Course Title: CURE 1122/ UGEA 1450

CHINESE CULTURE AND ITS RELIGION

中國文化及其宗教 Second Term 2017/18
Lecture: Fri 2:30-4:15PM Tutorial: Fri 4:30 - 05:15PM
Venue: Wu Ho Man Yuen Bldg 404
Lecturer: Dr. Tong Sau Lin


Course Description:


The aim of this course is to help students understand the basic religious
characteristics of Chinese culture and the relationship between religions and the daily
life of Chinese people. It also helps students to appreciate the richness and diversity
of the Chinese traditions and acquiring essential preparation for more advanced
courses in the area of Chinese culture and religions. The course will demonstrate that
the familiar categories of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Popular religion
are, by no means, discrete and mutually exclusive. They overlap and interact with
each other through a variety of confluences and conflicts. Students will be trained to
read some primary source of the Chinese traditions.

Learning Outcomes:

Knowledge Outcomes:
(1) To be able to demonstrate a keen awareness and an in-depth understanding of
the underlying ideas of religious traditions in China in both their historical
settings and contemporary contexts of modern living.
(2) To be able to synthesize information from a range of sources in a coherent way
using methods of critical and comparative analysis.

Skill Outcomes
(1) Students will be able to develop their key research skills including textual and
fieldwork studies and to prepare for advanced studies in religion.
(2) Students will be able to develop their social and interpersonal skills and ability
to work collaboratively in a team.

Attitude Outcomes
(1) To develop student’s ability to have a critical and yet sympathetic
understanding and appreciation of religious traditions especially those one
does not belong
(2) To develop student’s sensitivity to ultimate concern and religious dimension of
human life

 Course Content and Tentative Schedule:



Week Date Lecture Topics Key Concepts Tutorial
presentation

1 Jan 12 Course Introduction: Overview What is Chinese Religion? _____

Religion and Chinese Culture
2 Jan 19 Ancient Chinese Religion Ancestral worship, Shang and Early Grouping
Zhou Religion
3 Jan 26 Classical Confucianism Is Confucianism a Religion? ______

4 Feb 2 Daoism and Chinese Culture What is Daoism (Taoism)? _____

5 Feb 9 Buddhism and Chinese Culture What the Buddha taught? _____

6 Feb 16 Chinese New Year Holiday No class

_____
7 Feb 23 Chan and Chinese religion What is Chan / Zen? _____

8 Mar 2 Buddhist and Daoist Diet Vegetarianism, Food and drink Group 1
prohibitions
9 Mar 10 Field Trip Fung Ying Seen Koon Group 2, 3 & 4
(Sat) (Mar 9)
10 Mar 16 Folk Religion and Folk Religion of the public, elite institutional Group 5
Buddhism religion
11 Mar 23 Canon and Literature The compilation of religious scriptures, Group 6
Religious literature

12 Mar 30 Easter Holiday No class

13 Apr 6 Woman in Chinese religion No classand
Position of woman in Buddhism Group 7
Popular Religion

14 Apr 13 Contemporary Chinese Religion Chinese religion in the modern period, Group 8
The Future of Chinese Religion
15 Apr 20 Guest Lecture (Dr. Tang Ka Jau Chinese religions in Hong Kong / Group 9
Billy 鄧家宙博士) pending for the speaker’s decision


Learning Activities:

This course emphasizes the emergence and growth of autonomous collaborative
learning rather than teacher-directed delivery of learning materials. The social
constructivist approach we have taken presupposes that learning does not take place in
a solitary manner but in a social active learning environment where the learner is
given every opportunity to construct their own learning in a social context. Group
presentation and fieldtrips are therefore adopted as important learning activities of
this course.


Assessment scheme:

Group Presentation 30% (Group: 20% + Individual: 20%)
Term Paper 70%

1. Group Presentation:
• to discuss a specific cultural issue/phenomenon in contemporary society and its
relation with Buddhism or Buddhist traditions
• 3­4 students in a group; 35 minutes for each presentation; 10 minutes for Q & A

2. Term Paper:
Ø Students are required to write a term paper of 2,500-3,000 words (either in Chinese
or English) on one of topics discussed in lectures, or they may choose their own topics
pertinent to the course subject. Papers will be graded according to its content, focus of
argument, discussion, and academic referencing style. The main objective of this
reflective paper is to have students familiarize themselves with the original source
materials and the extensive literature available on this topic.

**Submission deadline of term paper: 11:00 pm, April 27 (Friday), 2018 and should
be handed in via the VeriGuide as well as in hard copy.
Delayed submission of assignments without reasonable explanation may result in grade
deduction.

Recommended Readings:

To be uploaded onto the Blackboard learning system prior to the lecture date of each
week.

