New Chinese religions

The new religions Chinese (xinxingzongjiao 新興宗教) are a whole of syncretistic religious movements appeared in China and with Taiwan starting from the end of the 19th century, of which two more important are Yiguandao and Falun gong. Except for this last, they derive directly or indirectly from the current Taoïste syncretic Xiantiandao going back to the 18th century, founded according to the tradition by Huang Dehui (黃德輝 1684 - 1750), ninth Master of a school in the mobility of Quanzhen CAD. Xiantiandao supported that the truth was in the three schools (taoism, Bouddhisme and Confucianisme) and its principal divinity was the " Old mother non-née" (無生老母).

Context

A report/ratio of Amnesty International going back to 2002 denounces the countryside " To strike Fort" who would aim in general persecuting the large majority of the religious groups in China as well as freedom of expression. Besides the Fifties have the memory of the repression of the Yiguandao movement.

The mode of Mao Zedong had then launched a campaign aiming at eliminating any religious group, comparing them to secret societies and defining them consequently, with associations of criminals.

It is difficult, in this context, to distinguish true information of those which the government made circulate with an aim of getting rid of the religious groups. In addition, the differences between the Occidental cultures and Chinese leaves the open door with incomprehension, the misconception and the easy amalgams.

Xiantiandao main movements

Tiandeshengjiao or Tiandejiao (天德聖教) " Holy school of the virtue céleste" founded in 1899 in the Sichuan by Xiao Changming (蕭昌明)
Tongshanshe (同善社) " Company of the bien" resumption in 1912 by Peng Huilong (Sichuan)
Daoyuan (道院) " Sanctuary of Tao" founded in 1916 in the Shandong under the name of Daodeshe (道德社) " Company of the CAT and the vertu" (name changed into 1921); it founded the charitable organization of the red Svastika.
Yiguandao (一貫道) " Unique" sees; begun again in 1930 by Zhang Tianran (Shandong)
Cihuitang (慈慧堂) " Temple of the charité" founded in Taiwan in 1949
Tiandijiao (天帝教) " School of the emperor céleste" founded in 1978 in Taiwan by Li Yujie (李玉階), former disciple of Tiandeshengjiao.
Miledajiao (彌勒大教) " University of Maitreya" founded in 1988 in Taiwan by Wang Haode, originating in Shandong, former disciple of Yiguandao (connects direct)
Haizidao (亥子道) founded in 1984 in Taiwan.

Tongshanshe and Yiguandao assert a common origin starting from Huang Dehui; the schools would have separated at the time of the thirteenth Master of Xiantiandao, Yang Shouyi. The other movements appeared before 1949 do not give a report on their history, but are connected in Xiantiandao by their doctrines.

Characteristics

Syncretism

The syncretism in fact between various religious currents is frequent in China where exclusive allegiance with a divinity or a single confession forever be of rigor. Nevertheless, certain movements are distinguished by deliberately structuring their doctrines around a universal truth which would be present in the lesson of the three universities of Chinese thought: Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. In fact, if this position carries out a surface syncretism well (the Pantheon, rites, concepts, composite vocabulary of origin) supporting with the first access the diffusion near many people, on a major level the school can tend to sectarianism: indeed, she claims to offer essence immediately where the others present only one aspect of it. Its followers do not have thus reason to go to see elsewhere.

The idea that the three ideological currents contained the same truth was already stated by the néo-confucéens of the Dynastie Song. In optics confucéenne, in the beginning by no means metaphysical, this similarity can be interpreted like proof of the universality of the values morals, social and political. Evelyne Micollier points out that attraction for these syncretistic movements can sometimes reflect feeling of a national or ethnic pride, the conviction of the universality of the Chinese thought.

Millenarism

Its presence in the ideology of the incipient religions or which have evil to bore is almost systematic. In China, it falls under a cyclic vision of the evolution of the universe. The religions heiresses of Xiantiandao consider that the universe crossed two cycles since its creation, “the Era of the green Yang” and that of the “red Yang”, during which part of the beings was saved; the “era of white Yang” will be - or is already for certain, of which Yiguandao - that of the salvation of the totality of the remaining beings. The Chinese millenarism thus does not have the same direction as what hears the occident by this term.

Sectarianism

The quoted movements do not have as a policy deliberated to cut their members of not-converted; nevertheless, like all the emergent religious groups, they are marked by their conviction to hold the truth in a world being unaware of and the desire to separate, feelings which are not erased at the same speed as their growth. A movement like Yiguandao is thus dissociated by the sectarian tendency of many members, which indicates as a whole traditional religious. These new religions have on another side a deep desire of expansion as well as acceptance and social participation. The tugging between these two contradictory tendencies is also one their characteristics. But, it is true the fact of thinking of holding a truth is common to all the religious groups that it that it is.

