Model humanity:
54-589: Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions: Salvation churches and sects : Confucian churches and sects: Tian ( 天 ) is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology , philosophy , and religion . During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as Shangdi or Di ( 帝 , 'Lord'). During
108-427: A beyop , an ornament that consists of five to six brass plates fixed under their petticoats. Tattooing was popular among the older women. The traditional measure of a family's wealth is the possession of domestic animals (particularly gayals ), beads and ornaments, and land. The Adi celebrate a number of festivals, in particular, their prime festivals are Aran , Donggin , Solung , Podi Barbii and Etor . Solung
162-450: A stick figure person with arms stretched out denoting "great; large". The oracle and bronze characters for Tian 天 emphasize the cranium of this 'great (person)', either with a square or round head, or head marked with one or two lines. Schuessler notes the bronze graphs for Tian, showing a person with a round head, resemble those for dīng 丁 "4th Celestial stem ", and suggests "The anthropomorphic graph may or may not indicate that
216-508: A Confucian identity, with the foundation of the Holy Confucian Church of China which aims to unite in a single body all Confucian religious groups. Many of the movements of salvation of the 20th and 21st century aspire to become the repository of the entirety of the Chinese tradition in the face of Western modernism and materialism, advocating an "Eastern solution to the problems of the modern world", or even interacting with
270-498: A clean and orderly place for nature gods in Shinto. Chinese salvationist religions Model humanity: Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions: Salvation churches and sects : Confucian churches and sects: Chinese salvationist religions or Chinese folk religious sects are a Chinese religious tradition characterised by a concern for salvation (moral fulfillment) of
324-490: A hierarchy of multiple, sphere-like realms that contained morally ambiguous creatures and spirits such as fox spirits and fire-breathing dragons . The Tao realm was thought to exist by many ancient folk religion practitioners. Ahom religion ethnically originated from Dai people of Yunnan in Southwest China has a concept of Mong Phi (Heavenly Kingdom) which is often identified as Tian. In Yiguandao , Tian
378-503: A holy world or afterlife containing other worlds or afterlives, or one or more of these. The modern Chinese character 天 and early seal script both combine dà 大 ' great; large ' and yī 一 ' one ' , but some of the original characters in Shāng oracle bone script and Zhōu bronzeware script anthropomorphically portray a large head on a great person. The ancient oracle and bronze ideograms for dà 大 depict
432-678: A relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people of Kuang do to me?" For Mozi , Heaven is the divine ruler, just as the Son of Heaven is the earthly ruler. Mozi believed that spirits and minor demons exist or at least rituals should be performed as if they did for social reasons, but their function is to carry out the will of Heaven, watching for evil-doers and punishing them. Mozi taught that Heaven loves all people equally and that each person should similarly love all human beings without distinguishing between his own relatives and those of others. Mozi criticized
486-664: A selected chief styled Gam or Gao Burra who moderates the village council, which acts even as the traditional court, referred to as a Kebang . The olden day councils consisted of all the village elders and decisions were decided in a Musup/Dere (village community house). The various languages and dialects of the Adi people fall into two groups: Abor (Abor-Minyong, Bor-abor (Padam), Abor-Miri, etc.) and Lhoba (Lho-Pa, Luoba). Adi literature has been developed by Christian missionaries since 1900. The missionaries J. H. Lorrain and F. W. Savidge published an Abor-Miri Dictionary in 1906 with
540-507: A single group they are said to have the same number of followers of the five state-sanctioned religions of China taken together. Scholars and government officials have been discussing to systematise and unify this large base of religious organisations; in 2004 the State Administration of Religious Affairs created a department for the management of folk religions. In the late 2015 a step was made at least for those of them with
594-416: A single phenomenon, and others consider them the fourth great Chinese religious category alongside the well-established Confucianism , Buddhism and Taoism . Generally these religions focus on the worship of the universal God ( Shangdi ), represented as either male, female, or genderless, and regard their holy patriarchs as embodiments of God. "Chinese salvationist religions" ( 救度宗教 jiùdù zōngjiào )
