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113-660: The Immortals are: In literature before the 1970s, they were sometimes translated as the Eight Genies . Some stories had them all "cheerfully addicted to wine", so they were called the "Jiu-zhong Ba Xian" or "Eight Drunken Immortals". First described in the Yuan Dynasty , they were probably named after the Eight Immortal Scholars of the Han . While cults dedicated to various Taoist immortals date back to

226-592: A Cambridge neuroscience study Jalal, Simons-Rudolph, Jalal, & Hinton (2013). The study found that as many as 48% of those who experience sleep paralysis in Egypt believe it to be an assault by the jinn. Almost all of these sleep paralysis sufferers (95%) would recite verses from the Quran during sleep paralysis to prevent future "jinn attacks". In addition, some (9%) would increase their daily Islamic prayer ( ṣalāh ) to get rid of these assaults by jinn. Sleep paralysis

339-445: A rectification of names : distorted names are 'superstitious activities' ( 迷信活動 ) or 'feudal superstition' ( 封建迷信 ), that were derogatorily applied to the indigenous religion by leftist policies. Christian missionaries also used the label 'feudal superstition' as propaganda to undermine what they saw as religious competitition. Han calls for the acknowledgment of the ancient Chinese religion for what it really is,

452-512: A snake form, but can also choose to appear as scorpions , lizards , or humans. They may even engage in sexual affairs with humans and produce offspring. If they are injured by someone, they usually seek revenge or possess the assailant's body, requiring exorcism . Jinn rarely meddle in human affairs, preferring to live with their own kind in tribes similar to those of pre-Islamic Arabia. Individual jinn appear on charms and talismans. They are called upon for protection or magical aid, often under

565-851: A concept or overarching term for "religion". In English, the terms 'popular religion' or 'folk religion' have long been used to mean local religious life. In Chinese academic literature and common usage 'folk religion' ( 民間宗教 ; mínjiān zōngjiào ) refers to specific organised folk religious sects . Contemporary academic study of traditional cults and the creation of a government agency that gave legal status to this religion have created proposals to formalise names and deal more clearly with folk religious sects and help conceptualise research and administration. Terms that have been proposed include 'Chinese native religion' ( 民俗宗教 ; mínsú zōngjiào ), 'Chinese ethnic religion' ( 民族宗教 ; mínzú zōngjiào ), or 'Chinese religion' ( 中華教 ; zhōnghuájiào ) viewed as comparable to

678-609: A deified virtuous person ( xiān Chinese : 仙 , "immortal"). Some cults such as that of Liu Zhang, a king in what is today Shandong , date back to this period. From the 3rd century on by the Northern Wei , accompanying the spread of Buddhism in China, strong influences from the Indian subcontinent penetrated the ancient Chinese indigenous religion. A cult of Ganesha ( Chinese : 象頭神 Xiàngtóushén , "Elephant-Head God")

791-563: A direct influence on things, making phenomena appear and things grow or extend themselves. An early Chinese dictionary, the Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen , explains that they "are the spirits of Heaven" and they "draw out the ten thousand things". As forces of growth the gods are regarded as yang , opposed to a yin class of entities called gui ( 鬼 ; guǐ ; cognate of 歸 ; guī 'return', 'contraction'), chaotic beings. A disciple of Zhu Xi noted that "between Heaven and Earth there

904-681: A few changed into schools". During the Japanese invasion of China between 1937 and 1945 many temples were used as barracks by soldiers and destroyed in warfare. In the 19th century in the Guangdong region, monotheism , likely of a henotheistic and/or monolatrous character in at least some contexts and locations, was well-known and popular in Chinese folk religion. In the past, popular cults were regulated by imperial government policies, promoting certain deities while suppressing others. In

1017-476: A loose canon of Chinese mythology . By the Song dynasty (960–1279), these practices had been blended with Buddhist , Confucian , and Taoist teachings to form the popular religious system which has lasted in many ways until the present day. The government of China generally tolerates popular religious organizations, but has suppressed or persecuted those that they fear would undermine social stability. After

1130-449: A man could kill a jinni in single combat, but they are feared for attacking without being seen. Some sources even speak of killed jinn leaving behind a carcass similar to either a serpent or a scorpion. Despite that they were often feared or inspired awe, the jinn were also pictured to befriend humans or have romantic feelings for them. According to common Arabian belief, pre-Islamic soothsayers , philosophers, and poets were inspired by

1243-467: A model to follow (like angels) nor tempters of the lower self (like Satan) and mostly feature in poetic anecdotes. The jinn are obligated to follow the divine law ( sharīʿa ), as derived from the Quran by Muslim jurists ( faqīh ). Thus, the jinn are considered, along with humans, to be mukallāf . Believers among the jinn are called "Muslim jinn" ( muslimū l-jinn ). Since both creations must perform

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1356-588: A monotheistic framework without demonizing them. An example of this can be seen in the writings of Syed Sultan who treated Shiva and Parvati as "created beings" and casts the Suras and Asuras into the roles of the jinn in Islamic haggadic tradition. Besides local deities, the existence of purely malevolent spirits is also acknowledged. Thus, jinn exist alongside other mythological entities, such as demons ( Dēw ) and fairies ( parī ). The moral attitude of

1469-568: A phenomenal range of creatures that can be found on the eight-pointed tiles of the Seal of Sulaymān device. Among these were the jinn, that belonged among Solomon's army and as Solomon claimed to have control over the jinn, so did the Rūm Seljuk sultan that claimed to be the Sulaymān of his time. In fact, one of the most common representations of jinn are alongside or in association with King Solomon. It

