say that all idea of the early God of their forefathers has long since
ceased to vivify their religious instincts, though the sacrifices to
God and to Earth are still annually performed by the Emperor.
Ancestor-worship, and the cult of Confucius, are probably very much
what they were many hundreds of years ago; while Taoism, once a pure
philosophy, is now a corrupt religion. As to alien faiths, the Buddhism
of China would certainly not be recognised by the Founder of Buddhism
in India; Mahometanism is fairly flourishing; Christianity is still
bitterly opposed.




CHRONOLOGICAL SYLLABUS


Legendary Period (Twenty-ninth Century to Tenth Century B.C.)--P'an
Ku and Creation--First Worship of Spirits--Worship of God, with
incense--Sacrifices to Mountains and Rivers--Worship of Sun, Moon, and
Stars--Institution of Ancestral Worship--God enjoys music, dancing,
and burnt offerings--God resents bad government--Revelation in a
Dream--Anthropomorphism--Fetishism--No Devil--No Hell--Terms for
God--The Character for "God" is a picture of a Man--God and Jehovah--God
in the _Odes_--Hou Chi and Parthenogenesis--Superstitions and
Supernatural Manifestations--Sacrifice--Ancestral Worship--Filial Piety.

Feudal Age (Tenth Century to Third Century B.C.)--The Influence
of Confucianism--His Agnosticism--Weakening of Supernatural
Beliefs--Consolidation of Confucianism--Human Sacrifices--Prayers for
Rain--The Philosophy of Taoism--A Rival to Confucianism--But uniting to