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Yunü
Yunü () is a Daoist deity or goddess in Chinese mythology and Chinese traditional religion who, along with her male counterpart Jintong "Golden Boy", are favored servants of the Jade Emperor and Zhenwudadi. They are also believed to serve as guides in the underworld and the protectors of houses and temples. Some Golden Boy and Jade Girl pairs are found on graves at Bukit Brown Cemetery as they are believed to serve as guides in the Underworld. This couple helps virtuous souls over a golden bridge to paradise and souls whose good deeds outweighed the bad over a silver bridge to paradise. Therefore, by erecting the Golden Boy and Jade Maiden by the grave of the deceased, living family members hope that the deceased will not venture into the courts of hell but instead lead their afterlife in paradise. Legends Yunü and Jintong have appeared in several stories since the Song and Yuan dynasties and have become important figures in Chinese mythology. Specific examples are the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yunü
Yunü () is a goddess in Chinese mythology and Chinese traditional religion who, along with her male counterpart Jintong (Golden Boy), are favored servants of the Jade Emperor and Zhenwudadi. They are originally from the Taoist or Daoist Religion. In the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', Jintong and Yunü seek enlightenment and are acolytes of the goddess Guan Yin or Goddess of Mercy. In this context, Yunü is called Longnü and Jintong is called Shancai Tongzi. They are also believed to serve as guides in the underworld and the protectors of houses and temples. Some of the statue could be found on some graves at Bukit Brown Cemetery as is believed to serve as guides in the Spirit World or the Underworld. This couple helps virtuous souls over a golden bridge to paradise, and helps souls whose good deeds outweighed the bad, over a silver bridge to paradise. Therefore by erecting the Golden Boy and Jade Maiden by the grave of the deceased, living family members hope that the deceased wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Journey To The West
''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia. Arthur Waley's abridged translation, '' Monkey'', is known in English-speaking countries. The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who traveled to the "Western Regions" (Central Asia and India) to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials and much suffering. The monk is referred to as Tang Sanzang in the novel. The novel retains the broad outline of Xuanzang's own account, ''Great Tang Records on the Western Regions'', but adds elements from folk tales and the author's invention: Gautama Buddha gives this task to the monk and provides him with three protectors who agree to help him as an atonement for their sins. Thes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Goddesses
Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world. The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven (''Tian'' ), which is the supreme godhead manifesting in the northern culmen of the starry vault of the skies and its order. Many gods are ancestors or men who became deities for their heavenly achievements; most gods are also identified with stars and constellations. Ancestors are 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''). Gods are innumerable, as every phenomenon has or is one or more gods, and they are organised in a complex celestial hierarchy. Besides the traditional worship of these entities, Confucianism, Taoism and formal thinkers in general give theological interpretations affirming a monistic essence of divinity. "Pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Huaguo (Jiangsu)
Mount Huaguo ( zh, c=, p=Huāguǒ Shān) is a mountain located in Haizhou District, Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China. It forms a part of the ( zh, 云台山). The site is best known for being an inspiration for a synonymous legendary mountain in the novel ''Journey to the West''. Its summit, Yunü Peak (), is the highest point of Jiangsu province at . Location Mount Huaguo is located in Haizhou District, 7 kilometers southeast of the center of Lianyungang. It covers an area of 84.3 square kilometers, with 136 peaks. The area is a popular tourist attraction as a result of its appearance in the novel ''Journey to the West''. Tourism Mount Huaguo is a popular tourist attraction, especially because of the novel ''Journey to the West''. It has over 100 scenic spots and thousands of visitors every year. The mountain has many statues based on its heroes, such as a sculpture of the head of Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), a protagonist of the novel. Near the entrance stand sculptures of the fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wuyi Mountains
The Wuyi Mountains or Wuyishan (; formerly known as Bohea Hills in early Western documents) are a mountain range located in the prefecture of Nanping, in northern Fujian province near the border with Jiangxi province, China. The highest peak in the area is Mount Huanggang at on the border of Fujian and Jiangxi, making it the highest point of both provinces; the lowest altitudes are around . Many oolong and black teas are produced in the Wuyi Mountains, including Da Hong Pao ('big red robe') and lapsang souchong, and are sold as Wuyi tea. The mountain range is known worldwide for its status as a refugium for several rare and endemic plant species, its dramatic river valleys, and the abundance of important temples and archeological sites in the region, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Wuyi Mountains are located between Wuyishan City of the Nanping prefecture in northwest Fujian province, and the town of Wuyishan within Shangrao city in northeast Jiangxi province. Descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Hua
Mount Hua () is a mountain located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi Province, about east of Xi'an. It is the "Western Mountain" of the Five Great Mountains of China and has a long history of religious significance. Originally classified as having three peaks, in modern times the mountain is classified as five main peaks, the highest of which is the South Peak at . Geography Mount Hua is situated in Huayin City, which is 120 kilometres (about 75 miles) from Xi'an. It is located near the southeast corner of the Ordos Loop section of the Yellow River basin, south of the Wei River valley, at the eastern end of the Qin Mountains, in Southern Shaanxi Province. It is part of the Qinling or Qin Mountains, which divide not only northern and southern Shaanxi, but also China. Summits Traditionally, only the giant plateau with its summits to the south of the peak Wuyun Feng (, Five Cloud Summit) was called Taihua Shan (, Great Flower Mountain). It could only be accessed through the ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Usnea