1582-552: A religion focused on gods of nature , Tian became a more abstract and impersonal idea of God. A popular representation is the Jade Deity ( Chinese : 玉帝 Yùdì ) or Jade Emperor ( Chinese : 玉皇 Yùhuáng ) originally formulated by Taoists. According to classical theology he manifests in five primary forms ( Chinese : 五方上帝 Wǔfāng Shàngdì , "Five Forms of the Highest Deity"). The qi Chinese : 气

1695-586: A revival in both China and Taiwan. Some forms have received official understanding or recognition as a preservation of traditional culture, such as Mazuism and the Sanyi teaching in Fujian , Yellow Emperor worship, and other forms of local worship, such as that of the Dragon King , Pangu or Caishen . Feng shui , acupuncture , and traditional Chinese medicine reflect this world view, since features of

1808-468: A spiritual world between heaven and earth and beseeched the gods of heaven and earth to influence the world to benefit their family. By the Han dynasty , the ancient Chinese religion mostly consisted of people organising into shè ( Chinese : 社 ["group", "body", local community altars]) who worshipped their godly principle. In many cases the "lord of the she " was the god of the earth, and in others

1921-481: A state religion), and all the various stages of the Taoist religion." Contemporary Chinese scholars have identified what they consider the essential features of the Chinese indigenous religion : according to Chen Xiaoyi ( 陳曉毅 ) local indigenous religion is the crucial factor for a harmonious 'religious ecology' ( 宗教生態 ), that is the balance of forces in a given community. Han Bingfang ( 韓秉芳 ) has called for

2034-510: A strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several pagan beliefs integrated into Islam. Islam places jinn and humans on the same plane in relation to God, both being subject to God's judgement and an afterlife. The Quran condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of worshipping or seeking protection from them. Although usually invisible, jinn are supposed to be composed of thin and subtle bodies ( Arabic : أَجْسَام , romanized :  ajsām ), and can change at will. They favor

2147-681: A superstitional belief and hinders the common people to instigate military power. Similarly, the Deobandi movement , although not denying the reality of jinn, mostly depicts jinn as malevolent beings who need to be avoided or exorcised. In modern Iran, (evil) jinn are often substituted by devils. Similarly, in many modern tales, the term jinn is used for div (demon), causing a shift in meaning. Nonetheless, traditional belief in jinn remains popular in Islamic culture. The negative evaluations of jinn are not static, but rather entangled with traditional and also positive depictions of jinn. According to

2260-510: A survey undertaken by the Pew Research Center in 2012: The amount of Muslims believing in jinn from Bosnia and Herzegovina is higher than the general European average (30%), although only 21% believe in sorcery and 13% would wear talisman for protection against jinn; 12% support offerings and appeal given to the jinn. Sleep paralysis is understood as a "jinn attack" by many sleep paralysis sufferers in Egypt, as discovered by

2373-402: A system of meaning, or have brought further development in C. K. Yang's distinction between "institutional religion" and "diffused religion", the former functioning as a separate body from other social institutions, and the latter intimately part of secular social institutions. In the beginning of Chinese civilization, "[t]he most honored members of the family were...the ancestors", who lived in

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2486-550: Is Buddhism which came to China probably before the Christian era but which began to exert nation-wide influence only after the third century A.D. The other great religion has had no generic name, but I propose to call it Siniticism. It is the native ancient religion of the Han Chinese people: it dates back to time immemorial, over 10,000 years old, and includes all such later phases of its development as Moism, Confucianism (as

2599-507: Is a seldom used term taken by scholars in colonial Taiwan from Japanese during Japan's occupation (1895–1945). It was used between the 1990s and the early 21st century among mainland Chinese scholars. Shendao ( 神道 ; shéndào ; 'the Way of the Gods';) is a term already used in the I Ching referring to the divine order of nature. Around the time of the spread of Buddhism during

2712-664: Is about the revelation to jinn. The same Surah mentions righteous jinn on one hand, and malicious jinn on the other. The jinn can neither harm nor benefit humans, for they are occupied with looking after themselves and their own place in the cosmos. This is in notable contrast to demons and devils in the Judeo-Christian tradition . The Quran does not condemn the jinn as a source of harm, but by mistaking them for beings deserving cultic veneration ( 72:6 ). Jinn and humans are blamed for ascribing divine attributes to another creature (i.e. jinn); jinn to themselves and humans to

2825-562: Is an Arabic collective noun deriving from the Semitic root JNN ( Arabic : جَنّ / جُنّ , jann ), whose primary meaning is 'to hide' or 'to adapt'. Some authors interpret the word to mean, literally, 'beings that are concealed from the senses'. Cognates include the Arabic majnūn ( مَجْنُون , 'possessed' or, generally, 'insane'), jannah ( جَنَّة , 'garden', 'eden' or 'heaven'), and janīn ( جَنِين , 'embryo'). Jinn

2938-678: Is attested in the year 531. Pollination from Indian religions included processions of carts with images of gods or floats borne on shoulders, with musicians and chanting. The ancient Chinese religion was subject to persecution in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many ancient temples were destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion in the late 1800s. After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 "most temples were turned to other uses or were destroyed, with

3051-477: Is bound to local communities, kinship, and environments. In each setting, institution and ritual behaviour assumes highly organised forms. Temples and the gods in them acquire symbolic character and perform specific functions involved in the everyday life of the local community. Local religion preserves aspects of naturalistic beliefs such as totemism , animism , and shamanism . Ancient Chinese religion pervades all aspects of social life. Many scholars, following

3164-755: Is called the Hall of Eight Immortals ( 八仙殿 ). There are many other shrines dedicated to them throughout China and Taiwan. In Singapore , the Xian'gu Temple ( 仙姑殿 ) is dedicated to the Immortal Lady He from the group as its focus of devotion. Overall though, in the Sinosphere , the Eight Immortals are depicted as deities who are very often not seen as such, being more like folk heroes and saints to most who venerate them. However, to these people,

