Blog for suny

Despite of all those different influence, protestant and Confucianism do have something in common. Both of them have been the spiritual basis for the development and the spiritual haven in times of catastrophes and social unrests in the two countries. Besides, both have exerted a profound influence on the development of literature. In New England, belief in the mind’s intuitive power to penetrate and interpret ordinary reality led to a flowering of literary expression and religious thought. Many writers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Emily Dickson have produced a body of religious literature that fused romantic philosophy with ideas about individual conscience derived from New England Puritan thought. This school of Transcendentalists has been influential in the history of American literature. The same kind of things happened in China. A series of work of Confucianism, Analects of Confucius included, have always been the classics in Chinese history and the first book for people to read when they decided to start learning. Almost all the scholars in Chinese history have been influenced by the ideas of Confucianism and after hundreds of years and even hundreds of years later; the recitation of Analects of Confucius is still included in the exams to select government officials. This kind of phenomina can best illustrate the lasting charms of Confucianism.

All in all, Protestantism and Confucianism have been two major influences on people’s mindset and lifestyle in America and China respectfully. They have profound impacts on the work ethics, political ideals and cosmology of the two countries. Though in the new era, there are the dangers in both countries that the Protestantism and Confucianism will be undermined by the breeding of consumerism and materialism, the two ways of thinking still remain the spiritual pillar for the two nations and both countries are active in spreading the doctrine of Protestantism and Confucianism to other regions. Recently, Chinese government has invested a lot of money to build Confucian schools all over the world and domestically, people’s interests of studying Analects of Confucius have revived. In the world of hustle and bustle today, Protestantism and Confucianism not only is the spiritual motivation for people’s upward mobility, but also are spiritual retreats and chicken soup to save people’s soul from hollowness. (3733words)

Reference Books
The Protestant Experience in America by Porterfield Amanda
American Culture and Religion by William Warren Sweet
One Nation under God? By Mark Noll
White Protestant Americans by Milton M. Gordon
Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation by Roger Ames

Because of the limited time , this paper is far from being perfect. I will do more work to revise it and to make it more balanced. Hope that I can come up with a better version after I come back.

Thirdly , concerning the cosmology of different cultures, Christian religion is unilateral, whereas in Chinese Confucianism, it is dialectical. In western philosophy, the early stage of cosmology is closely related to the religion. In the Bible, it is clearly stated that it is the god who has created the universe and everything, whether alive or not alive. Not until the 15th century did the polish scientist Copernicus advanced the theory that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun. From then on, people began to look at the universe from a more rational perspective. However, as far as religion is concerned, the notion that god is the sole creator of the world is still dominating people’s mind. Christians believe that God is the transcendent and omnipotent master who has the almighty power to control people’s life. Even the protestant believe that everyone’s fate is destined and one can have no control over one’s own fate. You can only work hard to indicate god’s favor, without the slightest chance to interact with god to change your destiny. Thus, it has become a unilateral relationship, with no gateway for common people to get to the god and change god’s will.

However, in the Chinese concept, the outlook about the universe has neither been religious nor scientific and rational. Of course, we may think that the universe stands for something mysterious and powerful, but we never put it to a position of incomprehensible. like what we have talked about before, the concept of “天人合一”，( tian and common people becoming one)conveys the idea that sometimes common people can find connections with the universe. We believe that a person can get closer to the universe through demonstrating the proper conduct, which is also what the “天” asks of us. Those who are exemplifying the proper conduct can always be considered as the representatives of “天”. In ancient china , the empires always claimed that they are chosen by “天” and “天” just granted him the absolute power to reign the country. In that case, his right to govern is justifiable. I think this kind of behavior can also be dated back to the traditional Chinese ways of thinking about the universe. any one who is doing something righteous is considered obeying the 天’s will and any one who is in power gets his power from “天”. In this way, “天” inevitably exerts a great influence on us and helps us to restrict our behavior. That’s one reason that Chinese people admire “天” and its power.

