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Wu (shaman)
''Wu'' () is a Chinese term translating to "shaman" or "sorcerer", originally the practitioners of Chinese shamanism or "Wuism" (巫教 ''wū jiào''). Terminology The glyph ancestral to modern is first recorded in bronze script, where it could refer to shamans or sorcerers of either sex. Modern Mandarin ''wu'' (Cantonese ''mouh'') continues a Middle Chinese ''mju'' or ''mjo''. The Old Chinese reconstruction is uncertain, given as *''mywo'' or as *''myag'', the presence of a final velar ''-g'' or ''-ɣ'' in Old Chinese being uncertain. By the late Zhou dynasty (4th to 3rd centuries BCE), ''wu'' referred mostly to female shamans or "sorceresses", while male sorcerers were named ''xi'' "male shaman; sorcerer", first attested in the ''Guoyu'' or '' Discourses of the States'' (4th century BCE). Other sex-differentiated shaman names include ''nanwu'' for "male shaman; sorcerer; wizard"; and ''nüwu'' , ''wunü'' , ''wupo'' , and ''wuyu'' for "female shaman; sorceress; witch". ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miko
A , or shrine maiden,Groemer, 28. is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. were once likely seen as Shamanism, shamans,Picken, 140. but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained to perform tasks ranging from sacred cleansing to performing the sacred dance. Appearance The Miko clothing, traditional attire of a is a pair of red (divided, pleated trousers), a white (a predecessor of the kimono), and some white or red hair ribbons. In Shinto, the color white symbolizes purity. The garment put over the during dances is called a . Traditional tools include the , the (offertory -tree branches), and the . also use bells, drums, candles, , and bowls of rice in ceremonies. Definition The Japanese words and ("female shaman" and "shrine maiden" respectively)Kokugo Dai Jiten Dictionary, Revised edition, Shogakukan, 1988. are usually written as a compound of the kanji ("shaman"), and ("woman"). was arch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xian (Taoism)
A ''xian'' ( zh, s=仙, t=僊, p=xiān, w=hsien) is any manner of immortal or mythical being within the Taoist Pantheon (religion), pantheon or Chinese folklore. has often been translated into English as "immortal" or "wizard". Traditionally, ''xian'' refers to entities who have attained immortality and supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical abilities later in life, with a connection to the heavenly realms inaccessible to mortals. This is often achieved through spiritual Self-cultivation#Taoism and the authentic self, self-cultivation, Chinese alchemy, alchemy, or worship by others. This is different from the Deity, gods (Deity, deities) in Chinese mythology and Taoism. ''Xian'' is also used as a descriptor to refer to often benevolent figures of great historical, spiritual and cultural significance. The Quanzhen School of Taoism, Daoism had a variety of definitions for during its history, including a metaphorical meaning where the term simply means a good, principl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Waley
Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were appointment as Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1952, receiving the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1953, and being invested as a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1956. Although highly learned, Waley avoided academic posts and most often wrote for a general audience. He chose not to be a specialist but to translate a wide and personal range of classical literature. Starting in the 1910s and continuing steadily almost until his death in 1966, these translations started with poetry, such as ''A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems'' (1918) and ''Japanese Poetry: The Uta'' (1919), then an equally wide range of novels, such as ''The Tale of Genji'' (1925–26), an 11th-century Japanese work, and ''Monkey'', fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China. At its height of power, the empire stretched from the Sea of Japan in the east to the Pamir Mountains in the west, and from the Mongolian Plateau in the north to the South China Sea in the south. Originally emerging from the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin dynasty founded in 1616 and proclaimed in Shenyang in 1636, the dynasty seized control of the Ming capital Beijing and North China in 1644, traditionally considered the start of the dynasty's rule. The dynasty lasted until the Xinhai Revolution of October 1911 led to the abdication of the last emperor in February 1912. The multi-ethnic Qing dynasty Legacy of the Qing dynasty, assembled the territoria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin (1616–1636) and Qing dynasty, Qing (1636–1912) dynasties of China were established and ruled by the Manchus, who are descended from the Jurchen people who earlier established the Jin dynasty (1115–1234), Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in northern China. Manchus form the largest branch of the Tungusic peoples and are distributed throughout China, forming the fourth largest ethnic group in the country. They are found in 31 Chinese provincial regions. Among them, Liaoning has the largest population and Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia and Beijing have over 100,000 Manchu residents. About half of the population live in Liaoning and one-fifth in Hebei. There are a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wanyan Xiyin