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#1732765323732648-611: A voiceless lateral onset, either a cluster or a single consonant, respectively. Baxter & Sagart pointed to attested dialectal differences in Eastern Han Chinese , the use of 天 as a phonetic component in phono-semantic compound Chinese characters , and the choice of 天 to transcribe foreign syllables, all of which prompted them to conclude that, around 200 CE, 天 's onset had two pronunciations: coronal * tʰ and dorsal * x , both of which likely originated from an earlier voiceless lateral * l̥ˤ . Further etymology
702-626: A whole, which is "the basis for a sincere mind." The Emperor of China as Tianzi was formerly vital to Confucianism. Mount Tai is seen as a sacred place in Confucianism and was traditionally the most revered place where Chinese emperors offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth. The concept of Tian is pervasive in Confucianism . Confucius had a deep trust in Heaven and believed that Heaven overruled human efforts. He also believed that he
756-454: Is Heaven - that knows me!" Perhaps the most remarkable saying, recorded twice, is one in which Confucius expresses complete trust in the overruling providence of Heaven: The Master was put in fear in Kuang. He said, "After the death of King Wen, was not the cause of truth lodged here in me? If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such
810-507: Is a contemporary neologism coined as a sociological category and gives prominence to folk religious sects' central pursuit that is the salvation of the individual and the society, in other words the moral fulfillment of individuals in reconstructed communities of sense. Chinese scholars traditionally describe them as "folk religious sects" ( 民间宗教 mínjiān zōngjiào , 民间教门 mínjiān jiàomén or 民间教派 mínjiān jiàopài ) or "folk beliefs" ( 民间信仰 mínjiān xìnyǎng ). They are distinct from
864-620: Is called Taktor ). Adi dances vary from the slow, rustic and beautifully enchanting Ponung style (performed in Solung festival) to the exhilarating, exuberant thumps of Delong performed by men during the Etor festival. These dances have led to certain forms of dancing which jointly narrate a story, the Tapu (War Dance). In the Tapu, the dancers vigorously re-enact the actions of war, its gory details and
918-462: Is divided into three vertical worlds. Li Tian ( 理天 ) 'heaven of truth', Qi Tian ( 氣天 ) 'heaven of spirit' and Xiang Tian ( 象天 ) 'heaven of matter'. In some cases, the heavens in Shinto were thought to be a hierarchy of multiple, sphere-like realms that contained kami such as fox spirits . Myths about the kami were told "of their doings on Earth and in heaven." Heaven was thought to be
972-432: Is observed in the first week of September for five days or more. It is a harvest festival performed after the sowing of seeds and transplantation, to seek for future bumper crops. Ponung songs and dances are performed by women folk during the festival. On the last day of Solung, throne and indigenous weaponry are displayed along the passage of the houses – a belief that they would protect people from evil spirits (This ritual
1026-454: Is something that "[t]he ways of man should conform to, or else" frustration will result. Many Confucianists, both historically and in current times, use the I Ching to divine events through the changes of Tian and other natural forces. Historical and current Confucianists were/are often environmentalists out of their respect for Heaven and the other aspects of nature and the principle that comes from their unity and, more generally, harmony as
1080-410: Is unknown. It is proposed that transcriptions of a Xiongnu word for "sky", haak-lin 赫連 , is related. Tian is one of the components in hundreds of Chinese compounds . Some significant ones include: "Lord Heaven" and " Jade Emperor " were terms for a supreme deity in Confucianism and Taoism who was an anthropromorphized Tian, and some conceptions of it thought of the names as synonymous. Tian
1134-591: The Book of Rites . Some scholars even find influences from Manichaeism , Mohism and shamanic traditions . In the Ming and Qing dynasties many folk religious movements were outlawed by the imperial authorities as "evil religions" ( 邪教 xiéjiào ). With the collapse of the Qing state in 1911 the sects enjoyed an unprecedented period of freedom and thrived, and many of them were officially recognised as religious groups by
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#17327653237321188-457: The Chinese folk religion consisting in the worship of gods and ancestors, although in English language there is a terminological confusion between the two. The 20th-century expression for these salvationist religious movements has been "redemptive societies" ( 救世团体 jiùshì tuántǐ ), coined by scholar Prasenjit Duara . A collective name that has been in use possibly since the latter part of
