Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE). Confucius considered himself a transmitter of cultural values inherited from the Xia (c. 2070–1600 BCE), Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and Western Zhou dynasties (c. 1046–771 BCE). Confucianism was suppressed during the Legalist and autocratic Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), but survived. During the Han dynasty, Confucian approaches edged out the "proto-Taoist" Huang–Lao as the official ideology, while the emperors mixed both with the realist techniques of Legalism.
Neo-Confucianism is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in the Tang dynasty, and became prominent during the Song and Ming dynasties under the formulations of Zhu Xi (1130–1200). After the Mongol conquest of China in the thirteenth century, Chinese scholars and officials restored and preserved neo-Confucianism as a way to safeguard the cultural heritage of China.
New Confucianism is an intellectual movement of Confucianism that began in the early 20th century in Republican China, and further developed in post-Mao era contemporary China. It primarily developed during the May Fourth Movement. It is deeply influenced by, but not identical with, the neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties.
Religion in China is diverse and most Chinese people are either non-religious or practice a combination of Buddhism and Taoism with a Confucian worldview, which is collectively termed as Chinese folk religion.
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion, comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled with the contents of institutionalised religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese syncretic religions”. This includes the veneration of shen (spirits) and ancestors, exorcism of demonic forces, and a belief in the rational order of nature, balance in the universe and reality that can be influenced by human beings and their rulers, as well as spirits and deities. Worship is devoted to deities and immortals, who can be deities of places or natural phenomena, of human behaviour, or founders of family lineages. Stories of these gods are collected into the body of Chinese mythology. By the Song dynasty (960-1279), these practices had been blended with Buddhist, Confucianist doctrines and Taoist teachings to form the popular religious system which has lasted in many ways until the present day. The present day government of mainland China, like the imperial dynasties, tolerates popular religious organizations if they bolster social stability but suppresses or persecutes those that they fear would undermine it.
Shengdao, best known by its corporate name Tongshanshe is a Confucian salvation sect part of the Xiantiandao lineage.
The Supreme Council for the Confucian Religion in Indonesia is a Confucian church established in 1955 in Indonesia, comprising the communities of practitioners of Confucianism mostly among Chinese Indonesians. Together with the Hong Kong Confucian Academy it is one of the two branches that formed after the dissolution of mainland China's Confucian Church founded by Kang Youwei in the early 20th century.
Xuanyuandao, also known as Xuanyuanism (軒轅教) or Huangdiism (黄帝教), is a Confucian folk religion of China which was founded in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1952. The founder was Wang Hansheng (王寒生) (1899–1989), a legislator. The Church of Xuanyuan aims to restore the "national religion" of archaic China, with Huangdi as the universal God.
Khufiyya is a Sufist order of Chinese Islam. It was the first Sufist order to be established within China and, along with Jahriyya, Qadiriyya and Kubrawiyyah, is acknowledged as one of the four orders of Chinese Sufism. Kubrawiyyah first enter china after Jahriyya, naqasbandi and last one qadiriyya
The Confucian Academy is a non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1930 by Dr. Chen Huanzhang to promote Confucianism. It follows Confucius's teachings to provide students with the relevant knowledge. His teachings are based on a moral code for human relations, which emphasizes the importance of tradition and rites.
This is a family tree of the main line of descent of Confucius.
The Four Sages, Assessors, or Correlates, are four eminent Chinese philosophers in the Confucian tradition. They are traditionally accorded a kind of sainthood and their spirit tablets are prominently placed in Confucian temples, two upon the east and two upon the west side of the Hall of the Great Completion.
Chinese salvationist religions or Chinese folk religious sects are a Chinese religious tradition characterised by a concern for salvation of the person and the society. They are distinguished by egalitarianism, a founding charismatic person often informed by a divine revelation, a specific theology written in holy texts, a millenarian eschatology and a voluntary path of salvation, an embodied experience of the numinous through healing and self-cultivation, and an expansive orientation through evangelism and philanthropy.
The Way of the Gods according to the Confucian Tradition, also called the Luandao or Luanism or—from the name of its cell congregations—the phoenix halls or phoenix churches, is a Confucian congregational religious movement of the Chinese traditional beliefs.
Shanrendao is a Confucian-Taoist religious movement in northeast China. Its name as a social body is the Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue or simply the Church of the Way and its Virtue, which is frequently translated as the Morality Church. Shanrendao can be viewed as one of the best examples of the jiaohua movements.
The Holy Confucian Church or Holy Church of Confucius or Holy Confucian Church of China is a religious organisation of Confucianism in China, formed by local Confucian churches or halls. A grassroots movement of local Confucian churches was initiated in 2009 by Zhou Beichen, a disciple of the Confucian philosopher Jiang Qing, when he founded the first church in Shenzhen, The aim was to develop a network of local Confucian churches throughout the country, later to be unified into a national body and possibly become a state religion in China. The national and international body, the Holy Confucian Church of China, was established in late 2015.
The predominant religions in Northeast China are Chinese folk religions led by local shamans. Taoism and Chinese Buddhism were never well established in this region of recent Han Chinese settlement. For this reason the region has been a hotbed for folk religious and Confucian churches, which provide a structure, clergy, scriptures and ritual to the local communities. The Way of the Return to the One, the Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue (Shanrendao), and more recently the Falun Gong, have been the most successful sects in Manchuria, claiming millions of followers. Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, traditionally transmitted by the region's Mongol minorities, have made inroads also among Han Chinese.
Lingnan Confucianism refers to the Confucian schools of thoughts in Lingnan - the Southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi. These schools are primarily formed by Cantonese people, who have traditionally been the dominant demographic in the region.
Baoguo Temple is a Buddhist temple located on Mount Emei, in Emeishan City, Sichuan, China. It is the site of the Buddhist Association of Mount Emei. The temple mainly enshrines Buddhist Bodhisattvas as well as sages of Confucianism and deities of Taoism, which makes unique temple of three spiritual traditions.
Religious Confucianism is an interpretation of Confucianism as a religion. It originated in the time of Confucius with his defense of traditional religious institutions of his time such as the Jongmyo rites, and the ritual and music system.
