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157-549: Shangqing practice values meditation techniques of visualization and breathing, as well as physical exercises, as opposed to the use of alchemy and talismans . The recitation of the sacred canon plays an equally important role. The practice was essentially individualistic, contrary to the collective practices in the Celestial Master school or in the Lingbao School . Recruiting from high social classes, during

314-435: A mantra , a combination of core letters or words on deity or themes. Jain followers practice mantra regularly by chanting loudly or silently in mind. The meditation technique of contemplation includes agnya vichāya , in which one contemplates on seven facts – life and non-life, the inflow, bondage, stoppage and removal of karmas , and the final accomplishment of liberation. In apaya vichāya , one contemplates on

471-419: A mantra ) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness." In modern psychological research, meditation has been defined and characterized in various ways. Many of these emphasize the role of attention and characterize the practice of meditation as attempts to detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking," not judging the meditation-process itself ("logical relaxation"), to achieve

628-411: A bureaucratic system that favored the land-holding class able to afford the best education. One of the greatest literary critics of this was the official and famous poet Su Shi . Yet Su was a product of his times, as the identity, habits, and attitudes of the scholar-official had become less aristocratic and more bureaucratic with the transition of the periods from Tang to Song. At the beginning of

785-618: A compass, first recorded description of the pound lock , and improved designs of astronomical clocks . Economically, the Song dynasty was unparalleled with a gross domestic product three times larger than that of Europe during the 12th century. China's population doubled in size between the 10th and 11th centuries. This growth was made possible by expanded rice cultivation , use of early-ripening rice from Southeast and South Asia, and production of widespread food surpluses. The Northern Song census recorded 20 million households, double that of

942-474: A deeper, more devout, or more relaxed state. Bond et al. (2009) identified criteria for defining a practice as meditation "for use in a comprehensive systematic review of the therapeutic use of meditation", using "a 5-round Delphi study with a panel of 7 experts in meditation research" who were also trained in diverse but empirically highly studied (Eastern-derived or clinical) forms of meditation : three main criteria ... as essential to any meditation practice:

1099-436: A departure from the earlier Tang dynasty (618–907), when the government strictly regulated commercial markets and local affairs; now the government withdrew heavily from regulating commerce and relied upon a mass of local gentry to perform necessary duties in their communities. The gentry distinguished themselves in society through their intellectual and antiquarian pursuits, while the homes of prominent landholders attracted

1256-454: A devotee to desire to begin to meditate. Nām japnā involves focusing one's attention on the names or great attributes of God. Taoist meditation has developed techniques including concentration, visualization, qi cultivation, contemplation , and mindfulness meditations in its long history. Traditional Daoist meditative practices influenced Buddhism creating the unique meditative practices of Chinese Buddhism that then spread through

1413-888: A form of focused attention, calms down the mind; this calmed mind can then investigate the nature of reality, by monitoring the fleeting and ever-changing constituents of experience, by reflective investigation, or by "turning back the radiance," focusing awareness on awareness itself and discerning the true nature of mind as awareness itself. Matko and Sedlmeier (2019) "call into question the common division into 'focused attention' and 'open-monitoring' practices." They argue for "two orthogonal dimensions along which meditation techniques could be classified," namely "activation" and "amount of body orientation," proposing seven clusters of techniques: "mindful observation, body-centered meditation, visual concentration, contemplation, affect-centered meditation, mantra meditation, and meditation with movement." Jonathan Shear argues that transcendental meditation

1570-657: A great effect on people's lives, beliefs, and daily activities, and Chinese literature on spirituality was popular. The major deities of Daoism and Buddhism , ancestral spirits , and the many deities of Chinese folk religion were worshipped with sacrificial offerings. Tansen Sen asserts that more Buddhist monks from India traveled to China during the Song than in the previous Tang dynasty (618–907). With many ethnic foreigners travelling to China to conduct trade or live permanently, there came many foreign religions; religious minorities in China included Middle Eastern Muslims ,

1727-412: A high level of suspicion by the judge. Due to costly court expenses and immediate jailing of those accused of criminal offenses, people in the Song preferred to settle disputes and quarrels privately, without the court's interference. Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays argued against traditional Chinese beliefs in anatomy (such as his argument for two throat valves instead of three); this perhaps spurred

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1884-673: A literary flourishing in the Song period, which saw the publication of several major classical koan collections which remain influential in Zen philosophy and practice to the present day. A true revival of Buddhism in Chinese society would not occur until the Mongol rule of the Yuan dynasty, with Kublai Khan's sponsorship of Tibetan Buddhism and Drogön Chögyal Phagpa as the leading lama . The Christian sect of Nestorianism , which had entered China in

2041-461: A lower social tier than men according to Confucian ethics, they enjoyed many social and legal privileges and wielded considerable power at home and in their own small businesses. As Song society became more and more prosperous and parents on the bride's side of the family provided larger dowries for her marriage, women naturally gained many new legal rights in ownership of property. Under certain circumstances, an unmarried daughter without brothers, or

2198-668: A master could give a text to a disciple. The texts could never be revealed to those outside the school. Meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking," achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditation process itself. Techniques are broadly classified into focused (or concentrative) and open monitoring methods. Focused methods involve attention to specific objects like breath or mantras , while open monitoring includes mindfulness and awareness of mental events. Meditation

2355-503: A million a century later. This economic power also heavily influenced foreign economies abroad. In 1120 alone, the Song government collected 18,000,000 ounces (510,000 kg) of silver in taxes. The Moroccan geographer al-Idrisi wrote in 1154 of the prowess of Chinese merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and of their annual voyages that brought iron, swords, silk, velvet, porcelain, and various textiles to places such as Aden ( Yemen ),

2512-555: A more important aspect. Some members of the school during the time of its apocalypticism believed those who would be saved would only be elite Daoists who previously used cultivation techniques or studied them in attempts to become xian . Members of the school in the afterlife were thought to be able to aid their living counterparts. The main god of the Shangqing School is known as the Venerable Sovereign,

2669-667: A natural development from the sense-restraint and moral constrictions prescribed by the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha identified two paramount mental qualities that arise from wholesome meditative practice or bhavana , namely samatha ("calm," "serenity" "tranquility") and vipassana (insight). As the developing tradition started to emphasize the value of liberating insight, and dhyana came to be understood as concentration, samatha and vipassana were understood as two distinct meditative techniques. In this understanding, samatha steadies, composes, unifies and concentrates

2826-600: A new organization of classic texts that established the doctrine of Neo-Confucianism . Although civil service examinations had existed since the Sui dynasty , they became much more prominent in the Song period. Officials gaining power through imperial examination led to a shift from a military-aristocratic elite to a scholar-bureaucratic elite. After usurping the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty , Emperor Taizu of Song ( r.  960–976 ) spent sixteen years conquering

2983-474: A number contemporary scholars and scholar-practitioners, it is actually a description of the development of perfected equanimity and mindfulness, apparently induced by satipatthana, an open monitoring of the breath, without trying to regulate it. The same description, in a different formula, can be found in the bojjhanga , the "seven factors of awakening," and may therefore refer to the core program of early Buddhist bhavana . According to Vetter, dhyana seems to be

