The Ancient Chinese

Article i. The Ancient Chinese It is not certain that the Chinese are of Aryan stock, but they seem more closely related to the Aryans than to the Semites. As early as the 25 century b. c. the Chinese were established in eastern Asia. Their civil history is divided into various rules or dynasties. The first historic dynasty was called Hia, and it lasted from the 22 to the 18 century b. c. Next came the Chiang-yn dynasty, which endured from the 18 to the 12 century b. c., and was supplanted by the Ceu dynasty, which terminated in the 3 century b. c. The Tsin dynasty lasted from the 3 century b. c. to the 3 century after Christ, and was followed by the Han dynasty. Thereafter the Chinese were sometimes united in one kingdom, sometimes divided into several. In our own day the ancient absolute monarchy of the Chinese has been made a republic. Chinese literature of religious-philosophical character is of two classes. To the first class belong the so-called King Books —Yi-King, Shu-King, Shih-King, Li-Ki—which were written before the 6 century b. c. These books were collected and arranged by Kun-fu-tse (Confucius) in the 5 century b. c., but parts of them were composed as early as the 12 century b. c. To the second class of writings belong the works of the great Chinese teachers who flourished after the 6 century b. c., chief of whom were Kun-fu-tse and Lao-tse. 16 Chinese Philosophy Befor e t he 6 Cent ur y b. c.

a) The most penetrating historical investigation reveals the fact that the Chinese of remotest times were monotheists and worshipped one supreme Being called Shang-ti. Shang-ti was one, personal, distinct from the world, absolute in power. In the later books there is mention of another supreme Deity called Tien or Thian. Historians are unable to determine whether Shang-ti and Tien were distinct divinities or merely two names for the one supreme God.

b) Besides the supreme Being the Chinese worshipped a multitude of inferior spirits called collectively Shan or Chen. The Shan were regarded as the protectors of men. When a good man died, it was said that his soul had gone to join the Shan, and, in course of time, the honors paid to the Shan were given also to souls received into their company. Thus ancestor-worship arose in China.

c) With the coming of the Ceu dynasty in the 12 century B. c., a new people mingled with the old Chinese, and under their influence religion retrograded. Tien came to be regarded as a divinity distinct from Shang-ti, and was commonly identified with the material universe, particularly with the firmament. The worship of the sun, moon, and stars (sabæism) was thus introduced among the Chinese. Ancestor-worship received a new impetus at this time, and divination and magical arts— things scarcely known among the most ancient Chinese—were much practised. Chinese Philosophy Aft er t he 6 Cent ur y b. c. This was the age of the great teachers, a) Kun-fu-tse, b) Lao-tse, and c) Others.

a) Kun-Fu-Tse (about 551-479 b. c.)

Life: Kun-fu-tse, or Confucius, was born of noble parentage. He lived with his mother until her death, and thereafter spent three years in solitude, studying with great earnestness the traditional religion and laws of his people. At this time religion and morals were in a deplorable state among the Chinese, and Kun-fu-tse set out to restore purity of belief and conduct. He travelled through China, preaching a return to the old life and virtues. Received with some esteem, he was placed in public office; but the fate of the reformer was his, and he drew about his ears a hornet’s-nest of abuse and calumny. Forced to resign his office, he retired to his native place and resided there until his death.

Works: The doctrines of Kun-fu-tse are found in four books, which are held in great reverence by the Chinese. These books are: Ta-hio (great science), Ciung-yung (the invariable medium), Lun-yu (philosophical discussions), and Meng-tse (the book of Mencius). Of these books Ta-hio alone is regarded as the work of Kun-fu-tse; the others reflect his mind well enough, but were probably written by his disciples.

Doctrine: Kun-fu-tse’s doctrine is largely moral (ethical). He is limited in the scope of his ethics, for he does not assert the immortality of the soul and the fact of retribution in a life to come. Hence he is forced to find the motive for right conduct in such good as can be acquired in the present life. The highest good, he teaches, is perfection of self. To achieve self-perfection a man must practise self-control, universal charity, justice, sincerity, love of truth; he must carefully observe ancestral customs and ceremonies; he must reverence authority and those in whom it is vested, particularly the Emperor.

