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quite separate strands in Chinese religion: firstly, the didactic aspect of the "Three Religions," the urge on the part of the few to instruct and teach, and the expectation (indeed acceptance) of the many that they will be on the receiving end of an endless stream of exhortations and admonitions; and secondly, the paying of respects to gods and spirits in the expectation that returns will follow the investment of time and money in its pursuit.
Dr. Smith makes another important observation:
“In China, as nowhere else in the world, different forms of instruction (religion) are intertwined. The fact that there are three chief religions in China does not mean that the people are divided into three different sects, each professing a separate faith. The majority of Chinese profess all three religions, and practice each, as occasion requires.”
The Contributions of the Three Religions
Viewed as "Instruction," Confucianism was the Chinese religion par excellence. Practiced over millennia, Confucianism made its greatest impact through the schoolroom and the scholar's study. The Chinese character has been shaped by the Confucian ethics, principally by their laying down of the five human relationships and enjoining adherence to them in everyday life. Outside the schoolroom, the pervasiveness of its teachings was most visible in the ancestral tablets to be found in the homes of the people and in the ancestral halls of lineages large and small alike; as also in the ancestral rites carried out in Spring and Autumn within the family and at the tombs of ancestors.
Chinese Taoism has a less pronounced didactic element. In this regard, and so far as the common people are concerned, it has not had the wide influence over mind and behaviour wielded by Confucianism. Its founder Laotzu's teaching has been, as one writer has well described it, "well-nigh submerged, like a diamond in a heap of rubbish" buried in a mass of superstitious practices. Since its temples and rich mythology are home to a remarkable diversity of gods, and its religious personnel were and are principally involved with assisting the common people to prevent, avoid or neutralize harmful influences, it falls more within the province of De Groot's "polytheism and demonism.”7
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quite separate strands in Chinese religion: firstly, the didactic aspect of the "Three Religions," the urge on the part of the few to instruct and teach, and the expectation (indeed acceptance) of the many that they will be on the receiving end of an endless stream of exhortations and admonitions; and secondly, the paying of respects to gods and spirits in the expectation that returns will follow the investment of time and money in its pursuit."
Dr. Smith makes another important observation:
“In China, as nowhere else in the world, different forms of in- struction' (religion) are intertwined. The fact that there are three chief religions in China does not mean that the people are divided into three different sects, each professing a separate faith. The majority of Chinese profess all three religions, and practice each, as occasion requires."
The Contributions of the Three Religions
Viewed as "Instruction," Confucianism was the Chinese religion par excellence. Practiced over millennia, Confucianism made its great- est impact through the schoolroom and the scholar's study. The Chi- nese character has been shaped by the Confucian ethics, principally by their laying down of the five human relationships and enjoining adher- ence to them in everyday life. Outside the schoolroom, the pervasive- ness of its teachings was most visible in the ancestral tablets to be found in the homes of the people and in the ancestral halls of lineages large and small alike; as also in the ancestral rites carried out in Spring and Autumn within the family and at the tombs of ancestors.
Chinese Taoism has a less pronounced didactic element. In this regard, and so far as the common people are concerned, it has not had the wide influence over mind and behaviour wielded by Confucianism. Its founder Laotzu's teaching has been, as one writer has well described it, "well-nigh submerged, like a diamond in a heap of rubbish" buried in a mass of superstitious practices." Since its temples and rich my- thology are home to a remarkable diversity of gods, and its religious personnel were and are principally involved with assisting the com- mon people to prevent, avoid or neutralize harmful influences, it falls more within the province of De Groot's "polytheism and demonism.”7
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