3277-533: Is generally associated with great fear in Egypt, especially if believed to be supernatural in origin. Similarly, European patients with a Muslim background often attribute mental illnesses to jinn. Most common attributations to jinn are symptoms of hallucination and psychotic symptoms, but can also include mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Capgras syndrome , and epilepsy . It has been noted that not all Muslims who believe in jinn, believe they can possess people. Furthermore, belief in possession

3390-464: Is no thing that does not consist of yin and yang, and there is no place where yin and yang are not found. Therefore, there is no place where gods and spirits do not exist". The dragon is a symbol of yang, the principle of generation. In Taoist and Confucian thought, the supreme God and its order and the multiplicity of shen are identified as one and the same. In the Ten Wings , a commentary to

3503-482: Is not limited to Muslims. Contrary to the assumption that higher education is proportional to disenchantment , belief in jinn-possession may remain intact even after medical graduation . Although there are very few visual representations of jinn in Islamic art , when they do appear, it is usually related to a specific event or individual jinn. Visual representations of jinn appear in manuscripts and their existence

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3616-403: Is often implied in works of architecture by the presence of apotropaic devices like serpents, which were intended to ward off evil spirits. Lastly, King Solomon is illustrated very often with jinn as the commander of an army that included them. In addition to these representations of jinn in vicinity to kingship, there were also architectural references to jinn throughout the Islamic world. In

3729-483: Is presented as someone who is totally controlled by the jinni entering. The soothsayer was consulted to reveal hidden information or settle disputes, as it was believed, the jinn speaking through them revealed hidden knowledge. Jinn have been called an integral part of the Muslim tradition or faith, completely accepted in official Islam; prominently featured in folklore. Medieval and modern scholars have studied

3842-640: Is properly treated as a plural (however in Classical Arabic , may also appear as jānn , جَانّ ), with the singular being jinnī ( جِنِّيّ ), which the English word "genie" is derived from. The origin of the word jinn remains uncertain. Some scholars relate the Arabic term jinn to the Latin genius – a guardian spirit of people and places in Roman religion – as a result of syncretism during

3955-404: Is the breath or substance of which all things are made, including inanimate matter, the living beings, thought and gods. It is the continuum energy—matter. Stephen F. Teiser (1996) translates it as "stuff" of "psychophysical stuff". Neo-Confucian thinkers such as Zhu Xi developed the idea of li Chinese : 理 , the "reason", "order" of Heaven, that is to say the pattern through which

4068-490: Is the qi in its dense, dark, sinking, wet, condensing mode; yang denotes the light, and the bright, rising, dry, expanding modality. Described as Taiji (the 'Great Pole'), they represent the polarity and complementarity that enlivens the cosmos . They can also be conceived as 'disorder' and 'order', 'activity' or 'passivity', with action (yang) usually preferred over receptiveness (yin). The concept of shen ( 神 ; shén ; cognate of 申 ; shēn 'extending', 'expanding' )

4181-504: Is therefore both transcendent and immanent . Tian is defined in many ways, with many names, the most widely known being Tàidì Chinese : 太帝 (the "Great Deity") and Shàngdì Chinese : 上帝 (the "Primordial Deity"). The concept of Shangdi is especially rooted in the tradition of the Shang dynasty , which gave prominence to the worship of ancestral gods and cultural heroes . The "Primordial Deity" or "Primordial Emperor"

4294-472: Is translated as 'gods' or 'spirits'. There are shen of nature; gods who were once people, such as the warrior Guan Yu ; household gods, such as the Stove God ; as well as ancestral gods ( zu or zuxian ). In the domain of humanity the shen is the psyche, or the power or agency within humans. They are intimately involved in the life of this world. As spirits of stars, mountains and streams, shen exert

4407-670: The Mozi ( Mohism ), the Huainanzi , the Shizi and the Xunzi . The " Interactions Between Heaven and Mankind " ( Chinese : 《天人感應》 ; pinyin : tiānrén gǎnyìng ) is a set of Confucianised doctrines compiled in the Han dynasty by Dong Zhongshu , discussing politics in accordance with a personal Tian of whom mankind is viewed as the incarnation. Taoism has a separate body of philosophical, theological and ritual literature, including

4520-661: The Taiyi Shengshui ( Chinese : 《太一生水》 ; lit. 'The Great One Gives Birth to Water'). Another book attributed to the Yellow Emperor is the Huangdi yinfujing ( Chinese : 《黃帝陰符經》 ; lit. 'Yellow Emperor's Book of the Hidden Symbol';). Classical books of mythology include the " Classic of Mountains and Seas " ( Chinese : 《山海經》 ; pinyin : shānhǎijīng ),

4633-525: The American West Coast alone. In 1904, a reform policy of the late Qing dynasty provided that schools would be built through the confiscation of temple property. "Anti-superstition" campaigns followed. The Nationalist government of the Republic of China intensified the suppression of the ancient Chinese religion with the 1928 "Standards for retaining or abolishing gods and shrines";

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4746-733: The Chairman Mao period in the PRC, was the most serious and last systematic effort to destroy the ancient Chinese religion, while in Taiwan the ancient Chinese religion was very well-preserved but controlled by Republic of China (Taiwan) president Chiang Kai-Shek during his Chinese Cultural Renaissance to counter the Cultural Revolution. After 1978 the ancient Chinese religion started to rapidly revive in China, with millions of temples being rebuilt or built from scratch. Since

4859-546: The Citadel of Aleppo , the entrance gate Bab al-Hayyat made reference to jinn in the stone relief carvings of serpents; likewise, the water gate at Ayyubid Harran housed two copper sculptures of jinn, serving as talismans to ward off both snakes and evil jinn in the form of snakes. Alongside these depictions of the jinn found at the Aleppo Citadel, depictions of the jinn can be found in the Rūm Seljuk palace. There are

