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Chinese folk religion Wikipedia

Chinese folk religion comprises the religion practiced in much of China for thousands of years which included ancestor worship and drew heavily upon concepts and beings within Chinese mythology. It is a constituent part of Chinese traditional religion.

Folk religions have been practiced alongside Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism by Chinese people throughout the world for thousands of years. Worship, legends, festivals and various devotions associated with different folk gods and goddesses form an important part of Chinese culture even today. The worship of secondary gods does not conflict with an individual's chosen religion, but is accepted as a complementary adjunct to Buddhism, Confucianism or Taoism. Some mythical figures in folk culture have even been integrated into Buddhism as in the case of Miao Shan who is generally thought of having evolved into the Buddhist bodhisattva Kuan Yin. Other folk gods may date back to pre-Buddhist eras of Chinese history.

There are hundreds of different gods and goddeses as well as "saints," immortals and demigods. Historical figures noted for their bravery or virtue are also venerated and honored with their own festivals after the are apotheosis|apotheosized.

In many ways, gods of Chinese folk religion are counterparts of humanity. Their domain, tien or heaven, is a mirror image of earth. The gods have social hierarchies: the Jade Emperor is the counterpart of the earthly emperor, and his subjects the lesser gods, observe the social protocols as strictly as their earthly counterparts. The gods also live variously in palaces or households much in the same way as the people who worship them and they frequently exhibit very human foibles. According to accounts in the Feng shen yen i in 1122 BCE, during the Chou Dynasty, the gods, demigods and other immortals even engaged in a long drawn-out battle with each other over which dynasty should rule China.

The distinction between heavenly beings and humans was first made in the ancient Book of Rites. Although the Chinese have venerated their ancestors for thousands of years, the worship of tien and everything associated with it is distinct from the veneration of humans such as ancestors or venerable figures such as Confucius who belong to the category of spirits known as kuei.

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Category:Religion in China

it:Religione popolare cinese
fr:Religion traditionnelle chinoise

Last Modified:   2005-11-04