Source Collection: Belief Systems
Document 1
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Author |
Zhu Xi (1130–1200) |
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Date and location |
1190, China |
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Source type |
Primary source – philosophical document |
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Description |
Zhu Xi was a Chinese philosopher and scholar during the Song Dynasty (1130–1200 CE) who became the leading figure of Neo-Confucianism. He combined Confucian thought with Buddhist and Daoist ideas, His interpretations of Confucian texts became the standard curriculum for civil service exams in China for centuries. |
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Citation |
Zhu, Xi. “Preface to the Great Learning by Chapter and Phrase.” In Sources of Chinese Tradition, edited by William Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom. Columbia University Press, 1999. https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/ps/ps_china.htm |
In the flourishing days of the Three Dynasties [Xia, Shang, and Zhou]… everyone, from the king’s court and feudal capitals down to the smallest lane or alley, had schooling. At the age of eight all children of the king and dukes, on down to the common people, started their elementary learning, in which they were instructed in the [social] disciplines of sprinkling and sweeping, responding to others, and coming forward or withdrawing from [the presence of others] [as recorded in Analects 19:12], and in the polite arts of ritual, music, archery, charioteering, writing, and arithmetic. Then at the age of fifteen, starting with the heir apparent and other princes, and down through the legitimate sons of the dukes, chief ministers, grandees, and lower aristocracy to the talented sons of the common people—all started their higher learning, in which they were taught the way of self‑cultivation and governance of men through the fathoming of principle and rectifying of the mind…
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Glossary Feudal: a system where land was owned by kings or nobles and worked by peasants who gave crops or services in return. A feudal capital was a center of power for a noble. |
Document 2
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Author |
Likely King Ram Khamhaeng, who reigned from 1279 to 1298 |
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Date and location |
1292, Sukhothai Kingdom (Thailand) |
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Source type |
Primary source – royal inscription |
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Description |
This inscription features the earliest example of Thai script. It describes the Sukhothai Kingdom during the reign of King Ram Khamhaeng, who likely wrote this text. The Sukhothai kingdom flourished from the mid-thirteenth century until a century later. |
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Citation |
Benda, Harry Jindrich, and John A. Larkin. The World of Southeast Asia: Selected Historical Readings. New York: Harper & Row, 1967. |
During the life of King Ram Khemhaeng this city of Sukhothai has prospered... there are fish... there is rice. The lord... levies no tolls on his subjects as they travel along the roads, driving cattle to... trade, riding horses to... sell...
…the sovereign of this city... the princes as well as the princesses, the men as well as the women, the nobles, and the chieftains, all without exception, without distinction of rank or sex, practice the religion of the Buddha with devotion.... In the middle of this city... are sanctuaries... [with] gold statues of the Buddha... [and] monks...
To the west of this city... is the monastery of Aranyik. King Ram Khamaeng founded it and offered it to the patriarch—the chief monk—a scholar who has studied completely the Three Scriptures and who is more learned than all the other monks of the country...
This king, Ram Khamhaeng, seeks to be the chief and the sovereign of all the Thai. He is the master who instructs all of the Thai so that they may know about merit and the true Law. Among all the men who live in this Thai country, none is his equal in knowledge and in wisdom, in bravery and in hardiness, in force and in energy.
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Glossary Levies: money, property, or troops collected by a government from the population |
Document 3
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Author |
Pope Boniface VIII |
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Date and location |
1296, Rome |
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Source type |
Primary source – public decree |
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Description |
Pope Boniface VIII was the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303 CE. He issued this Papal bull, a public decree. It is significant because it made a statement to the monarchs and aristocrats of France and England asserting that they could not take church revenues without the pope’s permission. |
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Citation |
Rymer, Thomas, ed. Foedera. Vol. I, Pt. II, 1896. In Select Historical Documents of the Middle Ages, translated by Ernest F. Henderson. George Bell, 1910. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/b8-clericos.asp. |
... laymen are... hostile to the clergy... which is... made clear by... the present times... not content within their own bounds, they strive after what is forbidden and... [pursue] what is unlawful... They exact and extort from them... some... portion or quota of their revenues or of their goods...
We... wishing to put a stop to such [sinful] acts, by the counsel of our brothers, of the apostolic authority, have decreed: Whatever [high-ranking clergy members], or [church] persons monastic or secular... [who] shall pay, or promise, or agree to pay as levies or [land taxes] to laymen... part of their own and their churches’ revenues or goods... under the name of an aid, loan, [grant], subsidy or gift... without the authority of that same chair: likewise emperors, kings or princes, dukes, counts or barons... who shall impose, exact or receive such payments, or shall anywhere arrest, seize or presume to take possession of the belongings of churches or ecclesiastical persons which are deposited in the sacred buildings, or shall order them to be arrested, seized or taken possession of, or shall receive them when taken possession of, seized or arrested, also all who shall knowingly give aid, counsel or favor... shall incur, by the act... [of taking money from the church]... excommunication...
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Glossary Laymen: members of a religious group or congregation who are not officially trained clergy |
Document 4
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Author |
Cheng Duanli (d. 1345) |
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Date and location |
1315, China |
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Source type |
Primary source – list of rules |
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Description |
This document shows the behaviors and beliefs of upper-class Chinese, as shown in their manuals for schoolchildren. The Yuan Dynasty official Cheng Duanli (d. 1345) put together a guide for teachers and students called A Schedule for Learning, which the ministry of education shared with teachers across China. This excerpt is taken from the preface listing the regulations for students. |
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Citation |
Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook. 2nd edition. The Free Press, 1993. |
- ... At daybreak... rise, wash... face, comb... hair, and [dress properly]... bow twice [to the image of Confucius]. After the incense has been lit... make two more bows.