Remarks: Kun-fu-tse’s philosophy told men what to do (Practical Philosophy), but discouraged the effort to think out the causes and reasons of things (Speculative Philosophy). His ethics is relatively pure, for it does teach men to live an upright life; but it lacks sanction, i. e., an inducement adequate to make reasonable men follow its prescriptions. There is no complete sanction for the moral law except a firm belief in eternal retribution in a life to come.

b) Lao-tse (born about 604 b. c.)

Life: Lao-tse was born in the Province of Hunan. He was of a solitary and studious disposition. He liked to think things out for himself, and clung stubbornly to his own conclusions, caring nothing whether these agreed or disagreed with what others had taught. He had no reverence for tradition. Thus his attitude towards life and philosophy was squarely contrary to that of Kun-fu-tse. The fruits of Lao-tse’s selftraining were enriched by some travel and contact with peoples other than his own, for he made several journeys into western Asia.

Works: Lao-tse wrote a book called Tao-te-king (book of life and virtue), in which he set forth his philosophical doctrines.

Doctrine: While Kun-fu-tse wished to restore traditional religion and morals, Lao-tse desired to build up an entirely new system of doctrine. Tao-te-king is, however, a very difficult book to understand. The word “Tao” is variously translated as way, reason, life. But, whatever its proper translation, Tao means a Being changeless and eternal, creator of heaven and earth—in a word, Tao means God. Lao-tse describes the production of things in this obscure manner : With Tao all began. Tao produced The One. The One produced The Two. The Two produced The Three. The Three produced the world and all things in the world. It is not likely that Lao-tse meant these productions to be understood as so many emanations or outpourings of Tao (pantheism), but his followers, nevertheless, did interpret his doctrine in that way. The ethical doctrines of Lao-tse are vague. He does not name God as the ultimate end of man, nor does he mention the sanctions of a life to come. But he teaches that Tao is the great model after which man must pattern himself. Now, Tao is perfectly serene. “Though Tao does all things,” says Lao-tse, “he remains quiet and silent as though he did nothing.” In imitation, therefore, of Tao, man must cultivate serenity, must keep an even and undisturbed mind in all circumstances and at all times. Man may acquire this serenity by ridding himself of the desire for earthly goods, particularly for riches and honors. For the rest, man must follow his natural instincts, and he will be happy. Science, laws, arts, learning—these are useless lumber. Life itself is nothing. Yet life may be made worth while by securing it for eternity. To make himself eternal, a man must not only keep serenely aloof from external things, but he must labor to acquire the art of proper breathing, which will create in him a sort of embryo of a being which will endure eternally. To neglect this respiratory art is to lose the chance of living forever. In Social Ethics, Lao-tse teaches that the ruler of men should care for his subjects by keeping them in ignorance and by supplying them with food; he should appear among them but seldom.

Remarks: The rules of Lao-tse’s ethics are pure enough, but, like those of the ethics of Kun-fu-tse, they lack sanction. Lao-tse was much more of a philosopher than Kun-fu-tse, for he thought deeply about the world and its origin, and about man’s duty of harmonizing himself with creation by imitating Tao. The effect of Taoism—as Lao-tse’s doctrine is called—was, however, not good. His teaching was vaguely expressed, and his followers readily turned his account of the origin of things into materialistic pantheism. His doctrine of high serenity was quickly debased into a theory of pure inactivity and of indifference to all things, even to the prescriptions of common decency. Interesting and very curious is Lao-tse’s doctrine on the art of breathing with its astonishing efficacy.

c) Other great Chinese teachers of the period following the 6 century b. c. were: Yang-chu (5 century b. c.) ; Mih-tse or Mak (5 century b. c.) ; and Meng-tse or Mencius (372- 289 b. c.), the distinguished exponent of Confucianism.

Remark: We find in the doctrines of the most ancient Chinese an indisputable monotheism, which quickly deteriorated into inferior forms of religion. Here then, as among the Semites, belief in one supreme God was a primitive thing, and not an evolutionary product of lower religion-forms.