chapter 2 中国人的理想和信仰（英文版）（"认识中国·了解中国"书系）-2

The System and Characteristics of
Chinese Ideals and Beliefs

46 The Ideal and Belief of the Chinese
A group of people possess certain and specific characteristics, and

the same goes for a nationality. The core meaning of “Chinese” means “all
the people belong to the nation of Zhong Hua.” As we all know, the nation
of Zhong Hua has a long history and an abundant culture. The Chinese
people feel proud of their history and culture, which is not unique to any
specific country or nation with a similarly long and abundant history.
Due to particular geographic living conditions, modes of livelihood and
lifestyles, Chinese people cultivated a unique idealism and belief system.
In this chapter, we focus on the characteristics of such an idealism and
belief system.
1　The Ideal Chinese Characters
Ideality is not illusion. Ideality can only shape a typical mode of

idealism through a characteristic system. As a result, when studying
Chinese idealism and belief we tend to comprehend the Chinese belief
of idealism and its systematic structure to analyze what ideal Chinese
characters are. In fact, from ignorance to civilization, and from reality to
the future, humankind always needs this unique talent of idealization to
realize itself. Therefore, in any cultural system there is always a notion
of ideal characteristics in relation to an ideal society. To explore the ideal
Chinese character and society, we must trace the history all the way back
to the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period. In those
times, the chaotic social environment stimulated the philosophers and the
contention and flourishing of numerous schools of thoughts to comprehend
reality and human life as well as the pursuit of a ideal character.
Idealism resides in ideal characters. The so-called ideal character
is a morally perfect model and the highest paragon of character; it is a
Chapter 2 The System and Characteristics of Chinese Ideals and Beliefs 47
society or nationalities’ supreme display of a moral character as well as the

essence of humanism. In nature, the ideal character is in fact a constructed
future mode of character for people in a social reality. It presents itself
as peoples’ lasting pursuit and longing for self-perfection of character
and morality. Of course, such a futuristic mode of character is not static
model. It can be changed and reshaped and is representative of a certain
epoch and social class. Thus, the ideal character as presented throughout
various times and classes may be quite different. For example, traditional
Confucianism pursues the ideal character of “Sageliness Within and
Kingliness Without”, which is ethically oriented towards societal groups.
The Taoists emphasize more on an individual value which promotes a
kind of non-acting liberal ideal character which is called “Becoming
One with Tao”. Buddhists believe in the retreat from secular affairs and
desires, promoting a “wise, merciful, kind and benevolent” ideal character.
Nowadays, during the period of Socialist modernization, the ideal Chinese
character does not only involve traditional ideal characteristics of purity,
kindness and innocence, but also shows a modernity of such a character.
Acquiring modernism requires people to co-ordinate their own emotions,
minds, personalities, needs, values and creeds of idealism, in order to
reach a psychological state of harmony. Additionally, they can adjust their
relationships with the external environment with rationality. Especially
when dealing with interpersonal relationships, it requires one to be self-
respecting and self-dignified when considering the collective honor and
consciousness of cooperation by respecting and loving others. One thing
needs to be clear, however, though the ideal character possesses strong
class traits, it does not mean that the ideal modes of characters in various
times and classes are independent from each other. On the contrary, they
are often mutually harmonized in each other.
1.1 I deal Confucian Character: From the“Junzi”to the

“Sageliness Within and Kingliness Without”
When mentioning ideal Chinese characters and the spirits of
nationhood, people should first see a just, happy, open-minded, strong-
willed “Junzi” spirit. Fan Zhongyan in the Song dynasty wrote “be
concerned about the country and the people before anything else,” showing
his spirit of concerning others without bias. Wen Tianxiang wrote “Death
befalls all men alike. I’ll keep a loyal heart to make a name in history.”
He left his name in history by showing his self-sacrificing loyal heart to
the nation. Zhou Dunyi wrote “be like an uncontaminated lotus that just
came out of the mud,” showing the idea of purity by not being overly
competitive and ganging up with others. This is the perfect representation
of a “Junzi” spirit. One can say that since Confucius shaped the concept
of “Junzi”, it gradually developed into an ethical model as the ideal
character. However, the Confucius-Mencius school set up an even higher
ideal character of “Sageliness Within and Kingliness Without” which not
only emphasizes on individual character cultivation but also focuses on
individual moral cultivation with a social practicality for representing
the social value of such individuals. In general, because of the different
social environments that Confucius and Mencius were living in, they had
different interpretations and presentations on this concept.
As the First Master of traditional Confucianism, Confucian believed
a sage king’s character is not cultivated overnight. It is a climactic
progression. Hence, he set up progressive targets towards becoming
Sagely in character which is higher than a “Junzi”, that is in becoming a
Sage from a “Junzi”. One could become a Sage only after one became a
“Junzi”. According to the content of Confucian teachings of “Ren” ( 仁 ) (a
Junzi must cultivate roots; Dao comes from the birth of roots; filial piety
is the root of benevolence), one must study and practice such character
to cultivate the single dimensional core of inner sageliness. About “Li”

( 礼 ) or ritual (looking according to Li; listening according to Li; speaking
according to Li; acting according to Li), to obey and respect accordingly
is the single dimensional path towards the construction of the outer
kingliness.
On the basis of agreeing with Confucius’ idea of “Ren” and “Li”,
Mencius further connected the external social regulations and internal
moral awareness through the doctrine of good human nature. He
emphasized the sole importance of inner sageliness in the construction
of the ideal human character. In his opinion, compassion is part of the
universal nature of humanity which is the precondition of human morality
in general. He classified such a morality into four categories as follows: “the
heart of compassion is the start of ‘Ren’; the heart of shame is the start of
righteousness; the heart of humility is the start of ‘Li’; (and) the heart of
justice is the start of wisdom”. The ideal character constructed by Mencius
through his teachings mainly emphasizes the inner sageliness.” [1] External
kingliness is conducted through inner sageliness and is simultaneously
bound and controlled by the inner sageliness. Thus, an interrelated,
inseparable duality of sageliness and kingliness is formed.
In general, Chinese Confucianism highly emphasizes high-level
spiritual pursuits and proposes the possibility of active involvement with
secular affairs, promoting the idea of making the world all “good” and
showing the right salvatory path as their primary task. The ideal Confucian
character of the intellectuals is interpreted from inner sageliness and outer
kingliness, while all the wise men and sages proposed are either moral
or spiritual models which are reflective of a kind of virtuous character.
According to the viewpoint of Confucian, the ideal character is a type of
benevolent spirit which is also a combination of kindness, wisdom and
bravery. Meanwhile, it is a great aspiration to build success via vigorous
work, self-determination and progressive forward-thinking “To ordain

conscience for Heaven and Earth, to secure life and fortune for the people,
to continue lost teachings for past sages, to establish peace for all future
generations.” This type of ideal Confucian character is no doubt the most
essential, for it contains Confucian consideration and design for one’s
ideal life.
1.2 The Taoist Ideal Character: From“Sage”to“Becoming One

with Tao”
Taoism is a popular philosophy for it worships nature and
highlights freedom. The First Master of Taoism, Lao-Tzu, established his
philosophical foundation through “Tao”. In his view, everything in the
universe is a spin-off of “Tao”, and the characteristic of the “Tao” is to
be natural. This means, being spontaneously naturalistic is the primary
law of the universe which includes an internal existence as well as human
social actions. If people can follow the Tao’s idea on inaction nature,
they will become a Sage which is an ideal human character of Lao-Tzu.
Zhuang-Tzu, adopted most of Lao-Tzu’s teachings while being innovative
according to what he learnt. As for the thought of human character, there
is not only the Sage of Lao-Tzu but also beings like “sheng ren” (wise
person), “zhen ren” (true person) and “shen ren” (divine person), who
possess the capability of exceeding nature, secularity, and themselves.
According to Zhuang-Tzu’s thought, humans can break through the form
of self and connect with others. Human spiritual space can expand without
limits to become one with the external universe.
In general, the Tao of Lao-Tzu and Zhuang-Tzu belongs to the
philosophical scope which is the origin of the universe. Its meaning is
to be natural without action. Lao-Tzu once remarked “humans obey
earth; earth obeys heaven; heaven obeys Tao; and Tao obeys Nature.”
This is the general pedagogy of Taoist naturalistic philosophy and is

