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Hou Tu
Hòutǔ () or Hòutǔshén (), also Hòutǔ Niángniáng (in Chinese either or ), otherwise called Dimǔ () or Dimǔ Niángniáng (), is the Shen (Chinese religion), deity of deep earth and soil in Chinese folk religion, Chinese religion and Chinese mythology, mythology. Houtu is the overlord of all the Tu Di Gong ("Lord of Local Land") world wide. Han Emperors Houtu was first worshipped by Emperor Wen of Han (in Fenyin County, modern-day Wanrong County, Shanxi). Houtu was worshiped by Emperor Wu of Han in 113 BC. Yellow River Map Houtu is featured in some versions of the myth of the Great Flood of China: Yu the Great, Yu did not do such a great job of channeling the Yellow River into the sea, dredging the wrong way. Sacred Mother Houtu then made the Yellow River Map and sent one of her divine messenger birds to tell Yu what to do; specifically, that he should open a channel to the east, to allow the right drainage.Yang, 137 Gallery Notes Works cited *Yang, Lihui, ''et al.' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Rome, and modern Hinduism, cult images in a temple may undergo a daily routine of being washed, dressed, and having food left for them. Processions outside the temple on special feast days are often a feature. Religious images cover a wider range of all types of images made with a religious purpose, subject, or connection. In many contexts "cult image" specifically means the most important image in a temple, kept in an inner space, as opposed to what may be many other images decorating the temple. The term idol is a pejorative term for a cult image, except in Indian English, where it is widely accepted as a neutral English term for a murti or cult image. Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship or excessive veneration of (mainly) cult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Flood Of China
The Great Flood of Gun-Yu (), also known as the Gun-Yu myth, was a major flood in ancient China that allegedly continued for at least two generations, which resulted in great population displacements among other disasters, such as storms and famine. People left their homes to live on the high hills and mounts, or nest on the trees. According to mythological and historical sources, it is traditionally dated to the third millennium BCE, or about 2300-2200 BCE, during the reign of Emperor Yao. However, archaeological evidence of an outburst flood at Jishi Gore on the Yellow River, comparable to similar severe events in the world in the past 10,000 years, has been dated to about 1920 BCE (a few centuries later than the traditional beginning of the Xia dynasty which came after Emperors Shun and Yao), and is suggested to have been the basis for the myth. Treated either historically or mythologically, the story of the Great Flood and the heroic attempts of the various human charac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Goddesses
Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world. The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven ('' Tian'' ), which is the supreme godhead manifesting in the northern culmen of the starry vault of the skies and its order. Many gods are ancestors or men who became deities for their heavenly achievements; most gods are also identified with stars and constellations. Ancestors are regarded as the equivalent of Heaven within human society, and therefore as the means connecting back to Heaven, which is the "utmost ancestral father" ( ''zēngzǔfù''). Gods are innumerable, as every phenomenon has or is one or more gods, and they are organised in a complex celestial hierarchy. Besides the traditional worship of these entities, Confucianism, Taoism and formal thinkers in general give theological interpretations affirming a monistic essence of divinity. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deities In Taoism
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater than those of ordinary humans, but who interacts with humans, positively or negatively, in ways that carry humans to new levels of consciousness, beyond the grounded preoccupations of ordinary life". Religions can be categorized by how many deities they worship. Monotheistic religions accept only one deity (predominantly referred to as "God"), whereas polytheistic religions accept multiple deities. Henotheistic religions accept one supreme deity without denying other deities, considering them as aspects of the same divine principle. Nontheistic religions deny any supreme eternal creator deity, but may accept a pantheon of deities which live, die and may be reborn like any other being. Although most monotheistic religions traditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Spiritual World Concepts
Chinese spiritual world concepts are cultural practices or methods found in Chinese culture. Some fit in the realms of a particular religion, others do not. In general these concepts were uniquely evolved from the Chinese values of filial piety, tacit acknowledgment of the co-existence of the living and the deceased, and the belief in causality and reincarnation, with or without religious overtones. Practices and beliefs * Ancestral worship () – A practice to honor the deeds and memories of the deceased. This is an extension to the filial piety from the teachings of Confucius and Laozi. Elders, seniors, extended families and particularly parents are to be respected, heeded and looked after. Respects continue after their deaths. In addition to the Qingming and Chongyang festivals, descendants should pay tribute to ancestors during the ''Zhongyuanjie'', more commonly known as the Ghost Festival ( but ghost festival is on Dongzhi "”) In addition to providing a tombsto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheji
__NOTOC__ Soil and grain was a common political term in the Sinosphere for the state. Shejitan, the altars of soil and grain, were constructed alongside ancestral altars. Chinese monarchs of the Ming and Qing dynasties performed ceremonies of soil and grain to affirm their sovereignty at the Beijing Shejitan, while Korean monarchs of the Joseon dynasty did so at the Seoul Sajikdan. It has also been rendered "gods of soil and grain" in English, owing to its associations of prayer and supernatural possibilities. In Vietnam, corresponding soil and grain altars () were established at historical capital of Hoa Lư, Thăng Long (Hanoi) and Huế. During the Chinese Warring States period, ministers defied their rulers by claiming a greater loyalty to the "soil and grain". A similar concept to ''sheji'' is that of the earth deities Tudi and Houtu.Yang, 97 See also * Tian & Di * Tudigong & Houtu * Agriculture in Chinese mythology * Chinese spiritual world concepts References Cita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Di (Chinese Concept)
''Di'' () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for the earth and a key concept or figure in Chinese philosophy and religion, being one of three powers (', ) which are Heaven, Earth, and Humanity (, ), a phrase which originates from the Yijing. Etymology ''Dì'' is the modern Mandarin Chinese pronunciation. The Old Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as ''*lˤej-s''.Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. '' '', pp. 20 & 176. 2011. Accessed 11 October 2011. The Chinese character is a phono-semantic compound, combining the radical ("earth", "dirt") with the (former) sound marker (Modern Chinese ''yě'', Old Chinese ''*lajʔ''). As , it was one of the characters briefly affected by Wu Zetian's short-lived character reforms. Taoism The relationship between Heaven and Earth is important to Taoist cosmology. They are among the "three realms" of the world presided over by the Three Great Emperor-Officials, and thought to maintain the two poles of the "three po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tian
''Tiān'' () 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 supreme god as '' Shàngdì'' (, "Lord on High") or ''Dì'' (,"Lord"). During the following Zhou dynasty, ''Tiān'' became synonymous with this figure. Before the 20th century Heaven worship was an orthodox state religion of China. In Taoism and Confucianism, ''Tiān'' (the celestial aspect of the cosmos, often translated as "Heaven") is mentioned in relationship to its complementary aspect of '' Dì'' (, 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 (, ''Rén''), and the lower world occupied by demons (specifically sorcery); (, ''Guǐ'') and "ghosts," the damned, specifically (, ''Mó''). Characters The modern Chinese character and early seal script both combine ''dà ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch
Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch is an organisation to encourage interest in Asia broadly, with an emphasis on Hong Kong. The society was founded in 1847 and folded 1859. It was revived on December 28, 1959. Its parent association is the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. The Society is open to all with an interest in the art, literature and culture of China and Asia, with special reference to Hong Kong. History In 1847 the Hong Kong branch of the Royal Asiatic Society was founded under its parent society, the Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. The latter had in turn been founded in 1823 by Sir Henry Thomas Colebrooke and others. In 1824 the Asiatic Society received a Royal Charter from patron King George IV and was charged with ‘the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia.’ In around 1838, branches were formed in Mumbai and Chennai, and Sri Lanka in 1845. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gia Long
Gia Long ( (''North''), ('' South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unified territories that constitute modern-day Vietnam until 1945. A nephew of the last Nguyễn lord who ruled over south Vietnam, Nguyễn Ánh was forced into hiding in 1777 as a fifteen-year-old when his family was slain in the Tây Sơn revolt. After several changes of fortune in which his loyalists regained and again lost Saigon, he befriended the French Catholic Bishop Pierre Pigneau de Behaine. Pigneau championed his cause to the French government and managed to recruit volunteers when that fell through to help Nguyễn Ánh regain the throne. From 1789, Nguyễn Ánh was once again in the ascendancy and began his northward march to defeat the Tây Sơn, reaching the border with China by 1802, which had previously been under the co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiexiu
Jiexiu is a county-level city in the central part of Shanxi Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jinzhong and is located in the latter's western confines. Notable sites in and around Jiexiu include Mount Mian, Zhangbi Fortress, Houtu Temple and Xianshenlou. Names The territory around was known as Mianshang under the Zhou. By the Jin, the territory was known as Dingyang and the settlement at Jiexiu proper as Pingchang. Under the Northern Wei (4th–5th century), both became known as JiexiuCommandery. Under the Tang, this was renamed Jiezhou AD618–627. History Mianshang was supposedly set apart by Duke Chong'er to endow sacrifices for his retainer Jie Zhitui BC. The early histories state that Jie had loyally followed Chong'er in exile around China for 19 years but, when Chong'er was installed as duke of Jin by a Qin army, Jie had chosen to retire as a hermit rather than debase himself by asking for favors..... . In tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow River Map
The Yellow River Map, Scheme, or Diagram, also known by its Chinese name as the Hetu, is an ancient Chinese diagram that appears in myths concerning the invention of writing by Cangjie and other culture heroes. It is usually paired with the Luoshu Squarenamed in reference to the Yellow River's Luo tributaryand used with the Luoshu in various contexts involving Chinese geomancy, numerology, philosophy, and early natural science. Geographical background The Yellow River (Chinese: ''Huang He'') flows from the Tibetan Plateau to the Bay of Bohai over a course of , making it the second-longest river in Asia and the sixth-longest in the world. Its ancient name was simply ''He'' before that character was broadened to be used in reference to most moderately sized rivers. The River Map has thus always been understood to be particularly in reference to the Yellow River and sometimes taken as a diagram of its course or the forces acting upon it. Astrological background T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