4972-513: The Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE), it was used to distinguish the indigenous ancient religion from the imported religion. Ge Hong used it in his Baopuzi as a synonym for Taoism . The term was subsequently adopted in Japan in the 6th century as Shindo , later Shinto , with the same purpose of identification of the Japanese indigenous religion. In the 14th century,

5085-596: The Han dynasty , the popular and well-known Eight Immortals first appeared in the Jin dynasty . The wall murals and sculptures in the Jin tombs, created during the 12th and 13th centuries, depicts a group of eight Taoist immortals. The term "Eight Immortals" became commonplace after the popularization of the Taoist group of writers and artists known as the Complete Realization (Quanshen). The most famous art depiction of

5198-527: The Hongwu Emperor (Taizu of the Ming dynasty , 1328–1398) used the term "Shendao" clearly identifying the indigenous cults, which he strengthened and systematised. "Chinese Universism"—not in the sense of " universalism " as in "a system of universal application", as that is Tian in Chinese thought—is a coinage of Jan Jakob Maria de Groot that refers to the metaphysical perspective that lies behind

5311-520: The I Ching , it is written that "one yin and one yang are called the Tao ... the unfathomable change of yin and yang is called shen ". In other texts, with a tradition going back to the Han dynasty , the gods and spirits are explained to be names of yin and yang, forces of contraction and forces of growth. While in popular thought they have conscience and personality, Neo-Confucian scholars tended to rationalise them. Zhu Xi wrote that they act according to

5424-649: The Ming and Qing dynasties , the Eight Immortals were frequently associated with other prominent spiritual deities in artwork. There are numerous paintings with them and the Three Stars (the gods of longevity, prosperity, and good fortune) together. Also, other deities such as the Queen Mother of the West are commonly seen in the company of the Eight Immortals and she is also popularly thought to have blessed them with their supernatural abilities. The artwork of

5537-475: The qi develops, that is the polarity of yin and yang . In Taoism the Tao Chinese : 道 ("Way") denotes in one concept both the impersonal absolute Tian and its order of manifestation ( li ). Yin ( 陰 ; yīn ) and yang ( 陽 ; yáng ), whose root meanings respectively are 'shady' and 'sunny', or 'dark' and 'light', are modes of manifestation of the qi, not material things in themselves. Yin

5650-574: The required prayers ( salah ), Muslim jurists debated if one is allowed to perform the prayer behind a jinni. Shibli cites two Hanbalite scholars who regard this as permissible without hesitation. Since Muhammad was sent to jinn and humans, both are mukallāf and subject to the command to pray. Because humans and jinn are capable of procreation, Muslim jurists dealt with the issue of permissibility of intercourse between these two types of creatures. Some Ḥadīths , though considered fabricated ( mawḍūʻ ) by some muhaddith (hadith scholars) , pushed

5763-476: The six articles of Islamic faith , as belief in angels is. Nonetheless, many Muslim scholars, including the Hanbalī scholar ibn Taymiyya and the Ẓāhirī scholar ibn Hazm , believe they are essential to the Islamic faith since they are mentioned in the Quran. It is generally accepted by the majority of Muslim scholars that jinn can possess individuals. This is considered to be part of the doctrines ( aqidah ) of

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5876-415: The source of moral meaning; qi ( Chinese : 氣 ), the breath or substance of which all things are made; the practice of jingzu ( Chinese : 敬祖 ), the veneration of ancestors; bao ying ( Chinese : 報應 ), moral reciprocity. Confucians, Taoists, and other schools of thought share basic concepts of Tian . Tian is both the physical heavens, the home of the sun, moon, and stars, and also

5989-470: The " Guodian texts " in the 1990s and the Huangdi sijing ( Chinese : 《黃帝四經》 ; lit. 'Four Books of the Yellow Emperor';) in the 1970s, has given rise to new interpretations of the ancient Chinese religion and new directions in its post-Maoist renewal. Many of these books overcome the dichotomy between Confucian and Taoist traditions. The Guodian texts include, among others,

6102-536: The " Record of Heretofore Lost Works " ( Chinese : 《拾遺記 ; pinyin : shíyíjì ), " The Peach Blossom Spring " ( Chinese : 《桃花源記》 ; pinyin : táohuāyuánjì ), the " Investiture of the Gods " ( Chinese : 《封神演義》 ; pinyin : fēngshén yǎnyì ), and the " Journey to the West " ( Chinese : 《西遊記》 ; pinyin : xīyóujì ) among others. Fan and Chen summarise four spiritual, cosmological, and moral concepts: Tian ( Chinese : 天 ), Heaven,

6215-588: The " people of the Sunnah " ( ahl as-sunnah wal-jammah'a ) in the tradition of Ash'ari . The Atharī scholars ibn Taimiyya and ibn Qayyim agree on this matter. From among the Sunni schools of theology, only the Māturīdīs seems to debate possession. Al-Rustughfanī deemed jinn-possession impossible. Al-Māturīdī focuses on the dynamics between jinn and humans based on Quran 72:6 . He states that seeking refuge among

6328-533: The 'core and soul of popular culture' ( 俗文化的核心與靈魂 ). According to Chen Jinguo ( 陳進國 ), the ancient Chinese religion is a core element of Chinese 'cultural and religious self-awareness' ( 文化自覺，信仰自覺 ). He has proposed a theoretical definition of Chinese indigenous religion in a 'trinity' ( 三位一體 ), apparently inspired to Tang Chun-i 's thought: Ancient Chinese religious practices are diverse, varying from province to province and even from one village to another, for religious behaviour

