Chinese Folk Religion

Chinese traditional religion is the focus of another portion of this website. Chinese religion is derived variety of sources, local forms, founder backgrounds, and ritual and philosophical traditions. Despite this diversity, however, there is a common core that can be represented by four theological, cosmological, and moral concepts. Tian, or heaven, is the transcendent and etherial source of moral meaning. Qi is the breath or energy that animates the universe. Jingzu stipulates veneration of one's ancestors. Bao ying emphasizes moral reciprocity and is linked to two traditional Chinese concepts of fate and meaning: ming yun, or one's personal destiny, and yuan fen, the fateful coincidences that present both good and bad opportunities and can lead to potential relationships. Yin and yang are complimentary and contrasting polarities that describes the order of the universe which is a balancing act involving the principles of extension and the principles of returning. Yang, a proactive force, is usually preferred over yin, a receptive force in Chinese folk beliefs. The taijitu, which embracies concepts of both yin and yang, is prominent in Chinese folk religion. So is the bagua, which portrays symbols of mutually opposing forces interacting with each other that represent the forces of nature and the power that deities like Zhong Kui (Taoist vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings) wield. Ling, translated as numen or sacred, is the medium in which these dualistic forces interact. Ling can also refer to the inchoate, primeval condition of the universe. In 1931, Chinese diplomat and essayist Hu Shih wrote that "Two great religions have played tremendously important roles throughout Chinese history. One is Buddhism which came to China probably before the Christian era but which began to exert nation-wide influence only after the third century A.D. The other great religion has had no generic name, but I propose to call it Siniticism. It is the native ancient religion of the Han Chinese people: it dates back to time immemorial, over 10,000 years old, and includes all such later phases of its development as Moism, Confucianism, and all the various stages of the Taoist religion."