3140-456: A philosophical point. Although an early form of the local geographic gazetteer existed in China since the 1st century, the matured form known as "treatise on a place", or fangzhi , replaced the old "map guide", or transl.  zho  – transl.  tujing , during the Song dynasty. The imperial courts of the emperor's palace were filled with his entourage of court painters, calligraphers, poets, and storytellers. Emperor Huizong

3297-459: A practice of only 8 minutes per day. Research shows improvement in meditation time with simple oral and video training. Some meditators practice for much longer, particularly when on a course or retreat . Some meditators find practice best in the hours before dawn . Some religions have traditions of using prayer beads as tools in devotional meditation. Most prayer beads and Christian rosaries consist of pearls or beads linked together by

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3454-458: A raid on Guangxi , the Song commander Guo Kui (1022–1088) penetrated as far as Thăng Long (modern Hanoi ). Heavy losses on both sides prompted the Vietnamese commander Thường Kiệt (1019–1105) to make peace overtures, allowing both sides to withdraw from the war effort; captured territories held by both Song and Vietnamese were mutually exchanged in 1082, along with prisoners of war. During

3611-424: A small scale during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but by the Song period, it became virtually the only means for drafting officials into the government. The advent of widespread printing helped to widely circulate Confucian teachings and to educate more and more eligible candidates for the exams. This can be seen in the number of exam takers for the low-level prefectural exams rising from 30,000 annual candidates in

3768-541: A surviving mother without sons, could inherit one-half of her father's share of undivided family property. There were many notable and well-educated women, and it was a common practice for women to educate their sons during their earliest youth. The mother of the scientist, general, diplomat, and statesman Shen Kuo taught him essentials of military strategy. There were also exceptional women writers and poets, such as Li Qingzhao (1084–1151), who became famous even in her lifetime. Religion in China during this period had

3925-501: A thread. The Roman Catholic rosary is a string of beads containing five sets with ten small beads. Eastern and Oriental Orthodox have traditions of using prayer ropes called Comboschini or Meqetaria as an aid to prayerful meditation. The Hindu japa mala has 108 beads. The figure 108 in itself having spiritual significance as the energy of the sounds equivalates to Om , as well as those used in Gaudiya Vaishnavism ,

4082-588: A tribute to Song. Champa rice was drought-resistant and able to grow fast enough to offer two harvests a year instead of one. Song restaurant and tavern menus are recorded. They list entrees for feasts, banquets, festivals, and carnivals. They reveal a diverse and lavish diet for those of the upper class. They could choose from a wide variety of meats and seafood, including shrimp, geese, duck, mussel, shellfish, fallow deer , hare, partridge, pheasant, francolin, quail, fox, badger, clam, crab, and many others. Dairy products were rare in Chinese cuisine at this time. Beef

4239-515: A variety of courtiers , including artisans, artists, educational tutors, and entertainers. Despite the disdain for trade, commerce, and the merchant class exhibited by the highly cultured and elite exam-drafted scholar-officials, commercialism played a prominent role in Song culture and society. A scholar-official would be frowned upon by his peers if he pursued means of profiteering outside of his official salary; however, this did not stop many scholar-officials from managing business relations through

4396-466: A visitation experience. These texts eventually formed the basis of the school’s beliefs. The immortals and spirits that appeared to him were from "the heaven of Shang-ch'ing" and stated that Imperial China and all other governments in the world would end and be replaced by a theocratic Taoist empire . The school at this time believed that the 4th century was a time of sin and divine trials brought on by six evil and demonic tiān realms called

4553-477: A wide range of dissimilar practices in different traditions and cultures. In popular usage, the word "meditation" and the phrase "meditative practice" are often used imprecisely to designate practices found across many cultures. These can include almost anything that is claimed to train the attention of mind or to teach calmness or compassion. There remains no definition of necessary and sufficient criteria for meditation that has achieved widespread acceptance within

4710-409: Is also sometimes done while walking, known as kinhin , while doing a simple task mindfully, known as samu , or while lying down, known as shavasana . The Transcendental Meditation technique recommends practice of 20 minutes twice per day. Some techniques suggest less time, especially when starting meditation, and Richard Davidson has quoted research saying benefits can be achieved with

4867-426: Is an "automatic self-transcending" technique, different from focused attention and open monitoring. In this kind of practice, "there is no attempt to sustain any particular condition at all. Practices of this kind, once started, are reported to automatically 'transcend' their own activity and disappear, to be started up again later if appropriate." Yet, Shear also states that "automatic self-transcending" also applies to

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5024-554: Is believed to be pure consciousness, beyond any attachment or aversion. The practitioner strives to be just a knower-seer ( gyata-drashta ). Jain meditation can be broadly categorized into Dharma dhyana and Shukla dhyana . Dharma dhyana is discriminating knowledge (bheda-vijñāna) of the tattvas (truths or fundamental principles), while shukla dhyana is meditation proper. Jainism uses meditation techniques such as pindāstha-dhyāna, padāstha-dhyāna, rūpāstha-dhyāna, rūpātita-dhyāna, and savīrya-dhyāna . In padāstha dhyāna, one focuses on

5181-736: Is best thought of as a natural category of techniques best captured by ' family resemblances ' ... or by the related 'prototype' model of concepts ." Several other definitions of meditation have been used by influential modern reviews of research on meditation across multiple traditions: In the West, meditation techniques have often been classified in two broad categories, which in actual practice are often combined: focused (or concentrative) meditation and open monitoring (or mindfulness) meditation: Direction of mental attention... A practitioner can focus intensively on one particular object (so-called concentrative meditation ), on all mental events that enter

5338-539: Is practiced in numerous religious traditions, though it is also practised independently from any religious or spiritual influences for its health benefits. The earliest records of meditation ( dhyana ) are found in the Upanishads , and meditation plays a salient role in the contemplative repertoire of Jainism , Buddhism and Hinduism . Meditation-like techniques are also known in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in

5495-574: Is still practiced but its current techniques and beliefs differ from the original values of the school. Lady Wei Huacun, an aristocrat from the Jin dynasty and a Celestial Master practitioner, was the first leader of the Shangqing School. Three decades after her death, from 364 to 370, Yang Xi (330-c. 386) was believed to have had revelations "aided almost certainly by cannabis " ( Joseph Needham 1980:213) and "received... scriptural and hagiographic literature" from zhenren xian who brought him into

5652-434: Is through the release of the hindrances and ending of craving through the meditative development of insight that one gains liberation. In Sikhism , simran (meditation) and good deeds are both necessary to achieve the devotee's spiritual goals; without good deeds meditation is futile. When Sikhs meditate, they aim to feel God's presence and emerge in the divine light. It is only God's divine will or order that allows

5809-467: The Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute from the life story of Cai Wenji (b. 177). This art project was a diplomatic gesture to the Jin dynasty while he negotiated for the release of his mother from Jurchen captivity in the north. In philosophy, Chinese Buddhism had waned in influence but it retained its hold on the arts and on the charities of monasteries. Buddhism had a profound influence upon

5966-634: The Satipatthana Sutta and the Dhyana sutras , and through oral teacher-student transmissions. These ancient practices are supplemented with various distinct interpretations of, and developments in, these practices. The Theravāda tradition stresses the development of samatha and vipassana , postulating over fifty methods for developing mindfulness based on the Satipatthana Sutta , and forty for developing concentration based on

