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86-416: The basic Panhu myth is about a dragon-dog who transformed into a man and married a princess. In the myth, there was an old woman in an ancient Chinese king's palace who had ear pain for many years. A royal physician plucked out a small, golden worm from her ear, and placed it inside of a gourd covered with a plate. This is the origin of Panhu's name, which literally means "plate gourd". The worm then turned into

172-445: A rectification of names : distorted names are 'superstitious activities' ( 迷信活動 ) or 'feudal superstition' ( 封建迷信 ), that were derogatorily applied to the indigenous religion by leftist policies. Christian missionaries also used the label 'feudal superstition' as propaganda to undermine what they saw as religious competitition. Han calls for the acknowledgment of the ancient Chinese religion for what it really is,

258-443: A "supreme power reigning over lesser gods and human beings" that brought "order and calm...or catastrophe and punishment", a deity, destiny , an impersonal force that controls events, a holy world or afterlife containing other worlds or afterlives, or one or more of these. The modern Chinese character 天 and early seal script both combine dà 大 ' great; large ' and yī 一 ' one ' , but some of

344-595: A deified virtuous person ( xiān Chinese : 仙 , "immortal"). Some cults such as that of Liu Zhang, a king in what is today Shandong , date back to this period. From the 3rd century on by the Northern Wei , accompanying the spread of Buddhism in China, strong influences from the Indian subcontinent penetrated the ancient Chinese indigenous religion. A cult of Ganesha ( Chinese : 象頭神 Xiàngtóushén , "Elephant-Head God")

430-556: A direct influence on things, making phenomena appear and things grow or extend themselves. An early Chinese dictionary, the Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen , explains that they "are the spirits of Heaven" and they "draw out the ten thousand things". As forces of growth the gods are regarded as yang , opposed to a yin class of entities called gui ( 鬼 ; guǐ ; cognate of 歸 ; guī 'return', 'contraction'), chaotic beings. A disciple of Zhu Xi noted that "between Heaven and Earth there

516-418: A dog, Panhu, who in some versions had five colored fur. The king offered to marry his daughter to anybody that would present him with the head of his enemy. This was accomplished by Panhu. Accounts vary, but eventually Panhu and the princess had six sons and six daughters who became the famous 12 clans of Chinese mythology. There are also variant versions. In some variants, the dragon-dog became transformed into

602-666: A few changed into schools". During the Japanese invasion of China between 1937 and 1945 many temples were used as barracks by soldiers and destroyed in warfare. In the 19th century in the Guangdong region, monotheism , likely of a henotheistic and/or monolatrous character in at least some contexts and locations, was well-known and popular in Chinese folk religion. In the past, popular cults were regulated by imperial government policies, promoting certain deities while suppressing others. In

688-488: A hierarchy of multiple, sphere-like realms that contained morally ambiguous creatures and spirits such as fox spirits and fire-breathing dragons . The Tao realm was thought to exist by many ancient folk religion practitioners. Ahom religion ethnically originated from Dai people of Yunnan in Southwest China has a concept of Mong Phi (Heavenly Kingdom) which is often identified as Tian. In Yiguandao , Tian

774-438: A human, except for his head. (Christie 1968: 121-122) This is sometimes attributed to the princess worrying that he was starving inside the golden vessel he was placed inside of for seven days and seven nights to transform into a human, which resulted in the process being incomplete. In the study of historical Chinese culture, many of the stories that have been told regarding characters and events which have been written or told of

860-449: A range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese , including the Chinese diaspora . This includes the veneration of shen ('spirits') and ancestors , and worship devoted to deities and immortals , who can be deities of places or natural phenomena, of human behaviour, or progenitors of family lineages . Stories surrounding these gods form a loose canon of Chinese mythology . By

946-677: A relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people of Kuang do to me?" For Mozi , Heaven is the divine ruler, just as the Son of Heaven is the earthly ruler. Mozi believed that spirits and minor demons exist or at least rituals should be performed as if they did for social reasons, but their function is to carry out the will of Heaven, watching for evil-doers and punishing them. Mozi taught that Heaven loves all people equally and that each person should similarly love all human beings without distinguishing between his own relatives and those of others. Mozi criticized

