Abstract
The Chinese civilization, despite having experienced many historical shocks, shows consistency in its sociocultural institutions and adherence to traditional values which were formed in ancient times. Many experts claim the Chinese people’s deep knowledge and respect for their history is one of the reasons for China’s cultural consistency. The worship of antiquity is one of the important characteristics traced in many spheres of Chinese history. In this paper, we will elaborate on the issue of the basis for the emergence of this worship. The studied phenomenon arose during the Zhou period and was strengthened by Confucius and his disciples. Since then, antiquity worship hasn’t been revised by society. The formation of antiquity worship in traditional China went gradually, and a total reshaping of Ancient China’s spiritual life was needed for that. In this research, we will try to find out how this worship came to be. Such analysis is not only interesting for the studies of Chinese civilization but also for the research of the specifics of the Middle Kingdom’s spiritual culture. The analysis of cultural specifics of China must help uncover the mechanisms of this civilization’s consistency.
Highlights
Mythmaking is a very important phenomenon in humankind's cultural history, something which determined humanity’s spiritual life for many centuries.Mythmaking, unlike other parts of the early religious complex, mainly tasks itself with explaining the existing ties and values of the world
A number of methods of historical analysis were utilized, including: 1) Historical-genetic method allowed to trace the dynamics of development of Chinese mythology and the emergence of historiographical tradition; 2) Comparative methods was used to define the specifics of Chinese mythology in comparison with the mythological systems of other cultures; 3) Problem-chronological method allowed to specify the degree of myth historicization at different stages of history
Ancient myths were collected in China for quite some time – “starting from Eastern Zhou period up to Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties periods (8th century BC – 6th century AD)”, which, according to Yuan Ke’s calculations, would amount to over a thousand years (Hung, 2011)
Summary
Mythmaking is a very important phenomenon in humankind's cultural history, something which determined humanity’s spiritual life for many centuries. Mythmaking, unlike other parts of the early religious complex, mainly tasks itself with explaining the existing ties and values of the world. It’s a specific form of knowledge of that time period. The consolidation of such knowledge happened through ceremonies and rituals. Meletinsky, myth and ritual are two aspects of a primordial culture – verbal and operational (Bazhanova, et al, 2014)
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