1242-647: The Lhoba people , since the Lhoba also includes the Mishmi along with the Adi people. All the ethnic groups recognizing themselves as "Adi" are believed to be descendants of the Abutani/Abotani. The older term Abor is an exonym from Assamese and its literal meaning is "independent". The literal meaning of adi is "hill" or "mountain top". The Adi live in hill villages, each traditionally keeping to itself, under
1296-553: The Tibet Autonomous Region , China . The present habitat of the Adi people is heavily influenced by the historic location of the ancient Lhoyu. They are found in the temperate and sub-tropical regions within the districts of Siang , East Siang , Upper Siang , West Siang , Lower Dibang Valley , Lohit , Shi Yomi and Namsai within Arunachal Pradesh. The term "Adi" however, is not to be confused with
1350-484: The early republican government . The founding of the People's Republic in 1949 saw them suppressed once again, although since the 1990s and 2000s the climate was relaxed and some of them have received some form of official recognition. In Taiwan all the still existing restrictions were rescinded in the 1980s. Folk religious movements began to rapidly revive in mainland China in the 1980s, and now if conceptualised as
1404-463: The Confucians of his own time for not following the teachings of Confucius. In Mozi's Will of Heaven ( 天志 ), he writes: Moreover, I know Heaven loves men dearly not without reason. Heaven ordered the sun, the moon, and the stars to enlighten and guide them. Heaven ordained the four seasons, Spring, Autumn, Winter, and Summer, to regulate them. Heaven sent down snow, frost, rain, and dew to grow
1458-533: The Qing dynasty is huìdàomén ( 会道门 "churches, ways and gates"), as their names interchangeably use the terms huì ( 会 "church, society, association, congregation"; when referring to their corporate form), dào ( 道 "way") or mén ( 门 "gate[way], door"). Their congregations and points of worship are usually called táng ( 堂 "church, hall") or tán ( 坛 "altar"). Western scholars often mistakenly identify them as " Protestant " churches. The Vietnamese religions of Minh Đạo and Caodaism emerged from
1512-428: The disciples to act as ministers to him. During a remission of his illness, he said, "Long has the conduct of You been deceitful! By pretending to have ministers when I have them not, whom should I impose upon? Should I impose upon Heaven? Moreover, than that I should die in the hands of ministers, is it not better that I should die in the hands of you, my disciples? And though I may not get a great burial, shall I die upon
1566-474: The dormitories are observed. For example, a male can visit the dormitory of a female, although he is not allowed to stay overnight. At times, guardians will have to be around to guide the youngsters. There are separate dresses for women and men which are woven by women of the tribes. Helmets made from cane, bear, and deerskin are sometimes worn by the men, depending on the region. While the older women wear yellow necklaces and spiral earrings, unmarried girls wear
1620-863: The eight directions. The Tian are the heaven worlds and pure lands in Buddhist cosmology . Some devas are also called Tian. The number of vertical heaven layers in Taoism is different. A common belief in Taoism is that there were 36 Tian "arranged on six levels" that have "different deities". The highest heaven is the "Great Web" which was sometimes said to be where Yuanshi Tianzun lived. After death, some Taoists were thought to explore "heavenly realms" and/or become Taoist immortals . These immortals could be good or evil, and there were sometimes rivalries between them. Some heavens in Taoism were thought to be evil, as in Shangqing Daoism , although Tian
1674-636: The etymology of Tian, Schuessler links it with the Turkic and Mongolian word tengri 'sky', 'heaven', 'deity' or the Tibeto-Burman words taleŋ ( Adi ) and tǎ-lyaŋ ( Lepcha ), both meaning 'sky' or 'God'. He also suggests a likely connection between Tian, diān 巔 'summit, mountaintop', and diān 顛 'summit', 'top of the head', 'forehead', which have cognates such as Zemeic Naga tiŋ 'sky'. However, other reconstructions of 天 's OC pronunciation * qʰl'iːn or * l̥ˤi[n] reconstructed
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1728-415: The five grains and flax and silk that so the people could use and enjoy them. Heaven established the hills and rivers, ravines and valleys, and arranged many things to minister to man's good or bring him evil. He appointed the dukes and lords to reward the virtuous and punish the wicked, and to gather metal and wood, birds and beasts, and to engage in cultivating the five grains and flax and silk to provide for