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1032-539: A religion focused on gods of nature , Tian became a more abstract and impersonal idea of God. A popular representation is the Jade Deity ( Chinese : 玉帝 Yùdì ) or Jade Emperor ( Chinese : 玉皇 Yùhuáng ) originally formulated by Taoists. According to classical theology he manifests in five primary forms ( Chinese : 五方上帝 Wǔfāng Shàngdì , "Five Forms of the Highest Deity"). The qi Chinese : 气

1118-465: A spiritual world between heaven and earth and beseeched the gods of heaven and earth to influence the world to benefit their family. By the Han dynasty , the ancient Chinese religion mostly consisted of people organising into shè ( Chinese : 社 ["group", "body", local community altars]) who worshipped their godly principle. In many cases the "lord of the she " was the god of the earth, and in others

1204-477: A state religion), and all the various stages of the Taoist religion." Contemporary Chinese scholars have identified what they consider the essential features of the Chinese indigenous religion : according to Chen Xiaoyi ( 陳曉毅 ) local indigenous religion is the crucial factor for a harmonious 'religious ecology' ( 宗教生態 ), that is the balance of forces in a given community. Han Bingfang ( 韓秉芳 ) has called for

1290-402: A system of meaning, or have brought further development in C. K. Yang's distinction between "institutional religion" and "diffused religion", the former functioning as a separate body from other social institutions, and the latter intimately part of secular social institutions. In the beginning of Chinese civilization, "[t]he most honored members of the family were...the ancestors", who lived in

1376-603: A voiceless lateral onset, either a cluster or a single consonant, respectively. Baxter & Sagart pointed to attested dialectal differences in Eastern Han Chinese , the use of 天 as a phonetic component in phono-semantic compound Chinese characters , and the choice of 天 to transcribe foreign syllables, all of which prompted them to conclude that, around 200 CE, 天 's onset had two pronunciations: coronal * tʰ and dorsal * x , both of which likely originated from an earlier voiceless lateral * l̥ˤ . Further etymology

1462-613: A whole, which is "the basis for a sincere mind." The Emperor of China as Tianzi was formerly vital to Confucianism. Mount Tai is seen as a sacred place in Confucianism and was traditionally the most revered place where Chinese emperors offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth. The concept of Tian is pervasive in Confucianism . Confucius had a deep trust in Heaven and believed that Heaven overruled human efforts. He also believed that he

1548-539: Is Buddhism which came to China probably before the Christian era but which began to exert nation-wide influence only after the third century A.D. The other great religion has had no generic name, but I propose to call it Siniticism. It is the native ancient religion of the Han Chinese people: it dates back to time immemorial, over 10,000 years old, and includes all such later phases of its development as Moism, Confucianism (as

1634-451: Is Heaven - that knows me!" Perhaps the most remarkable saying, recorded twice, is one in which Confucius expresses complete trust in the overruling providence of Heaven: The Master was put in fear in Kuang. He said, "After the death of King Wen, was not the cause of truth lodged here in me? If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such

1720-493: Is a common core that can be summarised as four theological, cosmological, and moral concepts: Tian , the transcendent source of moral meaning; qi , the breath or energy that animates the universe; ancestor veneration ; and bao ying 'moral reciprocity'. With these, there are two traditional concepts of fate and meaning: ming yun , the personal destiny or burgeoning; and yuanfen 'fateful coincidence ', good and bad chances and potential relationships. Yin and yang

1806-499: Is a seldom used term taken by scholars in colonial Taiwan from Japanese during Japan's occupation (1895–1945). It was used between the 1990s and the early 21st century among mainland Chinese scholars. Shendao ( 神道 ; shéndào ; 'the Way of the Gods';) is a term already used in the I Ching referring to the divine order of nature. Around the time of the spread of Buddhism during

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1892-655: Is attested in the year 531. Pollination from Indian religions included processions of carts with images of gods or floats borne on shoulders, with musicians and chanting. The ancient Chinese religion was subject to persecution in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many ancient temples were destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion in the late 1800s. After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 "most temples were turned to other uses or were destroyed, with

1978-477: Is bound to local communities, kinship, and environments. In each setting, institution and ritual behaviour assumes highly organised forms. Temples and the gods in them acquire symbolic character and perform specific functions involved in the everyday life of the local community. Local religion preserves aspects of naturalistic beliefs such as totemism , animism , and shamanism . Ancient Chinese religion pervades all aspects of social life. Many scholars, following

