Chu Hsi’s Legacy on the Appraisal of Chinese Religion

Abstract

Since the end of the nineteenth century and in the aftermath of the Chinese rites controversy, several disciplines of human sciences, namely, ethnology, anthropology and sociology have developed a great interest in the religious universe of the Chinese people. The endeavor of these disciplines have greatly contributed to Sinology as it also aimed at understanding and explaining the tenets of Chinese religion or (religions). While they single out the centrality and perennial importance of ancestor rites, they fail to notice the crucial role of Chu Hsi (1130-1200). The peculiarity of Chinese religiosity is in fact the religious side of his systemic revival of the Confucian tradition. The Family Rituals might not be the most prominent book by Chu Hsi. However, it played a crucial role in instilling, preserving and perpetuating the tenets of Chinese religiosity.