6123-860: The Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, Srivijaya , the Kara-Khanid Khanate in Central Asia , the Goryeo Kingdom in Korea, and other countries that were also trade partners with Japan . Chinese records even mention an embassy from the ruler of "Fu lin" (拂菻, i.e. the Byzantine Empire ), Michael VII Doukas , and its arrival in 1081. However, China's closest neighbouring states had the greatest impact on its domestic and foreign policy. From its inception under Taizu,

6280-598: The Han and Tang dynasties. It is estimated that the Northern Song had a population of 90 million people, and 200 million by the time of the Ming dynasty . This dramatic increase of population fomented an economic revolution in pre-modern China . The expansion of the population, growth of cities, and emergence of a national economy led to the gradual withdrawal of the central government from direct intervention in

6437-599: The Hare Krishna tradition , and Jainism . Buddhist prayer beads also have 108 beads, but hold a different meaning. In Buddhism, there are 108 human passions that impede enlightenment. Each bead is counted once as a person recites a mantra until the person has gone all the way around the mala. The Muslim misbaha has 99 beads. There is also quite a variance when it comes to materials used for beads. Beads made from seeds of rudraksha trees are considered sacred by devotees of Shiva , while followers of Vishnu revere

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6594-643: The Hatha Yoga Pradipika , the development of Bhakti yoga as a major form of meditation, and Tantra . Another important Hindu yoga text is the Yoga Yajnavalkya , which makes use of Hatha Yoga and Vedanta Philosophy. The Bhagavata Purana emphasizes that mantra meditation is a key practice for achieving liberation; practitioners can achieve a direct vision of the divine. The text integrates both Vedic and tantric elements, where mantras are not only seen as sacred sounds but as embodiment of

6751-750: The Indus River , and the Euphrates . Foreigners, in turn, affected the Chinese economy. For example, many West and Central Asian Muslims went to China to trade, becoming a preeminent force in the import and export industry, while some were even appointed as officers supervising economic affairs. Sea trade with the South-west Pacific, the Hindu world, the Islamic world, and East Africa brought merchants great fortune and spurred an enormous growth in

6908-916: The Kaifeng Jews , and Persian Manichaeans . The populace engaged in a vibrant social and domestic life, enjoying such public festivals as the Lantern Festival and the Qingming Festival . There were entertainment quarters in the cities providing a constant array of amusements. There were puppeteers, acrobats, theatre actors, sword swallowers, snake charmers, storytellers , singers and musicians, prostitutes, and places to relax, including tea houses, restaurants, and organized banquets. People attended social clubs in large numbers; there were tea clubs, exotic food clubs, antiquarian and art collectors' clubs, horse-loving clubs, poetry clubs, and music clubs. Like regional cooking and cuisines in

7065-724: The Mongol Empire , died in 1259 while besieging the mountain castle Diaoyucheng in Chongqing . His younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan and in 1271 founded the Yuan dynasty. After two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279 after defeating the Southern Song in the Battle of Yamen , and reunited China under the Yuan dynasty. Technology , science, philosophy, mathematics, and engineering flourished during

7222-487: The Pearl River Delta in 1279, the Yuan army, led by the general Zhang Hongfan , finally crushed the Song resistance. The last remaining ruler, the 13-year-old emperor Zhao Bing , committed suicide, along with Prime Minister Lu Xiufu and 1300 members of the royal clan. On Kublai's orders, carried out by his commander Bayan, the rest of the former imperial family of Song were unharmed; the deposed Emperor Gong

7379-550: The Tang dynasty , Shangqing was the dominant school of Daoism, and its influence is found in literature of the time period. The importance of the school only began to diminish beginning from the second half of the Song dynasty . Under the Yuan dynasty , the movement was known by the name Maoshan and the focus changed from meditation to rituals and talismans. In the 21st century, Maoshan Daoism

7536-610: The Vipassana movement , with many non-Buddhists taking-up meditative practices. The modernized concept of mindfulness (based on the Buddhist term sati ) and related meditative practices have in turn led to mindfulness based therapies . Dhyana , while often presented as a form of focused attention or concentration, as in Buddhagosa's Theravada classic the Visuddhimagga ("Path of purification", 5th c. CE), according to

7693-680: The Visuddhimagga . The Tibetan tradition incorporated Sarvastivada and Tantric practices, wedded with Madhyamaka philosophy, and developed thousands of visualization meditations. Via the Dhyana sutras, which are based on the Sarvastivada-tradition, the Zen-tradition incorporated mindfulness and breath-meditation. Downplaying the "petty complexities" of satipatthana and the body-recollections (but maintaining

7850-628: The Yangtze to establish a new capital at Lin'an (modern Hangzhou). The Jurchen conquest of North China and shift of capitals from Kaifeng to Lin'an was the dividing line between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. After their fall to the Jin, the Song lost control of North China. Now occupying what has been traditionally known as "China Proper", the Jin regarded themselves the rightful rulers of China. The Jin later chose earth as their dynastic element and yellow as their royal color. According to

8007-483: The effects of meditation on health ( psychological , neurological , and cardiovascular ) and other areas. The English meditation is derived from Old French meditacioun , in turn from Latin meditatio from a verb meditari , meaning "to think, contemplate, devise, ponder". In the Catholic tradition, the use of the term meditatio as part of a formal, stepwise process of meditation goes back to at least

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8164-411: The go and xiangqi board games. During this period greater emphasis was laid upon the civil service system of recruiting officials; this was based upon degrees acquired through competitive examinations , in an effort to select the most capable individuals for governance. Selecting men for office through proven merit was an ancient idea in China . The civil service system became institutionalized on

8321-417: The shipbuilding industry of Song-era Fujian . However, there was risk involved in such long overseas ventures. In order to reduce the risk of losing money on maritime trade missions abroad, wrote historians Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais: [Song era] investors usually divided their investment among many ships, and each ship had many investors behind it. One observer thought eagerness to invest in overseas trade

8478-461: The universal history text of the Zizhi Tongjian , compiled into 1000 volumes of 9.4 million written Chinese characters . The genre of Chinese travel literature also became popular with the writings of the geographer Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Su Shi, the latter of whom wrote the 'daytrip essay' known as Record of Stone Bell Mountain that used persuasive writing to argue for

8635-435: The "outer limbs," include ethical discipline ( yamas ), rules ( niyamas ), physical postures ( āsanas ), and breath control ( prāṇāyama ). The fifth, withdrawal from the senses ( pratyāhāra ), transitions into the "inner limbs" that are one-pointedness of mind ( dhāraṇā ), meditation ( dhyāna ), and finally samādhi . Later developments in Hindu meditation include the compilation of Hatha Yoga (forceful yoga) compendiums like

8792-473: The 11th century, political rivalries divided members of the court due to the ministers' differing approaches, opinions, and policies regarding the handling of the Song's complex society and thriving economy. The idealist Chancellor , Fan Zhongyan (989–1052), was the first to receive a heated political backlash when he attempted to institute the Qingli Reforms , which included measures such as improving

8949-405: The 11th-century innovation of the use of coal instead of charcoal in blast furnaces for smelting cast iron . Much of this iron was reserved for military use in crafting weapons and armouring troops, but some was used to fashion the many iron products needed to fill the demands of the growing domestic market. The iron trade within China was advanced by the construction of new canals, facilitating

