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Feng (mythology)
In Chinese mythology and folklore, ''Feng'' ( zh, c=封, p=Fēng, l=mound; hump) is an edible monster that resembles a two-eyed lump of meat and magically grows back as fast as it is eaten. Early Chinese texts also referred to this legendary food with the names , , and . is a modern name popularized by Chinese news media reporting on purported discoveries of Feng throughout China. Names In Old Chinese, ''Feng'' meant "mound, tumulus, raise a mound; altar; earth up (a plant); wall, bank of field; boundary embankment, fief". In Modern Standard Chinese, it means "to seal; bank (a fire); confer (title/territory/etc.) upon, feudal; envelope". ''Feng'' occurs in other Chinese mythological names. ( with "pig; swine") or (, with "elder brother; uncle"), the son of Kui and (, "Dark Consort"), was named owing to his "swinish" wickedness. Wolfram Eberhard says, Fengzhu translates "pig with a hump" because ''feng'' means "hump", although commentaries often interpret the word as "big". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural traditions. Populated with engaging narratives featuring extraordinary individuals and beings endowed with magical powers, these stories often unfold in fantastical mythological realms or historical epochs. Similar to numerous other mythologies, Chinese mythology has historically been regarded, at least partially, as a factual record of the past. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion and Taoism, especially older popular forms of it. Many narratives recounting characters and events from ancient times exhibit a dual tradition: one that presents a more historicized or euhemerized interpretation, and another that offers a more mythological perspective. Numerous myths delve into the creation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fengshui
Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' means, literally, "wind-water" (i.e., fluid). From ancient times, landscapes and bodies of water were thought to direct the flow of the universal qi – "cosmic current" or energy – through places and structures. More broadly, feng shui includes astronomical, astrological, architectural, cosmological, geographical, and topographical dimensions. Historically, as well as in many parts of the contemporary Chinese world, feng shui was used to choose the orientation of buildings, dwellings, and spiritually significant structures such as tombs. One scholar writes that in contemporary Western societies, however, "feng shui tends to be reduced to interior design for health and wealth. It has become increasingly visible through 'feng shui consul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commandery (China)
A commandery ( zh, s=郡, p=jùn) was a historical administrative division of China that was in use from the Eastern Zhou (c. 7th century BCE) until the early Tang dynasty (c. 7th century CE). Several neighboring countries adopted Chinese commanderies as the basis for their own administrative divisions. History and development China Eastern Zhou During the Eastern Zhou's Spring and Autumn period from the 8th to 5th centuries BCE, the larger and more powerful of the Zhou dynasty, Zhou's Chinese feudalism, vassal states—including Qin (state), Qin, Jin (Chinese state), Jin and Wei (state), Wei—began annexing their smaller rivals. These new lands were not part of their original fiefs and were instead organized into Counties of the People's Republic of China#History, counties (''xiàn''). Eventually, commanderies were developed as marchlands between the Warring States period, major realms. Despite having smaller populations and ranking lower on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bowuzhi
''Bowuzhi'' ( zh, c=博物志, tr=Records of Diverse Matters) by Zhang Hua (c. 290 CE) was a compendium of Chinese stories about natural wonders and marvelous phenomena. It quotes from many early Chinese classics, and diversely includes subject matter from Chinese mythology, history, geography, and folklore. The ''Bowuzhi'', which is one of the first works in the literary genre of '' zhiguai'' "tales of anomalies; supernatural stories", records the earliest versions of several myths, such as the white '' yenü'' "wild women" living south of China in a society without men. Scholars have described the ''Bowuzhi'' as "a miscellany of scientific interest" and "an important minor classic". Author The ''Bowuzhi'' author Zhang Hua (232-300) was a Western Jin dynasty (266-316) scholar, poet, and protoscientist. His biography in the (644) ''Book of Jin'' depicts Zhang Hua as a '' fangshi'' "master of esoterica" who was especially skilled at numerological arts, and a voracious collecto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhang Hua
Zhang Hua (232 – 7 May 300), courtesy name Maoxian, was a Chinese poet and politician of the Western Jin dynasty and the preceding state of Cao Wei. An accomplished poet, Zhang also authored the ''Bowuzhi'', a compendium of entries about natural wonders and supernatural phenomena. His political career reached its zenith from 291 to 300, when he served as a leading minister during the ''de facto'' regency of Empress Jia Nanfeng over her husband Emperor Hui of Jin. Zhang was considered an effective minister and, in conjunction with his colleague Pei Wei, helped ensure a period of relative stability within the Jin court. As the court fell into factional disputes from 299 to 300, Zhang rebuffed the rebellious overtures of Emperor Hui's granduncle Sima Lun and was executed when the latter seized power from the empress. Background and service under Wei Zhang Hua's father, Zhang Ping (), was a commandery administrator in the Cao Wei state during the Three Kingdoms period. He died w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qimin Yaoshu
