China's Crisis

” Their idea was to keep to yourself, and life will go accordingly and smoothly. According to Liang Fa, he welcomed the new belief of a single God, and compared it to the Buddhist religion as being better and making more sense (Cheng and Lestz 132-136). ” To the elite, the practice of folk religion such as the gathering had the possibility of disrupting many aspects of the society such as causing fires, fights, gambling, and overall “damaging social customs. As a result, predicaments can occur. In Qian Yong’s article on popular religion (Cheng and Lestz 128-131), his notes illustrated the, “scorn felt by the literati for folk religion and ‘heterodox’ festivals… and the impulse felt by the elite to rein in the wild and unrestrained behavior of untutored peasants, villagers, and city dwellers. To the officials, Liang Fa swayed from his Chinese roots, which should actually reflect Confucius beliefs. y mind your own business… if none of you believe in heretical sects, they will not have to wait to be driven out but will become extinct naturally (Cheng and Lestz 68).

In closing, there could have been several crises that the Qing Dynasty experienced. Documents may also suggest that Christian tracts read by Liang Fa could have also influenced the Taiping rebellion (Cheng and Lestz 139-146). ” Those who lived this way were not abiding by Confucius ways, and was thus an unfamiliar way of life. When reading through Cheng and Lestz’s compilation of documents, I personally believe that the majority of issues were religion-related. With the end of Confucius belief, a new Chinese society would arise. Even for such a perfect society, problems can erupt. Because China’s emperors relied on their Confucian ways of stability, gradual changes that mostly dealt with religion in society critically affected the Qing Dynasty’s future.