9106-816: The 12th-century monk Guigo II , before which the Greek word theoria was used for the same purpose. Apart from its historical usage, the term meditation was introduced as a translation for Eastern spiritual practices , referred to as dhyāna in Hinduism , Buddhism , and Jainism , which comes from the Sanskrit root dhyai , meaning to contemplate or meditate. The term "meditation" in English may also refer to practices from Islamic Sufism , or other traditions such as Jewish Kabbalah and Christian Hesychasm . Meditation has proven difficult to define as it covers

9263-618: The Confucian classics of the Four Books as an introductory corpus to Confucian learning formed the basis of the Neo-Confucian doctrine. By the year 1241, under the sponsorship of Emperor Lizong , Zhu Xi's Four Books and his commentary on them became standard requirements of study for students attempting to pass the civil service examinations. The neighbouring countries of Japan and Korea also adopted Zhu Xi's teaching, known as

9420-423: The Jin dynasty. It had able military officers such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong . The government sponsored massive shipbuilding and harbor improvement projects, and the construction of beacons and seaport warehouses to support maritime trade abroad, including at the major international seaports , such as Quanzhou , Guangzhou , and Xiamen , that were sustaining China's commerce. To protect and support

9577-580: The Liao forces, who engaged in aggressive yearly campaigns into Northern Song territory until 1005, when the signing of the Shanyuan Treaty ended these northern border clashes. The Song were forced to provide tribute to the Khitans, although this did little damage to the Song economy since the Khitans were economically dependent upon importing massive amounts of goods from the Song. More significantly,

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9734-496: The Mongols as vassals ; when the Jin suddenly moved their capital city from Beijing to Kaifeng, the Mongols saw this as a revolt. Under the leadership of Ögedei Khan (r.1229–1241), both the Jin dynasty and Western Xia dynasty were conquered by Mongol forces in 1233/34. The Mongols were allied with the Song, but this alliance was broken when the Song recaptured the former imperial capitals of Kaifeng, Luoyang , and Chang'an at

9891-519: The New Policies and pursued political opponents, tolerated corruption and encouraged Emperor Huizong (1100–1126) to neglect his duties to focus on artistic pursuits. Later, a peasant rebellion broke out in Zhejiang and Fujian, headed by Fang La in 1120. The rebellion may have been caused by an increasing tax burden, the concentration of landownership and oppressive government measures. While

10048-591: The Northern Song ( 北宋 ; 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 ( 南宋 ; 1127–1279) comprise the period following the loss of control over the northern half of Song territory to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song wars . At that time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze and established its capital at Lin'an (now Hangzhou ). Although

10205-547: The Perfected Scripture of the Great Cavern of Highest Clarity (Shangqing dadong zhenjing 上清大洞真經), was edited by the twenty-third patriarch, Zhu Ziying, and collated in the 13th century by the thirty-eighth patriarch, Jiang Zongying (d. 1281). Later versions introduced “dramatic changes.” Recitation and veneration of the texts was extremely important. The transmission of texts was strictly controlled, and only

10362-651: The Shushigaku (朱子學, School of Zhu Xi) of Japan, and in Korea the Jujahak (주자학). Buddhism's continuing influence can be seen in painted artwork such as Lin Tinggui 's Luohan Laundering . However, the ideology was highly criticized and even scorned by some. The statesman and historian Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) called the religion a "curse" that could only be remedied by uprooting it from Chinese culture and replacing it with Confucian discourse. The Chan sect experienced

10519-570: The Six Heavens in English and during the apocalypse which would come in the year 392 , "the earth was to be cleansed of evildoers by a cataclysm of fire and flood." The good people of the world would be safe from this because of the power of the "luminous caverns of the perfected" beneath divine mountains like Maoshan, and Lord Li Hung would descend from heaven to rule the world afterwards. The revelation began to spread in aristocratic circles of South China, and eventually Tao Hongjing, advisor to

10676-723: The Song dynasty alternated between warfare and diplomacy with the ethnic Khitans of the Liao dynasty in the northeast and with the Tanguts of the Western Xia in the northwest. The Song dynasty used military force in an attempt to quell the Liao dynasty and to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures , a territory under Khitan control since 938 that was traditionally considered to be part of China proper (Most parts of today's Beijing and Tianjin ). Song forces were repulsed by

10833-535: The Song dynasty had lost control of the traditional Chinese heartlands around the Yellow River , the Southern Song Empire contained a large population and productive agricultural land, sustaining a robust economy. In 1234, the Jin dynasty was conquered by the Mongols , who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Möngke Khan , the fourth Great Khan of

10990-409: The Song dynasty was able to hold back the Jin, a new foe came to power over the steppe, deserts, and plains north of the Jin dynasty. The Mongols , led by Genghis Khan (r. 1206–1227), initially invaded the Jin dynasty in 1205 and 1209, engaging in large raids across its borders, and in 1211 an enormous Mongol army was assembled to invade the Jin. The Jin dynasty was forced to submit and pay tribute to

11147-519: The Song dynasty, but also the last instance where a war elephant corps was employed as a regular division within a Chinese army. There was a total of 347 military treatises written during the Song period, as listed by the history text of the Song Shi (compiled in 1345). However, only a handful of these military treatises have survived, which includes the Wujing Zongyao written in 1044. It

11304-406: The Song era. The Song dynasty was the first in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy . This dynasty saw the first surviving records of the chemical formula for gunpowder, the invention of gunpowder weapons such as fire arrows , bombs, and the fire lance . It also saw the first discernment of true north using

11461-416: The Song forces only 3,000 men on 120 warships, the Song dynasty forces were victorious in both battles due to the destructive power of the bombs and the rapid assaults by paddlewheel ships . The strength of the navy was heavily emphasized following these victories. A century after the navy was founded it had grown in size to 52,000 fighting marines. The Song government confiscated portions of land owned by

11618-527: The Song navy that could carry 1,000 soldiers aboard their decks, while the swift-moving paddle-wheel craft were viewed as essential fighting ships in any successful naval battle. In a battle on January 23, 971, massive arrow fire from Song dynasty crossbowmen decimated the war elephant corps of the Southern Han army. This defeat not only marked the eventual submission of the Southern Han to

11775-530: The Song state recognized the Liao state as its diplomatic equal. The Song created an extensive defensive forest along the Song-Liao border to thwart potential Khitan cavalry attacks. The Song dynasty managed to win several military victories over the Tanguts in the early 11th century, culminating in a campaign led by the polymath scientist, general, and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095). However, this campaign

11932-492: The Song, the era was known for its regional varieties of performing arts styles as well. Theatrical drama was very popular amongst the elite and general populace, although Classical Chinese —not the vernacular language —was spoken by actors on stage. The four largest drama theatres in Kaifeng could hold audiences of several thousand each. There were also notable domestic pastimes, as people at home enjoyed activities such as

12089-526: The Tang era, would also be revived in China under Mongol rule. Sumptuary laws regulated the food that one consumed and the clothes that one wore according to status and social class. Clothing was made of hemp or cotton cloths, restricted to a color standard of black and white. Trousers were the acceptable attire for peasants, soldiers, artisans, and merchants, although wealthy merchants might choose to wear more ornate clothing and male blouses that came down below