1782-401: The following Zhou dynasty , Tian became synonymous with this figure. Before the 20th century, worship of Tian was an orthodox state religion of China. In Taoism and Confucianism , Tian (the celestial aspect of the cosmos , often translated as " Heaven ") is mentioned in relationship to its complementary aspect of Dì ( 地 , often translated as " Earth "). They are thought to maintain
1836-505: The help of Mupak Mili and Atsong Pertin, considered the fathers of the Adi language or Adi script. Adi is taught as a third language in schools of communities dominated by the Adi. The Adi speak Hindi as a lingua-franca for communicating with other indigenous groups of people in Arunachal Pradesh and the other northeast states . Dormitories play an important role among the Adi people, and certain rules governing
1890-605: The label "secret sects" ( 秘密教门 mìmì jiàomén ) to distinguish the peasant "secret societies" with a positive dimension of the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods, from the negatively viewed "secret societies" of the early republic that became instruments of anti-revolutionary forces (the Guomindang or Japan ). Many of these religions are traced to the White Lotus tradition ("Chinese Maternism", as mentioned by Philip Clart ) that
1944-506: The modern discourse of an Asian -centered universal civilisation. The Chinese folk religious movements of salvation are mostly concentrated in northern and northeastern China, although with a significant influence reaching the Yangtze River Delta since the 16th century. The northern provinces have been a fertile ground for the movements of salvation for a number of reasons: firstly, popular religious movements were active in
1998-747: The most populous groups of indigenous peoples in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh . A few thousand are also found in the Tibet Autonomous Region , where they are called the Lhoba together with some of the Nyishi people , Na people , Mishmi people and Tagin people . They live in a region of the Southern Himalayas which falls within the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Mainling , Lhunze , Zayu , Medog , and Nyingchi counties in
2052-723: The original meaning was 'deity', rather than 'sky'." Two variant Chinese characters for 天 are 二人 (written with 二 èr 'two' and 人 rén 'human') and the Daoist coinage 靝 (with 青 qīng 'blue' and 氣 ' qi ', cf. 'blue sky'). Tian 天 reconstructions in Middle Chinese ( c. 6th –10th centuries CE) include t'ien , t'iɛn , tʰɛn > tʰian , and then . Reconstructions in Old Chinese ( c. 6th –3rd centuries BCE) include * t'ien , * t'en , * hlin , * thîn , and * l̥ˤin . For
2106-451: The people's food and clothing. This has been so from antiquity to the present." There are three major schools on the structure of Tian. Most other hypothesis were developed from them. Tian schools influenced popular conception of the universe and earth until the 17th century , when they were replaced by cosmological concepts imported from Europe . Sometimes the sky is divided into Jiutian ( 九天 ) 'nine sky divisions'—the middle sky and
2160-446: The person and the society. They are distinguished by egalitarianism , a founding charismatic person often informed by a divine revelation , a specific theology written in holy texts , a millenarian eschatology and a voluntary path of salvation, an embodied experience of the numinous through healing and self-cultivation, and an expansive orientation through evangelism and philanthropy . Some scholars consider these religions
2214-441: The population of China, which is around 30 million people, claim to be members of folk religious sects. The actual number of followers may be higher, about the same as the number of members of the five state-sanctioned religions of China if counted together. In Taiwan, recognised folk religious movements of salvation gather approximately 10% of the population as of the mid-2000s. Adi people The Adi people are one of
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2268-552: The region already in the Han dynasty , and they deeply penetrated local society; secondly, northern provinces are characterised by social mobility around the capital and weak traditional social structure, thus folk religious movements of salvation fulfill the demand of individual searching for new forms of community and social network. According to the Chinese General Social Survey of 2012, approximately 2.2% of
2322-412: The road?" Confucius believed that Heaven gives people tasks to perform to teach them of virtues and morality: The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what
2376-494: The same tradition of Chinese folk religious movements. A category overlapping with that of the salvationist movements is that of the "secret societies" ( 秘密社会 mìmì shèhuì , or 秘密结社 mìmì jiéshè ), religious communities of initiatory and secretive character, including rural militias and fraternal organisations which became very popular in the early republican period, and often labeled as " heretical doctrines" ( 宗教异端 zōngjiào yìduān ). Recent scholarship has begun to use
