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Jiutian Xuannü
Jiutian Xuannü is the goddess of war, sex, and longevity in Chinese mythology.. The swordswoman Yuenü is a reincarnation of Jiutian Xuannü. Etymology This goddess was initially known as .. The name has been variously translated as the "Dark Lady" or the "Mysterious Lady". in English. In the late Tang dynasty, the Daoist master Du Guangting (850–933) created the title , adding (meaning " Nine Heavens"), to refer to the goddess. She and Sunü are divine sisters. Both their names combined, as , signify the Taoist sexual practices, Daoist arts of the bedchamber. Stories The , written by the Daoism, Daoist master Du Guangting (850–933), contains a biographical account of Jiutian Xuannü. It mentions that Jiutian Xuannü is the teacher of Yellow Emperor, Huangdi and the disciple of Xi Wangmu.. The work relates a story about the goddess appearing before Huangdi during a time when the latter was in conflict with Chiyou. Chiyou had caused a great mist, which was so impenetrable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xi Wangmu
The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient times. The first historical information on her can be traced back to Shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions 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 became more accessible through the opening of the Silk Road. Names ''Queen Mother of the West'' is a calque of Xiwangmu in Chinese sources, Seiōbo in Japan, Seowangmo in Korea, and Tây Vương Mẫu in Vietnam. She has numerous titles, one being Yaochi Jinmu (), the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Song Jiang
Song Jiang was a Chinese historical figure who led an armed rebellion against the ruling Song dynasty, Song Dynasty in the early 12th century. His band marauded over a region straddling the present-day Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan. They eventually surrendered to the Imperial Court. The historical Song Jiang was turned into a fictional character in ''Water Margin,'' which became one of the four famous Classic Chinese Novels. He is the central figure in the book, leading the 108 Heroes who gather as bandits in Shandong's Mount Liang, Liangshan Marsh. Life Song Jiang is mentioned in the ''History of Song (Yuan dynasty), History of Song'', the most authoritative of records on the history of the Song dynasty. His name appears in the portion relating to Emperor Huizong of Song, Emperor Huizong (), which says: Another account, from the portion relating to Zhang Shuye in the ''History of Song'', records the following: In ''Water Margin'' The fictional Song Jiang in ''Wate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Ze
Wang Ze (died 14 March 1048) was a rebel leader during Emperor Renzong's reign in the Song dynasty, whose agrarian army occupied Bei Prefecture for 65 days before it was crushed by the government army led by Wen Yanbo. Wang utilized Maitreya teachings as a tool to organize his Millenarian troops. A much later supernatural novel ''The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt'' based its story on this rebellion. Early life Wang Ze was a Zhuo Prefecture native who during a famine drifted to Bei Prefecture, where he sold himself to become a goatherd. Later he became a corporal in the army. Back when he left Zhuo Prefecture, his mother had tattooed the Chinese character ''fu'' (福; "auspiciousness") on his back as a talisman. Believers in the Maitreyan cult, present in great numbers in Bei Prefecture and the neighboring Ji Prefecture, spread the false rumor about his tattoo, and soon enough Wang became the cult leader. Their doctrine proclaimed, "Sakyamuni has declined and Maitrey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transition From Sui To Tang
The transition from Sui to Tang (613–628), or simply the Sui-Tang transition, was the period of History of China, Chinese history between the end of the Sui dynasty and the start of the Tang dynasty. The Sui dynasty's territories were carved into a handful of short-lived states by its officials, generals, and agrarian rebel leaders. A process of elimination and annexation followed that ultimately culminated in the consolidation of the Tang dynasty by the former Sui general Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan. Near the end of the Sui, Li Yuan installed the puppet child emperor Yang You. Li later executed Yang and proclaimed himself emperor of the new Tang dynasty. The transition started roughly around the year of 613 when Emperor Yang of Sui launched his first of Goguryeo–Sui War, three campaigns against Goguryeo, leading to a number of desertions in the army and the start of agrarian revolt against the Sui. The transition ended in 628, when Emperor Gaozu's son Emperor Taizong of T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qimen Dunjia