6441-679: The 13th century. Chinese folk religion Model humanity: Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions: Salvation churches and sects : Confucian churches and sects: Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese , including the Chinese diaspora . This includes the veneration of shen ('spirits') and ancestors , and worship devoted to deities and immortals , who can be deities of places or natural phenomena, of human behaviour, or progenitors of family lineages . Stories surrounding these gods form

6554-465: The 1980s the central government moved to a policy of benign neglect or wu wei ( Chinese : 無為 ) in regard to rural community life, and the local government's new regulatory relationship with local society is characterised by practical mutual dependence; these factors have given much space for popular religion to develop. In recent years, in some cases, local governments have taken an even positive and supportive attitude towards indigenous religion in

6667-635: The 1980s, this genre has become prominent in Turkish literature. The story by Tekin deals with folkloric and religious belief in a rationalized society . Contrary to the neutral to positive depiction of jinn in Tekin's novels, since 2004 jinn have become a common trope in Middle Eastern horror movies . The presentation of jinn usually combines Quranic with oral and cultural beliefs about jinn. Out of 89 films, 59 have direct references to jinn as

6780-518: The 20th century, with the decline of the Qing dynasty, increasing urbanisation and Western influence, the issue for the new intellectuals who looked to the West was no longer controlling unauthorised worship of unregistered gods but the ancient Chinese religion itself, which they perceived as an issue halting modernisation. By 1899, 400 syncretic temples that combined folk religion elements and gods with Buddhist, Taoist, and/or Confucianist gods existed on

6893-466: The Arabic translation for the Greek nymph (' arūsa ) is also used for jinn by Middle Eastern sources. Although the term spirit is frequently used, it has been criticised for not capturing the corporeal nature of the jinn, and that the term genie should be used instead. The exact origins of belief in jinn are not entirely clear. Belief in jinn in pre-Islamic Arab religion is testified not only by

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7006-519: The Chinese religious tradition. De Groot calls Chinese Universism "the ancient metaphysical view that serves as the basis of all classical Chinese thought. ... In Universism, the three components of integrated universe—understood epistemologically, 'heaven, earth and man', and understood ontologically, ' Taiji (the great beginning, the highest ultimate), yin and yang'—are formed". In 1931, Hu Shih argued that: "Two great religions have played tremendously important roles throughout Chinese history. One

7119-580: The Eight Immortals archetypes for conditioning, qigong/meditation and combat training. One subsection of ba ying quan( 八英拳 ; bā yīng quán ) drunken fist training includes methodologies for each of the eight immortals. Established in the Song Dynasty , the Xi'an temple Eight Immortals Palace ( 八仙宮 ), formerly Eight Immortals Nunnery ( 八仙庵 ), has a collection of statues depicting the Immortals in what

7232-486: The Eight Immortals from this period is a mural of them in the Eternal Joy Temple (Yongle Gong) at Ruicheng. The Eight Immortals are considered to be signs of prosperity and longevity, so they are popular themes in ancient and medieval art. They were frequent adornments on celadon vases. They were also common in sculptures owned by the nobility. Many silk paintings, wall murals, and wood block prints remain of

7345-546: The Eight Immortals is not limited to paintings or other visual arts. They are quite prominent in written works too. Authors and playwrights have written numerous stories and plays on the Eight Immortals. One famous story that has been rewritten many times and turned into several plays (the most famous written by Mu Zhiyuan in the Yuan Dynasty) is The Yellow-Millet Dream , which is the story of how Lǚ Dòngbīn met Zhongli Quan and began his path to immortality. The Immortals are

7458-404: The Eight Immortals. They were often depicted either together in one group, or alone to give more homage to that specific immortal. An interesting feature of early Eight Immortal artwork is that they are often accompanied by jade hand maidens, which are commonly depicted as servants of the higher ranked deities, and depictions commonly include other images showing their great spiritual power. During

7571-910: The Immortals often "represent ... the close ties between the living and the deceased, since the spirits of the deceased are always within reach when help in needed" in some branches of Chinese folk religion and their existence is seen as being similar to ghosts as well. The Immortals are the subject of many depictions in popular culture, including: Jinn Jinn ( Arabic : جِنّ ‎ ), also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies , are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabia and later in Islamic culture and beliefs . Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds and can be either believers ( Muslims ) or disbelievers ( kafir ), depending on whether they accept God 's guidance. Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and could adapt them during its expansion. Jinn are not

7684-587: The Quran affirms their existence. Although depictions are categorized into little tradition ( folklore ) and greater tradition (official Islam) for research purposes, both depictions are largely the same. The Quran does not consider foreign mythological beings to be devils, but entities erroneously ascribed divine power to. Therefore, jinn were considered a third class of invisible beings, often neutral or morally ambiguous, not consequently equated with devils. Islam allowed to integrate local beliefs about spirits and deities from Iran, Africa, Turkey and India, into

7797-604: The Quran, but also by pre-Islamic Arabic poetry . Some scholars of the Middle East hold that they originated as malevolent spirits residing in deserts and unclean places, who often took the forms of animals; others hold that they were originally pagan nature deities who gradually became marginalized as other deities took greater importance. Jinn were already worshipped by many Arabs during in pre-Islamic Arabia . Julius Wellhausen observed that jinn were often thought to "inhabit or haunt desolate, dark and dingy places in

7910-506: The aforementioned question to find an appropriate "name" for the ancient Chinese religion, is the difficulty to define it or clearly outline its boundaries. Old sinology , especially Western, tried to distinguish "popular" and "élite" traditions (the latter being Confucianism and Taoism conceived as independent systems). Chinese sinology later adopted another dichotomy which continues in contemporary studies, distinguishing "folk beliefs" ( minjian xinyang ) and "folk religion" ( minjian zongjiao ),

