|
Ritual Opera
Opera with divine powers (酬神戲) is a form of Chinese opera played at religious ceremonies, including for the gods' birthday, temple opening, at miaohui, ghost festival, Daijiao, and traditional festivals. It is the play performed to welcome the gods' race and is one of a series of celebrations held by the people to thank the gods and reward them for their blessings. Usually performed at temple fairs or theatres. In Guangdong, it is mostly called Shen Gong Xi (神功戲), and in China, in the north, it is mostly called She Xi (社戏) (the word "She" in the word "She Xi" refers to the place where the Sheshen was worshiped in the old days, and there is another saying that the word "She" was a small unit in the ancient region, and the drama was performed in the She, which was called She drama）。On birthdays, where this form of opera is played, are those of the gods: Xuanwu, Guan Yu, Dragon King, Mazu, Shanshen, City God, and Tudigong. In an opera with divine powers, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tudigong
A Tudigong ( zh, s=土地公, l=Lord of the Land) is a kind of Chinese tutelary deity of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations and sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in certain regions. They are tutelary (i.e. guardian or patron) deities of locations and the human communities who inhabit it in Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, vol. Religions & Beliefs, edited by Prof. Dr M. Kamal Hassan & Dr. Ghazali bin Basri. They are portrayed as old men with long beards. The definitive characteristic of Tudigongs is that they are limited to their specific geographical locations. The Tudigong of one location is not the Tudigong of another location. They are considered to be among the lowest ranked divinities, just below City Gods ("God of Local City"), and above landlord gods. Often, a specific person who did a great service to their local community will be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beiguan Music
Beiguan () is a type of traditional music, melody and theatrical performance between the 17th and mid-20th centuries. It was widespread in Taiwan. By the early 21st century its popularity had declined precipitously. ''Beiguan'' usually uses the following instruments: two ''suona'' (oboes), ''bangzi'' (woodblock), ''daluo'' (large bossed gong), ''xiaoluo'' (small gong), '' bangu'' (high-pitched drum), ''tonggu'' (small drum), ''xiaobo'' (small cymbals), and ''dabo'' (large cymbals) and pipa. It may also use ''dagu'' (large drum), various ''huqin ''Huqin'' () is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes ...'', and plucked instruments. See also * Nanguan External linksArticle about ''Beiguan'' Chinese styles of music Hokkien music {{Taiwan-music-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teochew Opera
Teochew opera ( Chinese: 潮劇; Teochow: diê5 giah8) or Chaozhou opera, Chiuchow opera (especially in Hong Kong), is one of the many variants of Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Chaoshan region. It is popular in eastern Guangdong, southern Fujian, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia. Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics and acting. Origins Teochew Opera was originated from the Teochew, or Chaoshan district in China and came into being about 300 years ago, at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1421-1431). It originated from the Nanxi of Song and Yuan Dynasties and was formed by the local culture of Nanxi. In terms of long-term development, Teochew opera gradually formed its unique artistic style: the singing voice is light and low, lyrical and beautiful, and performances include lively singing and dancing and perfect division of cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain God
Mountain Gods () are Asian tutelary deities associated with mountains. They are related to landlord deities and tudigongs and City Gods. They are well-known in Korea and some prominent Chinese mountains have shrines to similar deities in the Daoist traditions, called ''Shanshen''. The Japanese equivalent is the ''Yama-no-Kami'' (; also pronounced as ''yamagami'') and the Vietnamese equivalent is ). Houtu is the overlord of all the Tudigongs ("Lord of Local Land"), Sheji ("the State"), Shan Shen ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and landlord gods worldwide. China In China, legends about ''Shanshen'' () have a long history. The Classic of Mountains and Seas (), which was written more than 2,000 years ago, has already recorded various legends about ''Shanshen''; specifically the Wuzang Shanjing () part contains a detailed description of the appearance of the mountain gods. The Taiping Guangji () also contains the story of Dayu, who imprisoned the Shangzhang cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lü Dongbin
