Rels 204 Chinese Religions Key Terms Flashcards

1
Q

Analects

A

compilation of the sayings attributed to Confucius

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2
Q

Chan

A

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

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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 traditional rituals involving especially the family and the ancestors

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4
Q

Confucius, Konzi

A

teacher (ca. 551-479 B.C.E.) whose philosophy of life became dominant in Chinese culture

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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

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6
Q

Dao (Tao)

A

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

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7
Q

Daode Jing (Tao Te Ching)

A

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

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8
Q

Daoism

A

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

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9
Q

Daoist canon (Daozang)

A

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

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10
Q

daoshi (tao shih)

A

Daoist priest

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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

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12
Q

filial piety, xiao (hsiao)

A

primary Confucian virtue of respect toward parents and ancestors

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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)

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14
Q

Five elements or five agents

A

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

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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.

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16
Q

Guanyin (Kuan Yin)

A

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

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17
Q

Gui (kuei)

A

earthly yin spirits; malevolent spirits in Chinese popular thought

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18
Q

Han Dynasty

A

period in China (from ca. 202 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.) during which Confucianism became the state ideology and cult, Buddhism made its entry, and religious Daoism developed

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19
Q

Heavenly Masters

A

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

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20
Q

Huayan (Hua Yen)

A

A Chinese school of Mahayana Buddhism based on the Garland Sutra

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21
Q

Jade Emperor

A

supreme god in Chinese popular religion

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22
Q

Jiao (Chiao)

A

important festival in religious Daoism, the Rite of Cosmic Renewal

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23
Q

Laozi (Lao Tzu)

A

legendary author of the Daode jing and founder of Daoism (according to tradition, born in 604 B.C.E.)

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24
Q

Legalists

A

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

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25
Q

li

A

rites, propriety; the confucian code of ceremonial behaviour; also principle (different than “rites”) Neo-Confucian teaching that identifies principle as the underlying source of all phenomena, operating together with qi (material force)

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26
Q

literati (ru, ju)

A

learned Confucian scholars

27
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

28
Q

Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung)

A

leader (1893-1976) of the Chinese Communist movement and of the People’s Republic of China

29
Q

Matteo Ricci

A

first Jesuit missionary to China (1552-1610)

30
Q

Mazu (Ma Tsu)

A

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

31
Q

Mengzi (Meng Tzu, Mencius)

A

leading thinker (ca. 372-289 B.C.E.) whose writings shaped the Confucian tradition

32
Q

Neo-Confucianism

A

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

33
Q

no-action (wuwei)

A

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

34
Q

noble person (junzi)

A

ideal Confucian goal; a noble person defined by moral character

35
Q

Pangu (P’an Ku)

A

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

36
Q

principle (li, different word from li meaning ‘rites’)

A

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

37
Q

Pure Land

A

school of Buddhism focusing on worship of Amitabha Buddha (Chinese: Amituo fo), with hope of rebirth in the Pure Land Buddha realm

38
Q

Qi (ch’i)

A

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

39
Q

qigong

A

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

40
Q

Qing Ming (Ch’ing Ming)

A

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

41
Q

rectification of names

A

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

42
Q

religious Daoism

A

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

43
Q

ren (jen)

A

humaneness, an important ideal in Confucianism

44
Q

Shang Di (Shang Ti)

A

supreme god worshiped by the Shang rulers in ancient China

45
Q

shen

A

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

46
Q

Son of Heaven

A

title of Chinese emperor

47
Q

spirit writing

A

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

48
Q

taiji (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)

49
Q

Taiping Rebellion (T’ai P’ing)

A

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

50
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

51
Q

Three Pure Ones

A

designation for highest gods summoned by Daoist priests

52
Q

Tian (T’ien)

A

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

53
Q

Tiantai (Ti’ien T’ai)

A

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

54
Q

Total Perfection

A

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

55
Q

Tudigong (T’u Ti Kung)

A

local earth god in Chinese religion

56
Q

Ullambana

A

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

57
Q

Wuwei

A

See no-action - basic Daoist principle of not doing anything contrary to the flow of nature

58
Q

Xunzi (Hsun Tzu)

A

important Confucian thinker (ca. 300-238 B.C.E.) who advocated a realistic understanding of the human inclination toward evil

59
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)

60
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

61
Q

Zaojun (Tsao Chun)

A

God of the Cooking Stove in Chinese religion

62
Q

Zhou Dynasty (Chou)

A

long dynasty (ca. 1123-221 B.C.E.) during which the classics were compiled and the Confucianist and Daoist traditions developed

63
Q

Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi)

A

leading thinker of the Neo-Confucian movement (1130-1200 C.E.)

64
Q

Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)

A

important early teacher (ca. 369-286 B.C.E.) whose book bearing his name has been very influential for the Daoist movement