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Sunü
Sunü () is an ancient Chinese goddess associated with music and sexuality. She is viewed as the divine sister of the Chinese war and sex goddess Jiutian Xuannü. She is traditionally portrayed as a highly skilled singer who plays a zither, and Sunü's songs were known for their ability to pacify wild animals, inspire plants to grow, as well as change the seasons. "When she plays... it can make the wind warm in winter, snow in summer..." In the ''History of Chinese Literature'' (中国文学史), Sunü is imagined as the first female harp player. As goddess of sexuality, Sunü was said to share sexual expertise with the Yellow Emperor and is said to have authored '' Su Nü Jing'', the basic book of Taoist sexology. Etymology In earlier periods, the goddess was known as simply ''Sunü''. The name has been variously translated as the "Immaculate Lady," "Immaculate Maiden," the "Pure Girl," or the "White Madam" in English. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the author creat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Su Nü Jing
''Su Nü Jing'' or ''Su Nü Ching'' - ''Classic of the White Madam'' (素女經), is the basic book of Taoist sexology, China's Chinese classics on Taoist sexual practices.In Han Dynasty Zhang Heng's poem'' Song of the Same Voice'', when describing the night of the male and female bridal chamber, he wrote: "Sunü is my teacher, her manners are full" The book was written before the Han dynasty, and it is said that the author was the Goddess Sunü in the Huang Di era. In China this book was lost after Tang dynasty (~907 AD). However, copies of the text were collected in Japan by Tamba Yasara ( 丹波康赖), who included this book in his series of books "Heart of Medicine" ( 医心方) (published in 982 AD), and the current edition of "Su Nu Jing" is the taken from the collection of Yasara.《素女经》中央编译出版社 ''Su Nu Ching'', Central Publishing, Beijing 2008 Supposedly there were three goddesses in the era of Huangdi, namely Sunü, Xuannü and Cainü; the three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiutian Xuannü
In Chinese mythology, Jiutian Xuannü is the goddess of war, sex, and longevity.. Etymology This goddess was initially known as ''Xuannü'' ().. 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 ''Jiutian Xuannü'' (九天玄女), adding ''Jiutian'' (meaning " f theNine Heavens"), to refer to the goddess. She is closely related to Sunü, who is her divine sister. Both their names combined, as ''xuansu zhidao'' (), signify the Daoist arts of the bedchamber. Stories The ''Yongcheng Jixian Lu'' (), written by the Daoist master Du Guangting (850–933), contains a biographical account of Jiutian Xuannü. It mentions that Jiutian Xuannü is the teacher of 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 mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taoist Sexual Practices
Taoist sexual practices ( zh, s=房中术, t=房中術, p=fángzhōngshù, l=arts of the bedchamber, first=t) are the ways Taoists may practice sexual activity. These practices are also known as "joining energy" or "the joining of the essences". Practitioners believe that by performing these sexual arts, one can stay in good health, and attain longevity or spiritual advancement. History Some Taoist sects during the Han dynasty performed sexual intercourse as a spiritual practice, called ''héqì'' (, lit. "joining energy"). The first sexual texts that survive today are those found at Mawangdui. While Taoism had not yet fully evolved as a philosophy at this time, these texts shared some remarkable similarities with later Tang dynasty texts, such as the ''Ishinpō'' (). The sexual arts arguably reached their climax between the end of the Han dynasty and the end of the Tang dynasty. After AD 1000, Confucian restraining attitudes towards sexuality became stronger, so that by the ... [...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 in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of the mythology involves exciting stories full of fantastic people and beings, the use of magical powers, often taking place in an exotic mythological place or time. Like many mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion. Many stories regarding characters and events of the distant past have a double tradition: ones which present a more historicized or euhemerized version and ones which present a more mythological version. Many myths involve the creation and cosmology of the universe and its deities and inhabitants. Some mythology involves creation myths, the origin of things, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by article name or by thematic categories, or else are hyperlinked and searchable. Encyclopedia entries are longer and more detailed than those in most dictionaries. Generally speaking, encyclopedia articles focus on '' factual information'' concerning the subject named in the article's title; this is unlike dictionary entries, which focus on linguistic information about words, such as their etymology, meaning, pronunciation, use, and grammatical forms.Béjoint, Henri (2000)''Modern Lexicography'', pp. 30–31. Oxford University Press. Encyclopedias have existed for around 2,000 years and have evolved considerably during that time as regards language (written in a major international or a verna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Goddesses
Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world. The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven (''Tian'' ), which is the supreme godhead manifesting in the northern culmen of the starry vault of the skies and its order. Many gods are ancestors or men who became deities for their heavenly achievements; most gods are also identified with stars and constellations. Ancestors are regarded as the equivalent of Heaven within human society, and therefore as the means connecting back to Heaven, which is the "utmost ancestral father" ( ''zēngzǔfù''). Gods are innumerable, as every phenomenon has or is one or more gods, and they are organised in a complex celestial hierarchy. Besides the traditional worship of these entities, Confucianism, Taoism and formal thinkers in general give theological interpretations affirming a monistic essence of divinity. "Pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guqin
