Religious beliefs

Chinese religious beliefs rely on three elements: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism; the first two are the most widespread of Chinese origin.⁵ Although everyday language generally describes them as religions, it would be more appropriate to consider each as a school of philosophy, a way of life and govern-ing, rather than a classical religion in the Western sense. The three main Western religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam share identical roots and characteris-tics, such as monotheism, exclusivism and (except for Judaism) proselytism; the Chinese approach, however, is completely different. Firstly, it is not monotheis-tic; in fact, the Chinese deities are more like Western saints in that they include ancestors who once lived, as well as mythological creatures. Secondly, it is not exclusivist: a Christian cannot embrace Judaism or Islam at the same time (and vice versa); in the Chinese (Eastern) culture, however, there is no distinct dividing line between the individual faiths, and many people follow the teachings and

5 Buddhism is discussed in the chapter dedicated to India.

traditions of several ‘religions’ in parallel. Perhaps it reflects Chinese pragmatism that is more focused on the possibilities, rather than voluntarily excluding the prospects offered by other religious beliefs.

Figure 6: Wheel of Life. Rock carving reflecting Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism from Dazu (Sichuan province).

Source: Photograph by JUDIT BAGI

Western terminology describes this phenomenon as syncretism: contrary to the monotheistic and exclusivist Western religions and categorical thinking, the Eastern cultures make way for a combination of different beliefs. Therefore, the Eastern cultures are considered intellectually tolerant in so far as they are able to adapt various intellectual disciplines.

This, however, makes the statistics rather complicated, as the number of followers of each faith can only be estimated. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the PRC officially recognises only five religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism (not the Roman Catholic Church but the Chinese), while Confucianism has been unofficially re-recognised since the dawn of the twenty-first century (Figure 6). Folk religion should also be men-tioned; according to surveys the majority of the population follow some sort of

folk religion (possibly combined with Taoism), while 10‒15% of the population is Buddhist, 2‒4% Christian and 1‒2% Muslim.

Taoism

The identity of Lao-Tze (Laozi, sixth century BCE) is uncertain: although regarded as the founder of Taoism, his existence and even his name remain a matter of debate. According to tradition he was an official at the imperial archives who, after leaving the court and travelling for a while, wrote his still influential Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing), ‘The Book of The Way and its Virtue’ considered as the main source of Taoism. Lao-Tze’s work described his view of the universe in an easily understandable form. Tao (Dao) is a cosmic force behind the work-ings of the universe that moves spontaneously. According to Lao-Tze, the wise man strives to attain naturalness, a state of emptiness through wu wei, which means ‘inaction’ or ‘effortless action’. The book depicts an idealised patriarchal society spiritually guided by the ‘wise man’. The Tao is not a creation: it is every-thing and noevery-thing, imperceptible to the senses, yet a perpetual inexhaustible force.

The Tao exists beyond space and time; the Tao is eternal and absolute and gives birth to all beings. (Should the above seem familiar from modern pop culture, it is no mere coincidence: Star Wars is believed to have relied on Taoism a great deal for describing the ‘Force’.)

Taoism teaches that everything in this world is relative, or even illusory, and asks the question why we burden ourselves with problems and social commit-ments. At the same time, Taoism provided metaphysical foundation for some more practical schools of philosophy, such as Legalism (Fajia). As the name sug-gests, Legalism is focused on law, i.e. a social order based on rules and laws.

Chinese legal theory is fundamentally determined by Confucianism and Legalism, a key element of which is morality, i.e. the traditional Chinese approach that merges social and legal norms. Law and morality were seen as inseparable, similarly to the unity of judicial and administrative forces; it is hardly surprising that, as a still surviving authoritarian practice, disputes between the citizens and the state generally ended in favour of the latter. Chinese people developed no confidence in law and legal order, and there was not a legal institu-tion in which to trust in case their rights were being eroded. It is noticeable that the Middle Kingdom had no room for the separation of powers, and the legal system was dominated by punishing laws of subordinating nature. In the turbulent years of the fourth century BCE the state lost its ability to maintain social order relying on former administrative practices and required new principles suited to the situation, capable to adapt to the changing conditions. Eventually, this led to the adoption of laws.

The Legalists came from various schools of philosophy, including Taoism.

Legalism spread mostly in the third and fourth centuries BCE, initially opposed to Confucianism which, at that time, contrasted theory with practice. To the follow-ers of Confucianism, the proven principles of customary law and morality repre-sented norm; the Legalists unconditionally believed that law determined behav-iour. According to Legalist doctrines the law should change with the passing of time, in fact, no rules should remain unchanged permanently, but should adapt to the particular age. When laws fail to conform, yet remain unchanged, it leads to chaos. This should be avoided all the more because the moral foundation of law is granted through effectiveness, i.e. the ability to ensure appropriate regulation and, consequently, satisfactory outcome.

Confucianism

Another main school of Chinese philosophy is associated with Confucius (also known as Kong Qui, Kongzi, or Kong Fuzi, 551‒479 BCE). Nowadays Con-fucianism is viewed as a religion, although not in the traditional Western sense.

According to Confucius, changing the family and the individual is a precondition for reforming public matters. Moreover, in order to revive social conventions and behavioural rules already emptied of meaning, the rulers themselves must behave in an exemplary manner.

