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Houtu
Hòutǔ () or Hòutǔshén (), also Hòutǔ Niángniáng (in Chinese either or ), otherwise called Dimǔ () or Dimǔ Niángniáng (), is the deity of deep earth and soil in Chinese religion and 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 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.'' (2005). ''Handbook of Chinese Mythology''. New York: Oxford University Press ... [...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] |
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] |
Earth Goddess
An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the "chthonic" deities of the underworld. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi/Bhūmi, etc. traced to an "Earth Mother" complementary to the " Sky Father" in Proto-Indo-European religion. Egyptian mythology exceptionally has a sky goddess and an Earth god. Other Earth goddesses include: * Chinese folk religion - Houtu (Di Mu) * Meitei mythology and religion - Leimarel Sidabi, Panthoibi, Phouoibi * Ancient Greek religion - Gaia, Cybele, Demeter, Persephone, Rhea * Ancient Roman religion - Terra, Ceres, Ops, Proserpina * Slavic - Mat Zemlya * Andean (Inca, Aymara) - Pachamama * Hinduism - Bhumi * Native American - Spider Grandmother * Romanian - Muma Padurii, Mama Gaia * Mongolian and Turkic - Umay (Eje) * Old Norse religion - Sif and Jörð * Lithuanian mythol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of the mythology involves exciting stories full of fantastic people and beings, the use of magical powers, often taking place in an exotic mythological place or time. Like many mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion. Many stories regarding characters and events of the distant past have a double tradition: ones which present a more historicized or euhemerized version and ones which present a more mythological version. Many myths involve the creation and cosmology of the universe and its deities and inhabitants. Some mythology involves creation myths, the origin of things ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wanrong County
Wanrong County () is a county under the administration of Yuncheng City, in the southwest of Shanxi Province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. __NOTOC__ The county's Gushan was credited by the ''Records of Yicheng County'' compiled during the Qianlong Era of the Qing as being the actual "Mianshan" mentioned in the legends of Jie Zhitui concerning the origins of the Cold Food Festival, rather than the Mt Mian in Jinzhong Prefecture. Sui Dynasty Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ... philosopher Wang Tong was born in Longmen County, modern day Tonghua Township.People's Political Consultative Conference Cultural Weekly� 王通的价值———为《山西万荣县通化村史》序/ref> Climate References Citations Bibliography * . Ex ... [...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] |
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] |
Tu Di Gong
Tudigong ( "Lord of the Soil and the Ground") or Tudishen ( "God of the Soil and the Ground"), also known simply as Tudi ( "Soil-Ground") is a tutelary deity of a locality and the human communities who inhabit it in Chinese folk religion and Taoism.The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, vol. Religions & Beliefs, edited by Prof. Dr M. Kamal Hassan & Dr. Ghazali bin Basri. Names Other names of the god include: * Tugong ( "Lord of the Soil"); * Tudiye ( "Soil-Ground Father"); * Dabogong ( "Great Elder Lord") or Bogong ( "Elder Lord"); * Sheshen ( "God of the Soil") or Shegong ( "Lord of the Soil"); * Tudijun ( "Ruler God of the Soil"). Extended titles of the god include: * Tudihuofushen ( "God who May Bless the Soil"); * Fudezhengshen ( "Right God of Blessing and Virtue") or Fudegong ( "Lord of Blessing and Virtue"). Commoners often call Tudigong "grandfather" (''yeye''), which reflects his close relationship with the common people. Variants Tudipo In the countryside, he is sometimes gi ... [...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] |
Chinese Folk Religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled with the contents of institutionalised religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, the Chinese syncretic religions". This includes the veneration of ''shen'' (spirits) and ancestors, exorcism of demonic forces, and a belief in the rational order of nature, balance in the universe and reality that can be influenced by human beings and their rulers, as well as spirits and gods. Worship is devoted to gods and immortals, who can be deities of places or natural phenomena, of human behaviour, or founders of family lineages. Stories of these gods are collected into the body of Chinese mythology. By the Song dynasty (960-1279), these practices had been blended with Buddhist doctrines and Taoist teachings to form the popular religious s ... [...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] |
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] |
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