Transcript Chinese Folk Religion

CHINESE FOLK RELIGION
DHS China Seminar Curriculum – Day 12
Introduction



Chinese religion is not an organized, unified system of beliefs and
practices.
"Chinese religion" is a general term used to describe the complex
interaction of different religious and philosophical traditions that
have been especially influential in China.
Although other religious traditions have been influential in China,
Chinese religion is primarily composed of four main traditions:





Chinese folk religion
Confucianism
Taoism
Buddhism
The religious outlook of most Chinese people consists of some
combination of beliefs and practices from these four traditions. It is
very rare for only one to be practiced to the exclusion of the others.
Chinese Religious Beliefs








Afterlife
Body and Soul
Ch'i
Buddhist Deities
Folk Deities
Ghosts and Spirits
Heaven
Yin and Yang
Afterlife





Based on a combination of Chinese folk religions, Taoism and
Mahayana Buddhism.
At death, one's spirit is taken by messengers to Ch’eng Huang, the
god of walls and moats, who conducts a kind of preliminary hearing.
Those found virtuous may go directly to one of the Buddhist
paradises, to the dwelling place of the Taoist immortals, or the tenth
court of hell for immediate rebirth.
After 49 days, sinners descend to hell, located at the base of the
mythical Mount Meru where they undergo a fixed period of
punishment in one or more levels of hell.
When the punishment is complete, the souls in hell drink an elixir of
oblivion in preparation for their next reincarnation.
They then climb on the wheel of transmigration, which either takes
them to their next reincarnation, or they are thrown off the bridge of
pain into a river that sweeps them off to their next life.
Body and Soul


In Chinese thinking, everything that exists flows out
of the Tao, and human beings are simply a tiny
component of the Tao.
The ancient Chinese believed in a dual soul.
 The
lower soul of the senses disappears with death
 The rational soul survives death and is the object of
ancestor worship.
Ch’i





One of the most important Chinese concept related to
the body and soul is the idea of ch'i.
At its simplest, ch'i means breath, air or vapor, but in
Chinese religious belief it is life energy or life-force.
It is believed that every person is allotted a specified
amount of ch'i and he or she must strengthen, control
and increase it in order to live a long life.
Many Taoist exercises focus on regulation and increase
of one's ch'i.
In the west, the most well-known example of such a
practice is T'ai chi.
T’ai Ch’i

Video – Click to watch!
Buddhist Deities


Chinese Buddhism has many beliefs in common with other forms of
Mahayana Buddhism, including many of the same bodhisattvas and other
religious figures.
However, the following Buddhist deities are especially (in some cases,
exclusively) popular in China:






Kuan-Yin - Chinese and female form of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
Jade Maiden – Acolyte of Kuan Yin
Golden Youth – Acolyte of Kuan Yin
Kuan-Ti (Sangharama) - Protector of Buddhism
Wei-To (Skanda) - Protector of the Dharma
Four Guardian Kings (Si-Ta-Tien-Wang)




Mo-Li Ching: Guardian of East - holds a magical mandolin or p'i-pa
Mo-Li Hai: Guardian of West - shown with the magic dragon or mystical snake
Mo-Li Shou: Guardian of North - holds an umbrella as protection against thunderous
storms).
Mo-Li Hung: Guardian of South - with ferocious expression, and holding a precious
sword
Folk Deities






One common type of Chinese deity is the "place god" or T'u-ti.
The primary characteristic of a place god is the limitation of his
jurisdiction to a specific location, like a bridge, home, street, or
field.
A T'u-ti is always subject to the Ch'eng Huang, the spiritual
magistrate of the city.
A T'u-ti is often a deified historical person who had assisted a
specific community during his lifetime.
It is believed that if the person is deified and sacrificed to, he
will be moved to continue his assistance from the spirit world.
If misfortunes occur in a location dedicated to a T'u-ti, the T'u-ti
is believed to have lost interest and a new patron is chosen.
Ghosts and Spirits




In Chinese thought, the world is populated by a vast number
of spirits, both good and evil including nature demons (kueishen), evil spirits or devils (oni), and ghosts (kui).
Evil spirits are believed to avoid light, so many rituals
involving fire and light have developed, such as the use of
bonfires, firecrackers, and torches.
Evil spirits are also traditionally believed to travel in straight
lines, which explains many curvy roads throughout China.
But not all spirits are evil — some are just unhappy. As
evidenced by the practice of ancestor worship, most Chinese
people believe the souls of the deceased endure after
death and must be kept happy by offerings and honor.
Ghosts & Spirits (cont’d)



If a spirit is not kept happy, perhaps because it had
a bad death, an improper burial or has no
descendents to perform the proper rituals, it
becomes a ghost (sometimes called a "hungry
ghost," a term with Buddhist origins).
Ghosts receive the most attentions during Ghost
Month, the seventh month in the Chinese lunar year,
and especially during the Ghost Festival on the
fifteenth day.
In mainland China, belief in ghosts and evil spirits is
declining under the influence of atheistic
Communism.
Heaven





The idea of Heaven (T'ien) plays a prominent role in indigenous Chinese
religion and can refer to a god, an impersonal power, or both.
The concept is not well-defined, and religious scholars have had a difficult
time deciding whether T'ien was believed to be a force like fate or a
personal deity.
It is unclear whether the ancient Chinese believed T'ien responded to human
supplication or simply worked in accordance with the principles of T'ien.
T'ien is closely associated with Shang-ti (Supreme Ruler), and the terms are
sometimes used interchangeably. It appears that T'ien originally referred to
the sky and Shang-ti to the deity who lived there, but T'ien came to be
considered a divine power as well.
Mandate of Heaven (t'ien-ming) - According to this concept, rulers governed
by divine permission and based on the ruler's virtue, not by right. Importantly,
this permission was regarded as revocable if the ruler was not virtuous
enough. Social and political unrest were traditionally taken as signs that the
Mandate of Heaven had been revoked, and it was then permissible to
overthrow those in power and replace them with the succeeding dynasty.
Yin and Yang


In Chinese and other Eastern thought, yin  Yang has the following opposite
and yang are the two opposing and
characteristics, representations and
complementary forces that make up all
symbols:
phenomena of life. Both proceed from the
 heaven
Supreme Ultimate and together they
 male
represent the process of the universe and
 light
all that is in it.
 active
Yin has the following characteristics,
 penetrating
representations and symbols:
 odd numbers










earth
female
dark
passive
absorbing
even numbers
valleys and streams
the tiger
the color orange
a broken line





mountains
the dragon
the color azure
an unbroken line
The concept of the yin-yang is very
ancient, and its precise origins are
unknown. In the third century BC, it formed
the basis for an entire school of
cosmology, the Yin Yang School.
Chinese Religious Symbols


Chinese religion is rich with symbolism. The most wellknown Chinese religious symbol is the yin-yang,
Symbolic Foods
Feasting is central to Chinese religious practice, and most
foods have a symbolic meaning and ceremonial importance
 Discussion: What do you think each of these foods
represents and Why?

mandarin oranges
 Red Jujubes
 whole steamed fish
 uncut noodles
 baked goods with seeds

Symbolic Foods - answers
 mandarin
oranges are a symbol of wealth
and good fortune
 Red Jujubes (also called "Chinese Dates")
are a symbol of prosperity
 whole steamed fish are a symbol of long
life and good fortune
 uncut noodles are a symbol of longevity
 baked goods with seeds are a symbol of
fertility
Source

All information adapted from:
http://www.religionfacts.com/chinese_religion/beli
efs.htm
Video
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1o9gz_taichi-master_sport