the core value of such philosophy. The original meaning of “Tao obeys
Nature” is trying to illustrate everything, including Tao, is to follow the
rules of nature and non-acting. The nature of Tao is natural and non-acting
thus it represents human nature to be the same. Taoism holds the opinion
that human nature is non-knowing and non-desiring, simple without
excess, like the purity and naturalness of an infant. “Seeing simplicity and
holding austerity, lack of self-orientation and desire” proposed by Lao-
Tzu is the fundamental meaning of the Taoist naturalistic human nature
theory. However, as soon as human beings are born into this world, they
are enslaved by materials for acquiring either fame or interests, and by
competing and fighting others. In view of Tao, the reason why humanity is
enslaved by material is because of selfishness. In the Book of Lao-Tzu, “the
biggest sin is selfishness, the biggest disaster is un-satisfaction, the biggest
fault is desiring more.” In the Book of Zhuang-Tzu, “the people caught
in the trap of desire are less in the favor of heaven.” Because people are
competing for fame and interests, they are enslaved, which means they
lose the independence and freedom as an individual. Just as Zhuang-Tzu
points out, “once becoming form, one also begins awaiting the end…
once interacting and competing for material means, one is just like riding
a galloping horse towards the end and difficult to stop, isn’t that pathetic!”
“Being enslaved through one’s entire life yet not becoming anything, at the
same time becoming tired by slavery yet not knowing when it ends, isn’t
that sad!”
In the Taoist viewpoint, humans will not only be enslaved by material
and form, but also will be regulated by social ethics, especially Confucian
ideas of Ren (benevolence), righteousness, rightfulness and wisdom.
Lao-Tzu once said, “when the great Tao is abolished, benevolence and
righteousness will show.” “Rites, are the representation of a lack of
loyalty and trust, and are the cause of chaos.” Zhuang-Tzu thought “things
like filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, trust, chastity, and
incorruptibility, are equal to the cultivation of self-virtue through self-
slavery.” Taoist believes things like benevolence and righteousness
damage human nature. As a result, they propose the idea of reducing
selfishness and desire, in order to recover the purity of humanity, which is
returning to the body of the Tao. This means, to return to the human nature
for realizing the ideal character.
In summary, the Taoist ideal character overlooks fame and self-
interest for the cultivation of internal peace. They promote the idea of
overlooking interests and reducing desire, reaching emptiness, guarding
stillness with no self-interest and no competition, emphasizing on the
abandonment of Confucian wisdom, acting through non-acting, and
promoting desirelessness, just as how Lao-Tzu said, “therefore the
Sage acquires wisdom through non-acting, acquires knowledge through
not seeing, (and) reaches success through non-acting.” In conclusion,
the Taoist ideal character is “Becoming One with Tao”, and putting
forth a strong tone towards individual freedom of spirituality and
independence of mind. In Taoism’s view, individuals in a society are
extremely insignificant, so they need to keep their natural instincts
and not be blinded by materialistic needs, not to be enslaved, and in
order to be kept in a state of extreme emptiness and stillness. If people
do not go after fame, achievement, they can reach a state of free
wandering which can detach themselves from the materialistic self,
right and wrong, kindness and evil, life and death, so as to enjoy the
ability to “travel freely outside of the six relationships with the mortal
life” without any secular rules and regulations. However, similarly as
Confucianism, the Taoist ideal character is only a compartmental part
of the Chinese ideal character.
1.3 The Buddhist Ideal Character: An Illusionary Character that

Combines Wisdom, Mercy, Kindness and Benevolence
The Buddhist ideal character is only reflected in one word—Buddha.
The character of Buddha has a unique niche in the Chinese spiritual world.
One could say it has already become one of the Chinese national spirits’
fundamental cognitive structures. Based on the perspective of an ideal
character, the Buddhist character is a combination of wisdom, mercy,
kindness and benevolence. In other words, the Buddhist ideal character
has four characteristics.
The first is wisdom, which means complete enlightenment. The so-
called nature of Buddha is the cause of the collective enlightenment.
Enlightenment is the fundamental meaning of Buddha’s nature, which
is whether one can acquire wisdom or not through enlightenment. There
are two signs of complete Buddhistic enlightenment. The first is seeing
through the reality of life. The other is to find a path of escape from all
humanly sufferings, which is exceeding human life and becoming a
Buddha as a way out of mortal sufferings and a supreme idea. Wisdom or
acknowledgment is another sign of the nature of the first representation of
a Buddhistic character.
The second is mercy, or the great empathy. In Buddhist teachings,
they believe that human life is suffering. It is important to emphasize
empathy to each other. Mercy as leniency is another idealistic Buddhist
character representation. The so-called great mercifulness is not ordinary
mercy. Its goal is to completely wake up and save humankind’s sense
of empathy so that it can expand to the entire human world or contract
to things like mosquitoes or little birds. Therefore, “not killing” is the
primary precept. The great mercifulness is an emotional need and it is
to teach people to be tolerant of others. This requires people to “endure”
as the first principle vis-a-vis “the big stomach (Buddha) can contain the
uncontainable affairs under heaven, the merciful face always laughs at the
laughable people under heaven.”
The third is kindness, as the greatest virtue and act of righteousness.
The moral code of Buddhist action is to be kind; when one “accumulates
kindness to reach virtue and then one can reach a state of free spiritual
knowledge.” The idea of “kindness” in this sense shows the Buddhist
character merging with a Confucian character. Unlike Hinduism, Chinese
Buddhism is easy to understand. Unlike Taoist ideas of free wandering, it
reveals strong karmic traits and the traditional virtue of punishing evil and
praising the good. In most of the temples and farmhouses of China, people
can find Guanyin. This means being kind to others is common to Chinese
social psychological behavior.
The fourth and final characteristic is benevolence or self-enlightenment
and the enlightening of others. The Confucian benevolence requires people
to be “self-made and help others become the same.” Buddhist benevolence
is hinting at Confucian characteristics as the highest standards which are
not only to reach complete self-enlightenment, but also helping and saving
others to achieve collective enlightenment. Collective enlightenment is a
Buddhist ethic ideal. To become a suddenly enlightened Buddha is their
life pursuit. Enlightening others for self-enlightenment, combining with
self-enlightenment for enlightening others are the unification of ideal
ethics and human life, which constructs the most significant Buddhist ideal
character—transformation of benevolence.
Therefore, the Buddhist ideal character is the unification of the
image of wise men, merciful men, kind men and benevolent men, and is
the transformation of wisdom, mercy, kindness and benevolence. In the
ideal Chinese character, becoming a Buddha represents the pursuit of a
supra-secular life. Even though people cannot reach a Buddha state, the
Chinese people still emphasize on putting wisdom, mercy, kindness and
benevolence as the undertone color of life. Thus, when discussing the ideal
Chinese character, it is impossible not to mention Chinese people’ pursuit
of the Buddha like nature and the notions they make through this process.
2　The Ideal Chinese Society
Because of the influence of Confucian as the mainstream culture,

Chinese traditional thought possess an obvious characteristic that treats
political ethics as the primary concerns of a society. No matter a great
Confucian scholar or a common person, they all take great interest in
political and ethical issues concerning society. One can also say that
Chinese people pay a high level of attention to politics and ethics in
order to help the society achieve an ideal state. Confucianism, Taoism,
Buddhism all lecture on the ideal society or ideal world. Amongst them,
both Confucian and Taoist thought have deep concerns about societal
issues, while both philosophies have direct commentary about each other’s
image of the ideal society. Buddhist thought does not usually involve
societal questions. Its major concern is to achieve personal disengagement
from the secular world, thus its major function is to point out methods
for disentanglement. In order to achieve the goal, the Buddhist scholars
also proposed theories of an ideal world that shares great similarity with
Confucian and Taoist ideas. Therefore, the Buddhist ideal world will not
be discussed in detail in this section.
2.1 The Ideal Confucian Society: From“Great Similarity”to a

“Well-Off Society”
Based on Confucian-Mencius schools’ discussions on the ideal
character, the scholars make a very detailed illustration of what an ideal
society should be. They proposed the “Great Similarity” and the “Well-Off
Society” as follows:
The act of the Great Tao is for all people under heaven to
equally share fairness and justice via their choice in talent and
emphasize on trust and harmony. Therefore, people should not
be selfish for their families’ interests. In this case, the elderly
should be well cared for, and the strong ones well employed.
The young ones will then look up to the older ones. The
widower, the widow, the orphan, the child, and the disabled
will all be well supported. Men will be well employed; women
will be well married. People hate the property on the ground
and will collect them but will not hide for themselves, and they
hate people who sneak off during work and will not solely work
for personal affairs. As a result, people will consider internal
affairs instead of warlike affairs. There will be no robbery,
thieving, revolts or banditry, so that people have no need to
lock their gates. This is a world of the Great Similarity.
Accordingly, the Confucian design of society is fundamentally a

society “for all people under heaven to share equally fairness and justice,”
which is presented in three dimensions. The first is to share property
between all societal members as the economic foundation of the “Great
Similarity” society. All thoughts associated with private property will
then disappear. This is what is meant by “people are not selfish for their
families’ interests.” Second, everybody works in a position according
to their talents, which is the life standard of a “Great Similarity”
society. Third, equality and friendship mean recruitment of talents but
no cultivation of elitism through favoring certain talents above others.
Meanwhile, the code of social engagement is based on trust and harmony
so that all people in need will be well supported by our society. The
idealism of the “Great Similarity” gives a beautiful hope towards a future
of high level harmonious society. This is the highest pursuit of Confucian.
However, this perfect “Great Similarity” idealism is indeed too far
from the reality so it has yet to be fulfilled in history. Accordingly, the Liji
Liyun proposed a lower level of ideal harmonious society called the “Well-
Off Society” as an achievable social goal:
Now, the Great Tao is hiding, so the world under heaven

belongs to the family for the family interests. All goods are
possessed for family’s interests. Nobility continues their lines
over generations, which also becomes a “Li” or rite according
to law. Regions are divided by city walls and ditches.
Rightness and righteousness become laws for putting the
ruler and his ministers in the correct positions, for fathers and
sons to know their relationship, for older and younger siblings
to love each other, for harmonizing husbands and wives, for
establishing systems, for opening fields and settlements, for
valuing the brave and the wise, and for making contributions
for one’s interests. Therefore, all conspiracies and actions
should be for such purposes which cause many wars. Through
these wars, King Yu the Great, King Tang, King Wen, King Wu,
King Cheng and the Duke of Zhou all came forward. These
sage kings are“Junzi”because they all carefully obeyed
“Li” or the rites. By recording their righteousness, they can
study their trustworthiness, learn from the past errors in
history, can set the example of “Li” for common people. Then
punishment, benevolence, lecturing, and humility will then be
in accordance with showing common people normality. The
ones in power who do not follow this will be removed, and

people will treat it as a disaster. This is called the Well-Off
Society.
It is easy to see the biggest characteristic of the Well-Off Society

is the concept that the world under heaven is ruled by family. In such a
society, materials are still possessed by private department, and private
ownership is still the mainstream. Confucius pointed out, that in such
a social condition, if one wanted to achieve social harmony, they must
regulate the social order through “Li”. They need to establish a well-
defined reward and punishment system, and correct value guidance
systems, as well as laws. All of these must be operated by Sage kings in
order to fulfill a decent socio-political administration.
The idealism of the “Great Similarity” and the “Well-Off Society”
are ideal social blueprints that Confucian scholars presented to us, which
reflects the successive development of social and a multi-layered social
stratification system. Amongst them, the “Well-Off Society” is closer to
the Confucian idea of pre-modern society. This is their first achievement
before the higher state, which is a strong indication for the people who
follow these teachings. The “Great Similarity” idealism is a high level of
social achievement goal which is built on the success of the “Well-Off
Society”, which has incentive functions that are cross-era and have a high
level over secular life.
2.2 The Ideal Taoist Society:“Small Countries with Less People”