Unlike western people , Chinese people think the power of “天” is by no means omnipotent . if “天” abuses its power, people can also fight against it. in the ancient time , when there was an uprising, the leaders would always attribute the cause of the riot to “天无道”(Tian isn’t doing the right thing ). Interestingly , the excuse of “天无道” was much more appealing to common people than the concept of “人无道” or “君无道”(the emperor isn’t doing the right thing) From this point , we can also get a clear picture of how the concept of “天人合一” (tian and people becoming one)ingrained in people’s mind because even if the error is committed by empire, we always blame the “天” for the simple reason that the person is 天’s representative. Also , from here, we can see that if “天” has lost its justice ,people can fight against it and tries to change the way and then change the order in the society. In this way, the common people also exert a influence on the universe and the “天”. As common people ,we should not only demonstrate the appropriate conducts but also tries to keep “天” in its right tracks and make sure the way is carried out in a just and proper way. The changing of “天” is also depending on us.
to be continued

“和” can be interpreted both as a verb and as a noun. It can either be a state of having harmonious relationships with others and environment around you or an action of achieving harmony. But whatever it is, it should be connected with the word ritual propriety. Thus, it becomes a perfect combination of concept and action. Chinese people have a vague idea about “law” and what is dominating people’s conduct is the moral code. Thus , by advocating the importance of “he” within the community and then extending the notion to the international field, the peace and order can be achieved. Along with the soaring economic growth, Chinese people are eager to achieve the harmonies relationship between the economic development and the development of other sectors, such as environment and
the well-being of the common people.Some people even consider the dream of achieving “he” , the Chinese Dream in New Era.
Under the administration of George W. Bush, the U.S foreign policies are notorious for its unilateralism. Some people argue that the American invasion to other countries, in essence, is the expression of the will to Christianize the world and redeemed the world to god’s liking. American Protestants ideas about the kingdom of God derived , in part , from the Old Testament stories of Israel as the promised land of God’s chosen people and God promised to bestow them prosperity and fertility in response to their loyalty and faithfulness to God’s reign. English Protestants brought such visions to America in hope of building a new Israel in the wilderness of America. In John Winthrop’s Sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity” The phrase, “city upon a hill” is derived from the metaphor of Salt and Light in the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus given in the Gospel of Matthew. Winthrop warned the Puritan colonists of New England who were to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony that their new community would be a "city on a hill," watched by the world:
For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken...we shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God...We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us til we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.

After that, John Kennedy and Regal both quoted the phrase in their public speech and the notion of America as the city upon a hill has been rooted in the political blueprint. The sense of mission derived from the belief that Americans are the god’s chosen people has influenced American’s foreign policy and American government are always trying to convert other non-Christian nations and spread Christianity to the world. In a nutshell, when analyzing American foreign policy, we have to take the influence of religion into account; otherwise the conclusion will be lopsided.
to be continued

Secondly , the Protestantism and Confucianism have been instrumental in shaping the different political ideals. Entering into the 21 century, the communist party has launched a nationwide campaign to build a harmonicons society. to put it more accurately, it means the achieving of “he”. All of a sudden, the word “he” is dancing on the lips of every Chinese citizen. The government also adopts this terminology to the field of international policies. The ideals of foreign policy have become the achieving of harmony and peace in the international community. The idea of “harmony” has originated from the core spirit of Confucianism, “tian ren he yi” which indicates a state that human being and the “tian” are becoming one integral part. . In my opinion, “he” can serve the meaning as a noun, as well as a verb.

When it is a noun, it means harmony. Harmony entails many different layers of meanings. First of all, it stands for the harmony between human beings and the environment around us. We should respect nature ant act upon the rules of nature in order to achieve harmony. In doing so, the nature and mankind can finally become an integral part and coexist in peace. Secondly, it refers to the harmony between different people. As individuals, we must find over appropriate position in a larger group, whether it is your family, your neighborhood, or your office, and try to get along with people in those larger groups. Only when we managed to behave ourselves, respect others and collaborate with others in an appropriate way, can the meaning of “harmony” be displayed.