2064-460: Is divided into three vertical worlds. Li Tian ( 理天 ) 'heaven of truth', Qi Tian ( 氣天 ) 'heaven of spirit' and Xiang Tian ( 象天 ) 'heaven of matter'. In some cases, the heavens in Shinto were thought to be a hierarchy of multiple, sphere-like realms that contained kami such as fox spirits . Myths about the kami were told "of their doings on Earth and in heaven." Heaven was thought to be

2150-459: Is no thing that does not consist of yin and yang, and there is no place where yin and yang are not found. Therefore, there is no place where gods and spirits do not exist". The dragon is a symbol of yang, the principle of generation. In Taoist and Confucian thought, the supreme God and its order and the multiplicity of shen are identified as one and the same. In the Ten Wings , a commentary to

2236-527: Is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology , philosophy , and religion . During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as Shangdi or Di ( 帝 , 'Lord'). During the following Zhou dynasty , Tian became synonymous with this figure. Before the 20th century, worship of Tian was an orthodox state religion of China. In Taoism and Confucianism , Tian (the celestial aspect of

2322-458: Is something that "[t]he ways of man should conform to, or else" frustration will result. Many Confucianists, both historically and in current times, use the I Ching to divine events through the changes of Tian and other natural forces. Historical and current Confucianists were/are often environmentalists out of their respect for Heaven and the other aspects of nature and the principle that comes from their unity and, more generally, harmony as

2408-404: Is the breath or substance of which all things are made, including inanimate matter, the living beings, thought and gods. It is the continuum energy—matter. Stephen F. Teiser (1996) translates it as "stuff" of "psychophysical stuff". Neo-Confucian thinkers such as Zhu Xi developed the idea of li Chinese : 理 , the "reason", "order" of Heaven, that is to say the pattern through which

2494-488: Is the medium of the two states and the inchoate order of creation. The Chinese language historically has not had a concept or overarching term for "religion". In English, the terms 'popular religion' or 'folk religion' have long been used to mean local religious life. In Chinese academic literature and common usage 'folk religion' ( 民間宗教 ; mínjiān zōngjiào ) refers to specific organised folk religious sects . Contemporary academic study of traditional cults and

2580-431: Is the polarity that describes the order of the universe, held in balance by the interaction of principles of extension ( 神 ; shén ; 'spirit') and returning ( 鬼 ; guǐ ; 'ghost'), with yang ('act') usually preferred over yin ('receptiveness') in common religion. The taijitu and bagua are common diagrams representing the forces of nature, and the power that deities like Zhong Kui wield. Ling

2666-490: Is the qi in its dense, dark, sinking, wet, condensing mode; yang denotes the light, and the bright, rising, dry, expanding modality. Described as Taiji (the 'Great Pole'), they represent the polarity and complementarity that enlivens the cosmos . They can also be conceived as 'disorder' and 'order', 'activity' or 'passivity', with action (yang) usually preferred over receptiveness (yin). The concept of shen ( 神 ; shén ; cognate of 申 ; shēn 'extending', 'expanding' )

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2752-453: Is therefore both transcendent and immanent . Tian is defined in many ways, with many names, the most widely known being Tàidì Chinese : 太帝 (the "Great Deity") and Shàngdì Chinese : 上帝 (the "Primordial Deity"). The concept of Shangdi is especially rooted in the tradition of the Shang dynasty , which gave prominence to the worship of ancestral gods and cultural heroes . The "Primordial Deity" or "Primordial Emperor"

2838-467: Is translated as 'gods' or 'spirits'. There are shen of nature; gods who were once people, such as the warrior Guan Yu ; household gods, such as the Stove God ; as well as ancestral gods ( zu or zuxian ). In the domain of humanity the shen is the psyche, or the power or agency within humans. They are intimately involved in the life of this world. As spirits of stars, mountains and streams, shen exert

2924-412: Is unknown. It is proposed that transcriptions of a Xiongnu word for "sky", haak-lin 赫連 , is related. Tian is one of the components in hundreds of Chinese compounds . Some significant ones include: "Lord Heaven" and " Jade Emperor " were terms for a supreme deity in Confucianism and Taoism who was an anthropromorphized Tian, and some conceptions of it thought of the names as synonymous. Tian

