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Xingqi (circulating Breath)
Chinese (, "circulating / breath") is a group of breath-control techniques that have been developed and practiced from the Warring States period (c. 475-221 BCE) to the present. Examples include Traditional Chinese medicine, Daoist meditation, breathing calisthenics, embryonic breathing, internal alchemy, internal exercises, deep-breathing exercises, and slow-motion martial art. Since the polysemous keyword can mean natural "breath; air" and/or alleged supernatural " vital breath; life force", signifies "circulating breath" in meditational contexts or "activating vital breath" in medical contexts. Terminology () is a linguistic compound of two Chinese words: * () has English translation equivalents of: # to march in order, as soldiers; walk forward ... # to move, proceed, act; perform(ance); actor, agent; follower ... # to engage in; to conduct; to effect, put into practice, implement ... # pre-verbal indicator of future action, "is going to erb" # temporary, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daoyin
Daoyin is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Taoist neigong, meditation and mindfulness to cultivate '' jing'' (essence) and direct and refine '' qi'', the internal energy of the body according to Traditional Chinese medicine. These exercises are often divided into yin positions, lying and sitting, and yang positions, standing and moving. The practice of daoyin was a precursor of qigong, and was practised in Chinese Taoist monasteries for health and spiritual cultivation. Daoyin is also said to be a primary formative ingredient in the well-known " soft styles" of the Chinese martial arts, of Taiji quan. and middle road styles like Wuxingheqidao. The main goal of ''daoyin'' is to create flexibility of the mind therefore creating harmony between internal and external environments, which relaxes, replenishes and rejuvenates the body, developing in its practitioners a vital and healthy spirit. In the West, ''daoyin'' is sometimes mistakenly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Translation
Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English language draws a terminology, terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''translating'' (a written text) and ''Language interpretation, interpreting'' (oral or Sign language, signed communication between users of different languages); under this distinction, translation can begin only after the appearance of writing within a language community. A translator always risks inadvertently introducing source-language words, grammar, or syntax into the target-language rendering. On the other hand, such "spill-overs" have sometimes imported useful source-language calques and loanwords that have enriched target languages. Translators, including early translators of sacred texts, have helped shape the very l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic period (), and the Classical period (). Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical periods of the language. From the Hellenistic period (), Ancient Greek was followed by Koine Greek, which is regarded as a separate historical stage, although its earliest form closely resembles Attic Greek and its latest form approaches Medieval Greek. There were several regional dialects of Ancient Greek, of which Attic Greek developed into Koi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nathan Sivin
Nathan Sivin (11 May 1931 – 24 June 2022), also known as Xiwen (), was an American sinologist, historian, essayist, educator, and writer. He taught first at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then at the University of Pennsylvania until his retirement in 2006. The major areas of study and focus in Nathan Sivin's career and publications were history of science and technology in China, medicine in traditional China, Chinese philosophy, and Chinese religious beliefs. He was a key player in the development of their scholarly study in the West. He collaborated with prominent scholars, such as G.E.R. Lloyd, A.C. Graham and Joseph Needham, and nurtured younger ones. His wife was the artist Carole Delmore Sivin, who died in 2020. For many years they lived in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. In 1977 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He was president of the Philadelphia literary society, Franklin Inn Club, 1996-1998. Education and career From 1954 until 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jing (Chinese Medicine)
Jīng (; Wade–Giles: ching1) is the Chinese word for "essence", specifically kidney essence. Along with qì and shén, it is considered one of the Three Treasures (''Sanbao'' ) of traditional Chinese medicine or TCM. Description According to Traditional Chinese Medical theory, Jīng or Essence can be summarised in two parts: the Yin, being congenital or prenatal, and the Yang, being postnatal or acquired. Prenatal Jing is acquired at birth from the parents: the father's sperm and the mother's ovum. This is a similar concept to DNA. Postnatal Jing is acquired after birth through food, water, oxygen, as well as environmental and social conditions—very much like the concept of epigenetics. The concept is expounded in the Taoist cosmological Bagua. The Yin and Yang Jing transform to create and replenish each other. The Yang Jing circulates through the eight extraordinary vessels and transforms to become and replenish yin; in turn the marrow becomes blood, body fluid and seme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yangsheng (Daoism)
