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Cheng Xuanying
Cheng Xuanying (; fl. 631–655), courtesy name Zishi (), was a Taoism, Taoist monk known to posterity as the "Master of Doctrines at Xihua Abbey“ () and was one of the principal representatives of the "School of Double Mystery" (Chongxuan School, Chongxuan) during the reigns of the emperors Emperor Taizong of Tang, Taizong and Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Gaozong of the Tang dynasty. He is mainly known for his commentaries to the Tao Te Ching, Daodejing and the Zhuangzi (book), Zhuangzi (also known as the ''Nanhua Zhenjing''). Life Cheng Xuanying was born sometime around the first decade of the seventh century CE, in Shǎn Prefecture, Shan Prefecture in modern-day Henan. He lived in Donghai County, Donghai in seclusion until 631, when he was summoned to the Tang capital Chang'an and appointed the head monk of Xihua Abbey by the imperial decree of Emperor Taizong. The New Book of Tang does not mention being accorded the title of Master of Doctrines (), and it is likely that this w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheng (surname)
Cheng can be a transcription of one of several Chinese surnames. Since the syllable ''Cheng'' represents different sounds in Hanyu pinyin and the Wade–Giles systems of Chinese romanization, some ambiguity will exist as to which sound is represented by the letters "Cheng" if the romanisation and tone is not known. Also within each system of romanisation, each syllable can represent one of several different characters, as with any Chinese syllable. In the pinyin system of romanization (usually used in China), the most common surnames romanized as ''Cheng'' are 程 and 成. In 2019 程 was the 44th most common surname in Mainland China. In names romanized in Wade–Giles (usually used in Taiwan), ''Cheng'' is most commonly a transcription of 鄭/郑 (pinyin Zhèng). ''Cheng'' can also be the Cantonese version of Zheng (鄭) and Jing (井), non-standard romanization of Cen (岑), and Teochew or Hokkien pronunciation of Zhong (鍾) and Zhuang (莊). Further confusion ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th-century Chinese Writers
The 7th century is the period from 601 ( DCI) through 700 ( DCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Common Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by Muhammad starting in 622. After Muhammad's death in 632, Islam expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula under the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661) and the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750). The Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century led to the downfall of the Sasanian Empire. Also conquered during the 7th century were Syria, Palestine, Armenia, Egypt, and North Africa. The Byzantine Empire suffered setbacks during the rapid expansion of the Caliphate, a mass incursion of Slavs in the Balkans which reduced its territorial limits. The decisive victory at the Siege of Constantinople in the 670s led the empire to retain Asia Minor which assured the existence of the empire. In the Iberian Peninsula, the 7th century was known as the ''Siglo de Concilios'' (century of councils) refer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daozang
Daozang (), meaning 'Taoist Canon', consists of around 1,400 texts that were collected (after the ''Daodejing'' and ''Zhuangzi'' and Liezi which are the core Taoist texts). They were collected by Taoist monks of the period in an attempt to bring together all of the teachings of Taoism, including all the commentaries and expositions of the various masters from the original teachings found in the ''Daodejing'' and ''Zhuangzi''. These three divisions were based on the main focus of Taoism in Southern China during the time it was made, namely; meditation, ritual, and exorcism. These Three Grottoes were used as levels for the initiation of Taoist masters, from lowest (exorcism) to highest (meditation). As well as the Three Grottoes there were Four Supplements that were added to the canon c. 500. These were mainly taken from older core Taoist texts (e.g. ''Daodejing'') apart from one which was taken from an already established and separate philosophy known as Tianshi Dao (Way of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guo Xiang
Guo Xiang (; born 252 AD – died 312 AD) is credited with the first and most important revision of the text known as the ''Zhuangzi'' which, along with the ''Tao Te Ching'', forms the textual and philosophical basis of the Taoist school of thought. He was also a scholar of xuanxue. ''Zhuangzi'' The Guo Xiang redaction of ''Zhuangzi'' revised a fifty-two chapter original by removing material he thought was superstitious and generally not of philosophical interest to his literati sensibilities, resulting in a thirty-three chapter total. He appended a philosophical commentary to the text that became famous, and within four centuries his shorter and snappier expurgated recension became the only one known. This ''Zhuangzi'' recension is traditionally divided into three sections: ‘Inner Chapters’ (1-7), ‘Outer Chapters’ (8-22), ‘Miscellaneous Chapters’ (23-33). This division is quite old and is likely to have been part of the original recension. Guo's redaction focus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou period (1000750), the ''I Ching'' was transformed over the course of the Warring States and early imperial periods (500200) into a cosmological text with a series of philosophical commentaries known as the "Ten Wings". After becoming part of the Five Classics in the 2nd century BC, the ''I Ching'' was the subject of scholarly commentary and the basis for divination practice for centuries across the Far East, and eventually took on an influential role in Western understanding of East Asian philosophical thought. As a divination text, the ''I Ching'' is used for a traditional Chinese form of cleromancy known as ''I Ching'' divination, in which bundles of yarrow stalks are manipulated to produce sets of six apparently random numbers rang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanhuangjing
