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Liu Yiming
Liu Yiming (1734–1821) was a Chinese ophthalmologist, philosopher, and writer. He was one of the main representatives of Taoist Internal Alchemy, or Neidan. He was an 11th-generation master of one of the northern branches of the Longmen 龍門 (Dragon Gate) lineage, and the author of a large number of works that illustrate his views on both Taoism and Neidan. Life Liu Yiming was born in 1734 in Quwo, Pingyang 平陽 (in present-day Linfen, Shanxi). Before he reached the age of 20, he was severely ill three times (Sun Yongle 2011:302). After recovery, he began to travel, and in 1755 he met his first master, whom he calls the Kangu Laoren 龕谷老人 (Elder of the Kangu Valley). Between 1756 and 1761, he lived in Beijing, and later moved to Henan where he worked as a doctor (Sun Yongle 2011:302). In 1766 he resumed traveling, and around 1768 he met the Xianliu zhangren 遇仙留丈 (Great Man Who Rests in Immortality), who became his main master. As Liu Yiming reports in o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yijing
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou period (1000750), the ''I Ching'' was transformed over the course of the Warring States and early imperial periods (500200) into a cosmological text with a series of philosophical commentaries known as the " Ten Wings". After becoming part of the Five Classics in the 2nd century BC, the ''I Ching'' was the subject of scholarly commentary and the basis for divination practice for centuries across the Far East, and eventually took on an influential role in Western understanding of East Asian philosophical thought. As a divination text, the ''I Ching'' is used for a traditional Chinese form of cleromancy known as ''I Ching'' divination, in which bundles of yarrow stalks are manipulated to produce sets of six apparently random numbers r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1831 Deaths
Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing ''The Liberator'', an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyoto established. * February–March – Revolts in Modena, Parma and the Papal States are put down by Austrian troops. * February 2 – Pope Gregory XVI succeeds Pope Pius VIII, as the 254th pope. * February 5 – Dutch naval lieutenant Jan van Speyk blows up his own gunboat in Antwerp rather than strike his colours on the demand of supporters of the Belgian Revolution. * February 7 – The Belgian Constitution of 1831 is approved by the National Congress. *February 8 - Aimé Bonpland leaves Paraguay. * February 14 – Battle of Debre Abbay: Ras Marye of Yejju marches into Tigray, and defeats and kills the warlord Sabagadis. * February 25 – Battle of Olszynka Grochowska (Grochów): Polish rebel forces divid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1734 Births
Events January– March * January 8 – Salzburgers, Lutherans who were expelled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, Austria, in October 1731, set sail for the British Colony of Georgia in America. * February 16 – The Ostend Company, established in 1722 in the Austrian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) to compete for trade in the West Indies (the Caribbean islands) and the East Indies (south and southeast Asia), ceases business as part of the agreement by Austria in the Second Treaty of Vienna. * March 12 – Salzburgers arrive at the mouth of the Savannah River in the British Colony of Georgia. April–June * April 25 – Easter occurs on the latest possible date (the next time is in 1886). * May 15 – Prince Charles of Spain (later King Charles III) becomes the new King of Naples and Sicily, five days after his arrival in Naples. * May 25 – Spanish forces under the command of José Carrillo de Albornoz, 1st Duke o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Wei
''Wu wei'' () is an ancient Chinese concept literally meaning "inexertion", "inaction", or "effortless action". ''Wu wei'' emerged in the Spring and Autumn period, and from Confucianism, to become an important concept in Chinese statecraft and Taoism. It was most commonly used to refer to an ideal form of government, including the behavior of the emperor. Describing a state of unconflicting personal harmony, free-flowing spontaneity and savoir-faire, it generally also more properly denotes a state of spirit or mind, and in Confucianism accords with conventional morality. Sinologist Jean François Billeter describes wu-wei as a "state of perfect knowledge of the reality of the situation, perfect efficaciousness and the realization of a perfect economy of energy", which in practice Edward Slingerland qualifies as a "set of ('transformed') dispositions (including physical bearing)... conforming with the normative order". Definition Sinologist Herrlee Creel considers wu wei, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shengtai