3010-699: The Mozi ( Mohism ), the Huainanzi , the Shizi and the Xunzi . The " Interactions Between Heaven and Mankind " ( Chinese : 《天人感應》 ; pinyin : tiānrén gǎnyìng ) is a set of Confucianised doctrines compiled in the Han dynasty by Dong Zhongshu , discussing politics in accordance with a personal Tian of whom mankind is viewed as the incarnation. Taoism has a separate body of philosophical, theological and ritual literature, including

3096-634: The Taiyi Shengshui ( Chinese : 《太一生水》 ; lit. 'The Great One Gives Birth to Water'). Another book attributed to the Yellow Emperor is the Huangdi yinfujing ( Chinese : 《黃帝陰符經》 ; lit. 'Yellow Emperor's Book of the Hidden Symbol';). Classical books of mythology include the " Classic of Mountains and Seas " ( Chinese : 《山海經》 ; pinyin : shānhǎijīng ),

3182-511: The American West Coast alone. In 1904, a reform policy of the late Qing dynasty provided that schools would be built through the confiscation of temple property. "Anti-superstition" campaigns followed. The Nationalist government of the Republic of China intensified the suppression of the ancient Chinese religion with the 1928 "Standards for retaining or abolishing gods and shrines";

3268-711: The Chairman Mao period in the PRC, was the most serious and last systematic effort to destroy the ancient Chinese religion, while in Taiwan the ancient Chinese religion was very well-preserved but controlled by Republic of China (Taiwan) president Chiang Kai-Shek during his Chinese Cultural Renaissance to counter the Cultural Revolution. After 1978 the ancient Chinese religion started to rapidly revive in China, with millions of temples being rebuilt or built from scratch. Since

3354-461: The Dragon King , Pangu or Caishen . Feng shui , acupuncture , and traditional Chinese medicine reflect this world view, since features of the landscape as well as organs of the body are in correlation with the five powers and yin and yang . Chinese religions have a variety of sources, local forms, founder backgrounds, and ritual and philosophical traditions. Despite this diversity, there

3440-504: The Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE), it was used to distinguish the indigenous ancient religion from the imported religion. Ge Hong used it in his Baopuzi as a synonym for Taoism . The term was subsequently adopted in Japan in the 6th century as Shindo , later Shinto , with the same purpose of identification of the Japanese indigenous religion. In the 14th century,

3526-516: The Hongwu Emperor (Taizu of the Ming dynasty , 1328–1398) used the term "Shendao" clearly identifying the indigenous cults, which he strengthened and systematised. "Chinese Universism"—not in the sense of " universalism " as in "a system of universal application", as that is Tian in Chinese thought—is a coinage of Jan Jakob Maria de Groot that refers to the metaphysical perspective that lies behind

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3612-517: The I Ching , it is written that "one yin and one yang are called the Tao ... the unfathomable change of yin and yang is called shen ". In other texts, with a tradition going back to the Han dynasty , the gods and spirits are explained to be names of yin and yang, forces of contraction and forces of growth. While in popular thought they have conscience and personality, Neo-Confucian scholars tended to rationalise them. Zhu Xi wrote that they act according to

3698-682: The Song dynasty (960–1279), these practices had been blended with Buddhist , Confucian , and Taoist teachings to form the popular religious system which has lasted in many ways until the present day. The government of China generally tolerates popular religious organizations, but has suppressed or persecuted those that they fear would undermine social stability. After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, governments and modernizing elites condemned 'feudal superstition' and opposed traditional religious practices which they believed conflicted with modern values. By

3784-477: The cosmos , often translated as " Heaven ") is mentioned in relationship to its complementary aspect of Dì ( 地 , often translated as " Earth "). They are thought to maintain the two poles of the Three Realms of reality, with the middle realm occupied by Humanity ( 人 , rén ), and the lower world occupied by demons ( 魔 , mó ) and "ghosts", the damned, ( 鬼 , guǐ ). Tian was variously thought as

3870-490: The li . Zhang Zai wrote that they are "the inherent potential ( liang neng ) of the two ways of qi". Cheng Yi said that they are "traces of the creative process". Chen Chun wrote that shen and gui are expansions and contractions, going and coming, of yin and yang—qi. Tian Model humanity: Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions: Salvation churches and sects : Confucian churches and sects: Tian ( 天 )

