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Doumu
Dǒumǔ (), also known as Dǒumǔ Yuánjūn ( "Lady Mother of the Chariot"), Dòulǎo Yuánjūn ( "Lady Ancestress of the Chariot") and Tàiyī Yuánjūn ( "Lady of the Great One"), is a goddess in Chinese religion and Taoism. She is also named through the honorific Tiānhòu ( "Queen of Heaven"), shared with other Chinese goddesses, especially Mazu, who are perhaps conceived as her aspects. Other names of her are Dàomǔ ( "Mother of the Way") and Tiānmǔ ( "Mother of Heaven"). She is the feminine aspect of the cosmic God of Heaven. The seven stars of the Big Dipper, in addition to two not visible to the naked eye, are conceived as her sons, the ''Jiǔhuángshén'' ( "Nine God-Kings"), themselves regarded as the ninefold manifestation of ''Jiǔhuángdàdì'' (, "Great Deity of the Nine Kings") or ''Dòufù'' ( "Father of the Great Chariot"), another name of the God of Heaven. She is therefore both wife and mother of the God of Heaven. In certain Taoist accounts she is identif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Folk Religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled with the contents of institutionalised religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, the Chinese syncretic religions". This includes the veneration of ''shen'' (spirits) and ancestors, exorcism of demonic forces, and a belief in the rational order of nature, balance in the universe and reality that can be influenced by human beings and their rulers, as well as spirits and gods. Worship is devoted to gods and immortals, who can be deities of places or natural phenomena, of human behaviour, or founders of family lineages. Stories of these gods are collected into the body of Chinese mythology. By the Song dynasty (960-1279), these practices had been blended with Buddhist doctrines and Taoist teachings to form the popular religious sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Theology
Chinese theology, which comes in different interpretations according to the classic texts and the common religion, and specifically Confucian, Taoist and other philosophical formulations, is fundamentally monistic, that is to say it sees the world and the gods of its phenomena as an organic whole, or cosmos, which continuously emerges from a simple principle. This is expressed by the concept that "all things have one and the same principle" (''wànwù yīlǐ'' ). This principle is commonly referred to as ''Tiān'' , a concept generally translated as "Heaven", referring to the northern culmen and starry vault of the skies and its natural laws which regulate earthly phenomena and generate beings as their progenitors. Ancestors are therefore regarded as the equivalent of Heaven within human society, and therefore as the means connecting back to Heaven which is the "utmost ancestral father" ( ''zēngzǔfù''). Chinese theology may be also called ''Tiānxué'' ("study of Heaven"), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marici (Buddhism)
Mārīcī (Sanskrit: मारीची, lit. "Ray of Light"; Chinese: 摩利支天; pinyin: ''Mólìzhītiān''; Japanese: ''Marishiten''), is a Buddhist god (devi) or goddess, as well as a bodhisattva associated with light and the Sun. By most historical accounts, Marici is a goddess. However, in some regions, she is depicted as a male god, revered among the warrior class in East Asia. She is typically depicted with multiple arms, riding a charging boar or sow, or on a fiery chariot pulled by seven horses or seven boars. She has either one head or between three to six, with one shaped like a boar. In parts of East Asia, in her fiercest forms, she may wear a necklace of skulls. In some representations, she sits upon a lotus. Some of the earliest iconographies of Marici are found in India and Tibet, particularly near the ancient port city and Buddhist site Salihundam of Andhra Pradesh, where Marici is depicted as riding on a chariot pulled by seven horses in a manner similar t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nine Emperor Gods Festival
The Nine Emperor Gods Festival ( zh, 九皇爺誕; ms, Perayaan Sembilan Maharaja Dewa; th, เทศกาลกินเจ) or Vegetarian Festival or Jay Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, celebrated primarily in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand by the Peranakans (not the entire Overseas Chinese community). It takes place at the same time as the Hindu festival Navaratri. Introduction to the Nine Emperor Gods The Nine Emperor Gods ''Jiǔ Huáng Xīng Jūn / Jiǔ Huáng Da Di'' (九皇星君/九皇大帝) are the nine sons manifested by Father Emperor Zhou Yu ''Dou Fu Yuan Jun'' (斗父周御國王天尊) and Mother of the Big Dipper '' Dou Mu Yuan Jun'' (斗母元君) who holds the Registrar of Life and Death. Today, most Nine Emperor God temples do not acknowledge the existence of Dou Fu Yuan Jun. However, Dou Fu Yuan Jun is invoked alongside Dou Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tai Sui
Tai Sui is a Chinese term for the stars directly opposite the planet Jupiter ( ''Mùxīng'') during its roughly 12-year orbital cycle. Personified as deities, they are important features of Chinese astrology, Feng Shui, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism to a lesser extent. The 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac are based on divisions of the Jovian orbital cycle, rather than—as with the western zodiac—the apparent motion of the sun relative to the celestial sphere. The star thought to oppose Jupiter during each year of the cycle was personified as a Heavenly General () or Cycle God. These were believed to assist the Jade Emperor in controlling the mortal world. In the Warring States period, Tai Sui had become gods in the popular astronomy, but there is no record of worshiping the Tai Sui in the documents before the Han dynasty, with the earliest record found in Wang Chong's Lunheng. There are several legends related to it, usually about people disrespecting or ignoring Tai Sui and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Dipper
