THEO 344 RELIGIONS OF CHINA
中華宗教
Dr. Jonathan Y. Tan
( 陳運佳教授 )

ProfessorJTan@gmail.com
(513) 745-3794
121 Hinkle Hall

Office hours by appointment

Introduction
Course Requirements
Schedule/Readings
Living Personalities Project
Library Research Resources
Religion: Web Resources
Religion: News Resources
Grade Computation
Grading Guidelines
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Buddha Sakyamuni
(Theravada Buddhism)



5th c. Buddha
(Dunhuang, China)



Diamond Sutra
(868 CE)
World's oldest
printed work



Buddha Amitabha
(Pure Land Buddhism)



Sukhavati
(Pure Land)



Guanyin (Kuan Yin)
Bodhisattva of Compassion



Guanyin (Kuan Yin)
Bodhisattva of Compassion



Manjusri
Bodhisattva of Wisdom



Maitreya
(Buddha of the Future)



Buddha
(Tang Dynasty)



Buddha
(Fubo, Guilin)



Oracle Bone Inscriptions



Qingming Festival
(ancestor veneration)
(Confucian)



Qingming Festival
(ancestor veneration)
(Confucian)



Qingming Festival
(ancestor veneration)
(Confucian)



ancestor veneration
Lunar New Year Eucharist
Chinese Catholic Community
(San Jose, CA)



Temple of Confucius
in Quzhou



Tiantan
(Temple of Heaven)
(Beijing)



Kongzi
(Confucius)



Mengzi
(Mencius)



Laozi
(Lao-tzu)



Zhuangzi
(Chuang-tzu)



Taiji
(Tai-chi)



Luopan
(geomancy compass)



Mazu
(Ma-tzu)
(Goddess of Seafarers)



Chang Er
(Goddess of the Moon)



Kitchen God



God of Wealth



Nativity
(Lu Biyun)



Holy Family
(Pai Hui-chun)



Jesus reciting a lesson
(Francis Kao Di-an)



Confucius & Jesus



Mary & Jesus
(John Lu Hung-nien)



Mary
(Luke Hua Hsiao-hsien)
PROFESSOR TAN'S TWITTER:
PROJECT UPDATES:
USEFUL RESEARCH RESOURCES:
NAVIGATION LINKS:

26 Aug: Introduction

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) de Bary & Bloom, pp. xxi-xxii, 941-942 (Pinyin to Wade-Giles Romanization Chart)
(2) Theology & Religion Library Research Resources for Dr. Tan's Courses

[NB: No Class Blog postings today]

28 Aug: Introducing Chinese Religions

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Chinese Religions (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
(2) Chinese Philosophy (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
(3) Yin & Yang

We will be watching the video documentary, A Question of Balance (from the acclaimed BBC Classics series, "The Long Search") in class today.

[NB: No Class Blog postings today.]

2 Sep: No Class

4 Sep: All Under Heaven: Introducing the Chinese Civilization

REQUIRED READING: Adler, 8-19 (incl. chart & map)

[NB: No Class Blog postings today.]

POWERPOINT SLIDESHOW: All Under Heaven: Introducing The Chinese Civilization
(Please review PowerPoint slide before coming to class)

Class Outline: Ancient Chinese Religions

RESOURCES ON CHINESE LANGUAGE:
Chinese Script and Language

FOR FURTHER READING:
Biology of Dyslexia Varies With Culture, Study Finds (New York Times, 7 September 2004)
Patents; One way to type Chinese using a cellphone keyboard (New York Times, 3 March 2003)
Correspondence/Sino-Sayings; Not-so-Ancient Chinese Proverb: Glib Truisms Gloss Over Reality (New York Times, 14 November 1999)
LETTER FROM ASIA; Japan and China: National Character Writ Large (New York Times, 14 March 2004)
As China booms, so does Mandarin in U.S. schools (USA Today, 20 November 2007), pp. 1A-2A.