- Afterwards… line up in order [by age]... Then pay respect to the teachers by making two bows to them...
- ... You should have a defined living area. When in a group... be seated according to your ages... At night... always wait for the elders to go to bed first. After they are in bed… keep quiet...
- ... walk slowly. When standing, keep... hands folded in front. Never walk or stand in front of an elder. Never turn your back on those who are... superiors in age or status....
- ... Statements should always be verifiable. Keep... promises. Your manners should be serious. Do not be boisterous or playful. Do not gossip about... neighbors. Do not [conversate] about vulgar matters.
- … Be dignified and serious. Do not be insolent. Do not be rough or rude. Do not be vicious or proud. Do not reveal... joy or anger.
- … Do not wear unusual or extravagant clothing. Yet do not go to the other extreme and appear in clothes that are ragged, dirty, or in bad taste... [Following] the above regulations closely [is to approach] the true realm of virtue.
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Glossary Verifiable: something that can be checked for truth or correctness |
Document 5
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Author |
Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) |
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Date and location |
1377, Algeria and Egypt |
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Source type |
Primary source – historical and sociological treatise |
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Description |
This is an early attempt at writing a world history, but it is also an early example of sociology, geography, and political theory. Ibn Khaldun was an Arab philosopher and historian who was well-known throughout the middle ages in the Middle East and Europe. In this universal history, Ibn Khaldun explores themes of civilization, evolution, political structure, and royal authority. |
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Citation |
Khaldûn, Ibn. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History – Abridged Edition. Edited by N.J. Dawood. Translated by Franz Rosenthal. Princeton University Press, 2015. |
Human social organization is something necessary. The philosophers expressed this fact by saying: ‘Man is “political” by nature.’ That is, he cannot do without the social organization for which the philosophers use the technical term ‘town’ (polis). This is what civilization means...
… human beings need someone to act as a restraining influence and mediator in every social organization, in order to keep its members from fighting with each other. That person must... have superiority over the others in the matter of group feeling. If not, his power cannot be effective. Such superiority is royal authority. It is more than leadership. Leadership means being a chieftain, and the leader is obeyed, but he has no power to force others to accept his rulings. Royal authority means superiority and the power to rule by force...
God made the Caliph his substitute to handle the affairs of His servants. He is to make them do the things that are good for them and forbid them to do those that are harmful....
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Glossary Polis: a term used to describe the Greek idea of a self-governing city-state, often seen by later philosophers as a model for organized, ethical life within a community |
Document 6
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Author |
Sant Soyarabai, fourteenth century |
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Date and location |
c. 1300–1400, Maharashtra, India |
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Source type |
Primary source – spiritual poems |
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Description |
Soyarabai was a saint who lived in fourteenth-century Maharashtra. While we know little about her life, we know that she was part of the Bhakti movement, and that she expressed her spiritual ideas and feelings through her poetry. She belonged to a lower caste, and she often writes about this social hierarchy. She explores themes related to caste, spiritual purity, and love of the divine. |
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Citation |
Subramaniam, Arundhathi, ed. A Book of Bhakti Poetry: Eating God. Translated by Jerry Pinto and Neela Bhagwat. Penguin Random House India, 2014. |
“How much more must I plead, Lord?
How much more jealously must I bear?
The love of others touches you.
Why do you refuse mine?
I feel no fear of you now.
Not of you, nor of any other.
How much more must I say, Lord?
I don’t care if you bear a grudge.
Soyara says: I’m here. I won’t budge.”
“You say some bodies are untouchable.
Tell me what you say of the soul.
You say defilement is born in the body.
If menstrual blood makes me impure,
Tell me who was not born of that blood.
This blood of mine fertilizes the world.
Tell me who has not sprung from this source.
Soyara says: this impurity is the cornerstone of your world.
That’s why I praise only Panduranga,
Who lives in every body, pure, impure.”
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Glossary Budge: to move a little bit; to change one’s mind or position on something |
Document 7
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Author |
Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī (1413–1492) |
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Date and location |
1442, Persia |
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Source type |
Primary source – travel chronicle |
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Description |
Abd-er-Razzāk was a Persian Timurid chronicler, an Islamic scholar, and an ambassador of Shah Rukh, the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia. He writes about a journey he undertook between 1442 and 1445 as part of a much larger work, The Rising of the Auspicious Twin-Stars, and the Confluence of the Ocean. This document is excerpted from this narrative. It is an early external representation of Calicut and the surrounding Indian Ocean region. |
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Citation |
Ali, Omar H. Islam in the Indian Ocean World: A Brief History with Documents. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016. |
... I arrived...at Bander-Hormuz... a port...in the middle of the sea...Travelers from all countries resort here, and, in exchange for [their] commodities, they can without trouble or difficulty, obtain all that they desire. Bargains are made... by money or exchange. For all objects, [except for] gold and silver, a tenth of their value is [taxed].
Persons of all religions, and even idolaters, are found in great numbers in this city, and no injustice is permitted toward any person whatever. This city is named the [the home of security]... Calicut [Kozhikode] is a perfectly secure harbor, which, like that of Hormuz, brings together merchants from every city and from every country... from time to time ships arrive there from shores of... [Mecca] and other parts of the [Hijaz], and abide at will…
... the town is inhabited by infidels, and situated on a hostile shore... a considerable number of Muslims, who are constant residents…have built two mosques, in which they meet every Friday to offer up prayer... Security and justice are so firmly established in this city, that the wealthiest merchants bring to this place ...considerable cargoes, which they... send into the markets and the bazaars... When a sale is made, they levy a duty on the goods of one-fortieth part; if they are not sold they make no charge on them whatsoever.
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Glossary Commodities: things that can be bought and sold |