For thousands of years, the long-lasting Taoist culture is always found
to be in a state of philosophical debate with the solely respected Confucian
philosophy. They are highly compatible for creating the mainstream of
Chinese philosophical culture. As discussed previously, Taoist philosophy
has a significant tendency to avoid secular affairs, and Taoists are not as
active as Confucian scholars in socio-political discussions. However, this
does not mean that the Taoists have no thoughts about society. In fact,
they constantly and openly criticize social factors, hoping to build an ideal
society according to the laws of Tao. Taoist social criticism only shows
that they are longing for justice, peace, and a naturalistic society. In the
time of Lao-Tzu, he called this kind of ideal society a “Small Country with
Less People”:
“A Small Country with Less People”does not require the

use of unnecessary leisure objects, but promotes extreme
importance in respecting life and enhancing settlement.
Though there are boats and vehicles, there is no reason to
use them. Though there is armor and weaponry, there is no
place to store them. It allows people to use rope knots as
documentation for events. In the extreme well-rooted world,
people enjoy their food, perfect their clothes, settle down
in peace, and are happy with their customs and ways. The
neighboring states can see each other and hear each-others’
livestock, yet people do not interact even until death.
The above text depicts a certain kind of pastoral-agricultural societal

image in which a small population in a small territory without the use of
advanced mechanical methods for farming. People do not migrate, and
transportation vehicles are all unnecessary for the society. Rope knotting
is efficient enough for life affair documentary. People are happy with
their dwelling and careers. They are satisfied with the current state and
standards of life, with no urge to communicate with neighboring lands.
Everybody is happy in their own way. In the Taoist view, naturalistic
villages and a more primitive civilization can provide more self-efficient

lifestyles with less desires and interference from the outside world. People
happily live in their own homeland, which is the best lifestyle according
to the Tao. This is the most ideal society. This type of social idealism sets
forth the basic elements for the future imagination of living a sequestered
life. For example, Tao Yuanming in the Eastern Jin Dynasty wrote the
Taohuayuanji which portrays a hidden peach garden village far away
from the secular world where “the land is flat and vast, houses and
barns are well organized and surrounded by nice rice paddy fields,
nurturing pond life, mulberry trees, and bamboo groves. The roads are
well connected, people can hear the call of each other’s roosters and
the bark of neighboring dogs. People are engaged in agricultural tasks,
men and women dress just the same as the outsiders. The elderly and
the youth are all happy, with a leisurely attitude.” Unfortunately, this
type of Taoist naturalistic ideal society is hard to bring to the reality.
The peach garden as depicted by Tao Yuanming is merely a beautiful
imagination.
2.3 The Compatibility of Confucianism and Taoism: Socialization

and Individualism Merge
Since the early age of Chinese feudalistic society, Confucianism
became the leading official thought and the mainstream and guiding
philosophy in social reality. While Taoism was mainly held by people at
grassroots. In such a large cultural context and history, the compatibility of
the two philosophies are mainly using Taoism for Confucian development
to replenish, to adjust, to correct, and to save Confucian shortcomings.
First, Confucianism holds an optimistic viewpoint on the development
of human civilization and societal progression. Using the life principles
of self-cultivation, family management, national administration, and
bringing peace to the world, it encourages people to contribute more to

their nation and society. It is not hard to see Confucian designs for the life
purpose of Chinese people is to be progressive. However, Confucianism
underestimates the price that people must pay for such progression, and
also the difficulties and challenges that should be faced up with. If all the
difficulties are overlooked, there is no way to solve problem. Under this
notion, the Taoist philosophers such as Lao-Tzu and Zhuang-Tzu, realized
these problems beforehand and paid very close attention to a phenomenon
called “differentiation”. They thus proposed the principle of naturalism,
attempting to avoid and solve those problems through returning to nature.
Secondly, Confucianism highly emphasizes social ethics with a
strong collective group consciousness promoting that individuals should
adjust themselves for the larger social cause. It ignores the individuals’
living condition and personal circumstances. In other words, Confucian
life values can only be realized in a social group, because without a social
cause, their lives would also be without meaning. A Confucian lifestyle is
full of spiritual events without leaving enough space for the individuals
themselves. Their spiritual world is then drown within the collectivity.
For the Chinese nation, Confucian cultivation of group consciousness is
extremely important. However, we must admit that Confucianism despises
individuality and overlooks individual personalities, independence of will,
as well as self-consciousness which can be filled by Taoist spirituality.
In general, despite the quite different philosophical systems of
Confucian and Taoist systematic depictions of an ideal society, they do
share common elements such as, pacifism, harmonious interpersonal
relationships, equality of income, justice, balance of wealth, social
harmony, peaceful environment, and guaranteed welfare. These idealistic
longings are not hollow hallucinations. They are the requests and longings
for ancient Chinese people and so constructed their society. These are
reasonable expectations for any time and any society for this is a common
value for humanity. Furthermore, they are the traditional view of values
deeply planted into the Chinese psychology which still influences the
general expectations of society from the people.
Currently, the Chinese government and people are paying great
efforts to constructing the harmonious society, and for realizing the
great rejuvenation of the nation of the Chinese Dream. Yet, such a goal
could use the traditional ideal Chinese society as a model. Chinese
economic construction, national power and life quality, have significantly
increased for more than three decades of Chinese reform and open up.
However, some unharmonious elements are showing up, such as the over-
development of resources, pollution, corruption, social inequality, and
others. These elements show disharmony between human and nature as
well as humans and humans, which is a threat for the entire society. Hence,
to make the Chinese Dream come true, we must fully utilize traditional
philosophical resources. Ancient Chinese people designed many ideal
societies which can still be and are crucial indicators for us to adjust the
relationships between humans, between humans and nature, as well as
improve the patterns of human behavior.
3　The Chinese Belief System
What are Chinese beliefs? Taking a perspective from the “root

system” and “existing system” of culture, Chinese traditional culture
includes the fundamental belief of “respecting heaven and earth”,
especially “respecting the heavens”. “Tian” (heaven) and “the way of tian”
is regarded as the highest transformational state and determination of the
universal power and social ethics which determine people to completely
rely on the mind and order of heaven. Heavenly Mind, Heavenly

Determination, Heavenly Principles, even Heavenly Oracles and Heavenly
Punishments, are the cultural elements awed by Chinese people from
all walks of life. Chinese daily speech often says that “human life is a
heavenly affair” which means the value and respect of life comes from the
heavens. “Conscience according to heavenly principles” means that when
someone is doing wrong, they must consider the heavenly net of justice.
The emperors must “hold the heavenly fate” while revolts are equal to
“performing the Tao for the heaven.” In summary, “heaven” is Chinese
people’s most commonly recognized, all-capable, all existing highest
decisive element.
This kind of primary belief system, which worships “heaven” as the
fundamental worship object, contains the Chinese pursuit of a harmonious
state between “heaven and humanity” as one. The unification of “heaven
and humanity”, for traditional Chinese people, means joining virtue with
heaven and earth, joining the light of the sun and the moon, and joining the
order of the four seasons. Such philosophy contains the simple yet devoted
belief of the Chinese people—nature and humans are harmoniously related
just as a family. The same fear and worship should be conducted to nature
as if to their own ancestors who have given them life. From cherishing
the value of life, respecting parents and ancestors who gave them lives, to
expanding this value towards all-naturalistic elements, including heaven
and earth, results in a kind of naturalistic and ancestral worship system
which is also a form of survival belief.
3.1　 The Chinese Fetishism: Worship of Nature

In Chinese peoples’ spiritual life, nature plays a dual role. Nature
gives them all the means of survival, while severely challenges their
very existence. They consider their relationship with nature by asking
questions such as “Where are humans from?” “What do other worlds

surrounding ours look like?” “How can humans deal with nature?” “What
is the destination for humanity and the meaning of life?” Via exploring
such questions, the early Chinese belief system of nature worship was
formed. This worship system was developed by early humans living in
the nature without much scientific technology for adapting unpredictable
natural phenomena. It became the earliest human-spiritual form of support,
reflected in systems such as totemism and ancestral worship, which helps
humankind advance towards the era of civilization.
The objects of naturalistic worship are the deified natural phenomena,
natural forces and natural materials such as the sky, the earth, the sun, the
moon, the stars, thunder, rain, mountains, rocks, water, fire, and others.
The origin of naturalistic worship can be traced as early as the paleolithic
era. The earliest forms of worship usually emulated the most influential
and dangerous natural phenomena or forces which had the biggest impact
on regional and societal production and life. The other natural phenomena
are secondary. On the one hand, naturalistic worship reflects people’s
incapability at the time to comprehend natural forces. On the other hand,
it reflects People’s desire for the power of naturalistic deities to bless
agricultural activities through men’s worshipping activities. For example,
deifying and worshipping the sun are good cases. As we all know, the sun
is an influential natural force in human life, especially for agricultural
and animal husbandry, which shows the sun as a determining factor for
people’s life. The sun can help crops to grow and produce a harvest, while
on the other hand can kill plants and lead to famine and drought. Thus, the
importance of sun started to grow in human thought. At first, humans did
not understand the secret of the sun. This means they only saw the sun as
a “god”. One can say that the sun worship is one of the earliest forms of
naturalistic beliefs, and the beginning of such a belief indicates the actual
start of nature worship.

