Part 1: Daoism
Describe the principles of yang and yin .
The Yang and Yin are symbols which represent passive and active forces of the world. They are represented by the Taijitu symbol and are referred to as the two halves which when brought together represent wholeness. They communicate one main principle; that everything in existsence has a contradictory opoosite (positive and negative) and when brought together are inseparable (McBurney, 2012). An example of this is male and female, light and darkeness.
The main scripture in Daoism is the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching). What is the history and importance of this text for the tradition?
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Taoism/Daoism is a religion which originates from the worship of ancestors and belief in ghosts and gods. It is a religion formed over 1900 years ago by the Celestial Master Zhang, Laozi and the Yellow Emporor as the three ancestors to the religion. Laozi developed the Daodejing, a scripture that is used to respect the Tao, cherish the virtues and also teaches people to place importance in life, peace, truth, and simplicity, while discarding worries, frugal values and morals, desires and extravagance among other functions (China.org staff, 2007).
How are Daoist ideals expressed through art? Offer several examples.
The influence of Taoist ideals are seen in the development of various artistic figres and how they utilize the balance and theme of nature to bring out yin and yang in their finish. These have been observed Iin art work over many years. There is a balance between the vertical and horizontal nature of elements in all artistry work, a balance of light colors and dark colors, with combinations of scattered elements within the art (CFC, n.d.).
What challenges does Daoism face in the modern world? Explain.
The major challenge of Daoism in the modern world is the continued depletion of nature. Daoist scripture etails guidelines on how one is able to become one with nature and just be united with their surrounding placing values taught at the forefront. However, with industrialization, there is very little nature that is exhibited.as much of it is controlled and regulated, which forces the Daoist to be unable to preserve nature. There is a lot of unnatural forces which a Daoist is not able to identify with.
Explain a situation to which following the Daoist principle of wu wei might be beneficial to you or others. In what situation might following the principle of wu wei be harmful in some way?
The principle of wu wei states action to be a natural occurrence that is not forced or brought through strucggles. Instead the aaction is effortlessly aligned with natural life, and develops a mental state which recognises this flow ( Tao Te Ching , 2016). The principle may be harmful as it may convince someone that inorder to get something, they do not have to place much action or effort into achieveing it, rather, nature or effortless doing will lead them there.
Part 2: Confucianism
What are the Five Great Relationships? How is the morally upright person to act? What is the role of Confucianism in Chinese culture and society today?
Confucianism was a religion that was developed by the Chinese Scholar Kúng Fu-tzu, whose name was latinized to Confucius. He developed the teachings in the sixth century BC, which were compiled into two volumes; the four books and the five classics. Confuscianism has been described as a system which dictates the ethical practices a person is to follow in order to live a morally upright and acceptable lifestyle.. It emphasized on the need to ensure proper moral conduct, the worship of the ancestors and proper obedience to hierarchy within the scoeity as key elements in education.
The ethical system spelled out the manner in which people should act in order o be considered morally upright (Yang, 2013). They were to obey the concepts of jen and li. The jen concept signified the presence of human heartedness, goodness, and benevolence. It is that which ensures a person keeps the dignity of human life. Jen is a principle that should be spread to others and not held within. The second concept was that of li. The concept of li looks at the human relationships that exists and provides a concenrete guide on how people should addres them (Yang, 2013).
The first relationship is that of the father and son, where the father should love his son, and the son should revere his father. The second relationship is that os older brother and their younger brother. They should be gentle to the young, while the young should be respectful to their older brothers (Yang, 2013). The third is between the hsband and wife. The husband should be good to the wife, and the wife shouid listen to the husband. The fourth is that os an older frien who should be considerate to a younger friend who should be difrential. The last is between a ruler, who should be benovelent, and his subjects who are loyal (Yang, 2013).
These ethical systems are very applicable in Chinese culture and the current society. They do not promote the worship of a particular person, rather they dictate the values and moral principles that all people should have in living and addressing one another. They have shape the Chinese culture which is respectful and is not self-motivated, rather looks at others before it looks at self.
Part 3: Shinto
The Shinto religion is areligion that is considered to be ethnic. It is that which is practiced by people in one area and continues to attract others to that area, especially in Japan. The Shinto faith does not believe in the existence of only one god, but considers the existence of many gods There are the gods of the earth, the gods of the sea and the gods of the sky. Each of these gods have power over a specific area (Littleton, 2011). The gods are not only limited to the climatic conditions, but also to things of nature, for instance, there is a god fo rice and of all food production, a god of trees and so forth. The followers of this religion also believe in the god of luck, who has the ability to influence majpr or minor decisions, personal or corporate decisions and other areas of everyday life. The people dedicate different shrines to all of these gods in order to ensure that they are able to pay their respects to the many gods in different times within the year (Littleton, 2011).
The religion does not provide or hold any beliefs or scriptures as is present with other religions such as Christianity, islam and Judaism, rather it is considered to be an action-centered religion. there are close to 80,000 shrines that are dedicated to these gods, and one of the ways in which the practice of shintpoism continues to this day is through the many festivals that occur in the Japanese culture (Littleton, 2011). These festivals are a dedication and celebration of the existence of various deities who are believed to play a major part in the seasons, lives and occurences within Japan. The people also build shrines for various dieties and visit other shrines. There are also talismans which are issued to people to esure they are able to attain that which they pray for from these dieties.
References
CFC. (n.d.). Taoism and its Influence on the Arts of China. Center for Future Consciousness. Retrieved from https://www.centerforfutureconsciousness.com/pdf_files/2008_Essays/Taoism%20and%20its%20Influence%20on%20the%20Arts%20of%20China.pdf
China.org staff. (2007). Brief Introduction to Taoism and the Daodejing. Retrieved June 7, 2018, from http://www.china.org.cn/english/daodejingforum/207900.htm
Littleton, C. S. (2011). Understanding Shinto: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places . Watkins Pub. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=jqRacgAACAAJ
McBurney, S. H. (2012). Yin and Yang: The Physical and the Symbolic in Chinese Medical Practices. Totem: The University of Western Ontario Journal of Anthropology , 20 (1), 5. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/totem/vol20/iss1/5/
Tao Te Ching . (2016). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=-yobMQAACAAJ
Yang, S. (2013). On the Historical Development of Confucianists’ Moral Ideas and Moral Education. Ethics in Progress , 4 (1), 34–47.