8023-690: The antagonist, 12 use other sorts of demons, while other types of horror, such as the impending apocalypse, hauntings, or ghosts, constitute only 14 films. The popularity of jinn as a choice of monster can best be explained by their affirmation in the Quran. They are still a popular trope today. A study from 2020 shows that jinn are still the favorite Horror element among teenagers. Jinn further feature in Iranian horror movies. Though discouraged by some teachings of modern Islam, cultural beliefs about jinn remain popular among Muslim societies and their understanding of cosmology and anthropology. Affirmation on

8136-665: The belief that spiritually gifted people can act as intermediaries between humans and jinn. Most of the time, jinn are believed not to interfere with humans and live mostly in desolate or abandoned places. This is, for example, evident from the Turkish phrase İn Cin top oynuyor . It is only when they are angered or disturbed, for example, if their children are trodden upon or hot water is thrown on them, that they take revenge on humans. For this reason, Muslims utter "destur" (permission), before doing something which might accidentally hurt jinn, such as sprinkling hot water on public grounds or into bushes, so present jinn are advised to leave

8249-416: The breath or energy that animates the universe; ancestor veneration ; and bao ying 'moral reciprocity'. With these, there are two traditional concepts of fate and meaning: ming yun , the personal destiny or burgeoning; and yuanfen 'fateful coincidence ', good and bad chances and potential relationships. Yin and yang is the polarity that describes the order of the universe, held in balance by

8362-467: The consequences implied by their existence, legal status, the possible relations between them and mankind, especially in questions of marriage and property. Jinn are mentioned approximately 29 times in the Quran , exclusively in Meccan surahs . The Quran assumes that the audience is familiar with the subject without elaborating on the jinn much further. According to the Quran 51:56-57 , Muhammad

8475-504: The desert". For that reason, they were held responsible for various diseases and mental illnesses. Emilie Savage-Smith asserts that malicious jinn and good gods were distinct in pre-Islamic Arabia, but admits that such distinction is not absolute. In the regions north to the Hejaz , Palmyra and Baalbek , the terms jinni and ilah (deity) were often used interchangeably. Julius Wellhausen likewise agrees that in pre-Islamic Arabia it

8588-606: The existence of jinn as sapient creatures living along with humans is still widespread in the Middle Eastern world (including Egypt), and West Africa , mental illnesses are still often attributed to jinn possession. Since modern times, jinn were often portrayed in a more negative light. After the failure of the rebellion against the East India Company , the Muslim elite regarded jinn-veneration in India as

8701-460: The fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, governments and modernizing elites condemned 'feudal superstition' and opposed traditional religious practices which they believed conflicted with modern values. By the late 20th century, these attitudes began to change in both mainland China and Taiwan, and many scholars now view folk religion in a positive light. In recent times traditional religion is experiencing

8814-400: The form of an animal, favoring the form of a snake. Other chthonic animals regarded as forms of jinn include scorpions and lizards . Both scorpions and serpents have been venerated in the ancient Near East . When they shift into a human form however, they are said to stay partly animal and are not fully human. Although the power of jinn usually exceed those of humans, it is conceivable

8927-733: The fundamental Daodejing ( Chinese : 《道德經》 ; lit. 'Book of the Way and its Virtue'), the Daozang (Taoist Canon), the Liezi and the Zhuangzi , and a great number of other texts either included or not within the Taoist Canon. Vernacular literature and the folk religious sects have produced a great body of popular mythological and theological literature, the baojuan ( Chinese : 寶卷 ; lit. 'precious scrolls'). Recent discovery of ancient books, such as

9040-485: The home of the gods and ancestors. Tian by extension is source of moral meaning, as seen in the political principle, the Mandate of Heaven , which holds that Tian , responding to human virtue, grants the imperial family the right to rule and withdraws it when the dynasty declines in virtue. This creativity or virtue ( de ) in humans is the potentiality to transcend the given conditions and act wisely and morally. Tian

9153-472: The interaction of principles of extension ( 神 ; shén ; 'spirit') and returning ( 鬼 ; guǐ ; 'ghost'), with yang ('act') usually preferred over yin ('receptiveness') in common religion. The taijitu and bagua are common diagrams representing the forces of nature, and the power that deities like Zhong Kui wield. Ling is the medium of the two states and the inchoate order of creation. The Chinese language historically has not had

9266-560: The jinn increases fear and anxiety, however, not because of the jinn, but due to the psychological dependence of the individual towards external powers. By that, he refers to seeking refuge among the jinn as a form of širk , due to the reliance on a created thing instead of God. Although jinn frequently appear in hagiographic Sufi literature and their existence is never doubted, they do not play any major role in Sufi cosmology . Because of their similarities to humans, they function neither as

9379-638: The jinn is usually associated with their religion. Good jinn are usually considered Muslim jinn or jinn Islam , whereas unbelieving jinn were tempted by the devils ( shayatin ) and are called kāfir jinn or jinn kāfir . Besides Islam, they could also practise Christianity and Judaism. Good jinn might teach people moral lessons and might be benevolent, or aid spiritual persons, such as shamans ( kam ) in Central Asia , or spiritual healers in Senegal . Mediha Esenel 's studies in 1940 Anatolia mentions

9492-413: The jinn occupy no fundamentally different position in the Quran than humans. Like humans, the jinn have no knowledge of the future. Like humanity, jinn face epistemic limitations regarding "the hidden/occult", have to rely on God's messengers, and face eschatological judgement. In Quranic interpretation, the term jinn can be used in two different ways: Belief in jinn is not included among

9605-403: The jinn" ("wa-akhī min al-jinn al-baṣīr"). The relationship between jinn and humans can also be romantic in nature. According to one famous Arabian story, the jinni Manzur fell in love with a human woman called Habbah. He is supposed to have taught her the arts of healing. The mutual relationship between jinn and humans is different than that of a jinni and a soothsayer ( kāhin ). The soothsayer