With the development of productivity, people learnt more about
nature so that religious enthusiasm decreased and rationality increased.
Therefore, the objects of worship changed from blind dependence on the
power of nature to human factors, which continues as the changing trend
of ancient Chinese nature worship. However, for Chinese, nature is a
beneficial factor for our lives. Heaven and earth, as well as nature, are the
roots of all life forms, just as parents give lives to their offsprings, which
results in the worship of nature treated as the highest and most respected
phenomenon. The action of “respecting heaven and worshipping ancestors”
in traditional Chinese religion presents such a meaning. Fundamentally
speaking, “respecting heaven and worshipping ancestors” in Chinese
culture shows a mentality of worship and awe of nature. Respecting the
value of Chinese parents and ancestors for their life-giving power, is
applied simultaneously to nature as the life-giving power of all. Eventually,
this formed an integrated and long lasting “relationship between heaven
and humans” as a belief system. “The heavens represent the value of love,
commonality, and the absolute order.” The value of humans is to represent
the heavenly values. Hence, it is very hard for Chinese people to establish
an “anthropomorphized god character” existing apart from heaven because
the Chinese people had already established heaven as the highest deity and
supreme representation of nature. This is the most obvious differentiation
between the Chinese and Western monotheistic belief systems.
Overall, the Chinese people did not give credit to the miracle of life
in nature to an imagined supernatural Being because they are full of human
emotion towards what they are worshipping and respecting. For Chinese
people, their ethics are acquired and obtained through the observation of
nature or by applying existing human ethics to nature to gain recognition
from the authorities. We can say the Chinese belief system does not obtain
the highest power from a Western monotheistic styled “God”. Instead, the
rule of nature is the highest ethical standard. As a result, Chinese beliefs
reflect a national spirit which can be summarized by the concept and
expressions saying, “heavenly eternal existence should be reflected by the
self-cultivation of a ‘Junzi’,” and “the virtue of the earth, which is known
as Kun, is the carrier of things through virtual cultivation.” (from Zhouyi)
3.2　 The Chinese Family Belief: Ancestor Worship

The Chinese civilization lasted for about five thousand years and is
the only unbroken civilization amongst the world’s civilizations today.
The Chinese civilization can only obtain such an unbroken heritage by the
determination of their common belief. Based on the perspective of survival
and inheritance, the Chinese nations’ common belief is in ancestors, which
is the symbol of authority as well as our infinite bloodline, Until today,
formed a concentric ancestral worship system which is also a national
symbol characterized as the “successors of the dragon”. Through the
worship of the ancestors, the Chinese people found their destination and
the nation of China found their coagulating power.
The majority of documentation on the subject of ancestral worship
are in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, which was written in the
Warring States period. Besides, books like Zhuangzi, GuoYu, Zuo Zhuan,
Chu Ci, Lüshi Chunqiu, Liji and Mengzi, have related records tracing
the remote ancestors of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. The Chinese
legends of the deified “San Huang Wu Di”, from multi-origins, are
gradually condensed into the Chinese national ancestor—the Yan and
Yellow Emperor[2]. Eventually, the abstract anthropomorphized deities are
made into “cultural superhuman” with specific forms. Along the radiation
of such ancestral worship, the Chinese national belief has gradually
developed into a territorial national identity, and all the clans recognizing
such a belief merged into one family. The worship towards the Yan
and Yellow emperor in the land of China, is not only a tie of emotional
sentiment, but also a tie of heaven and earth in the vast agricultural
land. On this land, such ancestral worship as the primordial emotion is
not going to be broken. On the contrary, through the birth power of the
Yan and Yellow Emperor’s descendent, it will only be strengthened and
popularized.
In summary, in the scope of ancestral belief, ethnicities, and
landscapes were integrated when individual souls found their destination.
When the heart is comforted in the warmth of the family, the Chinese
peoples’ spiritual family is thus strengthened. Within the belief of
ancestors, the family returning to the hometown after finishing a life
journey becomes the ultimate wish for Chinese people’s longing for
survival in their ancestral land. Both the nobilities and grassroots share
a common wish tracing their ancestral lines. It is not hard to imagine
such tracing ends at the Yan and Yellow Emperor. Ancestral worship
belief links the chain of reasoning for Chinese people’s existence. This
is an unbreakable chain, and such a chain is a spiritual civilization chain
which helps Chinese people face the intruders’ cavalry and/or the Western
intrusion with cannons and guns.
3.3 Chinese Philosophical Beliefs: A Combination of Confucian,

Buddhism, and Taoism in Daily Life
There are many schools of philosophies throughout Chinese history
that construct the glorious Chinese national blossom of thoughts in which
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are the top three influential schools
known as “the three teachings.” Amongst them, Confucianism and Taoism
are the original basis of Chinese culture while Buddhism is imported from
outside of China. The reason that Buddhism can become as influential
as other philosophies, are due to the tenacious monastic and missionary

activities as well as the unique viewpoints in the teachings to solve social
and life questions. Combining various other philosophies, the in-depth
Chinese traditional culture which composed five thousand years of Chinese
national civilization history, and the unique Chinese daily psychology and
lifestyle are being formed throughout this process. In other words, Chinese
people’s belief of life is already well soaked with Confucian, Buddhist
and Taoist genes of thoughts. They are showing in every aspect of Chinese
daily life as well as in their life experiences.
3.3.1 The Influence of Confucian Belief on Chinese People: “The

View of Heavenly Fate” (TianMing) and “Worshipping the
Heavens and Ancestors in Relation to Filial Piety”
First, we need to discuss the view of heavenly fate in Confucianism.

As mentioned above, the ideal Confucian character is to serve the ultimate
goal of “Sageliness Within and Kingliness Without”. From the Confucian
idea of “I evaluate myself many times a day” to Mencius’ idea of “sincerity
from understanding others is the greatest happiness,” they all hold a path
of “seeking answers from inside through self-evaluation to reach the road
towards reaching the heavens.” They believe, as long as individuals hold
the discipline of self-cultivation for uplifting their spiritual state; gradually
they can comprehend the heavenly fate and bypass themselves, becoming
a “Junzi” or even a Sage. In a Confucian perspective, it does not matter
if an individual is an emperor or a commoner, self-cultivation should
be applied generally. This sort of self-cultivation methods and theories
are still popular, and are the basic standard for social elite, including the
scholars and people who are seeking knowledge, to accomplish their moral
practices. Through self-discipline, people expect to become aware of the
higher existence of self for understanding the meaning and value of a
human life, which should be following the heavenly fate and performance
of the Great Tao.
However, common Chinese people who are suffering from
hardship and heavy burdens of daily life, possess a different type of
understanding of heavenly fate. Their perspective is more leaning towards
anthropomorphized gods’ demand, which is a awe of fate. They also
lean more towards the unchangeable determinism from fate, which is
called believing in fate. They are more leaning towards resentment of
challenging the arrangement of their fate which is also being “fateful” in
orientation. Even though, this is a folk level transformation of a Confucian
heavenly fate perspective. It is so popular that it shapes the logic and daily
concerns of Chinese people towards fate. Such a belief in heavenly fate
and heavenly oracles is an important content of Chinese psychological
activity. Therefore, it is not a bizarre phenomenon when Chinese
people hold their tradition of worshipping gods and fortune-telling.
In addition, worshipping heaven and ancestors are closely related to
filial piety. Confucius—the representative figure of Confucianism— held a
perspective of mysticism for supernatural affairs. Even though he proposed
the idea of “respecting the ghosts and gods, but keeping away from them,”
he promoted ancestral sacrifice and demanded people to be sincere during
such activities. Furthermore, Confucius believed “the root of all things is
heaven; the roots of humans are ancestors; humans cannot exist without
heaven and earth or without the ancestors.” Consequently, people need to
sacrifice to both heaven and their ancestors so that ancestral worship could
become the most important form of worship and ceremony in Chinese
ritual behavior. Certainly, Confucianism not only emphasizes the rituals
themselves but also preaches a set of behavioral patterns to treat parents
and elderly in a proper manner, which is “filial piety.” “Filial piety” is
based on life to promote the idea that our lives are from our parents and
we are thus a part of each other in a unity of life. Thus, children should
model themselves after their parents. Filial piety is the prime factor bond
between parents and their offsprings in successive generations. Such a
bond demands being filial is equal to being kind, and being vicious is to
be unfilial in a human life. One who is filial, should be praised; one who
is not, should not be praised. This means that Chinese people respect and
awe their elderly in a psychological perspective, which could be stronger
than other nations. Traditional Chinese moral education is based on such
filial piety and awe, which makes filial piety one of the most significant
characteristics of Chinese traditional culture. As a traditional Chinese,
what is the path to being a real filial son to a father? The most common
answer is that children need to study hard for passing official examinations
and become state administrators in order to become famous as an efficient
official. Furthermore, they can be promoted into higher ranks in the
administrative system so that it brings glory to the family and brings fame
to the parents, which is considered a superior performance of such filial
piety.
When this kind of daily life belief becomes so deeply rooted into
ordinary Chinese psychology, they will practice it and experience it with
their own unique methods. For traditional Chinese people, they are all
required to perform the ritual ceremonies for heaven and the ancestors.
As a result, once upon a time in China, family temples were everywhere
containing countless types of wood carvings of ancestors associated with
rich funeral rites. In their daily life, filial piety is very close to a religious
complex towards the heaven. In summary, filial piety is a code of being
Chinese, which is family oriented, elderly oriented, and a form of self-
value fulfillment. This is a kind of survival belief that is deeply imbedded
in the Chinese soul, despite the change of time and society.
3.3.2 The Influence of Buddhist Belief on Chinese People: The

