Chinese Folk Religion

1. Chinese Folk Religion DHS China Seminar Curriculum – Day 12

2. 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.

3. Chinese Religious Beliefs • Afterlife • Body and Soul • Ch'i • Buddhist Deities • Folk Deities • Ghosts and Spirits • Heaven • Yin and Yang

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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'aichi.

7. T’aiCh’i • Video – Click to watch!

8. 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

9. 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.

10. Ghosts and Spirits • In Chinese thought, the world is populated by a vast number of spirits, both good and evil including nature demons (kuei-shen), 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Yin and Yang • In Chinese and other Eastern thought, yin and yang are the two opposing and complementary forces that make up all phenomena of life. Both proceed from the Supreme Ultimate and together they represent the process of the universe and all that is in it. • Yin has the following characteristics, representations and symbols: • earth • female • dark • passive • absorbing • even numbers • valleys and streams • the tiger • the color orange • a broken line • Yang has the following opposite characteristics, representations and symbols: • heaven • male • light • active • penetrating • odd numbers • 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.

14. Chinese Religious Symbols • Chinese religion is rich with symbolism. The most well-known 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

15. 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

16. Source • All information adapted from: http://www.religionfacts.com/chinese_religion/beliefs.htm Video http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1o9gz_tai-chi-master_sport