9718-513: The jinn. In the Quranic account, despite their similarities, there are important differences between the two species. Whereas humans are made from "clay" or "dirt", jinn were created from "smokeless fire" (Quran 15:27 , Quran 55:15 ), which is possibly the reason why they are credited with some extraordinary abilities, such as invisibility, transformation, and ascending into the air like devils (Quran 72:8 ). Despite some superhuman powers,

9831-408: The jinn. The Arabian poet al-A'sha (d. after 3/625) is said to have gotten his inspiration for his poetry by a friend named Misḥal ("daʿawtu khalīlī Misḥalan") and further calls him his jinni-brother ("akhī ʾl-jinnī"). Similarly, the poet Thābit (d. 54/674) who later converted to Islam and became known as "the poet of the prophet", referred to his jinni-friend as his "sharp-sighted brother from

9944-414: The landscape as well as organs of the body are in correlation with the five powers and yin and yang . Chinese religions have a variety of sources, local forms, founder backgrounds, and ritual and philosophical traditions. Despite this diversity, there is a common core that can be summarised as four theological, cosmological, and moral concepts: Tian , the transcendent source of moral meaning; qi ,

10057-576: The late Qing dynasty , scholars Yao Wendong and Chen Jialin used the term shenjiao not referring to Shinto as a definite religious system, but to local shin beliefs in Japan. Other terms are 'folk cults' ( 民間崇拜 ; mínjiān chóngbài ), 'spontaneous religion' ( 自發宗教 ; zìfā zōngjiào ), 'lived religion' ( 生活宗教 ; shēnghuó zōngjiào ), 'local religion' ( 地方宗教 ; dìfāng zōngjiào ), and 'diffused religion' ( 分散性宗教 ; fēnsàn xìng zōngjiào ). 'Folk beliefs' ( 民間信仰 ; mínjiān xìnyǎng ),

10170-454: The latter referring to the doctrinal sects. Many studies have pointed out that it is impossible to draw clear distinctions, and, since the 1970s, several sinologists swung to the idea of a unified "ancient Chinese religion" that would define the Chinese national identity, similarly to Hindu Dharma for India and Shinto for Japan . Other sinologists who have not espoused the idea of a unified "national religion" have studied Chinese religion as

10283-410: The lead of sociologist C. K. Yang , see the ancient Chinese religion deeply embedded in family and civic life, rather than expressed in a separate organizational structure like a "church", as in the West. Deity or temple associations and lineage associations , pilgrimage associations and formalized prayers, rituals and expressions of virtues, are the common forms of organization of Chinese religion on

10396-438: The leadership of a king. Many people who believe in jinn wear amulets to protect themselves against the assaults of the jinn, sent out by sorcerers and witches. A commonly held belief is that jinn cannot hurt someone who wears something with the name of God written on it. While some Muslim scholars in the past had ambivalent attitudes towards jinn, contemporary Muslim scholarship increasingly associate jinn with idolatry . Jinn

10509-549: The limitations of written texts were acknowledged particularly in Taoism and folk religion. There are the classic books ( Chinese : 經 ; pinyin : jīng ; lit. ' warp ') such as the Confucian canon including the " Four Books and Five Classics " ( Chinese : 《四書五經》 ; pinyin : sìshū wǔjīng ) and the " Classic of Filial Piety " ( Chinese : 《孝經》 ; pinyin : xiàojīng ), then there are

10622-453: The local level. Neither initiation rituals nor official membership into a church organization separate from one person's native identity are mandatory in order to be involved in religious activities. Contrary to institutional religions, Chinese religion does not require "conversion" for participation. The prime criterion for participation in the ancient Chinese religion is not "to believe" in an official doctrine or dogma , but "to belong" to

10735-426: The local unit of an ancient Chinese religion, that is the "association", the "village" or the "kinship", with their gods and rituals. Sociologist Richard Madsen describes the ancient Chinese religion, adopting the definition of Tu Weiming , as characterized by "immanent transcendence" grounded in a devotion to "concrete humanity", focused on building moral community within concrete humanity. Inextricably linked to

10848-458: The malevolent spirits called ' demon ' and mostly-benevolent 'heavenly angels', in literature. In Assyrian art , the modern term used for creatures ontologically between humans and divinities is also genie . Though not a precise fit, descriptive analogies that have been used for these beings in Western thought include demon , spirit , "sprite", and fairy , depending on source. In turn,

10961-421: The name of promoting cultural heritage. Instead of signaling the demise of traditional ancient religion, China and Taiwan 's economic and technological industrialization and development has brought a spiritual renewal. Ancient Chinese religion draws from a vast heritage of sacred books, which according to the general worldview treat cosmology , history and mythology, mysticism and philosophy, as aspects of

11074-739: The necessity for an explanation: "The Hour will come when the children of jinn will become many among you." "Among you are those who are expatriated (mugharrabûn);" and this, he explained, meant "crossed with jinn." Although there are recorded cases of purported human-jinn relationships most Muslim jurists agree that such a relationship is not permissible. Even those scholars who allowed such relationships, still considered them undesirable ( makruh ). Offspring of human-jinn relationships are nonetheless, usually considered to be gifted and talented people with special abilities. The jinn (also known as: Albanian : Xhindi , Bosnian : Džin , Turkish : Cin ) were adopted by later Islamic culture , since

11187-429: The place. Angered or straightforwardly evil mannered jinn, could hurt people by inflicting physical damage, causing illness, or taking control over a human's body . A human can be controlled by jinn under certain circumstances. The individual needs to be in a state of dha'iyfah ( Arabic : ضَعِيفَة , "(mental) weakness"). Feelings of insecurity, mental instability, unhappy love and depression (being "tired from

