Ancient Chinese Religion
Jennifer Reynolds -- Portola Middle School
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 Below: Yin Yang
 Daoist Symbol of
     Balance
Picture of the Yin - Yang
CA Standards:
  • 6.6  Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of China.  
  • Know about the life of Confucius and the fundamental teachings of Confucianism and Taoism.
  • Describe the diffusion of Buddhism northward to China during the Han Dynasty.
       Below: 
Laughing Buddha
Picture of Chinese Buddha Statue

When the topic of China is brought up, or the topic of Buddhism, students always ask who is that happy fat dude in Chinese Restaurants?  It seems to be the only knowledge of Chinese religion that students come to class armed with.  While the answer to that is not expressly written out in the standards, it is a great way to to keep students engaged, and it is related to Chinese religion. 


          Ancestor worship, Buddhism, Daoism
Below: Ancestral Vessal in Bronze. 
   Courtesy the British Museum
Picture of Bronze Ancestor Vessel
How are students supposed to understand China at all if they do not know what ancestor worship is?  The topic is important, even though it is also not expressly written out in the standards.  In order to understand ancient Chinese religion, students do need to become aquainted with the idea of ancestor worship.  It will also help them to understand parts of a famous Disney movie they have probably already seen.

I did some research and found some useful information on the British Museum site which is dedicated to teachers.  You can find this site on the Links page.  I took their information, and made it easier for my 12 year olds to digest and added a quick activity to help them understand how it applied to the people of Ancient China.  Here is my worksheet. This simple explanation and assignment is used as an introduction to religion and Chinese philosophies.

I teach Buddhism during my India unit. I show the students the movie Little Buddha.  Students appreciate that it is a real movie, and not a documentary, and get pretty into it.  During the movie, I have students take notes to answer questions on this worksheet.  I also review it in the Philosophy section of the China unit.

I also teach Daoism during the Philosophy section of the China unit.