Consciousness of Self Enlightenment and Self Salvation
Buddhism officially entered China in the Tang Dynasty, taking a

philosophical and religious role in society. Its philosophy was popular
within scholarly circles, and its religious nature was widely applied at the
grassroots level so that it became a significant part of Chinese psychology.
Even though it is from a foreign country, it has a very deep influence
on the Chinese people in both their value system and spiritual life.
Meanwhile, Buddhism has an in-depth influence on the Chinese language,
diet, art, sculpture, and even the spiritual life of Chinese. The tenets of the
religion believe that the human world is a world of suffering, in which we
suffer from birth, aging, illness, and death, as well as all the emotional
pain along the way. Suffering in Buddhist teaching is caused by the body,
mouth, and the mind. If one attempts to eliminate the cause of suffering,
one must study hard for the path of Buddha for leaving the ring of karma
to become an enlightened Buddha. Buddhism is a strong self-disciplined
religion which is intended to suppress all kinds of vicious virtues and
greed. The teaching of Buddhism shows that one must deeply immerse
themselves into the study of sin, and to resist desire; they will then obtain
happiness and eternal liberation from suffering. Therefore, Buddhists
practice self-enlightenment and promote self-regulation instead of relying
on the blessings of certain gods to achieve the idea of belief.
However, “to escape from karma” and “to reach the state of an
enlightened Buddha,” is out of the common Chinese peoples’ spiritual and
conscious capabilities. In secular life, people usually feel pain because
they cannot realize the hope of eternity. In the world of science, eternity is
also impossible. Therefore, the threat of death is the hanging sword above
their heads, which means the stronger the survival desire is, the more
suffering they feel in their hearts. Since the pain of death is unavoidable,
it seems there is only one way to escape suffering which is to eliminate all
desires and pursuits, even the desire to survive and to achieve nirvana. It is
not hard to see, even though Buddhism is rich with valuable philosophical
thoughts, that for the practical and rational Chinese people it could be
quite a disappointment. As a result, many Chinese Buddhists practice
the teachings not for nirvana but for a better karmic result in their “next
lives”，because “good deeds lead to good karma, and vicious deeds lead to
vicious karma.”
3.3.3 Taoist Influence on Chinese People: Polytheism
The Taoist schools are essentially Chinese local knowledge systems.

On the one hand, it shows the strong philosophical tone of Chinese
original culture. On the other hand, it also shows the influence on Chinese
religious life in its religious form. Taoists believe the “Tao” is shapeless
and nameless, for it is the root of all things[3]. A practitioner of such a
belief must bypass the idea of materialism for reaching the way of eternity.
Taoist religion comes forth based on the foundations of Taoist philosophy.
It is an indigenous Chinese religion which emerged near the end of the
Han Dynasty. It takes Taoist theory and philosophy as its core teaching,
combined with teachings of “yin” and “yang”, the Five Elements, magic,
as well as various folk myth and tradition. Central to Taoism is the belief
that the Tao is the origin of all things, which can be obtained through self-
cultivation by anybody who wants to participate in the training of seeking
immortality. Taoism is a special religion based on the Chinese peoples’
survival consciousness.
According to Taoist logic, the ones who can achieve immortality
must be unique and who show special signs in many other aspects of
their lives. The most common aspect is to achieve immortality through
accumulating good virtue. Immortals will eventually become “gods” who
are anthropomorphized and eternal. Consequently, in the Taoist dictionary,

immortals and “gods” merge into one concept—that of “shen-xian”. The
main tenet of Taoism is the pursuit of longevity and immortality through
the use of magic. The first choice of magic is alchemy, which requires
strong psychological protection to avoid being influenced by strong
emotional power. “Talismans and spells” are then a basic requirement
for protection magic to avoid going onto a demonic path. So, the Taoist
“talismans and spell” take on the function of expelling the demons
in people’s hearts, insuring their health and life force in the long run.
Therefore, in most Chinese villages, during the funerary rites of passage,
it is important to make sure these talismans and spells are used to protect
the living ones and the dead. This proves that this type of psychological
protection as a social need can create a long lasting and popular market.
In summary, “the combination of Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism” as a philosophical belief system not only influences Chinese
people in different social classes, but also becomes a crucial part of their
survival beliefs for thousands of years. Within this system, Confucianism
is the closest to the Chinese social reality. Therefore, the family is at
the center of individual’s life. Confucianism regulates family ethics and
further expands into social political systems to become the foundation of
the Chinese survival belief.
4 Modern Development of the Chinese

Belief System
After modern history, the Chinese society had changed completely.

We are finally becoming an independent nation with growing national
power and wealth which brings profound changes to the life quality
of people. On the spiritual level, people are becoming more and more
independent and individualistic, which means rationality, science and
democracy are greatly improved for people are not as superstitious as
before. However, challenges and difficulties occur in the progress of
Chinese modernity: one is the value crisis in morality and belief; the
other is the crisis of socio-political order. Since the pre-modern era, many
scholars attempt to respond to and solve such crises, yet they are still not
resolved. These challenges surface in distinct phases throughout different
times, causing great disturbances for the Chinese people in the 21st
Century.
4.1 Belief in the Advancement of Chinese in the May Fourth

Movement: From“Science and Democracy”to“Marxism”
Due to the impact of Western philosophies in the pre-modern period
of China, the socio-political order and Chinese belief systems are going
through a significant crisis. The dominant Confucian thought since the
Han Dynasty, and the traditional cultural orders are facing “changes not
seen in over three thousand years” and have thus gradually collapsed. The
collapse of the traditional political order which was highly integrated with
traditional Chinese moral and social order led to the complete destruction
of the entire system. This period is termed by scholars as “the era of
transformation” from Confucian thought to the era of modernity.
To save the Chinese society from catastrophic crisis, the advanced
Chinese people in the May Fourth Movement era held two banners,
namely “science and democracy”, which originated from the Western
world. “Science” represents logic, and “democracy” represents populism.
These banners are not commonly seen in traditional Chinese thoughts. As
a result, science and democracy, as important topics, had been transplanted
into the Chinese context associating the impact between Western

civilization and Chinese civilization. The pioneer of the May Fourth
Movement firmly believed that science could provide a definite world of
meaning for the world of modern people and further be transformed into
the life value of modernity for modern people. Converting science into
a resource of belief through building its super material power reflected
a strong quest for the Chinese people to seek the meaning of individual
survival and reconstruction of a social belief system. Meanwhile,
worshipping science is not a true scientific development because science
is merely a tool of cognition which cannot solve the belief crisis at the
fundamental level of value systems. On the contrary, emphasizing the
importance of science in a compulsive manner, “scientism” increases the
crisis in human value and survival systems.
The slogan of “democracy” during this time was a common call for
social and political innovation. Though it was proposed by intellectuals,
it was commonly recognized in the wider society forming the start of a
strong social foundation. The reason is because the feudalistic imperial
power and its administrative foundation started to disintegrate during the
social chaos in the 1920s, and republican democracy became the trend
through capitalist propaganda building. Those pioneers of revolution
attempted to rebuild the societal order for adjusting ordinary Chinese
people’s call for “the disappearance of the imperial heaven.” However,
through the debates and diversions between capitalist intellectuals, they
started to hold different views on democracy and came under severe
attack from feudalistic intellectuals. The result of such an ideological
confrontation is confusion and loss in the general Chinese belief system.
The question was if they should follow and admire Western values
associated with the Western studies or retreat to the Eastern feudalistic
value system. Chinese belief crisis intensified over the duration of the
“East versus West” debate. It should be mentioned that the so-called

“Westernization school” represented by Hu Shi and Chen Xujing mainly
held liberal viewpoints, promoted individualism and freedom of survival.
They even believed that Chinese people should completely follow the
Western belief and value system. Such proposition came under strong
criticism by Zhang Taiyan and Liu Shipei, who listed all the faults and
problems in Western thought in attempt to deconstruct Westernization.
Undoubtedly, what they were doing was in fact defending the old value
and belief system that was facing a fatal challenge.
In such a time, what to choose and how to choose accordingly, should
be measured by the need for social development. The clash of cultures
and thought made Marxism the best choice for the advanced Chinese
intellectuals because it provided the best solution for the interests of
Chinese people based on the Chinese reality at that time, and it was also
strongly supported by the Chinese people. In this case, the CPC found
the best political belief and method to analyze and solve Chinese social
problems. These political beliefs turned into the most valuable system of
social belief by Chinese people and were protected, supported and praised
by the majority. Thus, the CPC’s propaganda of national sovereignty,
democracy of the people, and peaceful unification rapidly turned into
exercisable methodology of social action. In other words, Chinese people
finally started a state-building enterprise based on Marxist revolutionary
idealism and belief. Under such historic conditions, the belief of Marxism
and communism renew the world of Chinese beliefs, fullfill the loopholes
and cracks in Chinese belief. Evidently Marxism became deeply rooted in
China and was commonly believed by the Chinese advanced intellectuals.
That was a natural choice in historic development because Marxism could
help realize the Chinese idealistic society, and socialism which Marxism
supported became science from hypothesis.
4.2 From the Political Belief of the Founding of New China to