Lü Dongbin is a legendary Chinese scholar and poet who lived during the Tang dynasty whose lifetime supposedly spanned two hundred and twenty years. Elevated to the status of an immortal in the Chinese cultural sphere by Daoists, he is one of the most widely known of the group of deities known as the Eight Immortals. Lü is also a historical figure and mentioned in the official history book ''History of Song''. He is widely considered to be one of the earliest masters of neidan, or internal alchemy. He is also depicted in art dressed as a scholar carrying a sword to dispel evil spirits. Character Lü Dongbin is usually portrayed as a scholarly, clever man with a genuine desire to help people obtain wisdom/enlightenment and to learn the Tao. However, he is often portrayed as having some character "flaws," not an uncommon theme for the colorful Taoist immortals, all of whom in general have various eccentricities: *He is portrayed as having bouts of drunkenness, which was not un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Great Emperor-Officials
The Three Great Emperor-Officials (), Sanguan, or the Three Officials are three of the highest ''shen'' in some branches of religious Taoism, and subordinate only to the Jade Emperor (玉帝 yùdì). The Three Great Emperor-Officials are the , the and the . They administer all phenomena in the three spheres, and were thought to be able to take away sin. Chinese playwrights popularized the worship of these gods by including a skit before plays with shared themes between each performance called ''The Official of Heaven Brings Happiness''. They have been worshipped since the second century CE. Full titles :*The Heavenly Official, full title: , also known as the . :*The Earthly Official, full title: , also known as the . :*The Water Official, full title: , also known as the Legend The Ming dynasty text Comprehensive Collection of Deities from the Three Religions (Sanjiao Soushen Daquan) states that the Three Officials (Sanguan Dadi) are the three sons born to Chen Zidao and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jade Emperor
In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who is one of the Three Pure Ones, the three primordial emanations of the Tao. However, some Taoists in history were skeptical of his benevolence because his buildings and infrastructure in heaven and earth were sometimes seen as interfering with the many natural laws or Tao, dao. He is often identified with Śakra (Buddhism), Śakra in Chinese Buddhist cosmology and identified with Yu the Great in Chinese mythology. The Jade Emperor is known by many names, including Yu, Heavenly Grandfather (, '), which originally meant "Heavenly Duke", which is used by commoners; the Jade Lord; the Highest Emperor; Great Emperor of Jade ( , or ). Chinese mythology There are many stories in Chinese mythology involving the Jade Empe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miaohui
Miaohui ( zh, t=廟會, s=庙会, l=temple gatherings, tr=temple fairs), also called , are China, Chinese religion, religious gatherings held by Miao shrines for the worship of the Chinese folk religion, Chinese gods and immortals. Large-scale ''miaohui'' are usually held around the time of the Chinese New Year, or in specific temples at the birthday of the god enshrined in the temple itself. Since the development of society with importation of different cultures, the characteristic of miaohui for each dynasty also vary from time to time. For instance, in the Han dynasty, as Buddhism and Taoism has gradually formed, temple fair became a way to attract more newcomers to their community by adding performances. Activities usually include rituals celebrated in the temple, opera on a stage facing the temple, processions of the gods' images on carts throughout villages and cities, performance of musical and ritual troupes (of Taoists, Chinese salvationist religions, sects and Confucian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huaguang Dadi
Emperor Huaguang () is a taoist List of war deities, war deity also known as Wu Xian. He is the head of the According to the "Lai Sea Collection," Emperor Huaguang is said to have been born on September 28 and is associated with the five elements of the five phases. He is also referred to as the "Five Elements Emperor," with the emperor of the east being associated with blue, the emperor of the south with red, the emperor of the west with white, the emperor of the north with black, and the emperor of the center with yellow. In Hakka folk customs, Emperor Huaguang is said to have transitioned from a god to a human and back to a god and spirit. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor bestowed upon him the title of "Yufeng Buddha's Supreme Good King Emperor Huaguang Emperor" and appointed him to govern the middle realm. From then on, people looked up to him for blessings, praying for sons if they want a son and for daughters if they want a daughter. Businessmen would gain profits, stu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