12246-528: The arts as accepted pastimes of the cultured scholar-official, including painting , composing poetry , and writing calligraphy . The poet and statesman Su Shi and his associate Mi Fu (1051–1107) enjoyed antiquarian affairs, often borrowing or buying art pieces to study and copy. Poetry and literature profited from the rising popularity and development of the ci poetry form . Enormous encyclopedic volumes were compiled, such as works of historiography and dozens of treatises on technical subjects. This included

12403-579: The assault against the Song, gaining a temporary foothold on the southern banks of the Yangtze. By the winter of 1259, Uriyangkhadai's army fought its way north to meet Kublai's army, which was besieging Ezhou in Hubei . Kublai made preparations to take Ezhou , but a pending civil war with his brother Ariq Böke —a rival claimant to the Mongol Khaganate—forced Kublai to move back north with

12560-423: The awareness of immanent death), the early Chan-tradition developed the notions or practices of wu nian ("no thought, no fixation on thought, such as one's own views, experiences, and knowledge") and fēi sīliàng (非思量, Japanese: hishiryō , "nonthinking"); and kanxin ("observing the mind") and shou-i pu i (守一不移, "maintaining the one without wavering," turning the attention from the objects of experience, to

12717-451: The benefit of others". Studies suggest the potential of psychedelics , such as psilocybin and DMT , to enhance meditative training. The history of meditation is intimately bound up with the religious context within which it was practiced. Rossano suggested that the emergence of the capacity for focused attention, an element of many methods of meditation, may have contributed to the latest phases of human biological evolution. Some of

12874-429: The body and could provide good health if meditated upon. Each deity inhabited a different part of the body. Through studying the descriptions of deities in the canon, adepts would contemplate the inside of their body and maintain the deities in their proper place. This would ensure the body’s durability. While it began as a school centered on the individual, the school changed progressively until talismans and rituals became

13031-461: The budding movement of Neo-Confucianism , led by Cheng Yi (1033–1107) and Zhu Xi (1130–1200). Mahayana Buddhism influenced Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi through its concept of ethical universalism , while Buddhist metaphysics deeply affected the pre–Neo-Confucian doctrine of Cheng Yi. The philosophical work of Cheng Yi in turn influenced Zhu Xi. Although his writings were not accepted by his contemporary peers, Zhu's commentary and emphasis upon

13188-528: The bulk of his forces. In Kublai's absence, the Song forces were ordered by Chancellor Jia Sidao to make an immediate assault and succeeded in pushing the Mongol forces back to the northern banks of the Yangtze. There were minor border skirmishes until 1265, when Kublai won a significant battle in Sichuan . From 1268 to 1273, Kublai blockaded the Yangtze River with his navy and besieged Xiangyang ,

13345-511: The central Song court remained politically divided and focused upon its internal affairs, alarming new events to the north in the Liao state finally came to its attention. The Jurchen , a subject tribe of the Liao, rebelled against them and formed their own state, the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) . The Song official Tong Guan (1054–1126) advised Emperor Huizong to form an alliance with the Jurchens, and

13502-464: The cities of Huizhou , Chengdu , Hangzhou , and Anqi. The size of the workforce employed in paper money factories was large; it was recorded in 1175 that the factory at Hangzhou employed more than a thousand workers a day. The economic power of Song China can be attested by the growth of the urban population of its capital city Hangzhou. The population was 200,000 at the start of the 12th century and increased to 500,000 around 1170 and doubled to over

13659-523: The codified rules and live together in monasteries in specific cultural settings that go along with their meditative practices. Dictionaries give both the original Latin meaning of "think[ing] deeply about (something)", as well as the popular usages of "focusing one's mind for a period of time", "the act of giving your attention to only one thing, either as a religious activity or as a way of becoming calm and relaxed", and "to engage in mental exercise (such as concentrating on one's breathing or repetition of

13816-469: The collapse of the Jin dynasty. After the first Mongol invasion of Vietnam in 1258, Mongol general Uriyangkhadai attacked Guangxi from Hanoi as part of a coordinated Mongol attack in 1259 with armies attacking in Sichuan under Mongol leader Möngke Khan and other Mongol armies attacking in modern-day Shandong and Henan . On August 11, 1259, Möngke Khan died during the siege of Diaoyu Castle in Chongqing . His successor Kublai Khan continued

13973-405: The context of remembrance of and prayer and devotion to God. Asian meditative techniques have spread to other cultures where they have found application in non-spiritual contexts, such as business and health. Meditation may significantly reduce stress, fear, anxiety, depression, and pain, and enhance peace, perception , self-concept , and well-being . Research is ongoing to better understand

14130-477: The core practices of body contemplations ( repulsiveness and cemetery contemplations ) and anapanasati ( mindfulness of in-and-out breathing) culminating in jhāna / dhyāna or samādhi . While most classical and contemporary Buddhist meditation guides are school-specific, the root meditative practices of various body recollections and breath meditation have been preserved and transmitted in almost all Buddhist traditions , through Buddhist texts like

14287-470: The court. Wang Anshi's "New Policies Group" ( Xin Fa ), also known as the "Reformers", were opposed by the ministers in the "Conservative" faction led by the historian and Chancellor Sima Guang (1019–1086). As one faction supplanted another in the majority position of the court ministers, it would demote rival officials and exile them to govern remote frontier regions of the empire. One of the prominent victims of

14444-656: The deity. This approach reflects a shift from the impersonal meditation on the sound-form of Brahman ( Om ) in the Upanishads to a personal, devotional focus on Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana. Jainism has three elements called the Ratnatraya ("Three Jewels"): right perception and faith, right knowledge and right conduct. Meditation in Jainism aims to reach and to remain in the pure state of soul which

14601-448: The development of insight and wisdom ( Prajñā ) which is the quality of mind that can "clearly see" ( vi-passana ) the nature of phenomena. What exactly is to be seen varies within the Buddhist traditions. In Theravada, all phenomena are to be seen as impermanent , suffering , not-self and empty . When this happens, one develops dispassion ( viraga ) for all phenomena, including all negative qualities and hindrances and lets them go. It

14758-413: The dynasty, government posts were disproportionately held by two elite social groups: a founding elite who had ties with the founding emperor and a semi-hereditary professional elite who used long-held clan status, family connections , and marriage alliances to secure appointments. By the late 11th century, the founding elite became obsolete, while political partisanship and factionalism at court undermined

14915-599: The earliest references to meditation, as well as proto- Samkhya , are found in the Upanishads of India. According to Wynne, the earliest clear references to meditation are in the middle Upanishads and the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad Gita ). According to Gavin Flood , the earlier Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is describing meditation when it states that "Having become calm and concentrated, one perceives

15072-511: The early 11th century to 400,000 candidates by the late 13th century. The civil service and examination system allowed for greater meritocracy , social mobility , and equality in competition for those wishing to attain an official seat in government. Using statistics gathered by the Song state, Edward A. Kracke, Sudō Yoshiyuki, and Ho Ping-ti supported the hypothesis that simply having a father, grandfather, or great-grandfather who had served as an official of state did not guarantee one would obtain

15229-561: The economy. The lower gentry assumed a larger role in local administration and affairs. Song society was vibrant, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. Citizens gathered to view and trade artwork, and intermingled at festivals and in private clubs. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the rapid expansion of woodblock printing and the 11th-century invention of movable type printing. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhist ideals, and emphasized

