Chinese Traditional Religion
Chinese traditional religion, also known as Chinese folk religion or simply Chinese religion is a religion polytheistic syncretism practiced before 1949 the majority of Han (), in which schools must include Taoist. She is still very much alive in the areas of Chinese settlement outside the PRC , as the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) or Hong Kong. People's Republic of China after the halting of the transmission of traditions, the resumption of worship it is done in a more restricted than before, five religious denominations are recognized and represented only by an official body: Taoism, Buddhism , Islam , Protestantism , Catholicism. Popular religion as a whole is therefore enjoys no official status, only some Taoist schools being recognized.
Born in a region where the exclusive adherence to a confession is a practice almost unknown, traditional religion is based on a vision of the universe and the place occupied by humans shared by all. Beliefs and practices handed down from generation to generation, are the result of the mixture without the drama of all kinds of influences. This is a common religious background that the Chinese did not see fit to appoint, any more than the Indians had appointed their own (" Hinduism "is a term coined by the Muslim conquerors - Persians ). The vocabulary is thus refers to elements of religion: practice, characters ... So bai bai (, reverence) is the most common practice, a prayer to a deity combined offerings, a Daoshi ( " Taoist Master ") is a specialist who has himself been taught by a master (the Taoist notion of true is unknown to the world Traditional Chinese).
This lack of a proper name, coupled with that of any gun , have done a long time looking through the West on how you look at the cult of saints in the Catholic world, as a degradation of a popular "authentic religion".
It is thus absent from almost all statistics on religions of Asia, its followers being recorded in the categories "Tao" or "Buddhist" or "Confucian". However, according to a source Traditional Religion, Taoism , Buddhism and Confucianism The Chinese world has given a proper name as schools broader concept than religion , which, translated into Mandarin , zongjiao (religious school), is also a neologism imported from Japan. The school is primarily an organization that requires a master and disciples, and teaching is not always religious in nature ( Confucianism , for example). In reality, the popular religion as such has no real clergy, so that to celebrate the holidays, according to the region is often called a Taoist or Buddhist priest. And in parallel Taoism esoteric and mystical and Buddhist spiritual there are versions "popular" of these cults then admit the existence of demons and ghosts. The Taoism remained a whole school, not a denomination itself. Indeed, its expansion, accompanied by a growing ideological and institutional structure that could detach it from the rest of the religious system and making it a religious individual, was stopped from the time Ming by the constant hostility of the authorities against him. Thus, in the Chinese world, only present themselves as Taoists people who are committed as disciples from a master Taoist (Daoshi) that teaches its practices, or the master himself. Taoists belong to all followers of traditional religion, they form the philosophical pole (or more often, it must be said, magical, even a little sour). Conversely, the faithful disciple who is not master or do not designate as Taoist, even if in practice of their religious rituals many of Taoist origin. Similarly, the identification "Buddhist" is ambiguous. Indeed, the vision of the universe and of human destiny offered by traditional religion is very similar to Buddhism Mahayana , which was also much influenced: impersonal universe, successive rebirths in a dependent state acts the previous life, helpful deities (among which there are the bodhisattvas ) being in superior condition to the human state, closer to the final release. Thus, a devotee of traditional religion may well pray to the Buddha Amituofo or the very popular goddess Guan Yin , feminized version of Avalokiteshvara, without reading the sutras or Buddhist follow proper practice (meditation, vegetarian diet for example). On the other hand, a person who feels sufficiently committed to the Buddhist way to lay claim to it often continue practices of traditional religion, particularly within the framework of its activities as a member of the family community or social. A survey conducted for the Academia Sinica of Taiwan in the late 1980s showed that 35% of people who declare themselves "Buddhist" practices and beliefs have to place them instead in the so-called "popular Buddhism", Religion tinged with traditional Buddhism. Moral doctrine, and social policy, Confucianism has deeply affected family relationships and the vision of the role of the individual in the community. The religion , like all social activities, thus bears the imprint. Nevertheless, despite the development of a metaphysics from the tenth century and claimed religious status in some countries by research companies to benefit from Confucian institutional advantages, the term religion is a poor match, and it is not in that capacity he has influenced the Chinese folk religion. Thus, ancestor worship reflects the Confucian view of the family without being strictly speaking a "Confucian ritual. Similarly, the temples of Confucius and the cult that went into the Imperial Palace or administrations are part of the system of traditional religion, which admits that some religions or gods are specific to a particular social group. Metaphysics neo-Confucian , and was strongly influenced by Taoism and Buddhism, was adopted by the new religious movements. Devoid of dogma and clergy organized, traditional religion consists of a set of practices and beliefs that are far from being a perfectly consistent, but nevertheless succeeded in presenting a certain degree of homogeneity. We should probably partly credited the Chinese empire , whose longevity has fostered the spread of common values throughout the whole of its territory. Unlike the Chinese mythology of antiquity, we find in religion today no creator god. The characters of ancient myths are also more distant than legendary figures, few are those who still have temples ( Shennong , Xiwangmu occasionally Nuwa ). They were picked up and reinterpreted by some Taoist schools, but their worship remains confidential. Without beginning or end, the universe is maintained without the aid of any deity in a state of constant change resulting from the transformation of one into the other of its two primary components, the yinand yng. A more detailed representation of these transformations involves the game of five elements (earth