The Regions: East Asia |
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The following objects originated in East Asia:
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Asia has been the birthplace of several world religions. The displays in this gallery focus on images and other objects associated with the three religions that have the greatest number of followers - Hinduism (800 to 900 million), Buddhism (300 to 400 million) and Islam (1,000 million).
There are other important Asian religions including Jainism, Shinto, Sikhism, Confucianism, Daoism and Judaism.
Jainism was founded in India by Mahavira, (the 'Great Hero') at the same time as Buddhism, about 2500 years ago. It shares with Hinduism and Buddhism the pursuit of freedom from the cycle of rebirths. Jains seek to cleanse the soul from contamination by the material world. One of the central beliefs of Jainism is ahimsa, non-violence to any living being. Its five million followers live almost entirely in India.
The state religion of Japan until 1947, Shinto, the Way of the Spirits, is based on belief in the 'kami', spirits in nature and other forces. Shrines ranged from simple sacred places in the home or fields to the most grand, where the Emperor made offerings for the good of the Japanese nation. Shinto rituals cleanse the worshipper from pollution by things seen as impure; blood, for example. The Gods are asked to guide, protect and help their followers. Shinto continues to be practised by over three million people in Japan, alongside Buddhism.
People in China have followed two home-grown traditions, as well as Buddhism, Islam and other introduced religions.
Confucius, living about 2500 years ago, gave his name to a philosophy supporting harmony in the family and the state. Family ceremonies honour the ancestors; the Chinese Emperor made sacrifices to heaven, his symbolic father, in great state rituals.
Daoism (Taoism), supposedly founded by Lao Zi about 150 years after Confucius, stresses the need to be in harmony with nature. It led to the first steps towards science in China. Daoism took over local practices, building up a system of gods, monastic orders and rituals, many imitating Buddhist practices.
Together with Buddhism, these major systems of belief and action operated in China before the rise of Communism.
Sikhism began with the teachings of Guru Nanak in North India about 500 years ago. Sikhs believe in one God, the ten teachers (Gurus) and their teachings. These are written as the Guru Granth Sahib, the collected wisdom of Sikh tradition. Sikhism places emphasis in seeking God within the person. The Sikh community or Khalsa encourages Sikhs to be proud of their faith, symbolised through wearing the five Ks (names in Punjabi beginning with that letter): uncut hair (covered in a turban), comb, steel dagger, steel bangle, and the cotton undergarment. Sikhs number over 20 million worldwide.
Judaism evolved in Palestine about 3500 years ago in a community of families who, in contrast to their neighbours, believed in one God. Their beliefs, laws, histories and right actions are embodied in the Bible, especially the first five books or Torah. Jews belong to a synagogue in which the Torah is recited. Both Christianity and Islam are founded in the Jewish faith.
Hinduism is a belief in honouring the whole of creation and the existence of an ultimate reality or truth termed Brahman, which exists in all creation. It recognises different approaches for understanding the truth. No one book, philosophy or form of worship is the only way. Hinduism aims to sustain the whole of creation, not just a particular species or human group.
Hinduism is a very old religion, with no single origin. It developed out of the beliefs of the early inhabitants of India and the beliefs of the Aryans who invaded India 3,500 years ago.
Hindus revere three supreme deities, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They occur in many forms in different parts of India.
Many other popular characters appear in Hindu epic stories:
There are many Hindu festivals celebrated at different times throughout the year. Holi and Diwali are the most popular.
At the core of Buddhism lies the practice of the eight-fold path, which is founded on the four noble truths revealed by the Buddha. It encompasses most aspects of human life, especially our moral obligations to others.
The aim of Buddhism is to cultivate this path to achieve awakening. Such awakening results in the experience of freedom, wisdom and compassion.
Siddartha Gautama, known as the Buddha (that is 'the awakened one') lived about 2500 years ago in North India. He was born the son of rich nobleman. Realising the inescapable realities of death, ageing and sickness, he left the comforts of the palace to search for an awakening to the meaning of life. When he achieved awakening, he devoted the rest of his long life to teaching others. When he died aged 80, his remains were buried in sacred mounds, called 'stupa', set up at the sites of important events in his life. They later became objects of worship.
The Emperor Asoka adopted Buddhism as the official religion in Northern India 250 years after the death of the Buddha. At about the same time Buddhism was adopted in Sri Lanka , Myanmar (Burma) and Central Asia. It later spread to China and south-east Asia. Indian missionaries took Buddhism to Tibet about 1250 years ago.
There are two major traditions in Buddhism.
Theravada, 'the way of the elders', emphasises the original teachings of the Buddha and the value of the monastic way of life. Lay people and monks alike aspire for liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth through the practice of morality, meditation and insight. It is now practised in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.
Mahayana, 'the great vehicle', emphasises the importance of attaining awakening not just for oneself but for all beings. From this arose the idea of Bodhisattvas, who know enlightened existence and teach the path of awakening to others. Over the centuries, Mahayana Buddhism has built up a wide range of traditions, ranging from Zen Buddhism in China and Japan to Tantric Buddhism in Tibet.
What is Islam? Islam is the name given to the religion and way of life of Muslims. Muslims believe there is one God, Allah, who revealed his Word to the prophet Mohammed in a holy book - the Qu'ran (Koran). The essence of Islam is stated in the five pillars or duties:
Muhammad was born in the Arab city of Mecca in 571 CE. He grew up to be a successful trader. He received the revelation from Allah while in the desert. His preaching about Allah in Mecca attracted opposition so he went with his followers to the nearby town of Medina. This emigration is known as the 'hijra'. Here he made a large number of converts. His power base grew. By the time of his death ten years later, he had taken control of Mecca and created the first Islamic state.
During the following hundred years, Muslim forces took control of North Africa, Spain and part of France, also the Middle East and Central Asia. Islam spread into India about 750 years ago, also into southeast Asia and China.
Sunna is the practice of Islam as established by Mohammad, embodied in the Hadith, or sayings of the Prophet. Those who follow it are called 'Sunni'; they make up 90% of all Muslims. Shi'ite Muslims fulfil Islamic practice as developed by the Imams, interpreters of the Prophet's word after his death. Both traditions agree on the fundamentals of Islamic belief.
Islam has prodced many Sufis or mystics who have gained ritual purity through following particular rules of behaviour.
The Dar-ul-Islam is the Islamic World, literally the World of Obedience. Muslims have long dealt with the non-Islamic world through peaceful co-existence, as long as freedom to practice Islam is allowed. In places where this has not been allowed, or where Muslims were thought to be slipping from strict Islamic practice, a Jihad or Holy War has been declared. Such wars happen very rarely.
Read
about Elliot, Veitch,
Dyson, Porter,
Truscott and Waterfield
who collected these artefacts