3956-469: The qi develops, that is the polarity of yin and yang . In Taoism the Tao Chinese : 道 ("Way") denotes in one concept both the impersonal absolute Tian and its order of manifestation ( li ). Yin ( 陰 ; yīn ) and yang ( 陽 ; yáng ), whose root meanings respectively are 'shady' and 'sunny', or 'dark' and 'light', are modes of manifestation of the qi, not material things in themselves. Yin

4042-415: The source of moral meaning; qi ( Chinese : 氣 ), the breath or substance of which all things are made; the practice of jingzu ( Chinese : 敬祖 ), the veneration of ancestors; bao ying ( Chinese : 報應 ), moral reciprocity. Confucians, Taoists, and other schools of thought share basic concepts of Tian . Tian is both the physical heavens, the home of the sun, moon, and stars, and also

4128-462: The " Guodian texts " in the 1990s and the Huangdi sijing ( Chinese : 《黃帝四經》 ; lit. 'Four Books of the Yellow Emperor';) in the 1970s, has given rise to new interpretations of the ancient Chinese religion and new directions in its post-Maoist renewal. Many of these books overcome the dichotomy between Confucian and Taoist traditions. The Guodian texts include, among others,

4214-579: The " Record of Heretofore Lost Works " ( Chinese : 《拾遺記 ; pinyin : shíyíjì ), " The Peach Blossom Spring " ( Chinese : 《桃花源記》 ; pinyin : táohuāyuánjì ), the " Investiture of the Gods " ( Chinese : 《封神演義》 ; pinyin : fēngshén yǎnyì ), and the " Journey to the West " ( Chinese : 《西遊記》 ; pinyin : xīyóujì ) among others. Fan and Chen summarise four spiritual, cosmological, and moral concepts: Tian ( Chinese : 天 ), Heaven,

4300-533: The 'core and soul of popular culture' ( 俗文化的核心與靈魂 ). According to Chen Jinguo ( 陳進國 ), the ancient Chinese religion is a core element of Chinese 'cultural and religious self-awareness' ( 文化自覺，信仰自覺 ). He has proposed a theoretical definition of Chinese indigenous religion in a 'trinity' ( 三位一體 ), apparently inspired to Tang Chun-i 's thought: Ancient Chinese religious practices are diverse, varying from province to province and even from one village to another, for religious behaviour

4386-465: The 1980s the central government moved to a policy of benign neglect or wu wei ( Chinese : 無為 ) in regard to rural community life, and the local government's new regulatory relationship with local society is characterised by practical mutual dependence; these factors have given much space for popular religion to develop. In recent years, in some cases, local governments have taken an even positive and supportive attitude towards indigenous religion in

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4472-514: The 20th century, with the decline of the Qing dynasty, increasing urbanisation and Western influence, the issue for the new intellectuals who looked to the West was no longer controlling unauthorised worship of unregistered gods but the ancient Chinese religion itself, which they perceived as an issue halting modernisation. By 1899, 400 syncretic temples that combined folk religion elements and gods with Buddhist, Taoist, and/or Confucianist gods existed on

4558-519: The Chinese religious tradition. De Groot calls Chinese Universism "the ancient metaphysical view that serves as the basis of all classical Chinese thought. ... In Universism, the three components of integrated universe—understood epistemologically, 'heaven, earth and man', and understood ontologically, ' Taiji (the great beginning, the highest ultimate), yin and yang'—are formed". In 1931, Hu Shih argued that: "Two great religions have played tremendously important roles throughout Chinese history. One

4644-457: The Confucians of his own time for not following the teachings of Confucius. In Mozi's Will of Heaven ( 天志 ), he writes: Moreover, I know Heaven loves men dearly not without reason. Heaven ordered the sun, the moon, and the stars to enlighten and guide them. Heaven ordained the four seasons, Spring, Autumn, Winter, and Summer, to regulate them. Heaven sent down snow, frost, rain, and dew to grow

4730-506: The aforementioned question to find an appropriate "name" for the ancient Chinese religion, is the difficulty to define it or clearly outline its boundaries. Old sinology , especially Western, tried to distinguish "popular" and "élite" traditions (the latter being Confucianism and Taoism conceived as independent systems). Chinese sinology later adopted another dichotomy which continues in contemporary studies, distinguishing "folk beliefs" ( minjian xinyang ) and "folk religion" ( minjian zongjiao ),