15386-591: The educational system and state bureaucracy. Seeking to resolve what he saw as state corruption and negligence, Wang implemented a series of reforms called the New Policies . These involved land value tax reform, the establishment of several government monopolies, the support of local militias, and the creation of higher standards for the Imperial examination to make it more practical for men skilled in statecraft to pass. The reforms created political factions in

15543-402: The empire. In one such project, cartographers created detailed maps of each province and city that were then collected in a large atlas . Emperor Taizu also promoted groundbreaking scientific and technological innovations by supporting works like the astronomical clock tower designed and built by the engineer Zhang Sixun . The Song court maintained diplomatic relations with Chola India ,

15700-586: The establishment of retirement homes , public clinics , and paupers ' graveyards . The Song dynasty supported a widespread postal service that was modeled on the earlier Han dynasty (202 BCE – CE 220) postal system to provide swift communication throughout the empire. The central government employed thousands of postal workers of various ranks to provide service for post offices and larger postal stations. In rural areas, farming peasants either owned their own plots of land , paid rents as tenant farmers , or were serfs on large estates. Although women were on

15857-447: The famed Bao Zheng (999–1062) embodied the upright, moral judge who upheld justice and never failed to live up to his principles. Song judges specified the guilty person or party in a criminal act and meted out punishments accordingly, often in the form of caning . A guilty individual or parties brought to court for a criminal or civil offense were not viewed as wholly innocent until proven otherwise, while even accusers were viewed with

16014-711: The field of awareness (so-called mindfulness meditation ), or both specific focal points and the field of awareness. Focused methods include paying attention to the breath , to an idea or feeling (such as mettā – loving-kindness), to a kōan , or to a mantra (such as in transcendental meditation ), and single point meditation. Open monitoring methods include mindfulness , shikantaza and other awareness states. Another typology divides meditation approaches into concentrative, generative, receptive and reflective practices: The Buddhist tradition often divides meditative practice into samatha , or calm abiding, and vipassana , insight. Mindfulness of breathing ,

16171-703: The first of the Three Pure Ones . The pantheon included gods that could be turned to for help, ones that could be revered and others that could be commanded. As described by Tao Hongjing, the pantheon occupied twenty-eight pages in Shangqing texts, but the most important deities are scarcely mentioned. The canon mostly contains information about the gods that lived within the body. There are at least eight heavens in Shangqing Daoism, although six of them are evil and demonic. One of them gives its name to

16328-451: The flow of iron products from production centres to the large market in the capital city. The annual output of minted copper currency in 1085 reached roughly six billion coins. The most notable advancement in the Song economy was the establishment of the world's first government issued paper-printed money, known as Jiaozi (see also Huizi ). For the printing of paper money , the Song court established several government-run factories in

16485-400: The government relied upon the cooperation of the few or many local gentry in the area. For example, the Song government—excluding the educational-reformist government under Emperor Huizong—spared little amount of state revenue to maintain prefectural and county schools; instead, the bulk of the funds for schools was drawn from private financing. This limited role of government officials was

16642-433: The hall monitor or given little taps if they requested to be hit. Nobody asked about the 'meaning' of the stick, nobody explained, and nobody ever complained about its use. Neuroscientist and long-time meditator Richard Davidson has expressed the view that having a narrative can help the maintenance of daily practice. For instance, he himself prostrates to the teachings, and meditates "not primarily for my benefit, but for

16799-521: The hierarchic social order, a person could gain status and prestige in society by becoming a high-ranking military officer with a record of victorious battles. At its height, the Song military had one million soldiers divided into platoons of 50 troops, companies made of two platoons, battalions composed of 500 soldiers. Crossbowmen were separated from the regular infantry and placed in their own units as they were prized combatants, providing effective missile fire against cavalry charges. The government

16956-414: The importance of proper coroner 's conduct during autopsies and the accurate recording of the inquest of each autopsy by official clerks. The Song military was chiefly organized to ensure that the army could not threaten Imperial control, often at the expense of effectiveness in war. Northern Song's Military Council operated under a Chancellor, who had no control over the imperial army. The imperial army

17113-459: The incorrect insights one indulges, which eventually develops right insight. In vipaka vichāya , one reflects on the eight causes or basic types of karma . In sansathan vichāya , one thinks about the vastness of the universe and the loneliness of the soul. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward awakening and nirvana . The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā ("development"), and

17270-413: The interest in the performance of post-mortem autopsies in China during the 12th century. The physician and judge known as Song Ci (1186–1249) wrote a pioneering work of forensic science on the examination of corpses in order to determine cause of death (strangulation, poisoning, drowning, blows, etc.) and to prove whether death resulted from murder, suicide, or accidental death. Song Ci stressed

17427-495: The joint military campaign under this Alliance Conducted at Sea toppled and completely conquered the Liao dynasty by 1125. During the joint attack, the Song's northern expedition army removed the defensive forest along the Song-Liao border. However, the poor performance and military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchens, who immediately broke the alliance, beginning the Jin–Song Wars of 1125 and 1127. Because of

17584-487: The knee, skirts, and jackets with long or short sleeves, while women from wealthy families could wear purple scarves around their shoulders. The main difference in women's apparel from that of men was that it was fastened on the left, not on the right. The main food staples in the diet of the lower classes remained rice, pork, and salted fish. In 1011, Emperor Zhenzong of Song introduced Champa rice to China from Vietnam 's Kingdom of Champa , which sent 30,000 bushels as

17741-451: The landed gentry in order to raise revenue for these projects, an act which caused dissension and loss of loyalty amongst leading members of Song society but did not stop the Song's defensive preparations. Financial matters were made worse by the fact that many wealthy, land-owning families—some of which had officials working for the government—used their social connections with those in office in order to obtain tax-exempt status. Although

17898-419: The last obstacle in his way to invading the rich Yangtze River basin. Kublai officially declared the creation of the Yuan dynasty in 1271. In 1275, a Song force of 130,000 troops under Chancellor Jia Sidao was defeated by Kublai's newly appointed commander-in-chief, general Bayan . By 1276, most of the Song territory had been captured by Yuan forces, including the capital Lin'an. In the Battle of Yamen on

18055-558: The major cause of Song economic prosperity. Artisans and merchants formed guilds that the state had to deal with when assessing taxes, requisitioning goods, and setting standard workers' wages and prices on goods. The iron industry was pursued by both private entrepreneurs who owned their own smelters as well as government-supervised smelting facilities. The Song economy was stable enough to produce over 100,000,000 kg (220,000,000 lb) of iron products per year. Large-scale Deforestation in China would have continued if not for

18212-412: The marriage strategies of the professional elite, which dissolved as a distinguishable social group and was replaced by a multitude of gentry families. Due to Song's enormous population growth and the body of its appointed scholar-officials being accepted in limited numbers (about 20,000 active officials during the Song period), the larger scholarly gentry class would now take over grassroots affairs on

18369-531: The mind, while vipassana enables one to see, explore and discern "formations" (conditioned phenomena based on the five aggregates ). According to this understanding, which is central to Theravada orthodoxy but also plays a role in Tibetan Buddhism , through the meditative development of serenity, one is able to weaken the obscuring hindrances and bring the mind to a collected, pliant, and still state ( samadhi ). This quality of mind then supports

