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Yin Changsheng
Yin Changsheng (陰長生, "Long-life Yin", fl. 120-210) was a famous Taoist ''Xian'' ("transcendent; immortal") from Xinye who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE). After serving more than ten years as a disciple of the transcendent Maming Sheng ("Horse-neigh Sheng") he received the secret Taiqing (太清, "Great Clarity") scriptures on Waidan ("External Alchemy"). Several extant texts are ascribed to Yin Changsheng, such as the ''Jinbi wu xianglei can tong qi'' (金碧五相類參同契, "The Five Categories of Metals and Minerals in the ''Cantong qi''"). Names Yin Changsheng's name combines the rare Chinese surname Yīn ( 陰, "shade; dark; female principle—i.e., ''yin'' in ''yin-yang'') with the common word ''chángshēng'' ( 長生, "long life, longevity; eternal life"). ''Changsheng'' occurs in other Taoist names, such as the courtesy name of the deity Guan Yu. Fan Changsheng (范長生, "Long-life Fan", d. 318) was a Taoist leader in Sichuan and Chancellor of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yizheng
Yizheng () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China, with a population of about 600,000 (2007). It borders the prefecture-level divisions of Chuzhou (Anhui) to the north, Nanjing to the west, and Zhenjiang to the south. History Etymology In 1013, the statues of several preceding emperors of the Song were cast in Jian'an () military prefecture. Thus, the region was changed into Zhen''zhou'' (Zhen prefecture, ). Later, with the emperor's favor, a Taoist temple named Yizhen () was also built, at where the former furnace was situated. Both zhen and yizhen mean "lifelikeness" in Chinese. The prefecture was named after the temple in 1117. Yizhen county was renamed Yizheng in 1723, because the homophone "zhen()" as a part of the Yongzheng Emperor's Chinese name was deemed to be ineffable. Geography On the northern bank of Yangzhou, Yizheng is situated in the north of Jiangsu, and the Yangtze River lies in its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grotto-heavens
Grotto-heavens () are a type of sacred Taoist site. Grotto-heavens are usually caves, grottoes, mountain hollows, or other underground spaces. Because every community was supposed to have access to at least one grotto, there were many of them all over China. They were first organized systematically in the Tang Dynasty by Sima Chengzhen (647–735, see Zuowanglun) and Du Guangting (850-933). The most sacred of these sites were divided into two types: The ten greater grotto-heavens and the thirty-six lesser grotto-heavens.Kohn (2000), p. 696. Locations of the ten greater grotto-heavens are as follows: * Mt. Wangwu grotto (Henan) * Mt. Weiyu grotto (Zhejiang) * Mt. Xicheng grotto (Shanxi) * Mt. Xixuan grotto (Sichuan) * Mt. Qingcheng grotto (part of Huashan, Shanxi) * Mt. Chicheng grotto (Guangdong) * Mt. Luofu grotto (Guangdong) * Mt. Gouqu grotto (Jiangsu, in Lake Tai) * Mt. Linwu grotto (on Maoshan, Jiangsu) * Mt. Kuocang grotto (Zhejiang) References Sources * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shijie (Taoism)
''Shijie'', ({{zh, t=屍解, s=尸解, p=Shijie, w=shih-chieh, l=corpse release) which has numerous translations such as liberation from the corpse and release by means of a corpse, is an esoteric Daoist technique for an adept to transform into a ''xian'' ("transcendent; immortal"), typically using some bureaucratic ruse to evade the netherworld administrative system of life and death registration. The many varieties of ''shijie'' range from deceitful cases, such as a person feigning death by substituting the corpse of their recently deceased grandfather as their own, to supernatural cases, such as (''jianjie'' 劍解, "sword liberation") using a ''waidan'' alchemical sword to temporarily create a corpse-simulacrum, which enables one to escape and assume a new identity. Terminology Shijie The Chinese term ''shījiě'' compounds the words ''shī'' (尸 or 屍, "corpse; body") and ''jiě'' (解, "separate; divide; cut apart"), and has been described as a "rather strange name" (Seid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Qingcheng
Mount Qingcheng () is a sacred Taoist mountain in Dujiangyan, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. It is considered one of the birthplaces of Taoism and one of the most important Taoist religious sites in China. In Taoist mythology, it was the site of the Yellow Emperor's studies with Ning Fengzi. As an important site of the Taoism, it became host to many Taoist monasteries and temples. The mountain has 36 peaks. The mountain is also home to Dujiangyan Giant Panda Center and since 2000 has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mount Qingcheng was affected by the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008. History In 142 AD, the first Celestial Master Zhang Daoling developed the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, a prominent movement in Taoism. Many of the essential elements of Taoism derived from the teachings and practices of the temples that were built on the mountain during the Jin and Tang Dynasties. There are 11 Taoist temples on the mountain, and Mount Qingcheng was an important spiritual a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is also applied to the entirety of China proper. Henan is a birthplace