If the Chinese communists were really serious about Sinicization, they would be promoting, not attacking, the indigenous Chinese traditions of Confucius, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and Han era Buddhism. Instead they impose the foreign thought of Marx. What they are really interested in is power. The communists cynically manipulate belief in the old Confucian ideal of the harmonious society as their chief justification for the measures they take to eliminate competition for their on-going control of Chinese society.
Homegrown faiths not getting a 'free pass' by President Xi Jinping as Party fires salvo at over-commercialization of Daoism
It's not only Christianity and Islam the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) is cracking down on and asserting its control over; homegrown religions like Daoism and imported belief systems like Buddhism now face more measures aimed at curbing and rolling back their commercialization. ...
Many of China's most popular tourist attractions revolve around centuries-old Buddhist and Daoist temples. For example, the 1,500-year-old Shaolin temple in central Henan Province has long been under the scrutiny of authorities. ...
All commercial investments in Buddhism and Daoism are prohibited under the new directive, while any temples deemed non-profit are banned from investing in the operations of other religious venues, according to a recent report in the South China Morning Post. ...
During the (1966-76) Cultural Revolution, Buddhists were forced to practice their faith in secret while the less formal rites associated with Daoism took a pummeling under Chairman Mao Zedong, who died in 1976. The temples and statues of both religions were routinely shut down and destroyed. In recent decades, as religious practice has experienced a remarkable revival in China, both Buddhism and Daoism have crept and then surged back into favor. By some estimates, their combined active adherents now number well into the hundred of millions.
