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''Shen'' (神) is the Chinese word for "deity", "spirit", heart, inclusive and community mind, or future mind. The Japanese equivalent is '' shin''. This single Chinese term expresses a range of similar, yet differing, meanings. The first meaning may refer to spirits or gods that are intimately involved in the affairs of the world. Spirits generate entities like rivers, mountains, thunder and stars. A second meaning of shen refers to the human spirit or psyche; it is the basic power or agency within humans that accounts for life, and in order to further life to its fullest potential the spirit is transformed to actualise potential. A third understanding of shen describes an entity as spiritual in the sense of inspiring awe or wonder because it combines categories usually kept separate, or it cannot be comprehended through normal concepts. In traditional Chinese medicine the physician will describe this as the shimmer or gloss that is seen above the surface of a object. If it has a glow, vitality and luster it has good Shen. A starting point for an understanding is that shen is associated with Heaven, therefore yang, and Earth is associated with jing, which is yin. Heaven is the origin of the spiritual aspect of humanity and provides ongoing spiritual influences, therefore associated with the Heart, while Earth is the origin of the physical aspect of humankind and traditionally related to our Kidneys or lower Dantian. The ongoing harmonious interaction of Heaven and Earth creates QI therefore Human and is essential to maintaining and creating life. It is said in the classics that " The Human is the best creation of Heaven and Earth". In Traditional Chinese medicine, Taoist,
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, and
Chinese folk religious 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 ...
tradition, the balance of
yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...
is important to provide external harmony and internal health within life therefore preventing injury, illness, or harm to body, mind, spirit, or the environment.


Pronunciation

''Shén'' (in rising 2nd tone) is the Modern Standard Chinese pronunciation of "god, deity; spirit, spiritual, supernatural; awareness, consciousness etc". Reconstructions of ''shén'' in
Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
(ca. 6th-10th centuries CE) include ''dź'jěn'' (
Bernhard Karlgren Klas Bernhard Johannes Karlgren (; 15 October 1889 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish sinologist and linguist who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern comparative methods. In the early 20th century, Karlgren conducte ...
, substituting ''j'' for his "yod medial"), ''źiɪn'' (Zhou Fagao), ''ʑin'' ( Edwin G. Pulleyblank, "Late Middle"), and ''zyin'' (William H. Baxter). Reconstructions of ''shén'' in
Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...
(ca. 6th-3rd centuries BCE) include *''djěn'' (Karlgren), *''zdjien'' (Zhou), *''djin'' ( Li Fanggui), *''Ljin'' (Baxter), and *''m-lin'' (Axel Schuessler). Although the etymological origin of ''shen'' is uncertain, Schuessler notes a possible
Sino-Tibetan Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
etymology; compare Chepang ''gliŋh'' "spirit of humans". The Chinese ''shen'' "spirit; etc." is also present in other
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
n languages. The Japanese ''
Kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...
'' is pronounced ''shin'' () or ''jin'' () in '' On'yomi'' (Chinese reading), and ''
kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
'' (), ''kō'' (), or ''tamashii'' () in '' Kun'yomi'' (Japanese reading). The Korean '' Hanja'' is pronounced ''sin'' (). The ''
Zihui The 1615 ''Zìhuì'' is a Chinese dictionary edited by the Ming Dynasty scholar Mei Yingzuo ( 梅膺祚). It is renowned for introducing two lexicographical innovations that continue to be used in the present day: the 214-radical system for i ...
'' dictionary notes that had a special pronunciation ''shēn'' (level 1st tone, instead of usual 2nd ''shén'') in the name Shen Shu , one of two "gods of the Eastern Sea", along with Yu Lu . In the
Vietnamese language Vietnamese ( vi, tiếng Việt, links=no) is an Austroasiatic language originating from Vietnam where it is the national and official language. Vietnamese is spoken natively by over 70 million people, several times as many as the rest of the ...
it is pronounced as ''thần''.