4816-909: The bronze graphs for Tian, showing a person with a round head, resemble those for dīng 丁 "4th Celestial stem ", and suggests "The anthropomorphic graph may or may not indicate that the original meaning was 'deity', rather than 'sky'." Two variant Chinese characters for 天 are 二人 (written with 二 èr 'two' and 人 rén 'human') and the Daoist coinage 靝 (with 青 qīng 'blue' and 氣 ' qi ', cf. 'blue sky'). Tian 天 reconstructions in Middle Chinese ( c.  6th –10th centuries CE) include t'ien , t'iɛn , tʰɛn > tʰian , and then . Reconstructions in Old Chinese ( c.  6th –3rd centuries BCE) include * t'ien , * t'en , * hlin , * thîn , and * l̥ˤin . For

4902-479: The creation of a government agency that gave legal status to this religion have created proposals to formalise names and deal more clearly with folk religious sects and help conceptualise research and administration. Terms that have been proposed include 'Chinese native religion' ( 民俗宗教 ; mínsú zōngjiào ), 'Chinese ethnic religion' ( 民族宗教 ; mínzú zōngjiào ), or 'Chinese religion' ( 中華教 ; zhōnghuájiào ) viewed as comparable to

4988-428: The disciples to act as ministers to him. During a remission of his illness, he said, "Long has the conduct of You been deceitful! By pretending to have ministers when I have them not, whom should I impose upon? Should I impose upon Heaven? Moreover, than that I should die in the hands of ministers, is it not better that I should die in the hands of you, my disciples? And though I may not get a great burial, shall I die upon

5074-722: The distant past have a double tradition: one which presents a more historicized version and one which presents a more mythological version. (Yang 2005:12-13) This is also true in many of the accounts related to Panhu. Many of the myths regarding agriculture in China are related to popular religion and ritual . In modern times, Panhu has been worshiped by the She people and Yao people as "King Pan". (Yang 2005: 52-53). Chinese folk religion Model humanity: Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions: Salvation churches and sects : Confucian churches and sects: Chinese folk religion comprises

5160-852: The eight directions. The Tian are the heaven worlds and pure lands in Buddhist cosmology . Some devas are also called Tian. The number of vertical heaven layers in Taoism is different. A common belief in Taoism is that there were 36 Tian "arranged on six levels" that have "different deities". The highest heaven is the "Great Web" which was sometimes said to be where Yuanshi Tianzun lived. After death, some Taoists were thought to explore "heavenly realms" and/or become Taoist immortals . These immortals could be good or evil, and there were sometimes rivalries between them. Some heavens in Taoism were thought to be evil, as in Shangqing Daoism , although Tian

5246-629: The etymology of Tian, Schuessler links it with the Turkic and Mongolian word tengri 'sky', 'heaven', 'deity' or the Tibeto-Burman words taleŋ ( Adi ) and tǎ-lyaŋ ( Lepcha ), both meaning 'sky' or 'God'. He also suggests a likely connection between Tian, diān 巔 'summit, mountaintop', and diān 顛 'summit', 'top of the head', 'forehead', which have cognates such as Zemeic Naga tiŋ 'sky'. However, other reconstructions of 天 's OC pronunciation * qʰl'iːn or * l̥ˤi[n] reconstructed

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5332-415: The five grains and flax and silk that so the people could use and enjoy them. Heaven established the hills and rivers, ravines and valleys, and arranged many things to minister to man's good or bring him evil. He appointed the dukes and lords to reward the virtuous and punish the wicked, and to gather metal and wood, birds and beasts, and to engage in cultivating the five grains and flax and silk to provide for

5418-713: The fundamental Daodejing ( Chinese : 《道德經》 ; lit. 'Book of the Way and its Virtue'), the Daozang (Taoist Canon), the Liezi and the Zhuangzi , and a great number of other texts either included or not within the Taoist Canon. Vernacular literature and the folk religious sects have produced a great body of popular mythological and theological literature, the baojuan ( Chinese : 寶卷 ; lit. 'precious scrolls'). Recent discovery of ancient books, such as

5504-480: The home of the gods and ancestors. Tian by extension is source of moral meaning, as seen in the political principle, the Mandate of Heaven , which holds that Tian , responding to human virtue, grants the imperial family the right to rule and withdraws it when the dynasty declines in virtue. This creativity or virtue ( de ) in humans is the potentiality to transcend the given conditions and act wisely and morally. Tian

