Chinese Religion Key Terms Flashcards

1
Q

Analects

A

compilation of the sayings attributed to Confucius

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Chan

A

school of meditation Buddhism in China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan (Zen in Japan), influential in the arts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Confucianism

A

Western term for the broad and pervasive religious tradition involving the learned scholars (literati), study of Confucius’ Analects and the Five Classics, and the traditional rituals involving especially the family and ancestors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Confucius, Kongzi

A

teacher whose philosophy of life became the dominant in Chinese culture

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Cultural Revolution

A

the period from 1966 to 1976 in China during which Red Guards attempted to destroy all forms of “old” religion and culture

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Dao (Tao)

A

“way”, Chinese term for a spiritual path; for Daoists, the indefinable source of all reality, the way of nature

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Daode jing (Tao Te Ching)

A

“Classic of Dao and Its Power”; earliest and very influential text of Daoism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Daoism

A

broad term for Chinese tradition based on the Daode jing and the Zhuangzi; and also the variety of Daoist practices involving rituals, priests, scriptures, and techniques for prolonging life

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Daoist Canon (Daozang)

A

library of sacred texts and commentaries produced in Daoist religious movements, numbering over one thousand volumes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

daoshi (tao Shih)

A

Daoist priest

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

feng shui

A

geomancy, the Chinese art of reading forces of yin and yang so as to determine the most beneficial location for graves and houses

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

fillial piety, xiao (hsiao)

A

primary Confucian virtue of respect toward parents and ancestors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Five Classics

A

the heart of the Confucian scriptures, including the Shujing (Classic of History), the Shijing (Classic of Poetry), the Yijing (I Ching, Classic of Changes), the Lijing (Classic of Rites), and the Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

five elements or five agents

A

Chinese ideas of five modes of energy in the universe that mutually influence each other: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

five relationships

A

Confucian teaching of proper reciprocal roles and moral norms in the basic human relationships: father and son, husband and wife, elder and younger brother, ruler and subject, and friend and friend

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Guanyin (Kuan Yin)

A

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara,, widely worshiped in China as a god/goddess of great mercy (Kannon in Japan)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

gui (kuei)

A

earthly yin spirits; malevolent spirits in Chinese popular thought

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Han dynasty

A

period in China during which Confucianism became the state ideology and cult, Buddhism made its entry, and religious Daoism developed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Heavenly Masters

A

early sect of Daoism whose lineage continues today as the Orthodox Unity sect

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Huayan (Hua Yen)

A

a Chinese school of Mahayna Buddhism based on the Garland Sutra

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Jade Emperor

A

supreme god in Chinese popular religion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Jiao (Chiao)

A

important festival in religious Daoism, the Rite of Cosmic Renewal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Laozi (Lao Tzu)

A

legendary author of the Daode jing and founder of Daoism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Legalists

A

school of thought in China that emphasized the need for strict law and order

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

li

A

rites, propriety; the Confucian code of ceremonial behavior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

li

A

see principle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

literati (ru, ju)

A

learned Confucian scholars

28
Q

Mandate of Heaven

A

in Chinese religion, the expression of Tian’s moral will, especially in granting prosperity to virtuous rulers and cutting short evil ones

29
Q

Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung)

A

leader of the Chinese Communist movement and of the People’s Republic of China

30
Q

Matteo ricci

A

first Jesuit missionary to China

31
Q

Mazu (Ma Tsu)

A

widely worshipped goddess of Chinese seafarers; known as the Queen of Heaven

32
Q

Mengzi (Meng Tzu, Mencius)

A

leading thinker whose writings shaped the Confucian tradition

33
Q

Neo-Confucianism

A

revival of Confucian thought in the 11th century, with emphasis on the underlying principle of all things

34
Q

no-action (wuwei)

A

basic Daoist principle of not doing anything contrary to the flow of nature

35
Q

noble person (junzi)

A

ideal Confucian goal; a noble person defined by moral character

36
Q

Pangu (P’an Ku)

A

in Chinese tradition, mythic primordial person out of whom the whole universe developed

37
Q

principle (li)

A

Neo-Confucian teachings that identifies principle as the underlying source of all phenomena, operating together with qi (material force)

38
Q

Pure Land

A

school of Buddhism focusing on worship of Amitabha Buddha, with hope of rebirth in the Pure Land Buddha realm

39
Q

qi (ch’i)

A

material force, breath, flowing vital energy, in Chinese traditions

40
Q

qigong

A

broad term for variety of Chinese physical exercises to cultivate qi in body and spirit

41
Q

Qing Ming (Ch’ing Ming)

A

“clear and bright” festival; spring festival of visiting and renovating ancestral tombs in China

42
Q

rectification of names

A

Confucian program for the development of a moral society by properly structuring social relationships

43
Q

religious Daoism

A

variety of Daoist practices involving rituals, priests, scriptures, and techniques for prolonging life

44
Q

ren (jen)

A

humaneness, an important ideal in Confucianism

45
Q

Shang Di (Shang Ti)

A

supreme god worshipped by the Shang rulers in ancient China

46
Q

shen

A

in Chinese tradition, heavenly yang spirits; benevolent and honored spirits, including ancestors

47
Q

Son of Heaven

A

title of Chinese emperor

48
Q

spirit writing

A

in Chinese religion, writing on a tray or on paper by a spirit who moves the pen

49
Q

taji (t’ai-chi)

A

Great Ultimate that underlies and generates all things; a popular Chinese exercise is called taiji quan (fist of the Great Ultimate)

50
Q

Taiping Rebellion (T’ai P’ing)

A

abortive popular movement in the mid-19th century in China, based on religious ideas, attempting to change the hierarchical structure of society

51
Q

Three Ages of the Dharma

A

Buddhist teaching of increasing decline and degeneracy in humans’ ability to follow the Buddhist path: the age of the Perfect Dharma, the age of the Counterfeit Dharma, and the age of the End of the Dharma

52
Q

Three Pure Ones

A

designation for the highest gods summoned by Daoist priests

53
Q

Tian (T’ien)

A

“heaven”, from ancient times in China considered an ultimate power that rules especially through the moral order

54
Q

Tiantai (T’ien T’ai)

A

a school of Mahayana Buddhism in China, based on the Lotus Sutra

55
Q

Total Perfection

A

Daoist sect from the Song era that practices monastic life, still existent today

56
Q

Tudigong (T’u Ti Kung)

A

local earth god in Chinese religion

57
Q

Ulambana

A

Buddhist festival in China and Japan worshipping the souls of ancestors and providing for souls temporarily released from purgatory; called Obon in Japan

58
Q

wuwei

A

See no-action

59
Q

Xunzi (Hsun Tzu)

A

important Confucian thinker who advocated a realistic understanding of the human inclination toward evil

60
Q

Yijing (I Ching)

A

the Classic of Changes, an ancient Chinese divination manual based on sixty-four hexagrams (each of six unbroken and broken lines)

61
Q

Yin and Yang

A

Chinese idea of polarity of forces in the universe ; yin is passive, earthly force, and yang is active, heavenly force

62
Q

Zaojun (Tsao Chun)

A

God of the Cooking Stove in Chinese religion

63
Q

Zhou Dynasty (Chou)

A

long dynasty during which the classics were compiled and the Confucianist and Daoist traditions developed

64
Q

Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi)

A

Leading thinker of the Neo-Confucian movement

65
Q

Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)

A

important early teacher whose book bearing his name has been very influential for the Daoist movement