Chinese spiritual world concepts are cultural practices or methods found in

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...

. Some fit in the realms of a particular religion, others do not. In general these concepts were uniquely evolved from the Chinese values of filial piety, tacit acknowledgment of the co-existence of the living and the deceased, and the belief in causality and reincarnation, with or without religious overtones.

Practices and beliefs

Ancestral worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

() – A practice to honor the deeds and memories of the deceased. This is an extension to the filial piety from the teachings of Confucius and Laozi. Elders, seniors, extended families and particularly parents are to be respected, heeded and looked after. Respects continue after their deaths. In addition to the

Qingming The Qingming festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors' Day), is a traditional Chinese festival observed by the Han Chinese of mainland China, Hong Ko ...

and Chongyang festivals, descendants should pay tribute to ancestors during the ''Zhongyuanjie'', more commonly known as the Ghost Festival ( but ghost festival is on Dongzhi "”) In addition to providing a tombstone or urn cover, descendants are traditionally expected to install an altar () in their home to pay homage regularly each day with

joss sticks Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also ...

and tea. The ancestors, including parents and grandparents, are worshipped or venerated as if they are still living. * Three

Realms A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire. Ety ...

() – the belief that Heaven, the living and the deceased exist side by side;

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

a place for saints or rested souls,

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells ...

for the criminous deceased. Three wun seven pak () explains a person's existence. The three realms is where a person exists, and the seven states are what makes a person exist. The

Pumi people The Pumi (also Primi) people ( Tibetan: བོད་མི་, Wylie: bod mi, , own name: ) are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China. Ethnically related to the Tibetans of the Mili Tibetan Autono ...

, for example, are a supporter of this concept. * Jian () – The living world where people exist in reality is referred to as Yang Jian (). The underworld where spirits exist after death is regarded as Yin Jian (), though this is not necessarily a negative place such as

. * Fan Tai Sui () – is when an individual faces major obstacles in health, job and studies.HKstandard.
HKstandard
." ''Rats to lucky number eight.'' Retrieved on 2008-05-19. The obstacles last for a single

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar ��曆; 农历; ''Nónglì''; 'farming calendar' Former Calendar ��曆; 旧历; ''Jiùlì'' Traditional Calendar ��曆; 老历; ''Lǎolì'', is a lunisolar calendar ...

year. An example is when Hong Kong Feng shui master Raymond Lo tried to explain the occurrences in 2008 in relation to People's Republic of China leaders Hu Jintao and

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy ...

. Within the animal astrology the Horse clashes with the Rat, causing a turbulent year.IHT.
International Herald Tribune
" ''Feng Shui master explains bad to start to 2008 Olympic year.'' Retrieved on 2008-05-19. Both Hu and Wen are born in 1942, the

year of the Horse ''Year of the Horse'' is a 1997 American documentary film directed by Jim Jarmusch, following Neil Young and Crazy Horse on their 1996 tour. An accompanying live album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse was released in 1997. It offers a different trac ...

, which clashes with 2008 the year of the Rat. Hence 2008 in China was one of the most turbulent year with Tibetan unrest,

Sichuan earthquake This is a list of earthquakes that occurred in Sichuan province of China. Earthquakes with magnitude of 7.0 or greater Earthquakes registering magnitudes between 6.0 and 6.9 See also * List of earthquakes in Yunnan References {{Earth ...

and many more events. Another example is

Henry Tang Henry Tang Ying-yen (; born 6 September 1952) is a Hong Kong politician who served as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2011. He held the position of Financial Secretary from 2003 to 2007. In 2012, he lost the Hong Kong Chief ...

suffering from Fan Tai shui in 2012 where he experienced the illegal basement controversy as well as many other events during the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

. Tang would end up losing the election. * Zung saang gei () – is when a piece of hair is placed in a particular fung shui location in an attempt to extend a person's life. A publicised example is Hong Kong actress

Tina Leung Tina Leung Kwok-hing (; died 31 March 2010), also known by her stage name of Tina Ti or Di Na (), was a Hong Kong actress. Her credits include ''A Big Mess'', ''One Day at a Time'', ''Dark Rendezvous'' and ''The Warlord''. Aside from acting, ...

who performed this practice in 1998 at a place near the Xingdao Lake () in

Beihai Beihai (; Postal romanization: Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of internati ...

, Guangxi, China. The maximum that she could extend was 12 years. She died exactly 12 years later in 2010.