It also has something to do with another core value in the analects of Confucius, “the ritual propriety”. As we can see from 1.12, “achieving harmony is the most valuable function of observing ritual propriety”; “the achievement of harmony was a guiding standard in all things large and small.” Since the ritual propriety can be considered as the standard and rules of how you can relate to people around you and achieving an ideal relationship. To achieve “和”, to some extant , means being able to carry out the ritual propriety.
When “和” is a verb ,it means “to reconcile and to integrate with other s and the environment around you”. You have to act on the principle of ritual propriety in order to achieve harmony, in Chinese philosophy, the concept of group in very important, you must make yourself a part of a larger group ant treat other in a polite and respect way the process of cultivating this kind of relationship is the meaning of “和” when it is a verb.
As we can see in1.12, “but when things are not going well, to realize harmony just for its own sake without regulating the situation through observing ritual propriety will not work..” the achieving of harmony is closely related to the ritual propriety. Ritual propriety is the rules for us to follow in achieving a harmonious relationship.
to be continued

First of all, the influence of Christian belief and Confucianism has resulted in the different work ethics in two cultures. American people are influenced by the protestant work ethics, which, to put it simple, can be summarized as “work hard to indicate god’s favor.” Protestant is a branch of Christianity. It began to take shape and finally break away from the control of Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation. As the capitalism was burgeoning in Europe, the newly-raised burgeons want to simplify the ritualistic and luxurious ceremony hold by the church so that more money could be invested to economic development. Instead of considering the priest as the middle man, they believed that man could find salvation and be connected with god by their own interpretation of Bible. Everyone’s fate is destined by god and one can only work extremely hard to indicate that you are god’s chosen people. American people are famous workaholic. It is not because that they love money and are eager to accumulate wealth to better their life, but also because of the influence the Protestant work ethic. According to the statistics, those multi-millionaires, such as Bill Gates and Michael Dell, all have donated a proportion of their own property to charity. This phonomena can also be explained by the work ethics. This people work hard enough to gather wealth to indicate that they are god’s favorite. Thus, they are endowed with the sense of mission to save the world and help people in need. Their wealth comes from god and they have to give it back to the society to fulfill god’s will. Since more and more people are exerting themselves to get ahead in order to indicate god’s favor, the economy begin to prosper. Following the economic boom is the increasingly fierce competition and the greater economy growth. People have to work harder to survive and the protestant work ethics have always being the driving force.
Unlike Americans’ materialistic work ethics, Chinese people live a quite spiritual life. The notion of “proper conduct” is more important than the accumulation of wealth. The proper conduct is a general term which includes every virtue that is required for a person to be a “junzi”, which means an exemplary person. Among them are, filial piety, the rectification of names, the harmony of character and emotions, the respect of ritual propriety etc. Those ideals become the driving force for Chinese people to achieve the higher form of self-cultivation. They believes that only in achieving the proper conduct and achieve self-cultivation can they be affiliated to the “tian” so that his spirit can become a part of family legacy and be passed on to the next generation. . Everyone can get nearer to god through self-cultivation. Some one who has got the correct way of doing things and keeps correcting his way of doing things according certain rules can present the “tian” and demonstrate “tian”. For example, Confucius can be regarded as an example of “tian”. In 19.22, 19.23 and 19.24, there are sentences like these “the master’s wall, on the other hand, is massive, rising some twenty or thirty feet in the air. Without gaining entry through the gate, one cannot see the magnificence of the ancestral temple on the lavishness of the estate inside.” “The superior character of other people is like a mound or a hill which can still be scaled, but Confucius as a symbol of god for his character and his proper way of doing things.” As a result, people pay more attention to the spiritual cultivation rather than the materialist well-being, considering the moral virtue the ideal of life. In 4.5The Master said, "Riches and honors are what men desire. If they cannot be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held. Poverty and meanness are what men dislike. If they cannot be avoided in the proper way, they should not be avoided.
"If a superior man abandons virtue, how can he fulfill the requirements of that name?
"The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it." From this, we can see the emphasis on the proper conduct rather than the accumulation of wealth. If you can not avoid poverty in a proper and upright way, you have to accept it contentedly, for you haven’t done anything that is going to undermine your spiritual well-being.
to be continued

The last week, I was devoted to writing my paper, and therefore, I haven't got enough time to write my blog. During the week, I had a lot of wonderful experience and I will definitely write about it after I come back home. I have, to some extend, a perfectionist complex. If I don't have enough time to finish a blog what, at least, will make me satisfied, I will choose not to do it and leave it to some other time. However, I have to exert myself to meet the deadline so I decide to paste my paper there as a part of my blog. In this case, I can finish the 15 blogs assigned. I will continue to finish my blog and write about my magnificent experience here after I come back.