9 Sep: Prehistoric Chinese Religion

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Wong, chapter 1
(2) Adler, 20-25
(3) de Bary & Bloom, 3-23

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Prehistoric Chinese Religion
Confucianism & Taoism: Historical Timeline

FOR FURTHER READING:
Tracing the Bear Myth in Northeast Asia, by Juha Janhunen. Originally published in Acta Slavica Iaponica 20 (2003):1-24.

11 Sep: Religious Thought in the Zhou Dynasty

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Adler, 25-29
(2) de Bary & Bloom, 24-40

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Religious Thought in the Zhou Dynasty

16 Sep: Classical Confucian Ethics, I: Confucius (Kongzi, 孔子, 551-478 B.C.E.) & the Analects (Lunyu, 論語)

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Adler, 30-37
(2) de Bary & Bloom, 41-44, 44-63
(NB: You may wish to consult the Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with a contemporary English translation by Charles Muller (Recommended)

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Confucius and his teachings
Class Outline: The Analects (Lunyu)

FULLTEXTS OF THE ANALECTS:
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with a contemporary English translation by Charles Muller (Recommended)
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with the classic English translation by James Legge (Recommended)
Trilingual (Chinese-English-French) fulltext with commentary in French (Recommended)
Multilingual Fulltext translations of the Analects
James Legge's classic English translation (classic but dated translation). Click here for another mirror site of Legge's translation of the Analects.
Latin translation by P. Angelo Zottoli, S.J. (1879) (for the Latinphiles)
Analects (Contemporary Translation)

FOR FURTHER READING:
Confucius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Confucius and his Teachings
Confucianism (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
Confucius (Kongzi) (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)

18 Sep: Classical Confucian Ethics, II: Mencius (Mengzi, 孟子, c. 372-289 B.C.E.)

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Adler, 37-42
(2) de Bary & Bloom, 112-158
(NB: You may wish to consult the Bilingual Chinese-English Fulltext, with a contemporary English translation by Charles Muller (Recommended)

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Mencius
Selections from the Book of Mencius

FULLTEXTS OF THE BOOK OF MENCIUS:
Bilingual Chinese-English Fulltext, with a contemporary English translation by Charles Muller (recommended)
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with the classic English translation by James Legge (recommended)
James Legge's classic English translation (classic but dated translation). Click here for another mirror site of Legge's classic translation.

FULLTEXTS OF OTHER CONFUCIAN BOOKS:
The Great Learning (Daxue) (Bilingual Chinese-English fulltext, with a contemporary English translation by Charles Muller)
The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) (Bilinguah Chinese-English fulltext, with a contemporary English translation by Charles Muller)

FOR FURTHER READING:
Mencius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

23 Sep: Classical Confucian Ethics, III: Xunzi (荀子, c. 298-238 B.C.E.)

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Adler, 42
(2) de Bary & Bloom, 159-183

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Xunzi

FULLTEXT OF THE BOOK OF XUNZI:
Xunzi (Chinese fulltext)

FOR FURTHER READING:
Xunzi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

25 Sep: Classical Daoist Ethics, I: Laozi (老子) & the Daodejing (道德經)

REQUIRED READING:
(1) Wong, chapter 2
(2) Adler, 42-51
(3) de Bary & Bloom, 77-79, 79-94
(4) The Tao of Star Wars (BeliefNet)
(5) Tao of Star Wars (EXN)

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Laozi and the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching)
Arguments for a Single Author or Multiple Authors of the Daodejing

FULLTEXTS OF DAODEJING
Daodejing (Mawangdui Texts A & B) [in Chinese only]
Daodejing (Guodian text) [in Chinese only]
Daodejing Wangbi text (in Chinese): Site 1 or Site 2 [NB: this is canonical text of the Daodejing]
Trilingual (Chinese/Wangbi-English-German) Fulltext (Recommended)
English Translation by Charles Muller (Recommended)
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with the classic English translation by James Legge

