Chinese virtue

Chapter 39 Polytheism and Atheism (3)
I once encountered such a thing, a small village wanted to convert a temple into a school, so the statue was removed from the temple.The villagers thought that maybe there would be "silver" in the belly of the idol.So they smashed the statue apart with all their might, only to find a piece of cheap tin.In fact, there will be some monks or Taoist priests who hide treasures in statues, but the result of doing so is that temples are stolen and Buddha statues are smashed.These thieves also believe in gods, but they can do such a thing, which is beyond the comprehension of Westerners.I heard that there was a case where the county magistrate needed to call an important "witness" when interrogating monks. This witness was the "Buddha statue" in the temple.The county magistrate ordered the "witness" to kneel, but the statue did not kneel, so the county magistrate ordered to hit the statue with [-] slabs, but the statue was smashed on the spot.In the end, the county magistrate had no choice but to make a default judgment on this "witness".

Every year when there is a drought, people pray to the rain god for rain, praying that the rain god will be merciful, moisten the earth, and allow crops to grow.If there is no rain after praying for a long time, the villagers will carry the statue to the driest place, so that the "Rain God" can see clearly, and its divine power is very much needed now.People sometimes express their dissatisfaction with the Rain God, and express their dissatisfaction. In a common saying, "No house repairs in March and April, scolding the Dragon King in May and June."

I heard that in a big city, everyone was infected by a strange infectious disease, and the local people thought it was a certain god.So they brought out the idol, and beat it as hard as a rascal, till it was broken into rubble.Maybe this incident is not true, after all, it is just hearsay, but this incident can be used as an example, because such behavior is very in line with the Chinese concept of gods.

After reading the examples we gave earlier, many people who do not understand the character of the Chinese may think that it is impossible for the Chinese to have religion.Indeed, someone has made such an assertion.Mr. Meadows, a British man known as "China Handy", once criticized Mr. Gubocha's extensive generalizations in his book "The Chinese and Their Beliefs", thinking that Mr. Gubocha's words were "right to The slander of the good life of human beings".But Mr. Midiller also said that the Chinese do not care about the results of those religious debates, let alone regard the results of such debates as national beliefs.But he denied that the Chinese "lack desire, lack of pursuit, lack of admiration for heroes and kind people, lack of appreciation and admiration for beautiful things, and lack of a heart yearning for the sacred."Sir Wade Wade, the Chinese secretary of the British embassy in China, had studied the character of the Chinese people in depth, so he knew China and the Chinese people very well.Regarding the question "Does China have religion?", his answer is undoubtedly authoritative.He believes that if religion is something beyond morality, then he can clearly say that Chinese people have no religion.Although the Chinese have worshiped and held rituals of worship, they do not really believe in them. Although they dare not ignore their so-called "gods", they may laugh at and despise these idolatrous behaviors at any time.

Religion in China is a very interesting question, but very difficult to answer.It's easy to discuss this issue in detail, but it's very difficult to figure things out.We've found some better ways to approach this than discussing it.As we all know, Taoism and Buddhism have deeply influenced the thinking of Chinese people, but Chinese people have not become followers of Buddhism or Taoism.They are always just believers in Confucianism, no matter how many beliefs are superimposed, this is an unchangeable fact.We should try to discuss the shortcomings of Confucianism, why Confucianism cannot become the religion of the Chinese, and end this chapter with this topic.

Therefore, here, we will quote the research results of a well-known China expert, and his conclusions are authoritative.

In the book "Compilation of Confucianism", Dr. Hua Zhi'an, a German sinologist, used a whole chapter at the end to describe "the mistakes and shortcomings of Confucianism". In his article, he pointed out many shortcomings and mistakes of Confucianism. At the same time, he also described many advantages of Confucianism on interpersonal relationships. He believed that many views of Confucianism were similar to the revelations of Christianity.Here, we only quote 24 of them to illustrate.

[-]. Confucianism believes that it has nothing to do with the "God" in the world.

[-]. Confucianism does not distinguish between human body and soul, and it does not have an accurate definition of human beings either from the perspective of physiology or biology.

