The main sources that the author relies on are the merchant manuals, for they were likeminded and resembled Confucius philosophy. The author uses these manuals, which “were imbued to some extent with the desire to teach Confucian morality,” to support his main argument. The foremost purpose of these merchant manuals in late imperial China was “to help people achieve success and attain wealth through commerce.”
In Doc. 4, Han Yu, a Confucian scholar, discussed the idea of having a procession into the palace in which the finger bone of Buddha, retrieved from India, was to be displayed to the people. He saw this as ludicrous and disgusting, recalling that The Buddha was foreign, did not mention Chinese thinkers or kings and did not honor the central Confucian concept of the hierarchy and the family. Han Yu believed that, if The Buddha were alive, he would be sent away and unable to “delude”, or trick and deceive, the Chinese people. This account is hateful, calling Buddhism an “evil”. This shows that some scholars felt threatened by the foreign ideas flowing from India and believed that Buddhism was in no way beneficial to China.
Buddhism as barbaric, imperfect, and foreign while others saw it as beneficial and a path to an orderly society and eternal salvation. Document one shows how Buddhism spread from India to China, The fact the Buddhism was not native to China caused great distress to scholars like Han Yu who stated throughout document five how the Buddha did not follow Chinese customs. He went on to explain that “the Buddha was a man of the barbarians.” Also, in document three, Faixan travels to India to find out how to improve chinese Buddhism because he does not think that it has been perfected in China. On the contrary, scholars who supported Buddhism praised how it offered a path to salvation (Document 2) and some, like Zang Mi in document six, went as far as to compare it to Taoism and Confucianism, saying that “all three teachings lead to the creation of an orderly society and for this reason the must be observed with respect” among other things.
A novel that refers to an ancient China with different traditions and beliefs, uses a common farmer as the main character. The novel The Good Earth written by “Pearl S. Buck” occurs in early China, at a time there were still emperors. Their life styles were different in many varied aspects in comparison to our modern day life. Some examples of this unique culture are: the different women roles, the symbolism of land as power and how wealth affected their traditions.
The introduction of Buddhism to China started off well, most openly accepted the foreign religion and it continued to thrive for centuries. Until the lack of an empire and laws plagued individuals minds. Other religions with a strong imperial structure, such as Confucianism, rose to support the growing number of negative minds. Buddhism was spread by Buddhist missionaries from India into China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). It was, at first, confined to only the higher status individuals, like aristocrats and Chinese royalty.
By exposing how Buddha changed Confucian society, Yu was trying to recruit others to the Confucians cause. Before Han Yu around 500, an anonymous Chinese scholar asked “ If Buddhism is the greatest and most venerable of ways, why did the great sages of the past and Confucius not practice it?” ( Doc 3, Anonymous) To this author the practices of Buddhism were foreign compared to the classic Confucian writings in which they most likely followed. The
Daoist philosophy places emphases on an instinctive awareness, supported by balanced contact with nature, and rejects everything that is not natural. The principles of the Daoist encouraged isolation from humanity for personal development in nature and attaining balance between yin and yang. Confucian philosophy seeks order and social stability. The philosophy states that junzi (superior person) who has ren (human heartedness), exemplifies the ideal social order sought. An individual could become a junzi by promoting certain qualities like understanding of suffering and a quest of morality and righteousness.
Obstacles can be challenging, and difficult, but people can overcome them by never giving up, always trying their best, and surrounding themselves with families and friends. Two stories that I have read that show adversity are “A Work in Progress” by Aimee Mullins which is about a little girl losing her leg. The other story I read is “So Far From the Bamboo Grove” by Yoko Kawashima Watkins about a little girl that has to leave her home because of war and has very big obstacles to overcome. Aimee Mullins and the Kawashimas both face obstacles that include losing family members, walking very far in intense weather, and people doubting you and trying to stop you. In the end they all make it through the the challenges mentally and physically.
Buddha’s Among Clouds Travel back in time to 1744 during the Qing dynasty, where a court artist named Ding Guanpeng created the painting Buddhas of the Three Generations. This painting was most likely a gift to the religious leaders of Tibet, followed by a series of other paintings. The emperor of the time was Emperor Qianlong and he supported Tibetan style Buddhism.
In A.S Byatt’s “The Thing in the Forest”, the author uses the elements of a short story to craft a dark, mature fairytale. The title of the story, “The Thing in the Forest”, in the sense that it foreshadows the main idea of the story. The audience expects more than just a "thing", as listed in the title. Byatt emphasizes through figurative language that the main characters, Penny and Primrose, are dealing with more than just a creature in the forest that affected them for the rest of their lives, and that with this use of symbols to express a larger meaning to objects in the story. A.S Byatt emphasizes more on plot and setting, characters, theme and symbols.
Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo are both known for being the world’s greatest long distance travelers, however, because of their different backgrounds it had influenced the way in which each traveler wrote about their experiences in China. This contrast is dominantly believed to have been influenced by their different religious backgrounds, and how each had viewed the world. This was ultimately is influenced by ones cultural and religious background. In this essay I will examine the different experiences that both Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo had experienced during their visits in China. Ibn Battuta, a well-educated Islamic scholar born and raised by a wealthy family in Tangier, Morocco, he had begun his journey at the age of 21.
Their rationalities are still being used today. They were incredible masterminds with awesome impact in the antiquated society. Confucianism imparts to Aristotle mindfulness that for people to be great, they require moral astuteness and in addition different demeanors of character, yet Confucianism places more prominent accentuation on the part of reflection and concentrate in the improvement of good insight (Provis, 2017). Over the next several paragraphs, it is my goal to address the following: 1)
In this paper, we’ll study some of their famous pedagogy thought to explore what influences they have brought to the Chinese and westerners’ cognition and behavior and why the two civilizations developed in same period would diverge in such a degree. Furthermore, I
Portuguese traders began arriving in China around 1515. They were interested in trading new goods but also intended to spread Christianity, so they brought Jesuits along with them. Matteo Ricci, the leader of the Jesuits, aimed to convert members of the elite, who he hoped would then assist in spreading his religion among the Chinese people. The Jesuits were highly educated and served the Ming and Qing emperors as advisers, astronomers, cartographers, and painters, but they were generally unsuccessful in converting. They attempted to explain how the people can believe in both Confucian and Christian teachings.
The cool, upland air, flooding through the everlasting branches of the lively tree, as it casts a vague shadow onto the grasses ' fine green. Fresh sunlight penetrates through the branches of the tree, illuminating perfect spheres of water upon its green wands. My numb and almost transparent feet are blanketed by the sweetness of the scene, as the sunlight paints my lips red, my hair ebony, and my eyes honey-like. The noon sunlight acts as a HD camera, telling no lies, in the world in which shadows of truth are the harshest, revealing every flaw in the sight, like a toddler carrying his very first camera, taking pictures of whatever he sees. My head looks down at the sight of my cold and lifeless feet, before making its way up to the reaching arms of an infatuating tree, glowing brightly virescent at the edges of the trunk, inviting a soothing, tingling sensation to my soul.
