C. MARTIN WILBUR
elders rests very firmly upon this circumstance.
There is also a converse side to this aspect of filial piety. Not only does the concept dictate the proper attitude of an individual toward his relatives; it also determines the nature of the behavior of other individuals toward himself. During childhood and youth he will be almost exclusively aware of his obligations toward his seniors. But with his advance in age these duties slowly develop into rights. As his status in the group changes he finds his authority growing, and becomes himself the object of increasing respect. At last he achieves the supreme right of being worshipped as an ancestor when he dies. It is this aspect of filial piety which does much to give to the old members of a family or village group that self-assurance and poise which makes them effective leaders in a form of government based almost entirely upon social custom.
The logical conclusion of filial piety is ancestor worship. It is perfectly characteristic of Chinese thought to regard the worship of ancestors as a continuation after their death of the filial attitude towards parents or more remote progenitors. The difference between the two correlated aspects of the one general idea-complex is primarily a matter of emphasis. Filial piety is chiefly concerned with the living, ancestor worship with the dead, but each gives to the other a secondary emphasis and support.
This religion of ancestor worship is a vital function in rural life. Its chief concern is for the care and honor of the spirits of the departed ancestors of the family group, both direct and remote. Rituals and ceremonials are a part of its machinery, and in its sophisticated form there is certainly a philosophy connected with it. It includes, of course, a number of basic superstitions such as the theory of life after death, and the idea that spirits have the power of influencing the living for good and evil.
What ancestor worship is cannot be discussed fully here,1 but its effects upon the life of the family and of the village should be considered. As practiced in China it is a form of religion which has definitely favored males. This has helped to make it possible for men to monopolize the government of the village. But there is another field in which this emphasis has an even more important
1 For this see: DeGroot, J. J. M.; The Religious System of China, vols. 4-6; Addison, James T.; Chinese Ancestor Worship: A Study of its Meaning and its Relation to Christianity; and Martin, W. A. P.; "The Worship of Ancestors - A Plea for Toleration."
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C. MARTIN WILBUR
elders rests very firmly upon this circumstance.
There is also a converse side to this aspect of filial piety. Not only does the concept dictate the proper attitude of an individual toward his relatives; it also determines the nature of the behavior of other individuals toward himself. During childhood and youth he will be almost exclusively aware of his obligations toward his seniors. But with his advance in age these duties slowly develop into rights. As his status in the group changes he finds his authority growing, and becomes himself the object of increasing respect. At last he achieves the supreme right of being worshipped as an ances- tor when he dies. It is this aspect of filial piety which does much to give to the old members of a family or village group that self- assurance and poise which makes them effective leaders in a form of government based almost entirely upon social custom.
The logical conclusion of filial piety is ancestor worship. It is perfectly characteristic of Chinese thought to regard the worship of ancestors as a continuation after their death of the filial attitude towards parents or more remote progenitors. The difference be- tween the two correlated aspects of the one general idea-complex is primarily a matter of emphasis. Filial piety is chiefly concerned with the living, ancestor worship with the dead, but each gives to the other a secondary emphasis and support.
This religion of ancestor worship is a vital function in rural life. Its chief concern is for the care and honor of the spirits of the departed ancestors of the family group, both direct and remote. Rituals and ceremonials are a part of its machinery, and in its sophisticated form there is certainly a philosophy connected with it. It includes, of course, a number of basic superstitions such as the theory of life after death, and the idea that spirits have the power of influencing the living for good and evil.
What ancestor worship is cannot be discussed fully here,' but its effects upon the life of the family and of the village should be considered. As practiced in China it is a form of religion which has definitely favored males. This has helped to make it possible for men to monopolize the government of the village. But there is another field in which this emphasis has an even more important
1 For this see: DeGroot, J. J. M.; The Religious System of China, vols. 4-6; Addison, James T.; Chinese Ancestor Worship: A Study of its Meaning and its Relation to Christianity; and Martin, W. A. P.; "The Worship of Ancestors - A Plea for Toleration."
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