RELIGIOUS RESPONSE TO MODERNIZATION IN TAIWAN THE CASE OF I-KUAN TAO
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This short passage shows the general attitude which characterizes the religious interpretation of the present time: the present era is seen as a time of decline and of crucial historical significance. The future of humanity is at stake. Only if men are able to reverse the tendency of decay inherent in modern societies will it be possible to avoid the impending catastrophe. Recovery can be secured by returning to the way of the sages of antiquity and by practising the traditional virtues of the Chinese culture. This point is further elaborated in the following passage:
These are the teachings of the holy kings of former times:
1. We want to restore the five social obligations (wu lun), the three social principles (san kang) and the five constant virtues (wu ch'ang). 2. We want to institute the three unspoiled [values], i.e. virtue, merit and true speech, and [in this way] bring benefit to the people. 3. We want to esteem highly the spiritual life, but to disregard the material life. Spiritual life means to put into practice the natural virtues humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness. [...] Alas! [How different are] the men of this world! They always care about the material life and are striving for the enjoyment of worldly goods. Who still speaks of propriety and righteousness, of modesty, social principles, constant virtues and modesty?
It can be seen from this passage that the dangers of the present time have their roots in the moral decline of men, i.e. in the abandonment of the traditional social virtues as propagated by the Confucians. These rules of moral conduct and social obligations are seen as the prerequisite for a sound and orderly society. Although principally these standards apply to every society, it is obvious that the deity especially has in mind the present situation in China, i.e. in Taiwan. Criticism of contemporary society in Taiwan becomes more outspoken in the next section:
I [i.e. Shang Ti] see that in this world it is the Chinese nation in which rites and music are cultivated, where true culture exists. For this reason, up to the present day China could not be overthrown by another nation. Nowadays, however, people are only imitating the European and American way of life. Father and son do not love each other, husband and wife do not live in harmony, brothers fight each other,