''Usnea'' is a genus of mostly pale grayish-green fruticose lichens that grow like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, The genus is in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows all over the world. Members of the genus are commonly called old man's beard, beard lichen, or beard moss. Like other lichens it is a symbiosis of two or three fungi and an alga. In ''Usnea'', the fungus belongs to the division Ascomycota, while the alga is a member of the division Chlorophyta. Members of the genus are similar to those of the genus '' Alectoria''. A distinguishing test is that the branches of ''Usnea'' are somewhat elastic, but the branches of ''Alectoria'' snap cleanly off. Systematics The genus ''Usnea'' was circumscribed by Michel Adanson in 1763. He used the name designated by Johann Jacob Dillenius, whose earlier published description did not met the rules of valid publication as estab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xian (Daoism)
''Xian'' () refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. The concept of ''xian'' has different implications dependent upon the specific context: philosophical, religious, mythological, or other symbolic or cultural occurrence. The Chinese word ''xian'' is translatable into English as: * (''in Daoist philosophy and cosmology'') spiritually immortal; transcendent human; celestial being * (''in Daoist religion and pantheon'') physically immortal; immortal person; an immortal; saint * (''in Chinese alchemy'') alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques ** (''or by extension'') alchemical, dietary, or qigong methods for attaining immortality * (''in Chinese mythology'') wizard; magician; shaman; sorcerer * (''in popular Chinese literature'') genie; elf, fairy; nymph; (''xian jing'' is fairyland, faery) * (''based on the folk etymology for the character , a compound of the characters for ''person'' and ''mounta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterfly Lovers
The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story of a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo () and Zhu Yingtai (), whose names form the title of the story. The title is often abbreviated to Liang Zhu (). The story was selected as one of China's Four Great Folktales by the "Folklore Movement" in the 1920s—the others being the Legend of the White Snake (''Baishezhuan''), Lady Meng Jiang, and The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid (''Niulang Zhinü''). Six cities in China have collaborated in 2004 on a formal application for the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on the legend at UNESCO, submitted in 2006 through the Chinese Ministry of Culture. Legend The legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is set in the Eastern Jin dynasty (266–420 AD). Zhu Yingtai is the ninth child and only daughter of the wealthy Zhu family of Shangyu, Zhejiang. Although women are traditionally discouraged from taking up scholarly pursuits, Zhu manages to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lady Meng Jiang
Lady Meng Jiang or Meng Jiang Nü () is a Chinese tale with many variations. Later versions are set in the Qin dynasty, when Lady Meng Jiang's husband was pressed into service by imperial officials and sent as corvee labor to build the Great Wall of China. Lady Meng Jiang heard nothing after his departure, so she set out to bring him winter clothes. Unfortunately, by the time she reached the Great Wall, her husband had already died. Hearing the bad news, she wept so bitterly that a part of the Great Wall collapsed, revealing his bones. The story is now counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales, the others being the Legend of the White Snake (''Baishezhuan''), Butterfly Lovers, and The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid (''Niulang Zhinü''). Chinese folklorists in the early 20th century discovered that the legend existed in many forms and genres and evolved over the last 2,000 years. The section of the Great Wall that was toppled in the legend is the Great Wall of Qi in today's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Man Of The South Pole
The Old Man of the South Pole (in or ja, 南極老人) is the Taoist deification of Canopus, the brightest star of the constellation Carina. It is the symbol of happiness and longevity in Far Eastern culture. Description The Old Man of the South Pole is often depicted in Chinese pictures as an old man with a long white beard with a deer by his side. This style of picture is related to the story of an emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, who had invited such an old man from the street and later considered the old man as the sign of his longevity. In Chinese, Canopus is usually called the Star of the Old Man (in ) or the Star of the Old Man of the South Pole (in ). Since Carina is a Southern constellation, Canopus is rarely seen in Northern China and, if seen in good weather, looks reddish lying near the southern horizon. Because the color red is the symbol of happiness and longevity in China, Canopus is also known in China and the neighboring countries of Korea, Japan, and Vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fan Lihua
Fan Lihua (樊梨花) is a fictional folk heroine in Chinese folklore and a legendary female general from the Western Liang during the early years of the Tang Dynasty. She was the wife of Xue Dingshan and the daughter-in-law of the famous early Tang Dynasty general, Xue Rengui. Fan Lihua is one of the four folk heroines of ancient China along with Hua Mulan, Mu Guiying and Liang Hongyu. The story of her husband Xue Dingshan, fighting alongside each other on the battlefield is well-known and has had a far-reaching influence. Fan Lihua's legendary stories are expressed in various forms of literary and artistic works, especially in movies, TV dramas and songs. Records The first written record of Fan Lihua is the "Shuo Tang San Zhuan" (说唐三传, Three Stories from the Tang Dynasty) by Rulian Jushi, written during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. One of the three stories is "Xue Dingshan Zhengxi", which is about the love story between Xue Dingshan and Fan Lihua. The story o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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