Today, I am Chinese. Wow. That was even more fun to write than it was when I said “I’m Hindu” and “I’m pagan.” Maybe there’s something I don’t know about my ancestry—or maybe I was Chinese in one of my past lives. I’m definitely a little too excited about taking on this new identity, even if it’s only for a month (and a short month at that).
Obviously, you can see from my profile picture that I’m not actually Chinese. But for the month of February, I’ll be practicing Chinese traditional religions.
There are three main religions in China, which have survived for centuries—and even millennia—to the present day, despite the Communist government’s many attempts to eradicate religious practice. The “big three” Chinese faith systems are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.
Because Buddhism has so many offshoots (such as Zen, for one) and because it has become so popular over the past several decades even in the Western world, we’re going to give Buddhism its very own month at another time. For this month, we’re going to be focusing on Confucianism and Taoism.
So, maybe I should amend my opening statement to be a little more specific. Here goes: Today, I am a Confucian (and in two weeks, I’ll be a Taoist).
Although I’m really sorry to see paganism and my own personal deities, Ganesha and Sarasvati, go, I’m sure there will be plenty of fun and laughs as I explore Chinese traditional religions. Well, at least there’ll be laughs—for you, and at my expense.
You see, we get to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which begins later this week. That means you’ll have the comic relief of seeing more of my do-it-yourself arts and crafts projects. I’m even going to try to cook some Chinese food. So stay tuned. I have the construction paper and the glue stick all ready to go. Bring it on, Confucius!
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