The Comparison of American Protestantism and Chinese Confucianism

Outline:
I. The background information of Protestantism in America and Confucianism in China
II. The comparison of American Protestantism and Confucianism
1. the different influence on work ethics
2. different influence on political ideals the different cosmologies
3. different cosmologies
III. Summery and Conclusion of the whole paper

Text:

Nowadays, U.S and China are two major powers in the international community. More and more people are curious about the cultural background and national character of the two countries. Religion, out of doubt, has played a very important role in shaping the thinking pattern of the two diametrically opposed countries. If we want to probe deeper to dig out the underlying spirits that contribute to their economic rising, religion is a good point to start.

America is definitely a religious country. From the settlement of the first group of English puritans to the burgeoning of national spirit, religion has played a very important part. American religious institutions are large, powerful and influential in social and political life. Even Americans who are members of no established religion are likely to believe in God. According the Gallup poll survey in 2003, 82% of Americans think themselves as religious people. According to another statistics shown on the American Religion website, Americans tend to believe in life after death: 73% compared to 50% in Switzerland and only 38% in Great Britain. About 60% of Americans are members of a church, synagogue or other religious group, though many more identify with various religions because of their birth or upbringing. About 40% of Americans attend religious services regularly, compared to only 20% in Great Britain. Of the 85% of Americans with a Christian connection, Protestant groups make up about 49%, Roman Catholics 28%, Eastern Orthodox, Armenian and Polish National Catholics 4% http://www.lifeintheusa.com/religion/index.html
From the results of survey and the statistics, it is easy to come to the conclusion that America does have a strong social basis for the growth of religion and religion is a big business in American’s life.

From the early days of America, New comers arrived in this country with a complicated array of ethnic and religious heritages—Scottish Presbyterians, Norwegian Lutherans, Irish Catholics, etc. Protestant- Catholic-Jew represented something like a typology of super-denominations, and the vast majority of Americans accepted affiliation with one of these three groups. With faith in god, those immigrants were able to survive the harsh living environment and build up the legacy of a powerful empire gradually. The faith in religion has permeated into every corner of people’s daily life and exerted a great influence in the American way of life. Especially for protestant, they have taken up the largest number in the whole American population and have the most profound influence in American culture.

Unlike America, when speaking of China, most people would think of a non-religious country in which the only thing people believe in is Marxism. The truth is that Chinese people are highly religious to the faith of Confucianism, which is a combination of religion and philosophy. The Analects of Confucian, whose influence is comparable to Bible in the western community, has been a legacy that passed on from generation to generation. In China, we only consider Confucianism as a school of philosophy, yet in America, you can only find the books about Confucianism in the section of East Asian Religion. John Dewey once said, “There is no need for religion in the Chinese philosophy.” In my understanding, what he is trying to say is, the notion of Confucianism has covered the sector of religion and extended to a broader sense. The reason that some people consider Confucianism as a religion is that in the Analects of Confucians, the idea of “天” , which can be translated in to English as “ the sky”, is brought up thousands of times. Yet , to simply translate “天” into “the sky” or “god”, or a “superior being” is inaccurate. “天” is more of a spiritual content rather than a real existence. According to the translation of Professor Roger Ames from the University of Hawaii, “天” is translated into “tian” by its pronunciation. Thus, the original connotation of this word is preserved.. Another reason for people to consider Confucianism as a religion is that unlike Christianity which creates a heaven and afterlife to give people the driving force to live a moral live, Confucianism believes in the legacy of family. If you are living a life abided by the code of morality, you have contributed to the legacy of family, and thus, your off springs will remember you forever. Then, the immortality is achieved. I spared much space to talk about the concept of “tian”, which is the core spirit in Chinese religion and philosophy, to make the discussion later easier to understand. In the later part, I will proceed to give my opinion of the different influence of American religion and Chinese Confucianism.
to be continued