Культы, религии, традиции в Китае. 3-е издание

Культы, религии, традиции в Китае. 3-е издание

Vasilyev L.

Worships, Religions and Traditions in China

Москва, 2015, 528 p.

The book by L. Vasilyev is addressed to those who want to know and understand China and the Chinese better. The monograph is devoted to traditional Chinese culture from Ancient time to our days. This book tells about the formation of ancient cults, religions and rituals, about Confucianism, Daosism, and Chinese Buddhism, about their development and reciprocal penetration in the Middle ages, and their transformation to real traditions which are playing the important role in modern time and give us the understanding of Chinese national character. These traditions, which absorbed the experience of dozens of generations, have become a way of life of the Chinese. It is based on ancestor worship, respect for elders, love for children, reverence before scholarship, sense of purpose, responsibility, and diligence. The author explains how the Chinese people during three thousand years, managed to maintain the continuity of their civilization and convert to their advantage the foreign influence, at all without giving up their own interests. The researcher considers that Confucianism is still the main ideology of the Chinese mentality.