The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" or "body" and three define a "handle" or "head". It is recognized as a distinct grouping in many cultures. The North Star ( Polaris), the current northern pole star and the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper (Little Bear), can be located by extending an imaginary line through the front two stars of the asterism, Merak (β) and Dubhe (α). This makes it useful in celestial navigation. Names and places The constellation of ''Ursa Major'' (Latin: Greater Bear) has been seen as a bear, a wagon, or a ladle. The "bear" tradition is Indo-European (appearing in Greek, as well as in Vedic India), but apparently the name "bear" has parallels in Siberian or North American traditions. European astronomy The name "Bear" is Homeric, and appar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiwangmu
The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped in neighbouring Asian countries, and attested from ancient times. From her name alone some of her most important characteristics are revealed: she is royal, female, and is associated with the west. The first historical information on her can be traced back to oracle bone inscriptions of the 15th century BCE that record sacrifices to a "Western Mother". Even though these inscriptions illustrate that she predates organized Taoism, she is most often associated with Taoism. The growing popularity of the Queen Mother of the West, as well as the beliefs that she was the dispenser of prosperity, longevity, and eternal bliss, took place during Han dynasty, in the 2nd century BCE, when the northern and western parts of China were able to be better known because of the opening of the Silk Road. Names ''Queen Mother of the West'' is a calque of Xiwangmu in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterworth, Penang
Butterworth is the largest urban town in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It lies about east of George Town, the capital city of Penang, across the Penang Strait. , Butterworth has a total population of 107,591 residents. Butterworth was named after William John Butterworth, a former Governor of the Straits Settlements during the mid-19th century. Under the British Raj, the town came into being as a transportation hub, due to its proximity to George Town. While the British East India Company initially obtained Seberang Perai (then named ''Province Wellesley'') for agricultural purposes, Butterworth has also witnessed massive industrialisation during the latter half of the 20th century. In 1974, the Port of Penang was relocated into the town. Currently, Rapid Ferry is the main transportation link between Butterworth and George Town. The Port of Penang handled 1.52 million TEUs of cargo , making it one of the busiest seaports in Malaysia. In addition, the Butterw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Taoist Deity Doumu
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime Malaysia–Thailand border, border with Thailand and Maritime boundary, maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia, and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, the country's largest city, and the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia, legislative branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The nearby Planned community#Planned capitals, planned capital of Putrajaya is the administrative capital, which represents the seat of both the Government of Malaysia#Executive, executive branch (the Cabine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land, the most of any country in the world, tied with Russia. Covering an area of approximately , it is the world's third largest country by total land area. The country consists of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and financial center is Shanghai. Modern Chinese trace their origins to a cradle of civilization in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. The semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BCE and the well-attested Shang and Zhou dynasties developed a bureaucratic political system to serve hereditary monarchies, or dyna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jieyang
Jieyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose people speak Chaoshan Min distinct from neighbouring Yue speakers. It is historically important as the hometown of many overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. It borders Shantou to the east, Chaozhou to the northeast, Meizhou to the north, Shanwei to the west, and looks out to the South China Sea to the south. Administration The prefecture-level city of Jieyang administers five county-level divisions, including two districts, one county-level city (administered on behalf of the province) and two counties. These are further divided into 100 township-level divisions, including 69 towns, 10 townships and 21 subdistricts. Economy Rice cultivation and the textile industry are important to its economy. Transport Air The new Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport is the third largest airport complex in Guangdong Province, after Guangzhou Baiyu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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