Confucianism has never had a clear explanation of the human soul, which also troubles Western scholars who study Confucianism.For ordinary people, Confucianism does not know what the soul is at all, but only knows that the human body is alive.The traditional saying is that after death, the soul will go to heaven, and the body will go to the earth.There is also a belief that the soul dissipates into the air and the body sinks into the ground.This statement is exactly the same as Confucian agnosticism and materialism theory.A Chinese is not interested in the soul, whether it is one soul, three souls, or no soul, he is not interested in knowing.This kind of question is like asking a person which muscle in the body drives chewing.As long as he eats comfortably, he won't bother to pursue any muscles.In the same way, as long as he can fill his stomach and support his family, he will not care about the "soul", unless this issue can be related to the price of rice and vegetables.

[-]. Confucianism does not explain clearly why some people are mortals while others are born saints.

[-]. Confucianism claims that everyone can reach the highest point of morality, that everyone has that power, but the situation that is opposed to this assertion is not explained.

[-]. Confucianism's admonitions for crimes are not decisive and serious enough, because it only puts forward moral condemnation in social life, and does not talk about punishment measures.

Sixth, Confucianism does not have a deep enough insight into evil.

[-]. Confucianism cannot explain death.

[-]. Confucianism has no way to regulate itself. It emphasizes the unity of human instinctive desire and ideal nature.

[-]. The power of prayer and the power of morality do not occupy a large proportion in Confucius' theoretical system.

[-]. Although trust is often mentioned in Confucianism, it does not encourage people to communicate in an honest language, so in reality, people do not trust each other because of lies.

[-]. Confucianism does not oppose polygamy.

[-]. Confucianism recognizes polytheism.

[-]. Confucianism believes in superstitious things and imaginary products (such as fortune-telling, choosing a day to do things, dreams, or fantasy dragons, phoenixes, etc.).

[-]. Confucianism confuses ethical thinking with superficial rituals, turning the two into a means of political tyranny.

[-]. The attitude of Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, towards some ancient systems is always changing and capricious.

[-]. Confucianism believes that people's moral character will be changed by certain music.

[-]. Confucianism emphasizes the role of "sage". It always sets an example and believes that the example will affect people's behavior. Confucius himself is the best proof.

If the Confucian saying that "the ruler is the vessel, the people are the water, the vessel is round, the water is round, and the vessel is square, the water is square" is true, we can't help but wonder why many great men in Chinese history did not have any respect for later generations of scholars. What about the impact?If "role models" really have a great influence on people, why does Chinese society go against the behavior of "role models"?Confucianism's reverence for "sages" has reached the point of deification, and as a result, such deification directly leads to the lack of adjustment methods, just like the eighth article mentioned above.No matter how well these "sages" do, he can't interfere with people's behavior, he can only make some suggestions.As for whether other people will do what he said, he has no right to restrain him, at most he will not mention it anymore.

Confucius had a very thought-provoking saying: "If you don't get angry, don't enlighten, if you don't complain, don't express. If you take one corner and don't turn it against three corners, you will never return." This sentence was said to the "sages". It is very good, but it is There is no preventive effect.If it can't be prevented, it needs a tonic.A lone traveler is stripped of his belongings by robbers and injured himself.At this time, other people came over and told him that if he had joined a certain tour group at that time, such a thing would not have happened.But he couldn't hear it anymore, because he had lost too much blood, and he had passed out.In fact, the injured traveler also understands this truth, but he should not reflect on these things now, he should find a place where he can heal his injuries and get some nutritional supplements to maintain his health.But only if he has a friend who is willing to take him to the hospital.Maybe Confucianism can help people with physical disabilities, but if their "morality" and "spirit" are injured, Confucianism can't do anything about it.

[-]. In the teachings of Confucianism, women are slaves, and children are subjects in the eyes of their parents.The life of the whole society is going on in an "authoritarian" way.

[-]. Confucianism advocates filial piety to parents and advocates worshiping parents as gods.

[-]. The ultimate goal of the theoretical system of Confucianism is the worship of "sages and sages", such as turning people into "gods".

21. Confucianism has no clear attitude towards the term "immortality", but it advocates "ancestor worship" which has no ethical meaning.

