Rels 204 Chinese Religions Key Terms Flashcards
Analects
compilation of the sayings attributed to Confucius
Chan
school of meditation in China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan (Zen in Japan), influential in the arts
Confucianism
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
Confucius, Konzi
teacher (ca. 551-479 B.C.E.) whose philosophy of life became dominant in Chinese culture
Cultural Revolution
the period from 1966 to 1976 in China during which Red Guards attempted to destroy all forms of “old” religion and culture
Dao (Tao)
“way.” Chinese term for a spiritual path; for Daoists, the indefinable source of all reality, the way of nature
Daode Jing (Tao Te Ching)
“Classic of Dao and Its Power”; earliest and very influential text of Daoism
Daoism
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
Daoist canon (Daozang)
library of sacred texts and commentaries produced in Daoist religious movements, numbering over one thousand volumes
daoshi (tao shih)
Daoist priest
feng shui
geomancy, the Chinese art of reading forces of yin and yang so as to determine the most beneficial location for graves and houses
filial piety, xiao (hsiao)
primary Confucian virtue of respect toward parents and ancestors
Five Classics
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)
Five elements or five agents
Chinese idea of five modes of energy in the universe that mutually influence each other: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water
five relationships
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.
Guanyin (Kuan Yin)
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, widely worshiped in China as a god/goddess of great mercy (Kannon in Japan)
Gui (kuei)
earthly yin spirits; malevolent spirits in Chinese popular thought
Han Dynasty
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
Heavenly Masters
early sect of Daoism whose lineage continues today as the Orthodox Unity sect
Huayan (Hua Yen)
A Chinese school of Mahayana Buddhism based on the Garland Sutra
Jade Emperor
supreme god in Chinese popular religion
Jiao (Chiao)
important festival in religious Daoism, the Rite of Cosmic Renewal
Laozi (Lao Tzu)
legendary author of the Daode jing and founder of Daoism (according to tradition, born in 604 B.C.E.)
Legalists
school of thought in China that emphasized the need for strict law and order
li
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)