taoists symbols (Yao & Wei, 2007). The ‘Yin and Yang' symbols are believed to have stimulated the creation of the objects and lives in the universe. Yin is receptive while Yang is an active principle and therefore Yin and Yang are seen in different annual seasons, in socio-political and in the landscape. According to the Song dynasty foundations, yin and yang originated in the 10th century CE (Yao & Wei, 2007). Earlier, a dragon and a tiger represented yin and yang. Also, the flow of water is a significant symbol of Taoism. This means that Taoists experiences Tao by accepting nature and allowing it to control itself. Taoist temples contain typical diagrams and writing that contains guidance for the dead spirit, maximize lifespan and also bring good fortune. In Chinese traditional society, there was a connection between the kingdom of the dead and the earth. However, Chinese people did not understand death as a sudden process; rather it was taken as a lingering affair. The idea of living in the caves which means a direct experience of nature offered an environment which supported an exceptional religious experience.
Critical Changes that happened in China during Maoist and the Reform Period
Maoism is a traditional political theory that originated from Mao Zedong who was a Chinese political leader. The Maoism followers are referred to as Maoists. The Maoism developed from the 1950s to 1970s during the Deng Xiaoping reforms (Kipnis, Tomba, & Unger, 2009). Maoism was used by the Communist Party of China (CPC) as a military ideology as well as a political guidance. The purpose of CPC was to lead the Chinese to their liberation. During the Maoists, there were various policies that were implemented that brought critical changes in China. During this period, families were forced to take their meals in cafeterias, children started being looked after in daycare and also parents' corpse was cremated instead of being buried. Also during this period, China experience a Cultural Revolution that resulted in all ancestral tablets and halls terminated. Mao who was the Maoists leader attempted to remove families from their traditional life and destroyed several traditional cultural aspects (Kipnis, Tomba, & Unger, 2009). However, when the ancestral temples were damaged, most of the families lost their records that contained information regarding their extended families. Following this actions, China experienced a m...