(, "sacred embryo" or "embryo of sagehood") is a Chinese syncretic metaphor for achieving Buddhist liberation or Daoist transcendence. The circa fifth century CE Chinese Buddhist ''Humane King Sutra'' first recorded ("sagely womb") describing the bodhisattva path towards attaining Buddhahood; was related with the more familiar Indian Mahayana concept of ("embryo/womb of the Buddha", Chinese () that all sentient beings are born with the Buddha-nature potential to become enlightened. The Chan Buddhist teaching master Mazu Daoyi (709-788) first mentioned post-enlightenment (, "nurturing the sacred embryo"), and by the tenth century Chan monks were regularly described as recluses nurturing their sacred embryo in isolated locations. The renowned Daoist Zhang Boduan (984-1082) was first to use the expression ("sagely embryo") in a context of physiological Internal Alchemy, and adepts developed prolonged meditation techniques through which one can supposedly become pregnant, ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trikaya
The Trikāya doctrine ( sa, त्रिकाय, lit. "three bodies"; , ) is a Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of Buddhahood. The doctrine says that Buddha has three ''kāyas'' or ''bodies'', the '' Dharmakāya'' (ultimate reality), the '' Saṃbhogakāya'' (divine incarnation of Buddha), and the '' Nirmāṇakāya'' (physical incarnation of Buddha). Definition The doctrine says that a Buddha has three ''kāyas'' or bodies: # The '' Dharmakāya'', "Dharma body," ultimate reality, "pure being itself," Buddha nature, emptiness, it is usually associated with Vairocana; # The '' Saṃbhogakāya'', "Enjoyment (or Bliss) body," the divine Buddhas of the Buddha realms, it is usually associated with Amitabha; # The '' Nirmāṇakāya'', "Transformation (or Appearance) Body," physical appearance in the world, it is usually associated with Gautama. Origins The Dharmakāya doctrine was possibly first expounded in the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Praj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Treasures (traditional Chinese Medicine)
The Three Treasures or Three Jewels () are theoretical cornerstones in traditional Chinese medicine and practices such as , , and . They are also known as and (; "essence, breath, and spirit"). Despeux summarizes: Etymology and meaning This Chinese name originally referred to the Daoist " Three Treasures" from the '' Daodejing'', chapter 67: "pity", "frugality", and "refusal to be 'foremost of all things under heaven'". It has subsequently also been used to refer to the and and to the Buddhist Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha). This latter use is misleading, however, as the Three Jewels in Buddhism is a completely different philosophy. The Buddha is the teacher, the Dharma is the teaching, and the Sangha is the community. The Three Jewels of Buddhism are the external supports for achieving realization, while the Three Treasures of Daoism are interior qualities or attitudes to be cultivated. In long-established Chinese traditions, the "Three Treasures" are the essen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in the Tang Dynasty, and became prominent during the Song and Ming dynasties under the formulations of Zhu Xi (1130–1200). After the Mongol conquest of China in the thirteenth century, Chinese scholars and officials restored and preserved neo-Confucianism as a way to safeguard the cultural heritage of China. Neo-Confucianism could have been an attempt to create a more rationalist and secular form of Confucianism by rejecting superstitious and mystical elements of Taoism and Buddhism that had influenced Confucianism during and after the Han dynasty. Although the neo-Confucianists were critical of Taoism and Buddhism, the two did have an influence on the philosophy, and the neo-Confucianists borrowed terms and concepts. However, unlike th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a way of life, Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE). Confucius considered himself a transmitter of cultural values inherited from the Xia (c. 2070–1600 BCE), Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and Western Zhou dynasties (c. 1046–771 BCE). Confucianism was suppressed during the Legalist and autocratic Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), but survived. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), Confucian approaches edged out the "proto-Taoist" Huang–Lao as the official ideology, while the emperors mixed both with the realist techniques of Legalism. A Confucian revival began during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). In the late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; "taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Teachings
In Chinese philosophy, the ''three teachings'' (; vi, tam giáo, Chữ Hán: 三教) are Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, considered as a harmonious aggregate. Literary references to the "three teachings" by prominent Chinese scholars date back to the 6th century. The term may also refer to a non-religious philosophy built on that aggregation. Three teachings harmonious as one The phrase also appears as the ''three teachings harmonious as one'' (). In common understanding, ''three teachings harmonious as one'' simply reflects the long history, mutual influence, and (at times) complementary teachings of the three belief systems. It can also refer to the "Sanyi teaching", a syncretic sect founded during the Ming dynasty by Lin Zhao'en, wherein Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist beliefs are combined according to their usefulness in self-cultivation. However, the phrase is not necessarily a reference to this sect. While Confucianism was the ideology of the law, institutions and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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