importance/influence of scriptures/written work in chinese religions

[sophiedbl]

i was wondering if someone could help me. Im currently writing a research paper on the significance of the written word (scriptures etc) in chinese religions. im not too sure where to start. my essay plan is as follows

intro
General importance of scriptures and their uses in Chinese religion
Idea that scriptures are often passed as fact/historical events
there is no binding/are no rules without scripture
Without scriptures there would have only been word of mouth, things would have become skewed, no proof, turned into myth etc
The myths could have turned into popular belief and instead of spead, been confined to one community

What is popular belief, explain how without scriptures religions could have become popular belief.

Talk about the parallels of scriptures to Chinese religion with todays day and laws. How something must be written to be universally followed

Talk about certain most important religious scriptures. Number one YiJing Book of changes and its importance and influence on religions

Importance of hexograms and trigrams. Brief history, how it shaped religion.

Talk of the dao de jing and its influence in Daoism and talk over the controversies. Talk also of the influence zhuangzi and zhouyi have had on Daoism

The importance of the four books and five classics and their influence on Confucianism

Controversies of the interpretation of certain passages of written work and their influences

Conclusion – sum up of general topics

please give me any thoughts you may have. this is the most important assignment i have to do of 2,500 words and is worth half of my grades
also if you know of any reputable sources or academic journals that i could access i would love to know of them

[KillCarneyKlans]

http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw03bordersacrifice.htm The God of the Ancient Chinese vs. the God of the Hebrews.
http://www.chinainst.org/en/articles/points-of-contact/names-for-god-shang-di.php Names for "God": Shang Di.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v20/i3/china.asp The original ‘unknown’ god of China. An Ancient pictogram script points to the Bible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
The 1st Chinese dynasty that left historical records, the feudal Shang (Yin), settled along the Yellow River in eastern China from the 17th to the 11th century BC.

http://www.koreanhistoryproject.org/Ket/C01/E0104.htm
A number of Chinese histories written during the middle of the first millennium BC record events from the second millennium BC. However, since no written records dated earlier than 1,400 BC are known to exist, the recorded deeds and exploits of this period should be considered somewhat suspect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_monarchs
The first generally accepted date in Chinese history is 841 BC. All dates prior to this are the subject of often vigorous dispute. The dates provided here are those put forward by The Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project.