“Cultural Revolution”: Marxism and Idol Worship
The birth of the New China symbolized a Marxist socialist country
was erected amongst the upstanding nations of the world, and made
Marxist communist belief supported and protected at a state level. A new
belief, a new culture, and a new moral standard was established, which
contributed additional contents to the traditional Chinese belief system.
Undoubtedly, the belief in Marxism and communism is the highest belief
for the CPC because it changed Chinese people’s fate and the living
conditions completely. Therefore, it has been widely recognized in Chinese
political life and value systems. Even though Marxism has no natural
theoretical root in China, its value content holds a lot of similarity with the
Chinese traditional culture and fits into Chinese people’s survival belief
and life purpose. In addition, the Marxism that grows through practice
according to the Chinese social reality is not a forced propaganda. It was
a choice of practice through real social production, class struggle, and
revolutionary processes, so it was deeply rooted in Chinese psychology.
After the founding of New China, Marxism was transformed from a
communist political belief into Chinese people’s political belief which
further became a rooted societal belief, for it changed Chinese spirituality.
Certainly, Marxism stands on the high ground of human belief systems
after various evaluations and challenges. It realized Chinese request of
revolutionary development, institutional construction, and liberation.
Under the forceful call of Marxist and communist belief, Chinese people
reconstructed their worldview in a universal alignment. Chinese people
devoted themselves to the grand symphony of socialist construction with
a fiery passion and fierce unity. Chinese belief has intimately integrated
with a societal system, power and idealism, and has realized an ethical
model, spiritual model, and advanced theories rooted in a combination of

all three. Of course, there is a universal limitation of development. When
individuals completely entrust their life and destiny into a given ideology
and theoretical system, the result of superstition on such idealism and
theory appears so that it has the power to transform itself into idol worship
and gradually becomes a hidden threat, which triggered the “Cultural
Revolution”.
In the “Cultural Revolution”, the communist belief turned into a
revolutionary production movement because of the over-heated enthusiasm
of political worship. Tragically, once the bubble of exaggeration vanished,
people were drown into confusion and wandering, which severely
impacted the original belief system. On a certain level, the “Cultural
Revolution” brought Chinese into a belief crisis. During the “Cultural
Revolution”, the Chinese Belief system was challenged, which caused the
break between the individual, society and state. In addition, it also caused
the break and switch in scientific truth and belief in relation to the nation’s
political belief.
4.3 The Social Belief Since the Economic Reform and Opening
up Policy: Fetishism and the Crisis of Disbelief
China proceeded into a new era after the Economic Reform and
Opening up Policy (1978). Freeing people’s thoughts and abolishing
dogmatism mean people are allowed to make free choices in belief and
acquire the right of judgement. Modern Chinese people’s belief shows a
multi-origin and multi-formed developmental trend associated with the
pace of innovation. Therefore, a seemingly simple liberation movement
sparked the re-selection and re-construction of belief for a period of time.
The liberation of thought allowed people to be free from a fixed belief
according to a certain particular time. The old belief collapsed and the
new one has yet to be established. This means that time gave Chinese
people an opportunity to re-evaluate the value of idealistic belief, and
to re-create a new vision. As we all know, China reached a new historic
stage centered on economic development, which was leading to a change
of social conflicts: from the conflict of class to the conflict between the
increasing materialistic requirements and the outdated social production.
In this stage, it is extremely important to solve the social production issue
because economic development is the primary concern which overcomes
other needs. In certain conditions, Chinese people’s idealism and belief
must be changed. Based on their existence to date, when the original belief
starts to dismantle and the new idealistic yet-to-be-established belief, a
dilemma of a materialistic belief and disorientation of belief was going to
be an unavoidable challenge for spirit of the times.
As the Economic Reform and Opening up Policy deepened, the
founding of a socialist market economic system, as well as the economic
development, new phenomena and changes appeared in China. The
Economic Reform and Opening up Policy is an economic revolution that
had never occurred in Chinese history and it has a significant influence
upon human existence and development. However, this is a dualistic
influence. From a positive viewpoint, the market economy leads to change
in Chinese people’s thoughts and values. At the same time, it made science,
rationality, equality, liberty, democracy, and legality becoming Chinese
value. It creates a modern Chinese spirit which is progressive, creative and
independent. Negatively speaking, selfishness, materialism, utilitarianism
are becoming more and more influential to people’s values and behavior,
which is caused by such a market economy. For many people, “all inter-
human relationships are for the purpose of self-interest, and self-priority is
becoming the dominant mode of thinking.” Simultaneously, the abundance
of a market economy traps people into an extreme state driven by material
satisfaction and sensualism. As a result, people are put into a situation

of mastering as well as being enslaved by materialism. They are being
objectified by direct practicality, while being economic persons as well as
interest-oriented people are their only choices. In a way, the over-flow of
modern consumption and luxurious material lifestyles cannot cover some
of Chinese people’s crisis of belief.
In summary, we can conclude the belief difficulties and challenges in
the process of Chinese modernization. The impact of Western modernism
was held as a radical cultural determinism for criticizing and denying
traditional Chinese social morality and beliefs. Moreover, the frequent
cultural criticism movement after the founding of New China has no help
for the new socialist culture taking root in Chinese society in which the
most influential one is the “Cultural Revolution”. This movement triggered
a criticism of thinking, deeply impacting traditional Chinese ethics and
morality, which led and will lead to a great damaging effect towards the
building of socialist ethics and morals. Moreover, after the reform and
opening up, economic development was over-emphasized while cultural
and spiritual construction was overlooked, and people’s need of belief was
ignored. Economic development brought great convenience to life through
the enrichment of materials and people’s rationality, independence, value
and dignity have been taken seriously. Meanwhile this stimulates the
interest-oriented pursuit for economic persons. When interests become
the primary instinct of behavior, values and beliefs eventually become
objectified and secularized.
4.4 C urrent Chinese Political Belief: The Refashioning of

Marxism
Since the development of Chinese modernity and the shift to a
“civilization” status, modern Chinese people’s desire for a spiritual home
is increasing. When facing all the flaws, difficulties and conflicts of value
in the development of modernization, to shape and to firmly believe
in science are becoming collective questions. It is hard to solve these
questions. For modern Chinese, the revival of the greatness of the nation
and realizing the Chinese Dream rely on such a reshaping process which
is a matter for not only modern Chinese societal development, but also
the fate and future of China. Reshaping and reconstructing Marxist belief
is not only the inner demand of such an ideology, but also the demand
in shaping CPC’s members, government officials, and the entire societal
value. It is a demand for the Chinese to face all the challenges that are
existing in the economic, political, cultural and ideological area, along
with the global modernization. There are two primary considerations
which we need to pay attention to, in order to reshape Marxist belief and
further make it the guiding value of the Party and the whole society.
First, reshaping Marxist belief requires us not to treat it as a dogma.
As the leading ideology and the leading societal belief, the importance of
Marxism is not due to the personal subjectivity. This means Marxism is
an objective reality and the definite choice for the Chinese revolution and
construction of socialism based on historic facts. In fact, the communist
members are required to have a clear understanding of such teachings,
especially when Marxist belief, theory and politics are under severe
challenges, in order not to take hard and simple solutions with a dogmatic
attitude. From the lessons of history, the Soviet Union dogmatized the
entire federation system and social models. Strengthening the belief
requires us to take a gradual, progressive, cultivation method instead of
treating Marxism as an extreme hallucinatory and fossilized doctrine.
The belief of Marxism is a kind of scientific belief which exists as a
scientific truth for a universal solution which should not be treated as
religious doctrine because this has no benefit for the development of Marxist
theory. Doing so will actually take the ideology into the wrong direction.
According to historic accounts, any absolute theory and/or demands, will
end up in a state of crisis and unchangeable error. Marxist belief also
possesses an epochal character which means it must be developed and
fulfilled according to the demands of the times. In order to consist with
Marxist belief, we need to use its theories to solve various social and
developmental questions based on Marxist principles, such as realizing
the social, political, economic and cultural development in order to realize
liberation, equality, justice and freedom. This means any action that is holding
Marxism as a religious doctrine is an action of steering the core principle.
Second, to reshape Marxist belief, the path should be combined with
traditional Chinese belief. Whether in its content or form, the current
Chinese belief system is influenced by traditional culture and value
system which is mutually benefited, inter-fulfilled by, and supported by
Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. An individual’s spiritual world is
guarded by Buddhism and Taoism while their practicality is guided by
Confucianism which makes them possess an outstanding, internal form
of cultivation and an external practicality. However, the biggest challenge
for traditional Chinese culture is the question of how to maintain and
encourage people’s independence on political and economic levels as
well as how to make sure the national spirit’s transformation and renewal
are based on an independent self-efficient foundation. The systematic
flaws in traditional culture’s value aspect can be fulfilled by the value
system of Marxism through its methodology. Thus, regarding Chinese
traditional philosophical and value systems, in order to re-shape Marxist
belief, it requires us to cleanse the impurities in our traditional thoughts
while praise and strengthen the purities in this system. In conclusion, it is
a fusion of creativity via combining Marxism and Chinese culture after
clarifying the inner relationship between Marxism and Chinese traditional
culture to construct a newly compatible belief system for contemporary