''Qimen Dunjia'' is an ancient form of divination from China. It is still in use in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore and the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia. It is one of the Three Styles () of Chinese divination, with Da Liu Ren and Tai Yi Shen Shu. History Originally devised to help form military strategy and tactics, Qimen Dunjia was in use as long ago as the period of Chinese history known as the Warring States, and is believed by Chinese scholars to have been used at the Battle of Red Cliffs in the defeat of Cao Cao's ship-borne army. The '' baguazhen'' (八卦陣, lit. ' Eight Trigrams formation') is one such military tactic derived from Qimen Dunjia. Liu Bowen is believed to have secured the throne for the Ming dynasty Emperor Hongwu by applying Qimen Dunjia to his strategic planning. Over the centuries of Chinese history, Qimen Dunjia grew in popularity and was expanded to include a number of other types of divination, including med ... [...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, 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. He also took on the name Baopuzi (), with which translates literally as ‘embracing simplicity’—a reflection of his commitment to fundamental virtues, unadorned truth, and detachment from material temptations. Early life Ge Hong was born near Jurong county in AD 283, as the third son into a well-established family originally from Eastern Wu. His ancestor Ge Xi (葛奚) once served in the high ranking position of Dahonglu (大鸿胪) in Eastern Wu. His great-uncle was Ge Xuan (葛玄) (also known as Ge Xianweng), an alchemist during the Three Kingdoms period. He st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baopuzi
''Baopuzi'' () is a literary work written by Ge Hong (AD 283–343), (), a scholar during the turbulent Jin dynasty. ''Baopuzi'' is divided into two main sections, the esoteric ''Neipian'' () and the section intended for the public to understand: ''Waipian'' (). The Taoist Inner Chapters discuss topics such as techniques to achieve "hsien" (), 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; master (title of respect)". ''Baopu'' (Pao-p'u; literally:"Simple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yubu
''Yubu'', translated as Pace(s) of Yu or Step(s) of Yu, is the basic mystic dance step of religious Daoism. This ancient walking or dancing technique typically involves dragging one foot after another, and is explained in reference to the legendary Yu the Great, who became lame on one side of his body from exerting himself while establishing order in the world after the Great Flood. Daoist religions, especially during the Six Dynasties period (220–589), incorporated ''Yubu'' into rituals, such as the '' Bugang'' "pace the Big Dipper", in which a Taoist priest would symbolically walk the nine stars of the ''Beidou'' "Big Dipper" in order to acquire that constellation's supernatural energy. Terminology The term Yubu , defined as ''boxing'' "limp; walk lame", compounds two Chinese words. Yu was the legendary founder of the Xia dynasty (c. 2070 BCE-c. 1600 BCE), and worked so long and hard fighting the mythical Great Flood that he became partially paralyzed. Yu was also ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period#Ten Kingdoms, Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song frequently came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao dynasty, Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasty (1115–1234), Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China following attacks by the Jin dynasty, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The History of the Song dynasty, dynasty's history is divided into two periods: during the Northern Song (; 960–1127), the capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now East China. The #Southern Song, 1127–1279, Southern Song (; 1127–1279) comprise the period following ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yin And Yang
Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary and at the same time opposing forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts and the parts are as important for the cohesion of the whole. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of primordial qi or material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and yang, force and motion leading to form and matter. "Yin" is retractive, passive and contractive in nature, while "yang" is repelling, active and expansive in principle; this dichotomy in some form, is seen in all things in nature—patterns of change and difference. For example, biological, psychological and seasonal cycles, the historical evolution of landscapes over days, weeks, years to eons. The origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hun And Po
''Hun'' and ''po'' are types of souls in Chinese philosophy and traditional religion. Within this ancient soul dualism tradition, every living human has both a spiritual, ethereal, yang soul which leaves the body after death, and also a corporeal, substantive, yin soul which remains with the corpse of the deceased. Some controversy exists over the number of souls in a person; for instance, one of the traditions within Daoism proposes a soul structure of (), i.e., "three and seven ". The historian Yü Ying-shih describes and as "two pivotal concepts that have been, and remain today, the key to understanding Chinese views of the human soul and the afterlife". Characters Like many Chinese characters, and are "phono-semantic" or "radical-phonetic" graphs combining a semantic radical showing the rough meaning of the character with a phonetic guide to its former pronunciation in Ancient Chinese. and its variant combine the " ghost radical" , a pictogram origina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Dipper
The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is an 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 apparentl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
