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Shendao shejiao

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Shendao shejiao
Chinese神道しんとう社しゃ教きょう

Shendao teaching (Chinese: 神道しんとう设教 or 神道しんとう社しゃ教きょう; pinyin: shéndào shèjiào; literally: "by “theistic ways” establishing the (moral) teachings")[1][a] is a Chinese philosophy about religion. It originally meant following the natural way of things and setting up teaching to make people behave. Later on, it was used to educate people by talking about how good and bad things happen as a result of their actions. The idea of Shendao started in the early Western Zhou period and later became important in Confucianism as a way to teach character. Some people believe that it helped China understand and adopt the Western idea of religion.[1]

Shang Dynasty

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During the Shang dynasty in China, people believed in many gods. The most important god was called "Shangdi," but some people thought of Shangdi as just a part of the natural order of things, which they called "Tiandao." They believed that the emperor did not have control over this natural order. During Shang sacrifices, people didn't offer sacrifices to the emperor, but they would ask for the emperor's help. The Shang people believed in ghosts and gods, which was similar to what people believed in prehistoric times. They didn't use religion as a way to control people like some later dynasties did..[2][3][4]

Zhou dynasty

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The Zhou dynasty of ancient China believed in the divinity of Shangdi, the supreme god, and diminished the importance of other ancestral and natural gods that were worshipped during the previous dynasty. The king of Zhou set up an "imperial registry" to worship God,[5] and built a god of the land with chestnut wood to inspire fear in the people. The Zhou also created an "imperial court" as the emperor's office. The Zhou believed that the emperor could send down a great Lu order to protect his house and people.[6] The world of the gods, mainly the "emperor" and "heaven," became the foundation for the kingship of the Zhou Dynasty. They established the concept of rule with "Mandate of Heaven" as the core, and the king was referred to as "Son of Heaven." This practice of the Zhou was Shendao's establishment of religion, which became a tool for political rule and adapted to the needs of patriarchal kingship.[7][8][3]Confucianism,, on the other hand, believed in the fear of heaven, adults, and the words of the saints, but did not believe in gods.

Belief, worship and ritual

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Shendao is a religion that believes in ghosts and gods. It originated from the Tuan Chuan of the Zhou Yi.[9][10][11] The ancient Chinese rulers used religious beliefs to strengthen their power, which is called the divine right of "Heaven and Man". This involved using practices like sacrifice and divination to gain support from the people. However, some thinkers did not believe in ghosts and gods, like Fan Zhen. He still believed in the importance of Shendao as a way to govern the country, bring peace to the people, and change traditions.

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Notes

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  1. ↑ 神道しんとう设教 and 神道しんとう社しゃ教きょう are homophones both pronounced as Shéndào shèjiào 设 means set-up or arranged, while 社しゃ means social. The homophonic nature of them likely gives a dual meaning of both social organization, and intentional social organization.

Sources

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Christian Meyer - Scholars | Institute for Advanced Study". www.ias.edu. 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  2. ↑ 晁あきら福ぶく林りん《论殷代だい神かみ权》，《中国ちゅうごく社会しゃかい科学かがく》1990年ねん第だい1期き
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 晁あきら福ぶく林りん, Chao Fulin (2015). "先さき秦しん社会しゃかい最高さいこう权力的てき变迁及其影かげ响因素もと" [The change of supreme power in pre-Qin society and its influencing factors]. 中国ちゅうごく社会しゃかい科学かがく (2).
  4. ↑ 晁あきら福ぶく林りん《说商代だい的てき“天てん”和かず“帝みかど”》,《史学しがく集しゅう刊かん》2016年ねん第だい3期き
  5. ↑ 《清きよし华简·系けい年ねん》：昔むかし周しゅう武たけし王おう监观商しょう王おう之の不ふ恭きょう上帝じょうてい，禋祀不ふ寅とら，乃作帝みかど籍せき，以登祀まつ上帝じょうてい天神てんじん，名めい之の曰千亩，以克反はん商しょう邑，敷じき政せい天下でんか。
  6. ↑ Book of Documents, Book of Zhou, Lü Xing, God oversees the people.
  7. ↑ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). web.archive.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-04-16. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  8. ↑ 雷かみなり晓鹏:从清华简《系けい年ねん》看み周しゅう宣せん王おう“不ふ籍せき千せん亩”的てき真相しんそう，《农业考古こうこ》，2014,(4)
  9. ↑ 《周しゅう易えき·观卦·彖传》：“观天之の神道しんとう，而四时不忒，圣人以神道どう设教，而天下か服ふく矣。”
  10. ↑ 《礼れい记·祭さい义》：“明あきら命いのち鬼神きじん，以为黔首则，百ひゃく众以畏かしこ，万民ばんみん以服。”
  11. ↑ Kong Yingda《Correct Meaning of the Five Classics [zh]》："Shen Dao, subtlety, no direction, the reason is not known, the eye is not visible, do not know so however is called Shen Dao, and the four seasons of the season is seen."
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