Buddhism, which was popular in India, emphasizes personal salvation more than the Taoism of China. It makes little difference today in China, where the communist dictators impose atheism as the official religion (or lack of religion). But in ancient China, before communism, these religions competed with each other for followers. Taoism advanced at the expense of Confucianism, which lost followers until northern rulers reestablished the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven was a theory that heaven blessed good rulers but overthrew bad ones, which was first used by the Zhou Dynasty to justify overthrowing the Shang Dynasty. These northern rulers obtained control in A.D. 589 under the Sui and Tang Dynasties. | Buddhism, which was popular in India, emphasizes personal salvation more than the Taoism of China. It makes little difference today in China, where the communist dictators impose atheism as the official religion (or lack of religion). But in ancient China, before communism, these religions competed with each other for followers. Taoism advanced at the expense of Confucianism, which lost followers until northern rulers reestablished the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven was a theory that heaven blessed good rulers but overthrew bad ones, which was first used by the Zhou Dynasty to justify overthrowing the Shang Dynasty. These northern rulers obtained control in A.D. 589 under the Sui and Tang Dynasties. |