RS100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Filial Piety, Confucius, Qing Dynasty
Document Summary
Sages the energy of the universe shines through the sage. Ling: efficacy : maintenance of correct rituals and traditions, power shared by humans and deities materializes out of human effort to meet human needs. Ancestor worship: family religion, community religion, state religion. Shang period (1751-1111 bce: ancestor cult, shang di ( the lord on high ) those descended from shang di are fit to rule. Mandate of heaven/ sky the mandate of one to rule. They do not mean the literal sky, but they emphasize that it is within our universe. An integrated universe or gestalt cosmology the universe is not outside. Supernatural beings the ancestors are a part of the world. Yin (feminine, weak, dark, subordinate) and yang (masculine, strong, light) balance. The five elements: wood, metal, fire, water, and earth. This is all established by the time confucius comes along. We are our relationships. a person is not a separate individual.