The ''Sanhuangjing'' (, Book of Three Emperors), also known as the ''Sanhuang Neiwen'' () or the ''Sanhuangwen'' (), is a fundamental Daoist book which claims those who chant it can become an emperor. The Daoist master Zheng Yin reportedly transmitted such texts as the Sanhuang Neiwen, which Zheng considered to be among the most important alchemical scriptures, to Ge Hong during the Jin dynasty. According to Ge, the ''Sanhuangjing'' was mainly about controlling and summoning ghosts and spirits, talismans and charts, and methods of meditation, and thus was a talismanic book. All copies of the ''Sanhuangjing'' were ordered burned by Emperor Taizong of Tang in 647 CE, due to its supposed ability to bestow imperial status upon the reader. The Chongxuan school Daoist master Cheng Xuanying participated in its investigation. Fragments of the ''Sanhuangjing'' exist in the Daozang Daozang (), meaning ' Taoist Canon', consists of around 1,400 texts that were collected (after the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heshang Gong
Heshang Gong (also Ho-Shang Kung) is the reputed author of one of the earliest commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' of Laozi to survive to modern times, which is dated to the latter part of the Han dynasty.Alan K. L. Chan, "Two Visions of the Way: A Study of the Wang Pi and the Ho-shang-kung Commentaries on the Lao-tzu" in ''Lao-tzu and the Tao-te-ching'', Livia Kohn and Michael LaFargue eds. (Albany: State University of New York, 1998), p. 90 He was reputedly a reclusive Chinese hermit from the 1st century CE. Little is known about the life of Heshang Gong; however the impact of his writing is extensive in regards to the understanding and translation of the Dao De Jing, and is considered one of the earliest proponents of Taoist meditation, Taoist meditative practices which cultivate the “Three Treasures (traditional Chinese medicine), three treasures” of Jing (Chinese medicine), vitality, Qi, energy, and Shen (Chinese religion), spirit, and the "dual cultivation" of Nature (p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enlightenment In Buddhism
The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect, of a Buddha. The verbal root ''budh-'' means "to awaken," and its literal meaning is closer to awakening. Although the term ''buddhi'' is also used in other Indian philosophies and traditions, its most common usage is in the context of Buddhism. '' Vimukti'' is the freedom from or release of the fetters and hindrances. The term "enlightenment" was popularised in the Western world through the 19th-century translations of German-born philologist Max Müller. It has the Western connotation of general insight into transcendental truth or reality. The term is also being used to translate several other Buddhist terms and concepts, which are used to denote (initial) insight ('' prajna'' (Sanskrit), '' wu'' (Chinese), '' kensho'' and ''satori'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of his journey to India in 629–645 CE, his efforts to bring over 657 Indian texts to China, and his translations of some of these texts.Li Rongxi (1996), ''The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions'', Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley, , pp. xiii-xiv Xuanzang was born on 6 April 602 in Chenliu, what is now Kaifeng municipality in Henan province. As a boy, he took to reading religious books, and studying the ideas therein with his father. Like his elder brother, he became a student of Buddhist studies at Jingtu monastery. Xuanzang was ordained as a ''śrāmaṇera'' (novice monk) at the age of thirteen. Due to the political and social unrest caused by the fall of the Sui dynasty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lingbao School
The Lingbao School (), also known as the School of the Sacred Jewel or the School of Numinous Treasure, was an important Taoist School that emerged in China in between the Jin dynasty and the Liu Song dynasty in the early fifth century CE. It lasted for about two hundred years until it was absorbed into the Shangqing School and Zhengyi School currents during the Tang dynasty. The Lingbao School is a synthesis of religious ideas based on Shangqing texts, the rituals of the Celestial Masters, and Buddhist practices. The Lingbao School adopted many concepts from Buddhism, including the concept of rebirth, and also some cosmological elements. Although rebirth was an important concept in the Lingbao School, the earlier Taoist belief in attaining immortality remained. The school's pantheon is similar to Shangqing and Celestial Master Taoism, with one of its most important deities being the deified form of Laozi. Other deities also existed, some of whom were in charge of preparing spi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The dynasty is divided into two periods: Northern Song and Southern Song. During the Northern Song (; 960–1127), the capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now Eastern China. The Southern Song (; 1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of its northern half to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. At that time, the Song court retreated south of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