Other Learning resources:

卜工《文明起源的中國模式》北京：科學出版社，2007。
方立天、學愚主編《佛教傳統與當代文化》北京：中華書局 2006。
方立天《中國佛教哲學要義》北京：中國人民大學出版社，2002。
永明法師 編《香港佛教與寺》香港：大嶼山寶蓮寺，1993。
任繼愈 主編《「儒教問題」爭論集》北京：宗教文化出版社，2000。
余敦康、呂大吉、牟鍾鑒、張踐合著《中國宗教與中國文化》卷一至四 北京：
中國社會科學出版社，2005
吳汝鈞《中國佛學的現代詮釋》台北：文津出版社，1995 年；頁 126-254。
吳汝鈞《游戲三昧：禪的實踐與終極關懷》台北：台灣學生書局，1993。
吳麗珍《香港黃大仙信仰》香港：三聯書店，1997。
李亦園〈中國人信什麼教？〉收入《宗教與神話論集》(台北：立緒文化，1998
年), 頁 168-199。
李養正《道教概說》北京：中華書局，1989。
李豐楙〈由常入非常：中國節日慶典中的狂文化〉載於《中外文學》22 卷，
3 期(1993 年 8 月)：116-154

陳慎慶編《諸神嘉年華：香港宗教研究》香港：牛津大學出版社，2002。
董芳苑《探討台灣民間信仰》台北：常民文化事業有限公司，1996。
勞思光《中國哲學史》香港：友聯出版有限公司，1980。
勞格文著、范麗珠譯〈中國宗教的合理性〉 《法國漢學》第四輯 北京：中華書局，
2002 年，頁 338-354。
游子安主編《道風百年》香港：蓬瀛仙館道教文化資料庫，2002。
游子安著《善與人同——明清以來的慈善與教化》北京：中華書局，2005。
葛兆光《道教與中國文化》上海：人民出版社，1987。
詹石窗《道教風水學》台北︰文津出版 1994。
廖迪生《香港天后崇拜》香港：三聯書店，2000。
蒲慕州《追尋一己之福──中國古代的信仰世界》台北：允晨文化，1995。
蒲慕州《墓葬與生死──中國古代宗教之省思》台北：聯經出版，1993。
趙世瑜《狂歡與日常——明清以來的廟會與民間社會》北京：三聯書店，2002。
劉阿榮主編《都市治理與地方永續發展》台北深坑鄉：揚智文化事業，2007。
蔡志祥《打醮：香港的節日和地域社會》香港：三聯書店，2000。
黎志添 編《道教與民間宗教研究論集》香港：學峰文化事業，1999。
黎志添、游子安、吳真等著《香港道堂科儀歷史與傳統》香港：中華書局，2007。
黎志添《道教—思想與信仰》香港：香港公開大學，1998。
黎志添《廣東地方道教研究—道觀、道士及科儀》香港：中文大學出版社，2007。
黎志添編著《道教研究與中國宗教文化》香港：中華書局，2003。
鄭振滿《明清福建家族組織與社會變遷》湖南：湖南教育，1992。
霍韜晦〈佛教與中國文化〉《絕對與圓融》台北：東大圖書，1986；頁 448-459
譚偉倫、李剛主編《宗教、社會與區域文化——華南與西南研究》香港：香港中
文大學崇基學院，宗教與中國社會研究中心，2003。
譚偉倫《佛教—思想與信仰》香港：香港公開大學，1998。
譚偉倫〈中國東南部醮儀之四種形態〉收於《歷史人類學學刊》3 卷‧2 期 2005‧
10 （頁 1-26）。
譚偉倫主編《民間佛教研究》北京：中華書局，2007。
譚偉倫主編《中國地方宗教儀式論集》宗教與中國社會研究叢書（十四）香港：
香港中文大學崇基學院宗教與中國社會研究中心，2011。
蘇秉琦《中國文明起源新探》香港：商務印書館，1997。
顧宏義注譯《新譯景德傳燈錄》上、中、下冊 香港：海嘯出版事業，2005。

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Primary Source :
春秋初期齊桓公‧管仲《管子‧內業》／西漢初葉‧淮南王劉安《淮南子‧原道》
後漢‧西域沙門迦葉摩騰共法蘭譯《四十二章經》
唐‧宗密〈答史山人十問〉《景德傳燈錄》卷 13《大正藏》史傳部 T51：307b
宋‧洪邁《夷堅志》《欽定四庫全書》
南宋‧朱熹〈鬼神〉《朱子語類》卷第三
明‧袁黃《訓子言》
清‧馬泰清《地理辨惑》
明‧劉若谷《千金賦》
隋‧智顗《小止觀》


Feedback for evaluation:

A tailored made end-of-term faculty wide course evaluation will be conducted
in class. Students’ comments and feedback on the course through the
Discussion Forum within the Blackboard Learn or personal meeting with
instructor and/ or tutors are always welcome.

Teacher’s & TAs ’Contact Details:

Lecturer: Dr. Tong Sau Lin

Email address: [email protected]

Academic Honesty and Plagiarism:
Academic honesty and plagiarism Attention is drawn to University policy and
regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and
procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be
found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/. With each assignment,
students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these
policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures. For group projects, all students of

 the same group should be asked to sign the declaration. For assignments in the form
of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via
VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon
students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment. Assignments without the
receipt will not be graded by teachers. Only the final version of the assignment
should be submitted via VeriGuide.