Daoism

In your Daoism term paper, you should begin by providing historical background. In ancient China, the Chinese emperor was responsible for following the Dao path. How he followed the Dao and performed his sacrifices determined China's well being. If he did not follow the Dao path, then China would experience calamity. Therefore, the people knew whether their emperor was living right by how China was fairing. If drought, flood, earthquakes, or tornadoes came upon China, this was due to the fact that the emperor was doing something wrong. This gave the people the right to eject that emperor and replace him with someone who would live by the Dao more closely. The Daoists do not have a God or Gods as we know. They have a hierarchy of Gods, but these Gods are considered only to rule the spirits. They can help to insure prosperity, health or a good harvest, but if they do not do their job correctly, then the people will stop worshiping them. The people bring these Gods, like Tian Zi (Son of Heaven), offerings of food, drink and incense only if the God seems to be performing his duties.

Divination, the art of using omens or magic powers to figure out movements in the supernatural world, has been a part of Chinese culture for a long time. They use divination methods to help them to make decisions. The Chinese would read inscriptions on animal bones or tortoiseshells during the Shang and Zhou periods. Today the Chinese sometimes use wood blocks to learn the response of an ancestor or deity in temples and homes. There is an ancient book on divination called Yi Jing, the Book of Changes that Daoists refer to. It describes methods for divinations and how to interpret them. An important part of Chinese religion is Ancestor Veneration. The Chinese believe that the world is divided into three levels, heaven, earth, and the underworld. The three levels are all interconnected. When a person dies on earth their po, or animating soul, stays with the corpse. The hun or soul becomes a spirit (shen) and ascends. The po becomes a ghost. When a relative dies, the descendents offer sacrifices up to them. It is common to find ancestral temples and shrines in towns and villages dedicated to individuals, who became deities through legends surrounding their lives and deaths. In most homes there was an altar for wood plaques or paper with the names of deceased relatives. This practice is not only to show respect for the dead, but also to ensure their protection and help in the future. Mediators are often called on to perform proper burials to make sure that the po and shen are treated correctly. To get a complete custom essay on Daoism, feel free to sign in with an order.