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Shangdi,also called simply Di,is the Chinese term for "Supreme Deity" or "Highest Deity" in the theology of the classical texts,especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later Tian of Zhou theology.
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship",not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may be one of personality in the case of a newly arisen Euhemerus figure,or one of national identity or supranational identity in the case of a multi-ethnic state. A divine king is a monarch who is held in a special religious significance by his subjects,and serves as both head of state and a deity or head religious figure. This system of government combines theocracy with an absolute monarchy.
The People's Republic of China is officially an atheist state,but the government formally recognizes five religions:Buddhism,Taoism,Christianity,and Islam. In the early 21st century,there has been increasing official recognition of Confucianism and Chinese folk religion as part of China's cultural heritage. Chinese civilization has historically long been a cradle and host to a variety of the most enduring religio-philosophical traditions of the world. Confucianism and Taoism (Daoism),later joined by Buddhism,constitute the "three teachings" that have shaped Chinese culture. There are no clear boundaries between these intertwined religious systems,which do not claim to be exclusive,and elements of each enrich popular or folk religion. The emperors of China claimed the Mandate of Heaven and participated in Chinese religious practices. In the early 20th century,reform-minded officials and intellectuals attacked all religions as superstitious;since 1949,China has been governed by the CCP,an officially atheist party that prohibits party members from practicing religion while in office. In the culmination of a series of atheistic and anti-religious campaigns already underway since the late 19th century,the Cultural Revolution against old habits,ideas,customs,and culture,lasting from 1966 to 1976,destroyed or forced them underground. Under subsequent leaders,religious organisations have been given more autonomy.
The Chenghuangshen,is a tutelary deity or deities in Chinese folk religion who is believed to protect the people and the affairs of the particular village,town or city of great dimension,and the corresponding afterlife location.
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 and 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 deities. Worship is devoted to deities 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 system which has lasted in many ways until the present day. The present day government of mainland China,like the imperial dynasties,tolerates popular religious organizations if they bolster social stability but suppresses or persecutes those that they fear would undermine it.
A Tudigong is a kind of Chinese tutelary deity of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations,sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in certain regions.
Landlord deities (地主神) are a type of tutelary deity worshipped in the East Asian cultural sphere. Di is the first character.
The Zhongshan Park was a former imperial altar and now a public park that lies just southwest of the Forbidden City in the Imperial City,Beijing.
Hòutǔ or Hòutǔshén,also HòutǔNiángniáng,otherwise called Dimǔ or DimǔNiángniáng,is the deity of all land and earth in Chinese religion and mythology. Houtu is the overlord of all the Tudigongs,Sheji,Shan Shen,City Gods,and landlord gods world wide.
Sajikdan (Korean: 사직단) is a Neo-Confucian altar located in Seoul,South Korea. It was built and used during the Joseon period to perform rituals related to soil and grain.
Mountain Gods (山神) are Asian tutelary deities associated with mountains. They are related to landlord deities and tudigongs and City Gods.
Agriculture is an important theme in Chinese mythology. There are many myths about the invention of agriculture that have been told or written about in China. Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China. This includes myths in Chinese and other languages,as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups. Many of the myths about agriculture involve its invention by such deities or cultural heroes such as Shennong,Houji,Houtu,and Shujun:of these Shennong is the most famous,according to Lihui Yang. There are also many other myths. Myths related to agriculture include how humans learned the use of fire,cooking,animal husbandry and the use of draft animals,inventions of various agricultural tools and implements,the domestication of various species of plants such as ginger and radishes,the evaluation and uses of various types of soil,irrigation by digging wells,and the invention of farmers markets. Other myths include events which made agriculture possible by destroying an excessive number of suns in the sky or ending the Great Flood.
Chinese folk religion plays a dynamic role in the lives of the overseas Chinese who have settled in the countries of this geographic region,particularly Burmese Chinese,Singaporean Chinese,Malaysian Chinese,Thai Chinese and Hoa. The Indonesian Chinese,by contrast,were forced to adopt en masse either Buddhism or Christianity in the 1950s and 1960s,abandoning traditional worship,due to Indonesia's religious policies which at the time forbade Chinese traditional religion or did not recognize it as a "religion" thus making it vulnerable to discrimination. Some Chinese Filipinos also still practice some Chinese traditional religions,besides Christianity of either Roman Catholicism or Protestantism,of which some have also varyingly syncretized traditional Chinese religious practices with. Chinese folk religion,the ethnic religion of Han Chinese,"Shenism" was especially coined referring to its Southeast Asian expression;another Southeast Asian name for the religion is the Sanskrit expression Satya Dharma.
Fude Zhengshen is a God of Prosperity in Chinese folk religion. He is often considered to be similar as Tu Di Gong or the name was considered as an official title of the later,but actually both of them are deities of different ranking. As one of the oldest deity by age,he is often considered as subordinate of Houtu.
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,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 of connecting back to Heaven,which is the "utmost ancestral father".
Chinese theology,which comes in different interpretations according to the classic texts and the common religion,and specifically Confucian,Taoist,and other philosophical formulations,is fundamentally monistic,that is to say it sees the world and the gods of its phenomena as an organic whole,or cosmos,which continuously emerges from a simple principle. This is expressed by the concept that "all things have one and the same principle". This principle is commonly referred to as Tiān 天,a concept generally translated as "Heaven",referring to the northern culmen and starry vault of the skies and its natural laws which regulate earthly phenomena and generate beings as their progenitors. Ancestors are therefore regarded as the equivalent of Heaven within human society,and therefore as the means connecting back to Heaven which is the "utmost ancestral father". Chinese theology may be also called Tiānxué 天學,a term already in use in the 17th and 18th centuries.
[In contrast to the God of Western religions who is above the space and time] the God of Fuxi,Xuanyuan,and Wang Yangming is under in our space and time. ... To Chinese thought,ancestor is creator.
The Wǔfāng Shàngdì,or simply Wǔdì or Wǔshén are,in Chinese canonical texts and common Chinese religion,the fivefold manifestation of the supreme God of Heaven. This theology dates back at least to the Shang dynasty. Described as the "five changeable faces of Heaven",they represent Heaven's cosmic activity which shapes worlds as tán 壇,"altars",imitating its order which is visible in the starry vault,the north celestial pole and its spinning constellations. The Five Deities themselves represent these constellations. In accordance with the Three Powers they have a celestial,a terrestrial and a chthonic form. The Han Chinese identify themselves as the descendants of the Red and Yellow Deities.
Chunshe (Spring Community Day) is a traditional folk festival originating from China. In Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou，it was a carnival where lovers could date. Gradually,it became a sacrifice ritual to appease/in honour of Tudishen (God of the Soil and the Ground). People usually celebrate this festival on the fifth Wu Day (according to Sexagenary cycle) after Lichun,which is near Chunfen. According to folklore,the date could be February 2,February 8,February 12,February 15 based on the lunar calendar.
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.
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Citations
- ↑ Envisioning eternal empire: Chinese political thought of the Warring States era
- ↑ Yang, C. K. Religion in Chinese Society : A Study of Contemporary Social Functions of Religion and Some of Their Historical Factors (1967 [1961]). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. page 97
- ↑ A comparative study of thirty city states
- ↑ Hymes: Way and Byway (Google Books)
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