Chapter 8 Online Commentary
Chapter 8 titled "China and the World" was exactly that, a description of how China's influence spread throughout the world and how the world influenced China as well.
After reading this chapter, I couldn't help but wonder why China never became the leader of all countries. We look at the United States as the world power, but China definitely was the head of many "firsts" that changed the way others lived their lives. The movable type printing press, first established by the Chinese, was given credit to Johannes Gutenberg who was probably unaware that it had already been discovered elsewhere. We all know it now, though. The production of salt by solar evaporation spread to Islamic countries and Europe. Papermaking was the highlight of it all for this innovation spread to Korea, Vietnam, Japan, India, Islamic countires, Spain, France, Germany, and England. How one country, China, altered the way of living of so much of the world is absolutely phenomenal.
Buddhism is something that projected from the pages in my mind with more urgency. It seem that even though this religion didn't prosper in India where it first originated, the Chinese people tweaked it and tried to make it work for them. They added Confucianist and Daoist ideas to try to make it fit for their purposes. For many years, it seemed to suit their needs. But as we soon learn, it became somewhat of a burden to the elite in later years. My take on religion is a contrasting one in regards to the Chinese version of Buddhism. As a Catholic, I learned early on that some things cannot change and that is the doctrine of our Church as it has been passed down by Jesus Christ. The Church is constantly under fire from many groups to change its teachings to "fit" the needs of others. We are constantly in a struggle to keep the original ways of the Church, to never falter in the ways of Christ. When I read about the constant adding and removing of Buddhist teachings to the Chinese transformation of this faith, it seemed as if it was - then - no longer Buddhism but a new faith.
After reading this chapter, I couldn't help but wonder why China never became the leader of all countries. We look at the United States as the world power, but China definitely was the head of many "firsts" that changed the way others lived their lives. The movable type printing press, first established by the Chinese, was given credit to Johannes Gutenberg who was probably unaware that it had already been discovered elsewhere. We all know it now, though. The production of salt by solar evaporation spread to Islamic countries and Europe. Papermaking was the highlight of it all for this innovation spread to Korea, Vietnam, Japan, India, Islamic countires, Spain, France, Germany, and England. How one country, China, altered the way of living of so much of the world is absolutely phenomenal.
Buddhism is something that projected from the pages in my mind with more urgency. It seem that even though this religion didn't prosper in India where it first originated, the Chinese people tweaked it and tried to make it work for them. They added Confucianist and Daoist ideas to try to make it fit for their purposes. For many years, it seemed to suit their needs. But as we soon learn, it became somewhat of a burden to the elite in later years. My take on religion is a contrasting one in regards to the Chinese version of Buddhism. As a Catholic, I learned early on that some things cannot change and that is the doctrine of our Church as it has been passed down by Jesus Christ. The Church is constantly under fire from many groups to change its teachings to "fit" the needs of others. We are constantly in a struggle to keep the original ways of the Church, to never falter in the ways of Christ. When I read about the constant adding and removing of Buddhist teachings to the Chinese transformation of this faith, it seemed as if it was - then - no longer Buddhism but a new faith.
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