5590-576: The late Qing dynasty , scholars Yao Wendong and Chen Jialin used the term shenjiao not referring to Shinto as a definite religious system, but to local shin beliefs in Japan. Other terms are 'folk cults' ( 民間崇拜 ; mínjiān chóngbài ), 'spontaneous religion' ( 自發宗教 ; zìfā zōngjiào ), 'lived religion' ( 生活宗教 ; shēnghuó zōngjiào ), 'local religion' ( 地方宗教 ; dìfāng zōngjiào ), and 'diffused religion' ( 分散性宗教 ; fēnsàn xìng zōngjiào ). 'Folk beliefs' ( 民間信仰 ; mínjiān xìnyǎng ),

5676-575: The late 20th century, these attitudes began to change in both mainland China and Taiwan, and many scholars now view folk religion in a positive light. In recent times traditional religion is experiencing a revival in both China and Taiwan. Some forms have received official understanding or recognition as a preservation of traditional culture, such as Mazuism and the Sanyi teaching in Fujian , Yellow Emperor worship, and other forms of local worship, such as that of

5762-454: The latter referring to the doctrinal sects. Many studies have pointed out that it is impossible to draw clear distinctions, and, since the 1970s, several sinologists swung to the idea of a unified "ancient Chinese religion" that would define the Chinese national identity, similarly to Hindu Dharma for India and Shinto for Japan . Other sinologists who have not espoused the idea of a unified "national religion" have studied Chinese religion as

5848-410: The lead of sociologist C. K. Yang , see the ancient Chinese religion deeply embedded in family and civic life, rather than expressed in a separate organizational structure like a "church", as in the West. Deity or temple associations and lineage associations , pilgrimage associations and formalized prayers, rituals and expressions of virtues, are the common forms of organization of Chinese religion on

5934-540: The limitations of written texts were acknowledged particularly in Taoism and folk religion. There are the classic books ( Chinese : 經 ; pinyin : jīng ; lit. ' warp ') such as the Confucian canon including the " Four Books and Five Classics " ( Chinese : 《四書五經》 ; pinyin : sìshū wǔjīng ) and the " Classic of Filial Piety " ( Chinese : 《孝經》 ; pinyin : xiàojīng ), then there are

6020-453: The local level. Neither initiation rituals nor official membership into a church organization separate from one person's native identity are mandatory in order to be involved in religious activities. Contrary to institutional religions, Chinese religion does not require "conversion" for participation. The prime criterion for participation in the ancient Chinese religion is not "to believe" in an official doctrine or dogma , but "to belong" to

6106-426: The local unit of an ancient Chinese religion, that is the "association", the "village" or the "kinship", with their gods and rituals. Sociologist Richard Madsen describes the ancient Chinese religion, adopting the definition of Tu Weiming , as characterized by "immanent transcendence" grounded in a devotion to "concrete humanity", focused on building moral community within concrete humanity. Inextricably linked to

6192-421: The name of promoting cultural heritage. Instead of signaling the demise of traditional ancient religion, China and Taiwan 's economic and technological industrialization and development has brought a spiritual renewal. Ancient Chinese religion draws from a vast heritage of sacred books, which according to the general worldview treat cosmology , history and mythology, mysticism and philosophy, as aspects of

6278-516: The original characters in Shāng oracle bone script and Zhōu bronzeware script anthropomorphically portray a large head on a great person. The ancient oracle and bronze ideograms for dà 大 depict a stick figure person with arms stretched out denoting "great; large". The oracle and bronze characters for Tian 天 emphasize the cranium of this 'great (person)', either with a square or round head, or head marked with one or two lines. Schuessler notes

6364-454: The people's food and clothing. This has been so from antiquity to the present." There are three major schools on the structure of Tian. Most other hypothesis were developed from them. Tian schools influenced popular conception of the universe and earth until the 17th century , when they were replaced by cosmological concepts imported from Europe . Sometimes the sky is divided into Jiutian ( 九天 ) 'nine sky divisions'—the middle sky and