FOR FURTHER READING:
Laozi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Daoism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Daoism (Taoism) (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
Laozi (Lao-tzu) (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
Philosophical Daoism (Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Wu-Wei: Nondual Action, by David Loy (originally published in Philosophy East and West 35 (1985): 73-87)

30 Sep: Classical Daoist Ethics, II: Zhuangzi (莊子, 369-c. 286 B.C.E.)

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Adler, 51-57
(2) de Bary & Bloom, 95-111
(3) From Chapter 2 of Zhuangzi: "Three in the Morning/Keeper and Monkeys" (2:6), "Beauty of Mao Qiang and Li Ji" (2:11),and "Zhuangzi's Dream (Butterfly)" (2:14)
(4) From Chapter 3 of Zhuangzi: "Cook Ding and Duke Wenhui" (3:2)
(5) From Chapter 12 of Zhuangzi: "immortality of sage" (12:6) and the nature and reality of Dao (12:8)
(6) From Chapter 13 of Zhuangzi: Duke Huan and Wheelwright Bian (13:9b)
(7) From Chapter 17 of Zhuangzi: Sacred or Living Tortoise? (17:11)
(8) From Chapter 18 of Zhuangzi: "Zhuangzi's Wife" (18:2)

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu)
Selections from the Book of Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu)

FULLTEXTS OF THE BOOK OF ZHUANGZI
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with the classic English translation by James Legge [recommended]
Burton Watson's translation of the Book of Chuang-tzu (1968) [recommended]
Selections from the Book of Zhuangzi (translated by Patricia Ebrey) [recommended]
Herbert A. Giles (1889)
James Legge (1891)

FOR FURTHER READING:
Zhuangzi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)


Map of Buddhism in Asia (Click to download)

2 Oct: Introduction to Buddhism: Early Indian Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism.

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Adler, 74-83
(2) Chen, 1-20
(2) de Bary & Bloom, 415-420

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

ROADMAP: Summary of Principal Points in Buddhism

Class Outline: Suffering & its Causes
Class Outline: Karma, No-Self, Rebirth
Class Outline: Path to Liberation
Class Outline: Mahayana Buddhism

Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
Five Skandhas
Three Types of Practitioners in Mahayana Thought
Sevenfold Meditation On Compassion (Tibetan Buddhist Tradition)

POWERPOINT SLIDESHOW: The Life of Buddha Sakyamuni

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
All students are encouraged to watch the video documentary, Footprint of the Buddha (from the acclaimed BBC Classics series, "The Long Search"). This documentary is available for loan from Xavier University Library: BL80.2.L64 2001 Disc 2 (DVD).

FULLTEXTS OF SUTRAS:
Fulltext of the Four Noble Truths/Noble Eightfold Path

FOR FURTHER READING:
Professor David Loy on Buddhism
The Suffering of Self (by Professor David Loy)
The Problem with Karma (by Professor David Loy)
The Three Poisons, Institutionalized (by Professor David Loy)

7 Oct: Chinese Buddhism, I: Transmission of Buddhism into China

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Ch'en, 27-36, 40-53, 57-83
(2) Buddha’s Caves (New York Times, 6 July 2008). Click here for the web version of this article.
(3) Slideshow: The Caves of Dunhuang (New York Times)

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Transmission of Buddhism into China

FOR FURTHER READING:
Overview of Chinese Schools of Buddhism: Adler 83, 84-85
Sanlun Buddhism: Ch'en, 84-88, 129-134; de Bary & Bloom, 436-440
Faxiang Buddhism: Ch'en, 134-135, 235-238, 320-325; de Bary & Bloom, 440-444
Tiantai Buddhism: Ch'en, 303-313; de Bary & Bloom, 444-471
Huayan Buddhism: Ch'en, 313-320 ; de Bary & Bloom, 471-476

9 Oct: No Class -- Fall Holiday

14 Oct: Chinese Buddhism, II: Pure Land (淨土宗) Buddhism

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Adler, 83-84
(2) Ch'en, 338-350
(3) de Bary & Bloom, 481-491
(4) Longer Pure Land Sutra