18526-631: The modern scientific community . Some of the difficulty in precisely defining meditation has been in recognizing the particularities of the many various traditions ; and theories and practice can differ within a tradition. Taylor noted that even within a faith such as "Hindu" or "Buddhist", schools and individual teachers may teach distinct types of meditation. Ornstein noted that "Most techniques of meditation do not exist as solitary practices but are only artificially separable from an entire system of practice and belief." For instance, while monks meditate as part of their everyday lives, they also engage in

18683-727: The most prosperous and advanced economies in the medieval world. Song Chinese invested their funds in joint stock companies and in multiple sailing vessels at a time when monetary gain was assured from the vigorous overseas trade and domestic trade along the Grand Canal and Yangtze River. Both private and government-controlled industries met the needs of a growing Chinese population in the Song; prominent merchant families and private businesses were allowed to occupy industries that were not already government-operated monopolies. Economic historians emphasize this toleration of market mechanisms over population growth or new farming technologies as

18840-618: The movement to the north, and did little to weaken the schools organization in the south. The Daoist encyclopedia published under the patronage of the Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou (561-578) placed a great deal of importance on the Shangqing texts. The Shangqing School dominated the Daoist movements under the Tang. During this period, all of its leaders received a title from the emperor. Emperor Taizong personally visited three of

18997-597: The multitude of ships sailing for maritime interests into the waters of the East China Sea and Yellow Sea (to Korea and Japan ), Southeast Asia , the Indian Ocean , and the Red Sea , it was necessary to establish an official standing navy . The Song dynasty therefore established China's first permanent navy in 1132, with a headquarters at Dinghai . With a permanent navy, the Song were prepared to face

19154-457: The nature of mind, the perceiving subject itself, which is equated with Buddha-nature . The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism introduced Buddhist meditation to other Asian countries, reaching China in the 2nd century CE, and Japan in the 6th century CE. In the modern era, Buddhist meditation techniques have become popular in the wider world, due to the influence of Buddhist modernism on Asian Buddhism, and western lay interest in Zen and

19311-460: The naval forces of the Jin on the Yangtze River in 1161, in the Battle of Tangdao and the Battle of Caishi . During these battles the Song navy employed swift paddle wheel driven naval vessels armed with traction trebuchet catapults aboard the decks that launched gunpowder bombs . Although the Jin forces commanded by Wanyan Liang (the Prince of Hailing) boasted 70,000 men on 600 warships, and

19468-609: The omnipresent and non-dual Ātman - Brahman . In the dualistic Yoga school and Samkhya , the Self is called Purusha , a pure consciousness undisturbed by Prakriti , 'nature'. Depending on the tradition, the liberative event is named moksha , vimukti or kaivalya . One of the most influential texts of classical Hindu Yoga is Patañjali 's Yoga sutras (c. 400 CE), a text associated with Yoga and Samkhya and influenced by Buddhism, which outlines eight limbs leading to kaivalya ("aloneness") or inner awareness. The first four, known as

19625-401: The political rivalry, the famous poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101), was jailed and eventually exiled for criticizing Wang's reforms. The continual alternation between reform and conservatism had effectively weakened the dynasty. This decline can also be attributed to Cai Jing (1047–1126), who was appointed by Emperor Zhezong (1085–1100) and who remained in power until 1125. He revived

19782-455: The princes of Qi, joined the group. He commented upon, and compiled the Shangqing texts, and developed a well-structured system consisting of a pantheon and new ways to reach immortality that depended upon meditation. More interested in Daoism and Buddhism than in public administration, in 492 he received authorization to leave the court. He moved to Maoshan, which had by now become the center of

19939-407: The recruitment system of officials, increasing the salaries for minor officials, and establishing sponsorship programs to allow a wider range of people to be well educated and eligible for state service. After Fan was forced to step down from his office, Wang Anshi (1021–1086) became Chancellor of the imperial court. With the backing of Emperor Shenzong (1067–1085), Wang Anshi severely criticized

20096-573: The removal of the previous defensive forest, the Jin army marched quickly across the North China Plain to Kaifeng. In the Jingkang Incident during the latter invasion, the Jurchens captured not only the capital, but the retired Emperor Huizong, his successor Emperor Qinzong , and most of the Imperial court. The remaining Song forces regrouped under the self-proclaimed Emperor Gaozong of Song (1127–1162) and withdrew south of

20253-776: The rest of China proper , reuniting much of the territory that had once belonged to the Han and Tang empires and ending the upheaval of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. In Kaifeng , he established a strong central government over the empire. The establishment of this capital marked the start of the Northern Song period. He ensured administrative stability by promoting the civil service examination system of drafting state bureaucrats by skill and merit (instead of aristocratic or military position) and promoted projects that ensured efficiency in communication throughout

20410-481: The rest of east Asia from around the 5th century.Traditional Chinese medicine and the Chinese martial arts were influenced and influences of Taoist meditation. Northern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( / s ʊ ŋ / ) was an 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

20567-595: The rest of the Ten Kingdoms , ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period . The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao , Western Xia and 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 dynasty's history is divided into two periods: during

20724-459: The same level of authority. Robert Hartwell and Robert P. Hymes criticized this model, stating that it places too much emphasis on the role of the nuclear family and considers only three paternal ascendants of exam candidates while ignoring the demographic reality of Song China, the significant proportion of males in each generation that had no surviving sons, and the role of the extended family . Many felt disenfranchised by what they saw as

20881-460: The school and has many immortals within it. The principal text of the Shangqing School is known as The True Text of the Great Dong (Dadong Zhenjing, 大洞真經). Dong can be translated as cave or grotto, but also has other meanings such as ‘to communicate.’ When the texts were dictated to Yang Xi, the immortals told him that they were the condensed form of primordial qi , and existed before the world

21038-543: The school. There, with the help of the Emperor Wudi of the Liang dynasty , he built the temple of Huayang, the first Shangqing temple. After his death, the school continued to prosper, and recruited many people from the aristocracy. From its beginning near Nanjing, the school expanded to the north after laws passed in 504 and 517 forced several masters of the school to go into exile. Ironically this expulsion helped spread

21195-478: The self ( Ātman ) within oneself" (BU 4.4.23). There are many schools and styles of meditation within Hinduism . In pre-modern and traditional Hinduism , Yoga and Dhyana are practised to recognize 'pure awareness', or 'pure consciousness', undisturbed by the workings of the mind, as one's eternal self. In Advaita Vedanta jivatman , individual self, is recognized as illusory, and in Reality identical with

21352-669: The temples on Maoshan, and in 731 the Xuanzong emperor put Shangqing deities in charge of China’s sacred mountains. The Daoist section of the imperial encyclopedia was composed primarily of Shangqing texts. At the same time, the Shangqing school underwent a transformation and integrated texts from the Lingbao School as well as from the Way of the Celestial Master school. The clergy also became more important and more emphasis

21509-491: The temples on Maoshan. Two of the temples, Jiuxiaogong and Yuanfugong have been rebuilt more for tourists than for religious purposes. Shangqing Daoism has borrowed many concepts and beliefs from both the Celestial Masters as well as from Ge Hong ’s alchemical tradition. However, the absorption of elixirs and other potions aimed to attain immortality was largely replaced in the Song period by internal alchemy that