The ''Qimin Yaoshu'', translated as the "Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People", is the most completely preserved of the ancient Chinese agricultural texts, and was written by the Northern Wei Dynasty official Jia Sixie, a native of Shouguang, Shandong province, which is a major agricultural producing region. The book is believed to have been completed in the second year of Wu Ding of Eastern Wei, 544 CE, while another account gives the completion between 533 and 544 CE. The text of the book is divided into ten volumes and 92 chapters, and records 1500-year-old Chinese agronomy, horticulture, afforestation, sericulture, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, breeding, brewing, cooking, storage, as well as remedies for barren land. The book quoted nearly 200 ancient sources including the '' Yiwu Zhi''. Important agricultural books such as '' Fàn Shèngzhī shū'' (氾勝之書) and ''Sì mín yuè lìng'' (四民月令) from the Hàn and Jìn Dynasties are now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guo Pu
Guo Pu (; AD 276–324), courtesy name Jingchun (), was a Chinese historian, poet, and writer during the Eastern Jin period, and is best known as one of China's foremost commentators on ancient texts. Guo was a Taoist mystic, geomancer, collector of strange tales, editor of old texts, and erudite commentator. He was the first commentator of the '' Shan Hai Jing'' and so probably, with the noted Han bibliographer Liu Xin, was instrumental in preserving this valuable mythological and religious text. Guo Pu was the well-educated son of a governor. He was a natural historian and a prolific writer of the Jin dynasty. He is the author of '' The Book of Burial'', the first-ever and the most authoritative source of feng shui doctrine and the first book to address the concept of feng shui in the history of China, making Guo Pu the first person historically to define feng shui, and therefore, Guo Pu is usually called the father of feng shui in China. Life A native of Wenxi County, in w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Ku
Kù (, variant graph ), usually referred to as Dì Kù (), also known as Gaoxin or Gāoxīn Shì () or Qūn (), was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. He went by the name Gaoxin until receiving imperial authority, when he took the name Ku and the title Di, thus being known as Di Ku. He is considered the ancestor of the ruling families of certain subsequent dynasties. Some sources treat Ku as a semi-historical figure, while others make fantastic mythological or religious claims about him. Besides varying in their degree of historicizing Ku, the various sources also differ in what specific stories about him they focus on, so that putting together the various elements of what is known regarding Ku results in a multifaceted story. Di Ku was (according to many versions of the list) one of the Five Emperors of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of Chinese mythology. Birth Ku's lineage is derived from descent from the legendary Yellow Emperor, then through the line of Shaohao (a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Yao
Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary China, Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan name is Taotang (), given name is Fangxun (), as the second son to Emperor Ku and :zh:庆都, Qingdu (). He is also known as Tang Yao (). Yao's mother has been worshipped as the goddess Yao-mu (堯母). Legends According to the legend, Yao became the ruler at 20 and died at 99 when he passed his throne to Shun (Chinese leader), Shun the Great, to whom he had given his two daughters in marriage. According to the ''Bamboo Annals'', Yao abdicated his throne to Shun in his 73rd year of reign, and continued to live during Shun's reign for another 28 years. It was during the reign of Emperor Yao that the Great Flood (China), Great Flood began, a flood so vast that no part of Yao's territory was spared, and both the Yellow River and the Yangtz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classic Of Mountains And Seas
The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shanhai jing'' (), formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed since the 4th century BCE, but the present form was not reached until the early Han dynasty. It is largely a fabulous geographical and cultural account of pre- Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese mythology. The book is divided into eighteen sections; it describes over 550 mountains and 300 channels. Authorship Since Sima Qian, the debate about the author(s) of the book has been going on for more than two thousand years. Definite references Yu the Great and Boyi The earliest records of the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'' can be found in Sima Qian's "Records of the Grand Historian - Biography of Dawan". The author of the book was first clearly identified in "The table of the Classic Mountains and Seas" written by Liu Xiu in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Classics
The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian tradition, themselves an abridgment of the Thirteen Classics. The Chinese classics used a form of written Chinese consciously imitated by later authors, now known as Classical Chinese. A common Chinese word for "classic" () literally means 'warp (weaving), warp thread', in reference to the techniques by which works of this period were bound into volumes. Texts may include ''shi'' (, 'Chinese historiography, histories') ''zi'' ( 'master texts'), Chinese philosophy, philosophical treatises usually associated with an individual and later systematized into schools of thought but also including works on agriculture, Traditional Chinese medicine, medicine, mathematics, Chinese astronomy, astronomy, divination, art criticism, and other miscellaneous wri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by the usurping regent Wang Mang, and is thus separated into two periods—the #Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD), Western Han (202 BC9 AD) and the #Eastern Han (25–220 AD), Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a Golden ages of China, golden age in Chinese history, and had a permanent impact on Chinese identity in later periods. The majority ethnic group of modern China refer to themselves as the "Han people" or "Han Chinese". The spoken Chinese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
