Yanxia Zhao – författare

"Chinese Religion" is a new introduction to the field of Chinese religion and culture. It seeks to guide readers through some of the primary source material and to introduce them to continuing, contemporary debates and interpretations of religious ideas, concepts and practices in China and beyond. Religious beliefs are never pursued and held in a vacuum; they are an integral part of a particular culture, interwoven and interactive with other elements of the culture and tradition. Chinese religion in this sense can be said to be part of Chinese culture and history. In this clear account, Xinzhong Yao and Yanxia Zhao move away from the traditional and outmoded definition of Chinese religion, the three institutional doctrines: Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism, towards a multi-layered hermeneutic of the syncretic nature and functions of religions in China. Additional features include questions for reflection and discussion and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter.

Confucianism and Christianity are the foundation of Chinese and Western culture. The father-son relation is at the centre of Confucian thinking and the ethical natural relationship is the model for other familial, social and political relationships. The divine father-son relationship between God and Jesus is also at the centre of Christian consideration and likewise is the model of Christian familial, social and political relationships. The particular appeal of this book is to offer a religious and cultural comparative study from this most cardinal and crucial relationship. To date, scholarship has opined that the Confucian father-son relationship established on a consanguineous basis has no comparable aspects with the spiritual based Christian divine father-son relationship. The author provides a compelling argument, backed up by close scriptural and religious readings, to overturn this longstanding perception.