11300-651: The policy attempted to abolish the cults of all gods with the exception of ancient great human heroes and sages such as the Yellow Emperor , Yu the Great , Guan Yu , Sun Tzu , Mazu , Xuanzang , Kūkai , Buddha , Budai , Bodhidharma , Lao Tzu , and Confucius . These policies were the background for those implemented by Communist Party after winning the Chinese Civil War and taking power in 1949. The Cultural Revolution , between 1966 and 1976 of

11413-510: The reign of the Roman empire under Tiberius and Augustus ; however, this derivation is also disputed. Supporters argue that both Roman genii as well as Arabian jinn are considered to be lesser deities inhabiting local sanctuaries , trees or springs, and persons or families. Aramaic ginnaya ( Classical Syriac : ܓܢܝܐ ) with the meaning of ' tutelary deity ' or 'guardian' are attributed to similar functions and are another possible origin of

11526-413: The same thing. Historically, the revolutionary shift toward a preference for textual transmission and text-based knowledge over long-standing oral traditions first becomes detectable in the 1st century CE. The spoken word, however, never lost its power. Rather than writing replacing the power of the spoken word, both existed side by side. Scriptures had to be recited and heard in order to be efficacious, and

11639-582: The sight of humans, they would have been called jinn. The anglicized form genie is a borrowing of the French génie , also from the Latin genius . It first appeared in 18th century translations of the Thousand and One Nights from the 1706 French edition, where it had been used owing to its rough similarity in sound and sense and further applies to benevolent intermediary spirits, in contrast to

11752-486: The soul") are forms of dha'iyfah . In that case, it is believed that an exorcism is required to save the person from the assaulting jinni. To protect oneself from jinn, many Muslims wear amulets with the name of God graved on. Jinn are also said to be scared of iron and wolves . Jinn feature in the magical realism genre , introduced into Turkish literature by Latife Tekin (1983), who uses magical elements known from pre-Islamic and Islamic Anatolian lore. Since

11865-525: The subject of many artistic creations, such as paintings and sculptures . Examples of writings about them include: The Eight Immortals have been linked to the initial development of qigong exercises such as the Eight Piece Brocade . There are also some Chinese martial arts styles named after them, which use fighting techniques that are attributed to the characteristics of each immortal. Some drunken boxing styles make extensive use of

11978-416: The term jinn refers to foreign, invisible, or unknown anthropomorphic beings, which are nonetheless subject to the same considerations as the former. They were both created to worship God ( 51:56 ). Because they are supposed to worship God from free will, they are both able for good and evil deeds ( 7:179 , 55:56 ). They are, like humans, rational beings formed of nations ( 7:38 ). Surah al-jinn

12091-602: The term jinn . Another suggestion holds that the word is of Persian origin and appeared in the form of the Avestic Jaini , a wicked (female) spirit. Jaini were among various creatures in the possibly even pre-Zoroastrian mythology of peoples of Iran . Wensick advocates a purely Arabic origin of the term, asserting that according to the common Semitic view psychic and bodily affections are caused by spirits. An object reacting upon such an affect would be an incarnation of said spirit. Since these spirits are covered from

12204-414: The term 神教 ( shénjiào ; 'shenism'). Tan however, comments that is not the way the Chinese refer to their religion, which in any case includes worship of ancestors, not shen , and suggests it is logical to use "Chinese Religion". Shenxianism 神仙教 ( shénxiān jiào ), literally 'religion of deities and immortals ', is a term partly inspired by Elliott's "shenism" neologism. During

12317-451: The usage of the term " Hinduism " for Indian religion. In Malaysia , reports the scholar Tan Chee-Beng, Chinese do not have a definite term for their traditional religion, which is not surprising because "the religion is diffused into various aspects of Chinese culture". They refer to their religion as 'Buddha worship' ( 拜佛 ; bàifó ) or 'spirit worship' ( 拜神 ; bàishén ), which prompted Alan J. A. Elliott to suggest

12430-787: Was assumed there are at least some friendly and helpful beings among the jinn. He distinguishes between a god and a jinni, not on the basis of morality, but on the basis of worship; the jinn are worshipped in private while the gods are worshipped in public. Al-Jahiz credits the pre-Islamic Arabs with believing that the society of jinn constitutes several tribes and groups, analogous to pre-Islamic Arabian culture. Jinn could also protect, marry, kidnap, possess, and kill people. Despite being invisible, jinn are considered to have bodies ( ajsām ), as described by Zakariya al-Qazwini , they are among animals , along with humans, burdened beasts (like horses ), cattle , wild beasts, birds , and reptiles . Jinn are further known as shapeshifters, often assuming

12543-461: Was considered to be embodied in the human realm as the lineage of imperial power. Di ( Chinese : 帝 ) is a term meaning "deity" or "emperor" ( Latin : imperator , verb im-perare ; "making from within"), used either as a name of the primordial god or as a title of natural gods, describing a principle that exerts a fatherly dominance over what it produces. With the Zhou dynasty , which preferred

12656-521: Was sent as a prophet to both human and jinn communities, and prophets and messengers were sent to both communities. Throughout the Quran, humans and jinn ( al-ins wa-l-jinn ) appear frequently as a pair, designating their equal status in regards of their creation and rejecting that jinn share divinity with the Creator. The term ins derives from anisa , which means "to be familiar with", and refers to recognisable familiar human beings. In contrast,

12769-501: Was thought that King Solomon had very close ties to the jinn, and even had control over many of them. The idea that a great and just ruler commands jinn was also extended to other emperors, such as Alexander the Great . Given this association, jinn were often seen with Solomon in a princely or kingly context, such as the small, animal-like jinn sitting beside King Solomon on his throne illustrated in an illuminated manuscript of Aja'ib al-Makhluqat by Zakariya al-Qazwini , written in

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