22. Confucianism's theory of "rewarding the present world" is greatly conducive to the development of "self-interest", and the final result is either becoming greedy or becoming ambitious.

23. Confucianism has not given any comfort to people, whether they are living or dead.

24. It can be seen from the history of China that Confucianism does not give people a new life, nor can they lead a more noble life.In reality, Confucianism has merged with Buddhism and Taoism.

In this chapter we have talked about various strange beliefs in China and the fusions within these beliefs.

The Chinese themselves know very well that neither Confucianism nor other religions can give people new life, nor can they lead a noble life.There is an unknown parable that reflects this aspect very well.One day, Confucius, Laozi and Buddha met in the Paradise of Paradise. They all shook their heads and sighed. Nowadays, people's hearts are not old, and people have gradually fallen.Neither their claim nor some good advice has been developed much.After discussing with each other, they came to a conclusion that it is necessary to set an example among people, so that their teachings and ideas can be inherited and developed.So they began to look for "models" everywhere, and Confucius found a highly respected old man.When the old man saw Confucius coming, he still sat there, but let Confucius sit down and talk to him about some ancient teachings and modern people's neglect of these teachings.The old man was very familiar with the teachings of ancient sages, and Confucius appreciated his profound knowledge and judgment.They chatted for a long time, and when Confucius said goodbye, he found that the old man had no intention of getting up to see him off, so Confucius was very disappointed.After returning, Confucius told Lao Tzu and Buddha about his experience, hoping that they would also visit the old man to see if the old man was also proficient in other teachings.Laozi first visited the old man, and he was surprised to find that the old man's understanding of "Tao" was not inferior to his own, and his eloquence was also very good.But Lao Tzu also found that although the old man seemed to have a very good attitude, he was still sitting there motionless.Finally, the Buddha also found that the old man did not get up, but he understood the deep meaning of the Buddhist classics very well, which surprised the Buddha.

Finally, the three sages gathered again in the Paradise of Paradise, and they all believed that this old man was the person they were looking for.Not only is he proficient in the teachings of the "Three Religions", but he can also use sufficient arguments to demonstrate the reality of "the integration of the Three Religions into One".So the three of them visited the old man together, hoping that the old man could revitalize the Three Religions and let the teachings of the Three Religions be spread and developed.The old man still sat like that, listened to their words respectfully, and then said: "Three revered saints, you are full of wisdom, and your plans are also very admirable. Your kindness is higher than the sky and wider than the earth, but You have chosen the wrong person to fulfill this mission. Although I have studied the scriptures of various religions and understand their profound significance, my lower body is a stone, and only my upper body is a human body. Although I can point out what kind of responsibility humans should shoulder Mission, telling them what to do is the right thing to do, but I can't act, so I can't get any point across."

After hearing these words, the three saints sighed helplessly and disappeared in front of the old man.

Since then, they have never looked for mortals who spread the teachings of the Three Religions.

Many people will compare the ancient Roman Empire in the first century AD with modern China.Of course, the moral status of the ancient Roman Empire was far inferior to that of contemporary China, but there is one thing in common: the religious beliefs in both countries are on the verge of collapse.As the British historian Gibbon commented on the ancient Roman Empire: "To the common man, all religions are so true; to philosophers, all religions are so false; to statesmen, all religions are so The means available." This sentence can also be used to comment on China, because the emperors of China are the same as the emperors of ancient Rome. They are both devout believers and atheists, and they can even be supreme gods.It is Confucianism, which combines "polytheism" and "pantheism", that has led to China's current situation.

Foreigners are not interested in whether the view of "atheism" is correct or not, and it is even more terrifying than admitting "atheism". "Polytheism" and "atheism" are like "one point" and "six points" on a dice, they are two opposite sides.But in China, many knowledgeable scholars do not think there is any contradiction between the two.The Chinese are indifferent to those profound religious truths, which is due to their indifferent nature.They can accept that the body has no soul, they can also accept that the soul has no mind, and they can even accept that there is no god in the world.They have no interest in any of this, and that's certainly the saddest thing.

(End of this chapter)