2430-555: The tribal Donyi-Polo religion. Worship of gods and goddesses like Kine Nane , Doying Bote , Gumin Soyin and Pedong Nane, etc., and religious observances are led by a shaman , called Mibu (can be a female). Each deity is associated with certain tasks and acts as a protector and guardian of various topics related to nature which revolves around their daily life. This includes the food crops, home, rain, etc. Adi in Tibet, in particular
2484-549: The triumphant cries of the warriors. Yakjong is performed in the Aran festival. This is another kind of dance whereby the dancers carry sticks with designs created by removing the barks in certain patterns and then put into the fire for some time, which creates the marked black designs. The Adi practice wet rice cultivation and have a considerable agricultural economy. Rice serves as the staple food for them along with meat and other vegetables The majority of Adi traditionally follow
2538-483: The two poles of the Three Realms of reality, with the middle realm occupied by Humanity ( 人 , rén ), and the lower world occupied by demons ( 魔 , mó ) and "ghosts", the damned, ( 鬼 , guǐ ). Tian was variously thought as a "supreme power reigning over lesser gods and human beings" that brought "order and calm...or catastrophe and punishment", a deity, destiny , an impersonal force that controls events,
2592-487: The worship of heaven a major part of their political philosophy and viewed it as "many gods" who embodied order and kingship, as well as the mandate of heaven . "Confucianism has a religious side with a deep reverence for Heaven and Earth ( Di ), whose powers regulate the flow of nature and influence human events." Yin and yang are also thought to be integral to this relationship and permeate both, as well as humans and man-made constructs. This "cosmos" and its "principles"
2646-459: Was already active in the Song dynasty ; others claim a Taoist legacy and are based on the recovery of ancient scriptures attributed to important immortals such as Lü Dongbin and Zhang Sanfeng , and have contributed to the popularisation of neidan ; other ones are distinctively Confucian and advocate the realisation of a "great commonwealth" ( datong 大同 ) on a world scale, as dreamt of in
2700-420: Was carrying out the will of Heaven, and that Heaven would not allow its servant, Confucius, to be dead until his work was done and complete. Many attributes of Heaven were delineated in his Analects . Confucius honored Heaven as the supreme source of goodness: The Master said, "Great indeed was Yao as a sovereign! How majestic was he! It is only Heaven that is grand, and only Yao corresponded to it. How vast
2754-403: Was his virtue! The people could find no name for it. How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished! How glorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted!" Confucius felt himself personally dependent upon Heaven: "Wherein I have done improperly, may Heaven reject me! may Heaven reject me!" Confucius believed that Heaven cannot be deceived: The Master being very ill, Zi Lu wished
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#17327653237322808-924: Was mostly thought of as a force for good. Heaven is sometimes seen as synonymous with the Dao or a natural energy that can be accessed by living in accordance with the Dao. A Tao realm inconceivable and incomprehensible by normal humans and even Confucius and Confucianists was sometimes called "the Heavens". Higher, spiritual versions of Daoists such as Laozi were thought to exist in there when they were alive and absorb "the purest Yin and Yang ", as well as xian who were reborn into it after their human selves' spirits were sent there. These spiritual versions were thought to be abstract beings that can manifest in that world as mythical beings such as dragons who eat yin and yang energy and ride clouds and their qi . Some Tian in Chinese folk religion were thought to be many different or
2862-423: Was right." He believed that Heaven knew what he was doing and approved of him, even though none of the rulers on earth might want him as a guide: The Master said, "Alas! there is no one that knows me." Zi Gong said, "What do you mean by thus saying - that no one knows you?" The Master replied, "I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there
2916-468: Was viewed as "the dwelling place of gods and other superhuman beings". It was also viewed as "the guardian of both the moral laws of mankind and the physical laws of nature...and is synonymous with the divine will." In Chinese culture, heaven tends to be "synonymous with order", "containing the blueprints for creation", "the mandate by which earthly rulers govern , and the standards by which to measure beauty, goodness, and truth." Zhou dynasty nobles made
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