21666-655: The theory of the Five Elements (wuxing), the earth element follows the fire, the dynastic element of the Song, in the sequence of elemental creation. Therefore, their ideological move showed that the Jin considered Song reign in China complete, with the Jin replacing the Song as the rightful rulers of China Proper. Although weakened and pushed south beyond the Huai River , the Southern Song found new ways to bolster its strong economy and defend itself against

21823-671: The title of ‘national master’ from the court. The 35th and 44th masters, Ren Yuanpu and Wang Daomeng, were equally distinguished for having ended a grasshopper invasion and a flood. Under the Yuan dynasty, the Shangqing school integrated itself under the Zhengyi alliance. At the end of the 20th century, the Taiping Rebellion , the Japanese army and the Cultural Revolution have resulted in the complete destruction of

21980-405: The use of a defined technique, logic relaxation, and a self-induced state/mode. Other criteria deemed important [but not essential] involve a state of psychophysical relaxation, the use of a self-focus skill or anchor, the presence of a state of suspension of logical thought processes, a religious/spiritual/philosophical context, or a state of mental silence. ... It is plausible that meditation

22137-472: The use of intermediary agents. The Song judicial system retained most of the legal code of the earlier Tang dynasty, the basis of traditional Chinese law up until the modern era. Roving sheriffs maintained law and order in the municipal jurisdictions and occasionally ventured into the countryside. Official magistrates overseeing court cases were not only expected to be well-versed in written law but also to promote morality in society. Magistrates such as

22294-404: The vast local level. Excluding the scholar-officials in office, this elite social class consisted of exam candidates, examination degree-holders not yet assigned to an official post, local tutors, and retired officials. These learned men, degree-holders, and local elites supervised local affairs and sponsored necessary facilities of local communities; any local magistrate appointed to his office by

22451-518: The waist. Acceptable apparel for scholar-officials was rigidly defined by the social ranking system. However, as time went on this rule of rank-graded apparel for officials was not as strictly enforced. Each official was able to display his awarded status by wearing different-colored traditional silken robes that hung to the ground around his feet, specific types of headgear, and even specific styles of girdles that displayed his graded-rank of officialdom. Women wore long dresses, blouses that came down to

22608-530: The waving of banners and to halt at the sound of bells and drums. The Song navy was of great importance during the consolidation of the empire in the 10th century; during the war against the Southern Tang state, the Song navy employed tactics such as defending large floating pontoon bridges across the Yangtze River in order to secure movements of troops and supplies. There were large ships in

22765-528: The way other techniques such as from Zen and Qigong are practiced by experienced meditators "once they had become effortless and automatic through years of practice." Asanas or body postures such as padmasana (full-lotus , half-lotus ), cross-legged sitting, seiza , and kneeling positions are popular meditative postures in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism , although other postures such as sitting, supine (lying), and standing are also used. Meditation

22922-652: The wood that comes from the Tulsi plant, also known as Holy Basil. The Buddhist literature has many stories of Enlightenment being attained through disciples being struck by their masters. T. Griffith Foulk recounts how the encouragement stick was an integral part of the Zen practice when he trained: In the Rinzai monastery where I trained in the mid-1970s, according to an unspoken etiquette, monks who were sitting earnestly and well were shown respect by being hit vigorously and often; those known as laggards were ignored by

23079-452: Was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization. Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (Kaifeng and Hangzhou had populations of over a million). People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainment in the cities, and there were many schools and temples to provide the people with education and religious services. The Song government supported social welfare programs including

23236-474: Was born. Eventually the texts congealed and were sent by heaven to be dictated to Yang. Some Buddhist elements such as reincarnation and Chinese Buddhism 's views on destiny and predestined scenarios were written into Shangqing texts. Although several sources confirm that the Dadong Zhenjing dates back to the 4th century CE, and earlier fragments exist, the oldest extant complete text, known as

23393-462: Was demoted, being given the title 'Duke of Ying', but was eventually exiled to Tibet where he took up a monastic life. The former emperor would eventually be forced to commit suicide under the orders of Kublai's great-great-grandson, Gegeen Khan , out of fear that Emperor Gong would stage a coup to restore his reign. Other members of the Song imperial family continued to live in the Yuan dynasty, including Zhao Mengfu and Zhao Yong. The Song dynasty

23550-476: Was divided among three marshals, each independently responsible to the Emperor. Since the Emperor rarely led campaigns personally, Song forces lacked unity of command. The imperial court often believed that successful generals endangered royal authority, and relieved or even executed them (notably Li Gang, Yue Fei, and Han Shizhong ). Although the scholar-officials viewed military soldiers as lower members in

23707-582: Was eager to sponsor new crossbow designs that could shoot at longer ranges, while crossbowmen were also valuable when employed as long-range snipers . Song cavalry employed a slew of different weapons, including halberds, swords, bows, spears, and ' fire lances ' that discharged a gunpowder blast of flame and shrapnel . Military strategy and military training were treated as sciences that could be studied and perfected; soldiers were tested in their skills of using weaponry and in their athletic ability. The troops were trained to follow signal standards to advance at

23864-461: Was more linked to meditation techniques (see the Zuowanglun ). An emphasis was placed on personal meditation in the Shangqing school, unlike the ritualized system of the Celestial Masters. Shangqing meditation was largely a solitary affair, and focused on mental visualization of spirits and gods. There was also no requirement to meditate at a temple; one’s own home was fine. Deities lived inside

24021-516: Was put on public rituals. During the second half of the Northern Song dynasty , the influence of Shangqing Daoism declined at the court, but still remained, changing its focus to rituals and talismans. New buildings appeared on Maoshan that survived until the Cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong . Under the Song, some of the Shangqing leaders still benefited from imperial favour such as the 23rd leader, Zhu Ziying (974–1029), who received

24178-498: Was rarely consumed since the bull was a valuable draft animal, and dog meat was absent from the diet of the wealthy, although the poor could choose to eat dog meat if necessary (yet it was not part of their regular diet). People also consumed dates , raisins, jujubes , pears, plums, apricots, pear juice, lychee -fruit juice, honey and ginger drinks, spices and seasonings of Sichuan pepper , ginger , soy sauce, vegetable oil, sesame oil, salt, and vinegar. The Song dynasty had one of

24335-565: Was the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty and he was a renowned artist as well as a patron of the art and the catalogue of his collection listed over 6,000 known paintings. A prime example of a highly venerated court painter was Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) who painted an enormous panoramic painting , Along the River During the Qingming Festival . Emperor Gaozong of Song initiated a massive art project during his reign, known as

24492-512: Was the first known book to have listed formulas for gunpowder; it gave appropriate formulas for use in several different kinds of gunpowder bombs. It also provided detailed descriptions and illustrations of double-piston pump flamethrowers , as well as instructions for the maintenance and repair of the components and equipment used in the device. The visual arts during the Song dynasty were heightened by new developments such as advances in landscape and portrait painting. The gentry elite engaged in

24649-503: Was ultimately a failure due to a rival military officer of Shen disobeying direct orders, and the territory gained from the Western Xia was eventually lost. The Song fought against the Vietnamese kingdom of Đại Việt twice, the first conflict in 981 and later a significant war from 1075 to 1077 over a border dispute and the Song's severing of commercial relations with Đại Việt. After the Vietnamese forces inflicted heavy damages in

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