The Holy mother

Since its appearance at the 17th century, the doctrines of Xiantiandao mobility are centered around a “divine mother”, deity taoist which appears under several names (“Holy mother not”, “gold Mother of the jasper basin” etc). Its role is soteriologic and eschatologic; it is indeed it which saves the beings progressively each cycle. Such a figure takes shape as of the first times of the Taoïsme with the adoption of Xiwangmu, guardian of the garden of immortality of the Chinese Mythologie. The “holy mother” is often regarded as one of the shapes of the supreme divinity of the new religions, at the same time as of other figures borrowed from Buddhism and the Confucianism, even with not-Chinese religions. The chiefs of movement or the faithful ones can privilege the version which corresponds best to their sensitivity.

Evolution néo-Confucianist

The Confucianisme is in the beginning a moral system, a social and political ideal and not a religion. The turn néo-Confucianist of the new religions thus results in a certain obliteration of the mystical or magic aspect to the profit of a more reasonable and passion attitude, more centered on morals than on the belief itself; it can correspond to recentrement of the objective of the religious practice on the safeguarding of the family and social wellbeing rather than on the spiritual realization, or to the desire to make the school more acceptable for the authorities.

Because of its reputation of popular belief impressed of magic, the clear references to the taoism are done more discrete, which does not prevent the persistence of its influence, and particularly the maintenance of practices such as the Gong fu, the spiritual writing, the supply of talismans, which preserve a strong gravitational capacity. The Buddhist element, which enjoys a growing prestige, is proposed in the person of the often avoided chiefs of the titles of Bouddha or Bodhisattva.

Influence of the policy

The development of the new Chinese religions is strongly influenced by the political context. In popular China, the religious movements are the subject of repression as soon as they take enough importance to be seen like possible support network for the opposition. The two movements which had taken the best departure before 1949, Yiguandao and Tongshanshe, were victims of their political relations. The first had, to facilitate its expansion, negotiated an agreement with the puppet government of the time of the Japanese occupation. This act of collaboration been worth to him to be prohibited after the return to the capacity of the Republic of China as well in Taiwan as on the continent. The second was interdict as of 1927 for his anti-republican alliances reactionaries.

That it is in Taiwan or on the Chinese continent, the new religions do not take or do not acknowledge a political position. However, it is the increasing political influence of the local Chinese established in the island before 1949 which made it possible Yiguandao to be legalized there in 1987. Because of political orientation of the majority of its members, this religion profits from the come to power of DPP. Tiandijiao, based by a former member of KMT born on the Chinese continent, on the contrary recruited much in this party.

Contrary, continental China is often pointed finger by the organizations of defenses of the human rights for its religious intolerance and the non-observance of international convention as regards the human rights. Certain reports/ratios of Amnesty International and Reporters without Frontières gives examples of case where the Chinese authorities would have defines as political opponents, groups which they seek to eliminate.

Falungong

Falun gong is an organization rested by Li Hongzhi, made public in 1992, and being presented in the form of an exit of traditional Chinese spirituality. This movement prohibited in popular China where the Xiantiandao movements were reduced to almost nothing.

The political activities of the followers of this organization have ends up worrying the Chinese authorities which strongly represses any demonstration. The sect evaluates the number of its followers has 70 million people.

The setting in scene of the car-immolation of a follower of the sect places Tienanmen, would have been denounced by UNO as well as organizations of defenses of the human rights.

Several members of the sect currently try to start continuations against Jiang Zemin for “Crimes against humanity”, “Genocide” and “Tortures”. A complaint was deposited in France against Sun Jiazheng, former minister for the culture, for “incentive with hatred, the massacre and persecution”. The authorities of Beijing addressed an end not-to receive at the international letters rogatory (CRI) sent by French judge Noria Faucherie to the subject of its continuations.

Shelly sand gong
Yiguandao

To see

Articles on the new religions in the files of the CEFC
religions in Taiwan (Agency of the foreign missions)
Amnesty International Report/ratio on the repression " campaign; To strike Fort"
All on the persecution of the Shelly sand Gong
French Justice blocked by Beijing
the Shelly sand Gong denounces the refusal of a rogatory commission
Procès and legal actions carried out against Jiang Zemin throughout the world
HRW and the Nations Plain denounces the persecution of the Shelly sand Gong
Official site of Shelly sand gong
Atrocités in China: The world observes
the Shelly sand Gong and Chinese propaganda
Article of Philip Clart on '' Xiantiandao '' (encyclopedia - Clouded - CAT Yuan)
Informations on the new Chinese religions coming from various sources and access to the sites of the movements (Site of the Union of the Christian Taiwaneses)

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