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 Cheng 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.
Chi
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.
Tai Chi
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 (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.
Ghosts & Spirits (contd)
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 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.
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
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/b
eliefs.htm
Video
http://
www.dailymotion.com/video/x1o9gz_tai-c
hi-master_sport