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Pure Land Buddhism

ICONS & CHANTING THE NAME OF THE BUDDHA AMITABHA:


SUTRA FULLTEXTS:
Smaller Pure Land Sutra (English translation only)
Larger Pure Land Sutra (Bilingual: Chinese/English)

FOR FURTHER READING:
Research Resources on Pure Land Buddhism
Mahayana Pure Land Buddhism

16 Oct: Chinese Buddhism, III: Chan [Zen] () Buddhism

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Adler, 85-89
(2) Ch'en, 350-363
(3) de Bary & Bloom, 491-529

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Chan Buddhism

SHAOLIN TEMPLE (CHAN BUDDHISM) WARRIOR MONKS:


ZEN IN JAPAN:


ZUOCHAN/ZAZEN (SITTING MEDITATION):


SUTRA FULLTEXTS:
Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (translated by Philip Yampolsky [1967])

FOR FURTHER READING:
Zensite: Research Resources on Zen (Chan) Buddhism

21 Oct: No Class -- Academic Day

23 Oct: Religious Daoism, I: Daoist Alchemy & the Quest for Immortality: External Alchemy (外丹) and Internal Alchemy (內丹)

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Wong, chapters 5 & 10
(2) Adler, pp. 97-99

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: External and Internal Alchemy

Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hong Kong (BusinessWeek, 28 January 2008), p. 43.

WUDANG TAIJI (CHINA)


TAIJI & GONGFU IN BEIJING:


FOR FURTHER READING:
Research Resources on Chinese Alchemy
Laozi Zhongjing (excerpts)
Ge Hong's Baopuzi (excerpts)
Chinese Alchemical Illustrations

28 Oct: Religious Daoism, II: Magical Daoism

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Wong, ch. 7
(2) Adler, pp. 117-119
(3) Tangki [Spirit Medium] Knowledge and Power Among Singaporean Chinese
(4) Tangki [Spirit Medium] Rituals in Modern-Day Singapore

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Magical Daoism

DAOIST SPIRIT MEDIUM IN SINGAPORE:


DAOIST SPIRIT WRITING IN TAIWAN:

30 Oct: Religious Daoism, III: Divination

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Wong, ch. 8
(2) Adler, pp. 118-119

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

Class Outline: Divination

FOR FURTHER READING:
Things Matter: Location, Location and Feng Shui (New York Times, 27 January 1997)
The Feng Shui Kingdom (New York Times, 25 April 2005).
And to My Loyal Feng Shui Adviser, I Leave $3 Billion (New York Times, 2 May 2007).
Homes With a Bit of the Homeland (Washington Post, 19 December 2007), p. A01.
Feng Shui MacDonald's offers calm and fries (The Daily Telegraph (UK), 17 February 2008)
McDonald's adopts fung shui (Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 February 2008)

ONLINE RESOURCES ON FENGSHUI:
Way on Net (Master Tan Khoon Yong)
World of Feng Shui (Lilian Too)
Geomancy.Net (Master Cecil Lee)

4 Nov: Religious Daoism, IV: Daoist Deities & Immortals

REQUIRED READING:
(1) Wong, ch. 9
(2) Adler, pp. 102-105, 112-121

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

POWERPOINT SLIDESHOW: Daoist Deities & Immortals

Class Outline: Daoist Deities & Immortals

JOURNEY TO THE WEST (EXCERPT FROM EPISODE 1):


HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL (7TH LUNAR MONTH):


HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL:


BURNING SPIRIT MONEY:


LUXURY LIVING IN THE SPIRIT WORLD:



6 Nov: Contemporary Confucian, Daoist, & Buddhist Revivals

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Adler, 110-112, 121-125
(2) China's Massive Wrench, I: Change in the face of foreign devils by Francesco Sisci (Asia Times, 3 July 2008)
(3) China's Massive Wrench, II: A new world under one Heaven by Francesco Sisci (Asia Times, 4 July 2008)
(4) China's Spiritual Awakening (BusinessWeek, 10 January 2008).
(5) China's thriving Confucian schools (BBC News, 3 January 2008).
(6) Confucius Making a Comeback In Money-Driven Modern China (Washington Post, 24 July 2007), p. A01.
(7) The Confucian Renaissance (Asia Times, 16 November 2005).
(8) Racing ahead, China resurrects its past (Asia Times, 8 May 2007).