Semantics

''Shens polysemous meanings developed diachronically over three millennia. The '' Hanyu dazidian'', an authoritative historical dictionary, distinguishes one meaning for ''shēn'' ("Name of a deity ()) and eleven meanings for ''shén'' translated below: # Celestial god(s)/spirit(s) of stories/legends, namely, the creator of the myriad things in heaven and earth and the supreme being. () # Spirit; mind, mental faculties; consciousness. Like: concentrated attention; tire the mind; concentrate one's energy and attention. () # Expression, demeanor; consciousness, state of mind. () # Portrait, portraiture. () # Magical, supernatural, miraculous; mysterious, abstruse. Like: ability to divine the unknown, amazing foresight; highly skilled doctor; genius, masterpiece. () # Esteem, respect; valuable, precious. () # Rule, govern, administer. () # Cautious, careful, circumspect. () # Display, arrange, exhibit. () # Dialect. 1. Dignity, distinction. () 2. Entrancement, ecstasy. () 3. Clever, intelligent. () # Surname, family name. () This dictionary entry for ''shen'' lists early usage examples, and many of these 11 meanings were well attested prior to the
Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
. Chinese classic texts use ''shen'' in meanings 1 "spirit; god", 2 "spirit, mind; attention", 3 "expression; state of mind", 5 "supernatural", and meaning 6 "esteem". The earliest examples of meaning 4 "portrait" are in
Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
texts. Meanings 7-9 first occur in early
Chinese dictionaries Chinese dictionaries date back over two millennia to the Han dynasty, which is a significantly longer lexicographical history than any other language. There are hundreds of dictionaries for the Chinese language, and this article discusses some o ...
; the '' Erya'' defines ''shen'' in meanings 7 "govern" and 8 "cautious" (and 6, which is attested elsewhere), and the ''
Guangya The (c. 230) ''Guangya'' (; "Expanded '' ra''") was an early 3rd-century CE Chinese dictionary, edited by Zhang Yi (張揖) during the Three Kingdoms period. It was later called the ''Boya'' (博雅; ''Bóyǎ''; ''Po-ya''; "Broadened ra") owing ...
'' defines meaning 9 "display". Meaning 10 gives three usages in Chinese dialects (technically "topolects", see Fangyan). Meaning 11 "a surname" is exemplified in Shennong ("Divine Farmer"), the culture hero and inventor of agriculture in
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 Chinese language has many compounds of ''shen''. For instance, it is compounded with ''tian'' "sky; heaven; nature; god" in ''tianshen'' "celestial spirits; heavenly gods; deities; (Buddhism)
deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...
", with ''shan'' "mountain" in ''shanshen'' "mountain spirit", and ''hua'' "speech; talk; saying; story" in ''shenhua'' "mythology; myth; fairy tale". Several ''shen'' "spirit; god" compounds use names for other supernatural beings, for example, ''ling'' "spirit; soul" in ''shenling'' "gods; spirits, various deities", ''qi'' "earth spirit" in ''shenqi'' "celestial and terrestrial spirits", ''xian'' " Xian (Taoism), transcendent" in ''shenxian'' "spirits and immortals; divine immortal", ''guai'' "spirit; devil; monster" in ''shenguai'' "spirits and demons; gods and spirits", and ''gui'' "ghost, goblin; demon, devil" in ''guishen'' "ghosts and spirits; supernatural beings". The earliest discovered character form for shen suggests two components. The right side of the character gives the basic meaning and pronunciation, as well as providing a graphic representation of flashing lightning from the clouds. This visual displays ancient people’s belief that lightning was the manifestation of god.1 The left side displays a modified character shi which pertains to ritual ceremonies, worship, or prayer. This concept originally referred to stone table used for offering ceremonial sacrifices to the gods. Wing-Tsit Chan distinguishes four philosophical meanings of this ''guishen'': "spiritual beings", "ancestors", "gods and demons", and "positive and negative spiritual forces". The primary meaning of ''shen'' is translatable as English "spirit, spirits, Spirit, spiritual beings; celestial spirits; ancestral spirits" or "god, gods, God; deity, deities, supernatural beings", etc. ''Shen'' is sometimes loosely translated as "soul", but Chinese hun and po distinguishes ''hun'' "spiritual soul" and ''po'' "physical soul". Instead of struggling to translate ''shen'' , it can be transliterated as a loanword. The ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
'' (2nd ed.) defines ''shen'', "In Chinese philosophy: a god, person of supernatural power, or the spirit of a dead person." In acupuncture, ''shen'' is a pure spiritual energy devoid of memory and personality traits, whereas ''hun'' is the spiritual energy associated with the personality and ''po'' the energy tied to the sustenance of the physical body. In this system, ''shen'' resides in the heart and departs first at death, ''hun'' resides in the liver and departs second, and ''po'' resides in the lungs and departs last. ''Shen'' plays a central role in Christian translational disputes over Chinese terms for God. Among the early Chinese "god; God" names, '' shangdi'' or ''di'' was the Shang term, '' tian'' was the Zhou term, and ''shen'' was a later usage (see Feng Yu-Lan. Modern terms for "God" include ''shangdi'', ''zhu'' , ''tianzhu'' (esp. Catholics), and ''shen'' (esp. Protestants).