Chinese Marxist ideology for the public.
5 he Characteristics of Chinese Ideals

T
and Beliefs
The construction of the “ideal character” shows Chinese people’s

unstoppable pursuit of a perfect character and morality. The proposal of the
“ideal society” highlights Chinese people’s ultimate care for themselves
and their society. Every aspect of Chinese people’s real life is highlighted
by a strong belief. So, what are the characteristics of Chinese idealism and
belief?
5.1 Based on the Construction of an Ideal Character, it Forms a

Characteristic Possessing the Trait of Defensive Offense and
Progressive Retreat
The expression—“when one is in a desperate situation one shall
perfect one’s discipline of body, while in good times one shall consider the
salvation of heaven” —is the unique characteristic of the Chinese nation
for thousands of years. Every social class take it as their motto. However,
typical Chinese culture attempts to achieve the “Great Similarity” idealism
through “Sageliness Within and Kingliness Without” based on different
systematic methods and theories. For example, Confucianism takes the
path of benevolence and ritual; Taoism worships nature and promotes
the idea of purity, emptiness and non-acting for exceeding the secular
world; Buddhism attempts to achieve a higher state which asks people to
desire free, to live in the moment without competition against others. The
fusion of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism forms a well structured
and classified human character in which the three schools are taking on
their own roles and performing their own duty for the Chinese to act
accordingly without bias or collapse. This kind of human character consists
of two layers; Confucian theories are the core of the surface layer in
which the Confucian ideal character, a typical Sage performs benevolence,
righteousness and rites in order to merge individuals into collectiveness.
When an individual finalizes ideal life in one’s group, it reflects the
construction process for one’s ideal character which is to be a firm action
taker and love for the world. A trait which projects human character force
onto social idealism is a surface performance of a Confucian character and
role in the individual’s character system which makes every individual
gain bravery through the sense of responsibility and mission of being
actively involved in political and social affairs.
After all, humans are living in a real and changing society.
Sometimes we suffer from disappointment which indicates the process
of building an ideal society might occasionally face defeat. In that time,
people need spiritual power for self-balancing and self-protection to
maintain the completion of their characters. Without spiritual supports,
people cannot bear the changes in their lives. As a result, Taoism and
Buddhism take on a different kind of role. They are located at a deep sub-
conscious level, so that balancing Chinese people’s character through
full-filling the experience of emptiness from defeat constructs a trait with
defensive offence and progressive-retreat characteristic. Such an ideal
character is deeply ingrained into the development of Chinese spirituality
and forms a system of Confucian progressiveness, Taoist retreat and
Buddhist hermitage system, which helps Chinese people to build personal
achievement when in fortunate times and retreat gently when time is not
on their side.
5.2 The Practice of Ideal Character Highlights the Unification of

Secularity and Spirituality
Idealism always possesses immaterialist spirituality and futuristic
goals which are designs for the future. However, the Chinese ideal
characteristic design is not based on hallucination, instead, it transfers
futuristic illusionary dreams into a secular practice. It shows us that the
ideal character is closely connected with daily life. In fact, it needs this
kind of life, taking breath in the secular world to nourish the highest level
of the pursuit. The ideal character must be born from reality, grow in
reality, while at the same time bypasses reality and uplifts the soul of a
person into a higher level.
Firstly, the ideal Chinese character possesses secularity. In other
words, between the highest pursuit of the ideal character and the secularity
of ordinary folks, there is a middle-range space called “secularity” in
which one carries both idealism and secular affairs. It possesses the
untouchable heavenly ideal, and commonality of the tangible secular
world. If a commoner wants to become a Sage or a Buddha, passing
through this “middle-way” character is essential. According to Confucian
teachings, a Junzi or a wise man is in the state of between a commoner
and a Sage. They are more approachable and much easier to be the
model of action for the commoners vis-a-vis the “Junzi acts according to
righteousness, rites, humility and trust.” Similarly, between the ideal Taoist
character and reality, there is also a middle area which can be seen in the
immortal world within the religion represented by the Eight Immortals,
who are the connectors between the immortal and secular worlds. As for
Buddhism, it proposes the Arhat-Bodhisattva character to bridge common
life and Buddhahood. They “pursue a Buddha-level enlightenment
while enlighten the common lives in this world.” The Arhat-Bodhisattva
character is the humanized form of a Buddha character which can satisfy

common needs for spiritual transcendence.
Secondly, the ideal Chinese character of transcendence shapes the
traditional ideal Chinese character with secularity which means they
can become a Sage or Buddha by living a humanly life, unlike Western
Christianity relying on a supernatural anthropomorphized godly power to
save their souls. Consequently, the commoner’ social life is not vain and
troublesome, instead, it is full of, chances and possibilities for people to
realize their ideal character. Confucius actively participated in societal
and personal merit accumulation practices, this made Confucianism a
very secular oriented philosophy. Taoism and Buddhism are usually in
denial of reality for they are transcendental in essence, which leads them
into a different world called “super-spiritual state”. The transformation
of Taoism from a philosophy to a religion is based on the full recognition
of human desire and practical needs which can be fulfilled in the world
of immortality. For example, the magic of longevity can meet people’s
demand of health and fulfill the desire to live, which could become true
through “mercy, love, benevolence, and filial piety, and respecting elderly
as well as one’s parents.” Zen Buddhism is a secular oriented method for
it considers every aspect of common life as a method of self-cultivation,
therefore, the so-called “secularity” is Buddhism, and Buddhism is
secularity. In summary, the mysterious and abstract ideal character can be
recognized and accepted by the secular Chinese through the vehicle of a
middle-way character in people’s daily life.
5.3 Stratification and Progressiveness of the Ideal Confucian

Society
“The Great Unity” as a political pursuit has always been a
harmonious societal order which Chinese people has been pursuing
since time immemorial in order to realize “the Unity”. By solving social

conflicts of interests and dissolving societal contradictions to achieve a
state of harmony, various proposals have been presented by numerous
school philosophers. Since the ideal Confucian society is the judgement
and regulatory standard for the fundamental responsibility and goals for
the political sector to acquire its legality and social stability, it stood out
from the other philosophical schools. This means that in the competition
of illustrating the ideal society, the Confucian proposal contains more
consideration of the majority thus it has been accepted by many people.
In previous discussion, we depicted the “Well-Off” and the “Great
Similarity” society according to Liji-Liyun which resulted in the blueprint
of two levels of a ideal Confucian society[4]. The Well-Off society in which
“the world is the home” as the major social character, makes it closer to a
real society. This lower level of ideal society could be achieved through
human efforts and the Great Similarity as a higher social achievement
goal could become possible to achieve through the Well-Off society.
Meanwhile, Chinese people always believed that the Great Similarity
and the peace of the world can be realized. This makes them be full of
confidence and beautiful imaginations for the future. They all realize that,
according to rationality, the societal development is a gradual process
with different progressive stages. As a result, the ideal Confucian society
with a progressive level and stratification traits, makes it more suitable for
historic development conditions so that it is achievable with human life
force.
5.4 “ Unity of Heaven and Human”is the Highest Spiritual

Character in the Ideal Chinese Belief Systems
Chinese people regard the pursuit of the highest spiritual state and
the idealistic character as the ultimate pursuit of their spiritual level,
which takes the “Unity of Heaven and Human” as the highest moral state.
“Unity of Heaven and Human” is the ancient Chinese comprehension of
the relationship between the universe and human life and reflects a holistic
worldview. As we discussed previously, “nature plays a dualistic role in
Chinese spiritual life,” on the one hand, nature bestows the means of living
for humanity while also puts human life under challenges, so that they
must always consider their relationship. The Confucian school promotes
observation of the material world, the acquisition of true knowledge, self-
discipline of the body, sorting out the household, managing the state and
achieving the Great Peace of universe[5]. This represents an active spirit of
admiring kindness of life giving bounty from heaven to the earth, and the
becoming of a “heaven to the earth relationship” which shows a holistic
naturalism in a harmony-oriented thoughts. Taoism pursues unity of
heaven and earth in order to harmonize the rim of human and immortals
through involvement with the harmonious processes of universe. Both
Confucianism and Taoism hold profound respect for nature and the
attitudes of “worshipping heaven and ancestors,” “humans are regulated by
earth, earth is regulated by heaven, the heavens are regulated by Tao, and
Tao is regulated by nature” are the typical presentations of such respect
and fear[6].
Heaven and earth are the principles of nature, while “the unity of
heaven and humans” uplifts humans to the level of nature which gives
humans and their ethics importance of the authority of the heavenly will.
Humans are required to be respectful and fearful towards nature, “heaven
and earth”, and should treat the essence of nature with the same level of
respect and awe. The reason is “nothing is more essential than qi; nothing
is more enriched than earth; nothing is more sacred than the heavens.
Amongst all the beings were birthed from the essence of heaven and earth,
humans are the most important.”[7] Amongst humans only the ancestors
can nurture us like heaven and earth. As a result, the fundamental meaning
of respecting heaven and ancestors is to express their worship and awe to
nature and the ancestors in order to acquire blessings.
Consequently, Chinese people never give credit to all the wanderings
in nature, such as life itself to a supernatural person. In the Chinese belief
system, there is no supreme authority from the Christian Gods’ indication,
but the indications from nature as the highest standard of ethics. As a
result, Chinese people believe they are a part of nature, the same as all
other things in the system sharing the principles of nature such as birth,
aging, sickness, death, happiness, anger, sadness and love. If everyone can
live according to this heavenly principle, heaven in the human world will
be realized. This is the fundamental difference between Chinese belief
and Western religions. According to such a belief and interpretation of
“heaven”, there is no sole heaven presented by an idyllic image that leads
to no complete and absolute logical doctrine of what heaven is. Therefore,
Chinese people did not form a secular organization (such as churches and
bishops), and never regulated the believers with a set of specialized rules,
regulations and rituals, even clothing (doctrine, uniform) which were
differentiated from secularity.
5.5 Pragmatism in Chinese People’s Combined Belief System of

Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism
Putting the content of belief which is a “combination of Confucianism,
Buddhism, and Taoism” into a human-oriented and secular form is an extreme
practical color of the Chinese belief system. For example, the quick growth
of Zen Buddhism based on the proposition of “becoming Buddha through
a quick enlightenment” is a typical case of such a practical color because
“the quick methods to become Buddha” greatly reduces the complexity of
the “from mortality to Buddhahood” process. Such teachings became very
popular in a very brief time. Since there is not strict religious system in the
Chinese belief, people usually give certain social roles to all the folk gods
for “worshipping according to need.” Lu Xun once depicted worshipping
Confucianism for a big fortune, worshipping Guanyin for offspring,
worshipping the fortune god for income, and sometimes people even
worship the underworld beings for various purposes. In general, guided by
pragmatism, Chinese people’s objects of worship are mainly for “usage”
and not necessarily for “belief in”[8].
According to such a “practicality for my purpose” mode of belief, it gives
Chinese people free space of choice and experience, for the debate between
“heavenly principle” and “human desire”. The discussed combination of
belief possesses a strong egoistic tendency which makes a certain level of
return from the belief of “externality”, to the “belief in humans”. “Never
burn incense at regular times but hold the Buddha’s feet in an emergency”
concludes the practical attitude as a primary trait of the combination of
belief system.
5.6 The Overall Traits of Chinese Ideals and Beliefs: Pursuing

Purity, Kindness, and Beauty and Accounting Interest Less
Than Righteousness
In general, the essence of Chinese idealism and belief is reflected on
the worship of benevolence, virtue, righteousness, self-strengthening and
trust, as noble qualities which lead to a pure, kind, and beautiful stage of
thought. These essences are the representation of humankind’s universal
noble characteristics which mean that Chinese life value is to pursue such
universal human values. Amongst them, the ideal Confucian character as
the core component for Chinese national spirit has already become widely
accepted by the people. It has a long-rooted history and strong life force
because it is an inner motivational force for the growth of a perfect human
character. For thousands of years, it cultivated a group of self-sacrificing

cultural heroes such as Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang, Zheng Chenggong, and
Lin Zexu, etc. Their character model heroism shows Chinese people the
peak of human character and encourages the entire Chinese nation to
pursue such an ideal character model.
Meanwhile, Chinese people are heavily influenced by the Confucian
idea of “accounting interests less than righteousness”. Righteousness is the
highest spiritual pursuit in Chinese belief system. When there is a conflict
between righteousness and interest, virtue and desire, the benevolent ones
will by-pass the dilemma of interests and desire for morality and virtue,
which satisfies their freedom of spirit. Thus, if one can by-pass the lure of
material desire and self-oriented interests to increase their spiritual state,
the character will be considered virtuous. This is a primary characteristic
of Chinese idealism and belief.
Annotation:
[1] LIANG S M. Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Philosophies. Beijing:
Commercial Press, 2009: 143.
[2] FENG T Y. The Spirit of Chinese Classics. Shanghai: Shanghai People’s
Publishing House, 1994: 53-70.
[3] FENG Y L. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. Beijing: Peking University
Press, 2010: 93-94.
[4] YANG, T Y. Translations and Notes of Li ji. Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books
Press, 2007: 265-266.
[5] ZHU X. The Analects of Four Confucian Classics. Beijing: ZHONGHUA Book
Company, 1983: 3.
[6] CHEN G Y. Lao-Tzu Annotation and Comment.Beijing: ZHONGHUA Book
Company, 1984: 163.
[7] D ONG Z S. Theory Annals of the Spring and Autumn Period. Beijing:
ZHONGHUA Book Company, 1975: 439.
[8] LU X. Lu Xun Complete Works: Vol. 6. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing
House, 1981: 131.

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The System and Characteristics of

Chinese Ideals and Beliefs

A group of people possess certain and specific characteristics, and

1 The Ideal Chinese Characters

Ideality is not illusion. Ideality can only shape a typical mode of

society or nationalities’ supreme display of a moral character as well as the

1.1 I deal Confucian Character: From the“Junzi”to the

to cultivate the single dimensional core of inner sageliness. About “Li”

work, self-determination and progressive forward-thinking “To ordain

1.2 The Taoist Ideal Character: From“Sage”to“Becoming One

This is the general pedagogy of Taoist naturalistic philosophy and is

1.3 The Buddhist Ideal Character: An Illusionary Character that

2 The Ideal Chinese Society

Because of the influence of Confucian as the mainstream culture,

2.1 The Ideal Confucian Society: From“Great Similarity”to a

Accordingly, the Confucian design of society is fundamentally a

Now, the Great Tao is hiding, so the world under heaven

ones in power who do not follow this will be removed, and

It is easy to see the biggest characteristic of the Well-Off Society

2.2 The Ideal Taoist Society:“Small Countries with Less People”

“A Small Country with Less People”does not require the

The above text depicts a certain kind of pastoral-agricultural societal

villages and a more primitive civilization can provide more self-efficient

2.3 The Compatibility of Confucianism and Taoism: Socialization

bringing peace to the world, it encourages people to contribute more to

3 The Chinese Belief System

What are Chinese beliefs? Taking a perspective from the “root

rely on the mind and order of heaven. Heavenly Mind, Heavenly

3.1 The Chinese Fetishism: Worship of Nature

questions such as “Where are humans from?” “What do other worlds

start of nature worship.

3.2 The Chinese Family Belief: Ancestor Worship

3.3 Chinese Philosophical Beliefs: A Combination of Confucian,

as other philosophies, are due to the tenacious monastic and missionary

3.3.1 The Influence of Confucian Belief on Chinese People: “The

First, we need to discuss the view of heavenly fate in Confucianism.

3.3.2 The Influence of Buddhist Belief on Chinese People: The

Buddhism officially entered China in the Tang Dynasty, taking a

3.3.3 Taoist Influence on Chinese People: Polytheism

The Taoist schools are essentially Chinese local knowledge systems.

are anthropomorphized and eternal. Consequently, in the Taoist dictionary,

4 Modern Development of the Chinese

After modern history, the Chinese society had changed completely.

4.1 Belief in the Advancement of Chinese in the May Fourth

into the Chinese context associating the impact between Western

“East versus West” debate. It should be mentioned that the so-called

4.2 From the Political Belief of the Founding of New China to

model, spiritual model, and advanced theories rooted in a combination of

satisfaction and sensualism. As a result, people are put into a situation

4.4 C urrent Chinese Political Belief: The Refashioning of

culture to construct a newly compatible belief system for contemporary

5  he Characteristics of Chinese Ideals

The construction of the “ideal character” shows Chinese people’s

5.1 Based on the Construction of an Ideal Character, it Forms a

5.2 The Practice of Ideal Character Highlights the Unification of

character is the humanized form of a Buddha character which can satisfy

5.3 Stratification and Progressiveness of the Ideal Confucian

since time immemorial in order to realize “the Unity”. By solving social

5.4 “ Unity of Heaven and Human”is the Highest Spiritual

5.5 Pragmatism in Chinese People’s Combined Belief System of

5.6 The Overall Traits of Chinese Ideals and Beliefs: Pursuing

character. For thousands of years, it cultivated a group of self-sacrificing

Commercial Press, 2009: 143.

1　The Ideal Chinese Characters

1.1 I deal Confucian Character: From the“Junzi”to the

1.2 The Taoist Ideal Character: From“Sage”to“Becoming One

1.3 The Buddhist Ideal Character: An Illusionary Character that

2　The Ideal Chinese Society

2.1 The Ideal Confucian Society: From“Great Similarity”to a

3　The Chinese Belief System

3.1　 The Chinese Fetishism: Worship of Nature

3.2　 The Chinese Family Belief: Ancestor Worship

3.3.1 The Influence of Confucian Belief on Chinese People: “The

3.3.2 The Influence of Buddhist Belief on Chinese People: The

3.3.3 Taoist Influence on Chinese People: Polytheism

4.1 Belief in the Advancement of Chinese in the May Fourth

4.2 From the Political Belief of the Founding of New China to

4.4 C urrent Chinese Political Belief: The Refashioning of

5 he Characteristics of Chinese Ideals

5.1 Based on the Construction of an Ideal Character, it Forms a

5.2 The Practice of Ideal Character Highlights the Unification of

5.3 Stratification and Progressiveness of the Ideal Confucian

5.4 “ Unity of Heaven and Human”is the Highest Spiritual

5.5 Pragmatism in Chinese People’s Combined Belief System of

5.6 The Overall Traits of Chinese Ideals and Beliefs: Pursuing

[3] FENG Y L. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. Beijing: Peking University

[6] CHEN G Y. Lao-Tzu Annotation and Comment.Beijing: ZHONGHUA Book