Click here to post to the Class Blog.

FOR FURTHER READING:
Beijing's 'Soft Power' Initiative (Asia Times, 17 May 2006).
The language of Chinese soft power in the US (Asia Times, 24 May 2007).
A Century with Chinese Characteristics (Asia Times, 6 November 2007)
Confucians say, women now welcome (BBC News, 28 September 2006)
As China booms, so does Mandarin in U.S. schools (USA Today, 20 November 2007), pp. 1A-2A.

11 Nov: Living Personalities Project Presentations
(1) David Tull
(2) Rachel Thaw
(3) Michael Schuta
(4) Jamie Pollom

13 Nov: Living Personalities Project Presentations
(5) Benton Hurley
(6) Sam Groh
(7) Alejandro Carrasco
(8) Dan Richardson

18 Nov: Living Personalities Project Presentations
(9) Marisa Means
(10) Megan Sopko
(11) Shannon Hesse
(12) Zoe Lyle

20 Nov: Living Personalities Project Presentations
(13) Jake Huhn
(14) Scott Spethman
(15) Descea Delong
(16) Jorge Rostro

25 & 27 Nov: No Class -- Thanksgiving Break

2 Dec: Living Personalities Project Presentations
(17) Graciela Diaz
(18) Ursula Payan
(19) Jim Castrigano
(20) Tom Kanasz

4 Dec: Living Personalities Project Presentations
(21) Caitlin Pinciotti
(22) Emily Kurtz
(23) Jerzy Jaromczyk
(24) Kyle Ritter

9 Dec: Living Personalities Project Presentations
(25) Lydia Schmidt
(26) Kathleen Thompson
(27) Bill Berger
(28) Alex Reed

11 Dec: Conclusion. Review & Student Feedback.
(29) Binta Patel
(30) Martin Abrahams

REMINDER: Please e-mail your Living Personalities Project paper to ProfessorJTan@gmail.com by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 12 Dec 2008.

Humorous student evaluations at a foreign (non-U.S.) university... Enjoy!!!

子曰:「學而不思則罔,思而不學則殆。」

The Master [Confucius] says:
"Learning without thinking is a waste of time,
Thinking without learning is dangerous" (Analects 2:15).


COPYRIGHT COMPLIANCE:
STATEMENT OF FAIR USE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

A good faith effort has been made to comply with US copyright law. This does not mean that none of the materials used in this course website is copyright protected, but that the "fair use" clause of US Copyright Law has been adhered to. In particular, any copyright material used here is (a) not used for commercial gain and used exclusively for educational purposes; and (b) used in limited amounts in comparison to the published source. The relevant provision (section 107) of the U.S. Copyright Act is reproduced below:

Section 107: Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair Use
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phone records or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use, the factors to be considered shall include:
(1) The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. (added pub. l 94-553, Title I, 101, Oct 19, 1976, 90 Stat 2546).

REQUIRED
TEXTBOOKS:


Joseph A. Adler
Chinese
Religious Traditions

(Prentice Hall, 2002)


de Bary & Bloom, eds.
Sources of
Chinese Tradition
(2nd Ed), Vol. 1

(Columbia, 1999)


Eva Wong
Shambhala Guide
to Taoism

(Shambhala, 1997)


Kenneth Chen
Buddhism in
China: A
Historical Survey

(Princeton, 1964)


Google Scholar

Google Book Search

Google

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Revision 1.0.0020. Originally created: 10 February 2008. Last updated: 16 October 2008.
Designed, created and maintained by: Jonathan Y. Tan. © Copyright Jonathan Y. Tan, 2008. All rights reserved.