Modes of communication

* Fuji () – planchette writing is practiced using either a rattan sieve (see coscinomancy) or a wooden stylus to write

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji ...

in sand or incense ashes. This Chinese tradition of

automatic writing Automatic writing, also called psychography, is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. Practitioners engage in automatic writing by holding a writing instrument and allowing alleged spiri ...

continues to be practiced in Taoist temples in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. * Mun mai ( 問米) – is communication directly with spirits who have died. The most common usage is for finding and contacting deceased relatives or loved ones. The general cultural term is that people are raised from the underground or down from heaven to communicate. A western comparison is likely seance or necromancy. * Yum si lou () – is the idea of flooding the spiritual road with spiritual money to ensure the person who died will reach their destination safely. In Chinese culture, the road to

, diyu or

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

may not be clear. By overloading the path with spiritual money, hopefully all troubled souls on the way will be too occupied with the money and leave the traveling-soul alone. This is an assurance for the living. *

Villain hitting Villain hitting, da siu yan (), demon exorcising, or petty person beating, is a folk sorcery popular in the Guangdong area of China and Hong Kong—primarily associated with Cantonese. Its purpose is to curse one's enemies using magic. Villai ...

() – is a folk

sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...

popular in the Guangdong area of China and Hong Kong used for exorcising. * Tong ling () – is to tunnel and channel through to communicate with spirits or Deities,

Tangki Tongji (; Tâi-lô: tâng-ki) or Jitong () is a Chinese folk religious practitioner, usually translated as a "spirit medium", "oracle", or "shaman". This word compounds ''tong'' "child; youth; boy servant" and ''ji'' "to divine" (cf. '' fu ...

in Minnan region will the best example.

Figures

* Gui ren () – Someone who can help you, or is destined to help you. * Xiao ren () ("Siu yen" in Cantonese) – Someone who can hurt you, or is destined to hurt you. Simple methods such as

kau cim ''Kau Chim'' or ''Kau Cim'', also known as Lottery poetry (), is a fortune telling practice that originated in China in which the querent (person asking the question) requests answers from a sacred oracle lot. The practice is often performed in a ...

can usually inform you whether a guiren or xiaoren is visible in your near future.

Objects

* Peach wood sword () – the definitive weapon used for demon exorcism during Taoist exorcism.Lee, James.

006 Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Alec Tre ...

(2006). James Lee Astrology guide 2006 English edition. World publishing co. . The ones from Long Mountain in Jiangxi province are particularly valued as the premium quality peach wood swords. * Stone tablets () – the tablets are placed at main doors, junctions of small avenues, three-way junctions, river banks or ponds to gather positive energy and ward off evil spirit. Sometimes it is used to block natural mishaps such as natural disasters. * Tai mountain stone tablets () – the most powerful of the stone tablets are made from stones coming from

Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being ta ...

. These stone tablets are shaped like the mountain forming the 5 fingers shape. The ones inscribed with () go with the legend of the fight between war deity

Chi You Chiyou (蚩尤, ) is a mythological being that appears in East Asian mythology. Individual According to the Song dynasty history book '' Lushi'', Chiyou's surname was Jiang (), and he was a descendant of flame. According to legend, Chiyou had ...

and the Yellow Emperor. Supposedly goddess Nüwa dropped the tablet with the inscription on Chi You and scared him off. Yellow Emperor have since put the same inscription everywhere to scare off Chi You. * Spirit tablet – a spiritual home in your house for ancestor spirits.

Finance

* "Zhèng cái" ("Jing coi" in Cantonese) () – This is basic money earned from working or jobs. * "Hèng cái" ("Waang coi" in Cantonese) () – Is a type of destiny money that is earned usually in large sums. An old Chinese quote goes: "If it is yours, is yours. If it is not yours, is never going to be yours." An example of someone that is thought to have good Waang coi fortune is

Idy Chan Idy Chan Yuk Lin (born 25 March 1960) is a popular Hong Kong TV actress, especially during the 1980s and was named as one of the Five Beauties of TVB. Career She joined showbiz in 1977. She is most famous for her portrayal of three of the char ...

. * "Pò cái dǎng zāi" ("Po coi dong zoi" in Cantonese) () – Is the process of losing a lot of money to avoid a disaster. Some people are advised to prepare to lose money in certain astrological years.Fengshui association.
Fengshui window
." ''2005 sample.'' Retrieved on 2009-05-27.

Notes

{{Chinese mythology Chinese culture Religious philosophical concepts