In Confucius’s view, a ruler must set an example to inspire people, and that makes even governing much easier. On the contrary, inappropriate behaviour dis-played by a ruler eventually leads to disobedience. This fundamental political approach is seen as a still influential universal teaching, which appears to be upheld by the leaders of the PRC as well punishing inappropriate behaviour that reflects negatively on government (e.g. corruption) by the force of law.

In the subsequent Han period criticism of administrative ruling was replaced by the idea of unassailability. The Confucian worldview originally based on humanism turned into an ideological foundation for Chinese bureaucracy with significant influence on the country. Chinese perception suggests close relation-ship between human being and community, and direct links between human microcosm and universe, respectively mortal macrocosm and deity. It also leads to a vision of society otherwise typical in Eastern Asia, i.e. that the individual’s role and interests are subordinate to those of the community (Figure 7). This dis-tinctive feature, very much unlike the Western egocentric society, fundamentally affects Chinese politics in both interior and foreign affairs and provides the philo-sophical grounds for China’s prevailing effective system. In fact, it even supports the argument that Western democracy in this part of the world would be infea-sible: it would fail to solve China’s problems, and it would not prevent

bureau-cratic or business abuse and would not protect the interests of ordinary people.

Consequently, it would be downright counterproductive and could easily desta-bilise the country ‒ at least in the opinion of the Chinese leaders.

Figure 7: Ancestral Temple, Tengchong, Yunnan province.

Source: Photograph by JUDIT BAGI

The forerunner of Legalism

In addition to Confucianism and Legalism, there was also a third approach associated with Kuan Chung (also known as Guan Zhong, 720‒645 BCE): the theory of balancing the light and the heavy. This approach aimed to administer government through economic activity, clearly ranking matters in an order of importance (urgency) to improve the effectiveness of problem solving. Similar to the Legalists, Kuan Chung’s focus in interstate relations was placed on common interest, though unlike the former, he put economic power before law in state administration matters. The law’s effectiveness arises not from itself, but from the economic environment in which it emerged. A ruler is only able to govern state matters if economic control is maintained simultaneously. While Confucian-ism is focused on morality, Kuan Chung’s teaching suggests that morality arises

‘merely’ out of economic interest. He regards economy to be superior in interstate relations as well, recognising that conflicts are generally won by the party with economic superiority. Therefore, economic power is a key element, and state power can be best measured by the extent of wealth, and the speed with which it can be mobilised in war.

2.1.6. The history of China and its effect on international relations This chapter aims to summarise the major milestones of China’s almost five-thousand-year-old history. Modern-day China regards the current world order to be fundamentally different from the ‘conventional’ world order experi-enced in the past millennia. During the Empire most of the known world was, on the whole, united by a single ruler, and as the wars mainly erupted for imperial power, they should be viewed as internal rather than actual international conflicts.

Prior to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries China had undoubtedly been the ultimate economic and cultural power in Asia.

Despite the numerous external threats faced throughout its long history, the sheer size and population of the Middle Kingdom led to the eventual assimilation of the invaders into Chinese culture. As a result, the concept of sovereign equal states seemed unnatural to China; outsiders were merely viewed as barbarians, and the deployment of foreign envoys seemed an unnecessary effort. It was true even though China dispatched envoys via the Silk Road from time to time. The system and mechanism of European balance of power had been unknown to China until Western invasion which ended in loss and humiliation. Our aim by outlining the major events and periods of Chinese history is to put into context China’s strategic and foreign policy approach. Naturally, providing a full picture is beyond the scope of this study; for this reason, the key episodes of Chinese history and civilisation still influencing foreign policy behaviour will be high-lighted.

The territory of modern-day China has been inhabited since prehistoric times; Homo erectus, known as Peking man from fossils discovered in 1965, appeared in Northern China over one million years ago. Some archaeological finds suggest use of fire as early as 1.2 million years ago.

Similar to other ancient civilisations, the first cultures in the territory of China primarily evolved in the valleys of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, as well as in the coastal regions around 8000 BCE. The earliest evidence of agricultural activity originates from the eighth millennium BCE, i.e. the Neolithic era; later on, a cultural centre emerged in the Yellow River valley, with the establishment of the first permanent settlements. The Chinese civilisation is unique for its long history of literacy. The ancient characters carved into rock in

Ningxia probably date back to 5000‒6000 BCE, but they only vaguely resemble the characters recognised as the earliest authentic Chinese writing. The turtle shells with inscribed characters viewed as genuine evidence of Chinese literacy originate from 2000‒1500 BCE, and therefore are at least 3500‒4000 years old.

Even more surprising is the fact that the shape and meaning of some characters have not or only minimally changed over the past millennia.

The Mythical Period of China associated with the emergence of literacy comprises the rule of the Three Sovereigns (2800‒2737 BCE) and the Five (Mythical) Emperors (2737‒2698 BCE) revered as demigods in later years, and still recognised among the ancient ‘deities’ of China (in truth we cannot speak of Chinese gods; see the chapter on religion). The Yellow Emperor, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns, is still looked upon as the creator and ancestor of the Chinese civilisation and people, though his actual existence has been scien-tifically debated. He was in all probability a culture hero, taking shape centuries later in historical writings.