6450-632: The policy attempted to abolish the cults of all gods with the exception of ancient great human heroes and sages such as the Yellow Emperor , Yu the Great , Guan Yu , Sun Tzu , Mazu , Xuanzang , Kūkai , Buddha , Budai , Bodhidharma , Lao Tzu , and Confucius . These policies were the background for those implemented by Communist Party after winning the Chinese Civil War and taking power in 1949. The Cultural Revolution , between 1966 and 1976 of

6536-413: The road?" Confucius believed that Heaven gives people tasks to perform to teach them of virtues and morality: The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what

6622-413: The same thing. Historically, the revolutionary shift toward a preference for textual transmission and text-based knowledge over long-standing oral traditions first becomes detectable in the 1st century CE. The spoken word, however, never lost its power. Rather than writing replacing the power of the spoken word, both existed side by side. Scriptures had to be recited and heard in order to be efficacious, and

6708-414: The term 神教 ( shénjiào ; 'shenism'). Tan however, comments that is not the way the Chinese refer to their religion, which in any case includes worship of ancestors, not shen , and suggests it is logical to use "Chinese Religion". Shenxianism 神仙教 ( shénxiān jiào ), literally 'religion of deities and immortals ', is a term partly inspired by Elliott's "shenism" neologism. During

6794-451: The usage of the term " Hinduism " for Indian religion. In Malaysia , reports the scholar Tan Chee-Beng, Chinese do not have a definite term for their traditional religion, which is not surprising because "the religion is diffused into various aspects of Chinese culture". They refer to their religion as 'Buddha worship' ( 拜佛 ; bàifó ) or 'spirit worship' ( 拜神 ; bàishén ), which prompted Alan J. A. Elliott to suggest

6880-490: The worship of heaven a major part of their political philosophy and viewed it as "many gods" who embodied order and kingship, as well as the mandate of heaven . "Confucianism has a religious side with a deep reverence for Heaven and Earth ( Di ), whose powers regulate the flow of nature and influence human events." Yin and yang are also thought to be integral to this relationship and permeate both, as well as humans and man-made constructs. This "cosmos" and its "principles"

6966-421: Was carrying out the will of Heaven, and that Heaven would not allow its servant, Confucius, to be dead until his work was done and complete. Many attributes of Heaven were delineated in his Analects . Confucius honored Heaven as the supreme source of goodness: The Master said, "Great indeed was Yao as a sovereign! How majestic was he! It is only Heaven that is grand, and only Yao corresponded to it. How vast

7052-457: Was considered to be embodied in the human realm as the lineage of imperial power. Di ( Chinese : 帝 ) is a term meaning "deity" or "emperor" ( Latin : imperator , verb im-perare ; "making from within"), used either as a name of the primordial god or as a title of natural gods, describing a principle that exerts a fatherly dominance over what it produces. With the Zhou dynasty , which preferred

7138-405: Was his virtue! The people could find no name for it. How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished! How glorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted!" Confucius felt himself personally dependent upon Heaven: "Wherein I have done improperly, may Heaven reject me! may Heaven reject me!" Confucius believed that Heaven cannot be deceived: The Master being very ill, Zi Lu wished

7224-922: Was mostly thought of as a force for good. Heaven is sometimes seen as synonymous with the Dao or a natural energy that can be accessed by living in accordance with the Dao. A Tao realm inconceivable and incomprehensible by normal humans and even Confucius and Confucianists was sometimes called "the Heavens". Higher, spiritual versions of Daoists such as Laozi were thought to exist in there when they were alive and absorb "the purest Yin and Yang ", as well as xian who were reborn into it after their human selves' spirits were sent there. These spiritual versions were thought to be abstract beings that can manifest in that world as mythical beings such as dragons who eat yin and yang energy and ride clouds and their qi . Some Tian in Chinese folk religion were thought to be many different or

7310-424: Was right." He believed that Heaven knew what he was doing and approved of him, even though none of the rulers on earth might want him as a guide: The Master said, "Alas! there is no one that knows me." Zi Gong said, "What do you mean by thus saying - that no one knows you?" The Master replied, "I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there

7396-472: Was viewed as "the dwelling place of gods and other superhuman beings". It was also viewed as "the guardian of both the moral laws of mankind and the physical laws of nature...and is synonymous with the divine will." In Chinese culture, heaven tends to be "synonymous with order", "containing the blueprints for creation", "the mandate by which earthly rulers govern , and the standards by which to measure beauty, goodness, and truth." Zhou dynasty nobles made

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