Gushen (died 1140), also known as Wushi or Hushe, and better known by his sinicised name Wanyan Xiyin, was a Jurchen noble and civil minister who lived in the founding and early years of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234), which ruled northern China between the 12th and 13th centuries. He was a chief adviser to Aguda (Emperor Taizu), the founder and first emperor of the Jin dynasty. Described by modern writers as the "Chief Shaman" of the pre-Jin Jurchen state,Tao (1976), Page 95. he became deeply interested in Han Chinese culture, and is particularly known as the creator of the first writing system for the Jurchen language. Family *Consort Zheng (正妃 元妃烏古論氏), of the Wugulun clan *Consort Li (李次妃 李氏; d. 1110 ), of the Li clan, personal name Shunying (舜英) *Concubine Wang (王妾 王氏), of the Wang clan, personal name Mao'er (猫儿) *Concubine Liu (刘妾刘氏), of the Liu clan, personal name Baigu (百古) *Concubine Zhang (章� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jurchen People
Jurchen (, ; , ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking people. They lived in northeastern China, also known as Manchuria, before the 18th century. The Jurchens were renamed Manchu people, Manchus in 1635 by Hong Taiji. Different Jurchen groups lived as hunter-gatherers, pastoralist semi-nomads, or sedentary agriculturists. Generally lacking a central authority, and having little communication with each other, many Jurchen groups fell under the influence of neighbouring dynasties, their chiefs paying tribute and holding nominal posts as effectively hereditary commanders of border guards. Han Chinese, Han officials of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) classified them into three groups, reflecting relative proximity to the Ming: #Jianzhou Jurchens, Jianzhou (Chinese: 建州) Jurchens, some of whom were mixed with Chinese populations, lived in the proximity of the Mudan River, Mudan river, the Changbai Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary state, unitary dynasties of China, dynasty in Chinese history. Rather than maintain the title of "Chinese king, king" ( ) or "suzerain#China, overlord" () borne by the previous rulers of Xia dynasty, Xia, Shang dynasty, Shang and Zhou dynasty, Zhou dynasties, he invented the title of "emperor" ( ), which would see continuous use by Chinese sovereigns and monarchy in China, monarchs for the next two millennia. Ying Zheng was born during the late Warring States period in Handan, the capital of Zhao (state), Zhao, to King Zhuangxiang of Qin, Prince Yiren and Queen Dowager Zhao, Lady Zhao. Prince Yiren was serving as an expendable hostage diplomacy, diplomatic hostage in Zhao at the time, but the wealthy merchant Lü Buwei saw potential in him and lobbied fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiji
The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st centuries BC by the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian, building upon work begun by his father Sima Tan. The work covers a 2,500-year period from the age of the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in the author's own time, and describes the world as it was known to the Chinese of the Western Han dynasty. The ''Shiji'' has been called a "foundational text in Chinese civilization". After Confucius and Qin Shi Huang, "Sima Qian was one of the creators of Imperial China, not least because by providing definitive biographies, he virtually created the two earlier figures." The ''Shiji'' set the model for all subsequent dynastic histories of China. In contrast to Western historiographical conventions, the ''Shiji'' does not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zou Yan
Zou Yan (; 305 BC240 BC) was a Chinese philosopher and spiritual writer of the Warring States era, Warring States-era. He was best known as the representative thinker of the Yin and Yang School (or School of Naturalists) during the Hundred Schools of Thought era in Chinese philosophy. Biography Zou Yan was a noted scholar of the Jixia Academy in the state of Qi (Shandong), Qi. The British biochemist and sinologist, Joseph Needham, describes Zou as "The real founder of all Chinese scientific thought." His teachings combined and systematized two current theories during the Warring States period: Yin-Yang and the Wuxing (Chinese philosophy), Five Elements/Phases (Metal (wuxing), metal, Wood (wuxing), wood, Water (wuxing), water, Fire (wuxing), fire, and Earth (wuxing), earth). All of Zou Yan's writings have been lost and are only known through quotations in early Chinese texts. The best information comes from his brief biography in the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' (1st century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, initiating publication of the multivolume '' Science and Civilisation in China''. A focus of his was what has come to be called the Needham Question of why and how China had ceded its leadership in science and technology to Western countries. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941 and a fellow of the British Academy in 1971. In 1992, Queen Elizabeth II conferred on him the Order of the Companions of Honour, and the Royal Society noted he was the only living person to hold these three titles. Early life Needham's father, Joseph, was a doctor, and his mother, Alicia Adelaïde, née Montgomery (1863–1945), was a music composer from Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland. His father, born in East London, then a poor section of town, ros ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
