Confucius and Confucianism: Four Lectures (Classic Reprint)

BEFORE attempting to approach the subject of the Religions of Chinese as they to-day exist, it will bo advisable to make some enquiry into the primitive ideas of the Chinese people, so far as thoy can be ascertained for it is upon these us a basis the more modern conceptions are to a large extent founded. There is little originality io the religious thought of tlw indigenous systems know as Confucianism and Taoism, and we hav< reason for asserting that the contribution made by Confucius to th« cause of religion whs practically nil ; indeed, wo might say he attenuated rather than augmented the original stock of religious thought, by the elimination of the more spiritual or supernatural elements, and the emphasising of the politico-moral concepts. It should bo noted that however far back wo may trace the history ot the Chinese people, we shall fiud thejn possessed of certain definite ideas which may, properly, be described as religious. E

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