of Han Chinese civilization, with over 3,200 years of recorded history and remained China's cultural, economic and political center until approximately 1,000 years ago. Henan Province is home to many heritage sites, including the ruins of Shang dynasty capital city Yin and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the Eight Great Ancient Capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, are in Henan. The practice of tai chi also began here in Chen Jia Gou Village (Chen style), as did the later Yang and Wu styles. Although the name of the province () means "south of the ellowriver.", approximately a quarter of the province lies north of the Yellow River, also known as the Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, Taoist practitioner, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characters'', the '' Baopuzi'', the ''Emergency Formulae at an Elbow's Length'', among others. He was the originator of first aid in traditional Chinese medicine and influenced later generations. Early life Ge Hong was born as the third son into a well-established family, his father died when he was 13. Career In his public service role as an official, he was often asked to appraise his friends and acquaintances as possible candidates for government office positions and was also chosen to perform military service. However, he was unhappy with his life as an official. Although he never rejected Confucianism, he grew interested in Taoist cultivation and using drugs so he could achieve the spiritual freedoms of Taoist Immortality. He wrote an auto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might consist of a biography or ', a description of the saint's deeds or miracles (from Latin ''vita'', life, which begins the title of most medieval biographies), an account of the saint's martyrdom (called a ), or be a combination of these. Christian hagiographies focus on the lives, and notably the miracles, ascribed to men and women canonized by the Roman Catholic church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Church of the East. Other religious traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Islam, Sikhism and Jainism also create and maintain hagiographical texts (such as the Sikh Janamsakhis) concerning saints, gurus and other individuals believed to be imbued with sacred power. Hagiographic works, especi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baopuzi
The ''Baopuzi'' () is a literary work written by Ge Hong (also transliterated as Ko Hung) (), 283–343, a scholar during the turbulent Jin dynasty. ''Baopuzi'' is divided into two main sections, the esoteric ''Neipian'' () "Inner Chapters" and equally exoteric ''Waipian'' () "Outer Chapters". The Taoist Inner Chapters discuss topics such as techniques to achieve "hsien" () "immortality; transcendence", Chinese alchemy, elixirs, and demonology. The Confucian Outer Chapters discuss Chinese literature, Legalism, politics, and society. Title The eponymous title ''Baopuzi'' derives from Ge Hong's ''hao'' (), the ''hao'' being a type of sobriquet or pseudonym. Baopuzi literally means "The Master Who Embraces Simplicity;" compounded from the words ''bao'' () meaning "embrace; hug; carry; hold in both arms; cherish"; '' pu'' () meaning "uncarved wood", also being a Taoist metaphor for a "person's original nature; simple; plain"; and, ''zi'' ( 子) meaning "child; offspring; maste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang Xuanling as the lead editor, drawing mostly from official documents left from earlier archives. A few essays in volumes 1, 3, 54 and 80 were composed by the Tang dynasty's Emperor Taizong himself. However, the contents of the ''Book of Jin'' included not only the history of the Jin dynasty, but also that of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, which was contemporaneous with the Eastern Jin dynasty. Compilation Over 20 histories of the Jin had been written during the Northern and Southern dynasties, of which 18 were still extant at the beginning of the Tang dynasty. Yet Emperor Taizong deemed them all to be deficient and ordered the compilation of a new standard history for the period,Fang, Xuanling ''ed.''(2002). ''Jinshu'' 晋书. Beijing: Zhong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Honorifics
Chinese honorifics () and honorific language are words, word constructs, and expressions in the Chinese language that convey self-deprecation, social respect, politeness, or deference. Once ubiquitously employed in ancient China, a large percent has fallen out of use in the contemporary Chinese lexicon. The promotion of vernacular Chinese during the New Culture Movement () of the 1910s and 1920s in China further hastened the demise of a large body of Chinese honorifics previously preserved in the vocabulary and grammar of Classical Chinese. Although Chinese honorifics have simplified to a large degree, contemporary Chinese still retains a sizable set of honorifics. Many of the classical constructs are also occasionally employed by contemporary speakers to convey formality, humility, politeness or respect. Usage of classical Chinese honorifics is also found frequently in contemporary Chinese literature and television or cinematic productions that are set in the historical periods. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
