Chinese popular belief

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Taoist ancestor cult in an ancestral shrine in Chaoyang .
A temple for the god of (Chinese) culture, art and inspiration.

As a Chinese folk belief (also Chinese folk religion or Shenismus called) refers to the mixture of partly religious and partly non-religious practices, which in the of Chinese is widely populated areas. This belief has no theology of its own , there is no clergy and no organization , the father of the family celebrates the rites with the extended family, such as wedding rites, New Year rites, etc. The term Chinese popular belief is only used abroad because there is no Chinese term for it.

In the general population - especially in the country - there is the idea that there is an invisible sphere of spirits (shen) , which are of various powers. This belief is diverse and can not be clearly differentiated from other religions and worldviews widespread in Asia . It combines elements of ancestor worship , local cults (about Manchu shamanism in the northeast), Buddhism , Taoism and Confucianism , folk beliefs , geomancy and fengshui in itself (see also: syncretism and three teachings ) . There are many geographic variations and peculiarities.

Procession with a local god in Taiwan.

The hereafter is considered to be interwoven with this world and is very similar to it. Communist and capitalist ideas later found their way into the Chinese belief system, which was shaped by considerations of utility. Confucianism (and now capitalism and communism) usually serve as a guide for daily life, Daoism is useful for exorcism and purification, and Buddhist priests are used for funerals.

In the rites and practices, religious ideas, philosophy or simply respect for ancestors cannot be precisely differentiated, so Chinese folk belief is not a religion in the western sense. The practices and beliefs that make up Chinese folk beliefs are among the foundations of Chinese culture . It is therefore almost impossible to name the number of followers, because many people who state that they are not religious, still venerate their ancestors and take part in rites. The Chinese Society of Purdue University made the following estimates in 2010 based on an extensive survey:

  • 754 million people practice some form of ritual ancestor worship
  • 362 million people have fortune-telling and the like within one year. operated
  • 215 million people believe in ancestral spirits
  • 145 million people have practiced Fengshui within one year
  • 141 million people believe in the god of wealth

At the center of Chinese popular belief is the worship of ancestors ( ancestral cult ) and local deities. However, honoring the ancestors in China does not necessarily have to be religiously justified, but can also simply be done out of respect. In many Chinese households, especially in rural areas, there is a table or cupboard in a central place on which there are pictures or statues of ancestors, deities or important public figures. In the People's Republic of China , this can also include pictures of Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping . The ancestors are z. B. Fruits offered. In the country there are also often ancestral halls where names and pictures of important ancestors are attached. These ancestral halls were temporarily no longer to be found in the People's Republic, but their importance is now increasing again strongly, especially in villages where a majority of the inhabitants have the same ancestors.

The deities of Chinese popular belief are male or female persons who really existed once and who are said to have special powers or deeds. In terms of their power, these deities cannot be compared with Buddha or Guanyin (the goddess of compassion), but are responsible for limited areas such as the furnace, the house gate or war. Mao Zedong is also partly viewed as a person who has already entered the Olympus of the Chinese deities.

Occasionally one sees statues of the so-called "three stars" Fu, Luk and Sau in the west.

Believers believe that these deities can grant wishes or help solve problems. The believer prays to the statue or image of the respective deity and holds one or more incense sticks in his hand. The prayer contains the request and also the promise of (symbolic) consideration. The prayer is performed while kneeling or with constant bowing and ended by putting the incense sticks in vessels set up for this purpose. If the believer has the feeling that the deity will take care of this wish, a sacrifice is made by offering food or burning money imitations. If the believer has the feeling that the deity does not feel responsible for the wish, he can still try another god. Sometimes Buddha statues are set up at the same time.

Temple of Happiness and Longevity in Xinjiang .

The healing of the sick is also a central point in Chinese popular belief. The healers, as a rule, have no training, nor is there any characteristic that distinguishes them from other citizens. For the purpose of healing the sick, it is sometimes used to drive out spirits , sometimes to confess sins, and sometimes to administer herbs . In the countryside, where there are no doctors who treat according to traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine , this type of healing art is sometimes the only possible way out. Otherwise, according to popular belief, the healing art can also be used complementary to other treatment methods.

See also

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  • Richard Gunde: Culture and Customs of China. Greenwood Press, Westport CT et al. 2002, ISBN 0-313-30876-4 , p. 50 ff. (Culture and customs of Asia).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fanfan Chen u. Markus Porsche-Ludwig: Religion in China, published in: Markus Porsche-Ludwig, Jürgen Bellers (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Religionen der Welt. Volumes 1 and 2, Traugott Bautz, Nordhausen 2012, ISBN 978-3-88309-727-5 . Pp. 1037-1038.
  2. ↑ a b Caroline Blunden u. Mark Elvin: World Atlas of Ancient Cultures: China. History art life forms. 2nd edition, Christian Verlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-88472-091-0 , p. 188.
  3. ↑ Zbigniew Wesolowski (author) in Barbara Hoster, Dirk Kuhlmann, Zbigniew Wesolowski (ed.): Rooted in Hope: China - Religion - Christianity / Rooted in Hope: China - Religion - Christianity. Taylor & Francis, New York 2017, ISBN 978-1-138-71811-1 . P. 124.