The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted by the quote "a gentleman does not part with his ''qin'' or '' se'' without good reason," as well as being associated with the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. It is sometimes referred to by the Chinese as "the father of Chinese music" or "the instrument of the sages". The ''guqin'' is not to be confused with the '' guzheng'', another Chinese long stringed instrument also without frets, but with moveable bridges under each string. Traditionally, the instrument was simply referred to as the "''qin''" (琴) but by the twentieth century the term had come to be applied to many other musical instruments as well: the ''yangqin'' hammered dulcimer, the ''huqin'' family of bowed string instruments, and the Western piano (''gangqin'' (钢琴) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Se (instrument)
The ''se'' () is an ancient plucked zither of Chinese origin. It varied in size and construction, but generally had 25–50 strings with moveable bridges and a range of up to five octaves. It was one of the most important stringed instruments in China, along with the ''qin''. The ''se'' gradually faded out of use, having evolved into the similar ''zheng''. Modern versions of the ''se'' often resemble the ''zheng'', and attempts have been made to revive the instrument. History According to legend, the ''se'' was created by the god Fuxi. It is said that the word for music, ''yue'' ( 樂), is composed of the characters ''si'' for silk (絲) and ''mu'' for wood (木), and that it is a representation of the instrument. Historical accounts of the ''se'' begin in the Western Zhou period (1045–771 BC), and was a popular instrument during the Spring and Autumn period (771-476 BC). Together with the ''qin'', it is mentioned in the ''Guan Ju'', the famous first poem from the ''Classic of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fuxi
Fuxi or Fu Hsi (伏羲 ~ 伏犧 ~ 伏戲) is a culture hero in Chinese legend and mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking as well as the Cangjie system of writing Chinese characters around 2,000BC. Fuxi was counted as the first of the Three Sovereigns at the beginning of the Chinese dynastic period. Origin Pangu was said to be the creation god in Chinese mythology. He was a giant sleeping within an egg of chaos. As he awoke, he stood up and divided the sky and the earth. Pangu then died after standing up, and his body turned into rivers, mountains, plants, animals, and everything else in the world, among which is a powerful being known as Huaxu (華胥). Huaxu gave birth to a twin brother and sister, Fuxi and Nüwa. Fuxi and Nüwa are said to be creatures that have faces of human and bodies of snakes. Fuxi was known as the "original god", and he was said to have be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiben
The ''Shiben'' or ''Book of Origins'' (Pinyin: ''shìběn''; Chinese; 世本; ) was an early Chinese encyclopedia which recorded imperial genealogies from the mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors down to the late Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BCE), explanations of the origin of clan names, and records of legendary and historical Chinese inventors. It was written during the 2nd century BC at the time of the Han dynasty. Title The title combines the common Chinese words ''shì'' 世 "generation; epoch; hereditary; world" and ''běn'' 本 "root; stem; origin; fundament; wooden tablet". The personal name of Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 627–650) was ''Shimin'' 世民, and owing to the strict naming taboo against writing an emperor's name, the ''Shiben'' 世本 title was changed to ''Xiben'' 系本 or ''Daiben'' 代本 (with the ''shi'' near-synonyms of ''xi'' 系 "system; series; family" and ''dai'' 代 "substitute; generation; dynasty"). Although this Chinese title ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classic Of Mountains And Seas
The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shan Hai 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 The exact author(s) of the book and the time it was written are still undetermined. It was originally thought that mythical figures such as Yu the Great or Boyi wrote the book. However, the consensus among modern Sinologists is that the book was not written at a single time by a single author, but rather by numerous people from the period of the Warring States to the beginning of the Han dynasty. The first known editor of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hou Ji
Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name translates as Lord of Millet and was a title granted to him by Emperor Shun, according to Records of the Grand Historian. Houji was credited with developing the philosophy of Agriculturalism and with service during the Great Flood in the reign of Yao; he was also claimed as an ancestor of the Ji clan that became the ruling family of the Zhou dynasty. History Hou Ji's original name was Qi (), meaning "abandoned". Two separate versions of his origin were common. In one version of Chinese mythology, he was said to have been supernaturally conceived when his mother Jiang Yuan, a previously barren wife of the Emperor Ku, stepped into a footprint left by Shangdi, the supreme sky god of the early Chinese pantheon.''Encyclopædia Britannica''. "Hou J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