Graphics

The character for ''shen'' exemplifies the most common class in Chinese character classification: ''xíngshēngzì'' "pictophonetic compounds, semantic-phonetic compounds", which combine a radical (or classifier) that roughly indicates meaning and a phonetic that roughly indicates pronunciation. In this case, combines the "altar/worship radical" or and a phonetic of ''shēn'' "9th Earthly Branch; extend, stretch; prolong, repeat". Compare this phonetic element differentiated with the "person radical" in ''shen'' "stretch", the "silk radical" in ''shen'' "official's sash", the "mouth radical" in ''shen'' "chant, drone", the "stone radical" in ''shen'' "arsenic", the "earth radical" in ''kun'' "soil", and the "big radical" in ''yan'' "cover". (See the
List of Kangxi radicals A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
.) Chinese ''shen'' "extend" was anciently a phonetic loan character for ''shen'' "spirit". The Mawangdui Silk Texts include two copies of the Dao De Jing and the "A Text" writes ''shen'' interchangeably as and : "If one oversees all under heaven in accord with the Way, demons have no spirit. It is not that the demons have no spirit, but that their spirits do not harm people." (chap. 60). The '' Shuowen Jiezi'' defines ''shen'' as ''shen'' and says that in the 7th lunar month when ''yin'' forces increase, bodies ''shenshu'' "bind up". The earliest written forms of ''shen'' "spirit; god" occur in
Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
bronzeware script Chinese bronze inscriptions, also commonly referred to as bronze script or bronzeware script, are writing in a variety of Chinese scripts on ritual bronzes such as ''zhōng'' bells and '' dǐng'' tripodal cauldrons from the Shang dynasty (2nd mi ...
and Qin dynasty
seal script Seal script, also sigillary script () is an ancient style of writing Chinese characters that was common throughout the latter half of the 1st millennium BC. It evolved organically out of the Zhou dynasty bronze script. The Qin variant of se ...
characters (compare the variants shown on the "Chinese etymology" link below). Although has not been identified in
Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty a ...
oracle bone script Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or turtle plastrons used in pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millennium BC, and is the earliest k ...
records, the phonetic'' shen'' has. Paleographers interpret the Oracle script of as a pictograph of a "lightning bolt". This was graphically differentiated between ''dian'' "lightning; electricity" with the "cloud radical" and ''shen'' with the "worship radical", semantically suggesting both "lightning" and "spirits" coming down from the heavens.


See also

*
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 ...
* Chinese gods and immortals * Chinese theology *
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 ...
* Tian & Di * Shangdi * Wufang Shangdi * Jade Emperor * Chinese ancestral worship *
Religion in China The People's Republic of China is officially an atheist state, but the government formally recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism are recognised separately), and Islam. In the early 21 ...
*
Kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
in Shinto religion


References


Further reading

* Dharmananda, Subhuti. 2005. "Towards a spirit at peace: understanding the treatment of shen disorders with Chinese medicine", Institute for Traditional Medicine and Preventive Health Care, Portland, Oregon. * Li Leyi. 1993. "Tracing The Roots of Chinese Characters: 500 Cases", Beijing Language and Culture University Press. * Mateer, C.W. 1901–2. "The meaning of the word ''shen''," ''Chinese Recorder'' 3.2:61–72, 107–16, 3.3:71–79, 123–32. *


External links


Seal and Bronze Characters
Chinese Etymology

Subhuti Dharmananda {{Qigong Names of God Taoist philosophy Qigong