In religious Taoism and Traditional Chinese medicine, ''yangsheng'' (養生, "nourishing life"), refers to various self-cultivaton practices aimed at enhancing health and longevity. ''Yangsheng'' techniques include calisthenics, self-massage, breath exercises, meditation, internal and external Taoist alchemy, sexual activities, and dietetics. Most ''yangsheng'' methods are intended to increase longevity, a few to achieve "immortality"— in the specialized Taoist sense of transforming into a ''Xian'' ("transcendent", who typically dies after a few centuries, loosely translated as "immortal"). While common longevity practices (such as eating a healthy diet or exercising) can increase one's lifespan and well-being, some esoteric transcendence practices (such as "grain avoidance" diets where an adept eats only '' qi''/breath instead of foodstuffs, or drinking frequently poisonous Taoist alchemical elixirs of life) can ironically be deadly. Terminology The word ''yangsheng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 comprehensive resource to scholars and academic researchers, as well as describing usage in its many variations throughout the world. Work began on the dictionary in 1857, but it was only in 1884 that it began to be published in unbound Serial (literature), fascicles as work continued on the project, under the name of ''A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by The Philological Society''. In 1895, the title ''The Oxford English Dictionary'' was first used unofficially on the covers of the series, and in 1928 the full dictionary was republished in 10 bound volumes. In 1933, the title ''The Oxford English Dictionary'' fully replaced the former name in all occurrences in its reprinting as 12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lexicography
Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretical lexicography is the scholarly study of semantic, orthographic, syntagmatic and paradigmatic features of lexemes of the lexicon ( vocabulary) of a language, developing theories of dictionary components and structures linking the data in dictionaries, the needs for information by users in specific types of situations, and how users may best access the data incorporated in printed and electronic dictionaries. This is sometimes referred to as 'metalexicography'. There is some disagreement on the definition of lexicology, as distinct from lexicography. Some use "lexicology" as a synonym for theoretical lexicography; others use it to mean a branch of linguistics pertaining to the inventory of words in a particular language. A person ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanyu Da Cidian
The ''Hanyu Da Cidian'' () is the most inclusive available Chinese dictionary. Lexicographically comparable to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', it has diachronic coverage of the Chinese language, and traces usage over three millennia from Chinese classic texts to modern slang. The chief editor Luo Zhufeng (1911–1996), along with a team of over 300 scholars and lexicographers, started the enormous task of compilation in 1979. Publication of the thirteen volumes began with first volume in 1986 and ended with the appendix and index volume in 1994. In 1994, the dictionary also won the National Book Award of China. The ''Hanyu Da Cidian'' includes over 23,000 head Chinese character entries, defines some 370,000 words, and gives 1,500,000 citations. The head entries, which are collated by a novel 200 radical system, are given in traditional Chinese characters while simplified Chinese characters are noted. Definitions and explanations are in simplified, excepting classical qu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fulu
(), is a term for Taoist incantations and magic symbols, written or painted as talisman or () by Taoist practitioners. These practitioners are also called () or the sect, an informal group made up of priests from different schools of Taoism. These charms and amulets are also not confined strictly to Taoism as they have been incorporated in to certain forms of Chinese Buddhism, and have descendants such as the of Japanese Buddhism and Shinto. Etymology * (), or () are instructions to deities and spirits, symbols for exorcism, and medicinal potion recipes or charms to assist with ailments. * () is a register of the membership of the priests, as well as the skills they are trained in. Other names for in English include Taoist magic writing, magic script characters, magic figures, magic formulas, secret talismanic writing, and talismanic characters. General design Fu symbols tend to have irregular strokes that resemble Traditional Chinese characters, often el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variant Chinese Characters
Variant Chinese characters (; Kanji: ; Hepburn: ''itaiji''; ; Revised Romanization: ''icheja'') are Chinese characters that are homophones and synonyms. Most variants are allographs in most circumstances, such as casual handwriting. Some contexts require the usage of certain variants, such as in textbook editing. Regional standards Variant Chinese characters exist within and across all regions where Chinese characters are used, whether Chinese-speaking (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore), Japanese-speaking (Japan), or Korean-speaking (North Korea, South Korea). Some of the governments of these regions have made efforts to standardize the use of variants, by establishing certain variants as standard. The choice of which variants to use has resulted in some divergence in the forms of Chinese characters used in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. This effect compounds with the sometimes drastic divergence in the standard Chinese character sets of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Character Classification
All Chinese characters are logograms, but several different types can be identified, based on the manner in which they are formed or derived. There are a handful which derive from pictographs () and a number which are ideographic () in origin, including compound ideographs (), but the vast majority originated as phono-semantic compounds (). The other categories in the traditional system of classification are rebus or phonetic loan characters () and "derivative cognates" (). Modern scholars have proposed various revised systems, rejecting some of the traditional categories. In older literature, Chinese characters in general may be referred to as ideograms, due to the misconception that characters represented ideas directly, whereas some people assert that they do so only through association with the spoken word. Traditional classification Traditional Chinese lexicography divided characters into six categories (). This classification is known from Xu Shen's second century dictiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