fire metal water wood), each associated with different levels of reality (seasons, colors, bodies ...) Everything can be explained by the interplay of these elements , whose understanding is the basis of methods of divination. Human beings evolve in harmony with the universe which is itself a miniaturized form (a microcosm of the macrocosm). The universe is constantly driven energy ( qi). Its circulation in the soil, that the art of feng shui can read, determines how good or evil of a place. Its circulation in the body influence human health, the traditional medicine also uses the theory of yin-yang and five elements to establish (in part) a diagnosis. The gods are higher level creatures to humans, but without the absolute power that is often ascribed to the god of the monotheistic Judeo - Christian or Islamic , although some are expected to be above the others: and the God of Heaven (Tian Gong), of ancient origin, or the Jade Emperor , Taoist most recent creation is often confused with it. The faithful also keep some distance with these supreme gods, and it is not they who are the subject of religion, the most assiduous. Generally, if found organized groups systems by some schools (Pantheon Taoist , Buddhas of the three or four directions ages ...) inside of all deities, the deities are not Chinese a formal pantheon. Moreover, the vision of a single deity may differ from true to another according to ideological or regional differences. According to the Chinese conception, the gods are all supposed to have had an earthly human existence, during which they have demonstrated an exceptional virtue or a practiced asceticism that allowed them access after the death to the rank of god. In fact we do not always find a real person behind a deity, but all are given a biography, although it is mostly imaginary. So as copies, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are thus naturally fit in the Chinese pantheon, and can be invoked by the faithful who are not necessarily true Buddhists. The possibility for any human virtuous enough to access the status of god, would it a minor, says that there are a multitude (there are over 200 in Taiwan where there are Chinese of diverse geographical origin ). If some of the worship extends to the whole Chinese world, many have a limited scope geographically or functionally: God of the Soil , the goddess who assists women in childbirth (Zhusheng ningning) etc.. In imitation of the society of the time Imperial , the gods are a kind of celestial bureaucracy (and sometimes hell). Some deities are in fact true mandarins exercising authority over humans and ghosts , for example the God of the Soil and God of walls and ditches to the territorial jurisdiction, or God of the underworld judge and guardian of souls awaiting reincarnation sentenced to serve a sentence in hell of limited duration. It's also official that the God of the Furnace , whose image dominates the kitchen, mounted at the time of Chinese New Year to make his report on the conduct of the family to the God of Heaven or the Jade Emperor. On the other hand, the imperial administration itself sometimes intervened to assign a title to a deity. As well as goddess temple saw its popularity growing recognition by promoting the passing of "imperial concubine" to "Empress." The Chinese regions where cultural exchanges are intense (coasts and islands of southern China, Southeast Asia ) do not hesitate to give a chance to foreign deities who seem to have a power of protection. Thus, Taiwan , a type of four-faced Buddha came from Thailand imported some ten years has some favor, and recently a fox deity of Japanese origin ( Inari ) pointed his nose. Even the gods that we worship does not usually can not be totally neglected. We can see in Singapore the Chinese out of their temple to welcome the deity Hindu temple nearby, or even to present a small gift. There are also demons or spirits often derived from nature, or evil depending on specific cases, including the most well known type, Jng yao () is an animal that was in charge of energy over time. Accumulating more easily energy yin , they are predominantly female. This is where the famous vixens of seductive tales or the heroine of the Legend of White Snake. The notion that individuality can exist after death if it is nourished by sacrifices , or whether it is an exceptional personality is certainly very old. The ancient Chinese beliefs seem to have attributed to the man several vital components are separated at death. Ancestor worship was originally to make protective deities of the clan in feeding their shen, but the ancestors of today are not deified. They make a cult nonetheless can provide them better off in hell or a better reincarnation, and has the power to maintain the family fortune, as well as the choice under the rules of feng shui of the location of their graves. Represented as a vagabond wandering the Chinese, they are orphaned souls worthy of pity: they are looking emaciated and starving. Supernatural though they are not "classified" in the divine hierarchy and can be evil as beneficial. These ghosts may have several origins: While some spirits awaiting reincarnation haunt the places of their lives or their deaths, many seem to live in this place of hell are waiting, the door is open for a month each year (the seventh month of lunar calendar ) by Decree of the celestial bureaucracy. They can try to resolve matters left open by their deaths and sometimes, intentionally or not, the victims. That is why the tradition is avoided whenever possible risk activities during this period. At various times of the month, particularly on the fifteenth day Ghost Festival , a meal accompanied by prayers for their deliverance is offered. This ceremony is called pudu () to have "universal" and "passing, release." For any problems caused by ghosts, and to deliver them from their present condition, it uses the Taoist masters and Buddhist monks. The first ritual specialists are protective against the spectra are expected to know they hold in respect. A belief lent itself to some Taoist masters of Hunan power to take home as Jiangshi , a sort of zombie , the corpses of dead people off so they can enjoy the ritual and a decent burial from their families. The prayers of Buddhist monks, almost always present during the funeral ceremonies have the power to facilitate their delivery. The practice of divination is intrinsically linked to religion as the popular media are blind or calls to the deities and demons that populate the traditional Chinese religion. It generally consists of a communication with the parallel world of supernatural beings. There are many methods including: 
Some general concepts
Universe
Gods
Demons and spirits of nature
The afterlife and death
Divination
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