RAS Beyond City

Temples Walk

Saturday, 9th March 2024

9:15 am registration

9:30 am to 12:30 pm

Nowadays, the Chinese government officially recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism and Daoism, but a majority of Chinese people are either non-religious or practice a combination of Buddhism and Daoism with a Confucian worldview, which is collectively termed as "Chinese folk religion". Confucianism and Daoism, later joined by Buddhism, constitute the "three teachings" that have shaped Chinese culture, and the border between religion and philosophy is sometimes tenuous.

With the re-launch of RAS Beyond City, we will walk through Shanghai's famous and hidden temples, to understand the influences of these religions and philosophies on each other. How has Buddhism, considered the oldest "foreign" religion in China and introduced during the Han Dynasty, influenced the restructuring of Daoism into a more organized religion, still visible today in the design of contemporary Daoist Temples? How has folk religion and Chinese mythology influenced the assimilation of Buddhism into Chinese culture and the development of Daoism?

Follow Clarisse Le Guernic, our new Beyond City Convener, for a walk around the Old City to visit at least three different temples along the way. You will gain answers to the above questions and discover neighborhoods that are marked to be destroyed for redevelopment. We will end our walk at a Buddhist temple where there will be an option for those who want to stay and enjoy a vegetarian lunch together (at your own cost).

Convened by Clarisse Le Guernic