Far Eastern Religions Study Guide

Religions Class

Qi

This is one of the most fundamental, if not the fundamental, idea/concept in the Chinese religions. Simply put, it is 1) the basic stuff out of which all things are made of and 2) the force that which makes all things/events, etc. As 1), it is the basic stuff all things are made of, including all matter, all life forms, gods, animals, demons, ghosts, gods, rocks, trees, water, ideas, emotions, etc. As 2), it is the force that guides and forms the materials. Thus this is the basic building block of everything and the force that builds it. It is the material and the force of the universe. What is it?

Yang

The ancient Chinese held that that in the beginning, there was this undifferentiated, hence unorganized qi. Out of this was the first movement or activity. This is the force that is active, incipient, unstable, transforming, developing, bursting forth, etc. It is associated with sky, sun, light, heat, male, dryness, day time, metal, etc. What is it?

Yin

This is this counter force to yang. It is passive, quiescent, settled, condensed, at rest, decaying, wetness, decaying. It is associated with earth, moon, darkness, coldness, female, wetness, night, etc. What is it?

Ijing

An ancient Chinese text, this book was initially used for oracular purposes. It notes the movement of yin and yang at any given moment and situation. It is often translated as the Book of Change, which is somewhat misleading, given that it also claims to show the persistent workings of the Laws of Yin and Yang. What is it?

Five Elements

What are these in the Chinese religions: Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water?

Fire creates earth, earth bears metal, metal carries water, water feeds wood, wood feeds fire

Which of the following notes the Generating Cycle?

Wood parts Earth, Earth absorbs water, Water quenches fire, Fire melts metal, and Metal chops wood

Which of the following notes the Destruction Cycle?

Given the Westernization and its emphasis on individuality, no one follows this ancient way anymore.

Of the following which is NOT true of the ancient Chinese understanding of family?

Shen

These are beneficial spirits, gods, or immortals. Some of them are actually human beings who were killed unjustly. By worshipping them, these spirits are appeased, and eventually takes on this role. What is it?

Gui

These are malevolent spirits. They can be as simple as goblins or some human spirit who could not leave this world for certain wrongs that were done to them to cause their death. These wronged souls need to be pacified, either by solving the wrongs or appeasing them somehow, as the video noted. What are they called?

Mazu

Depending on the culture in which one is from, she is either a fisherman’s daughter or a blind man’s daughter. She showed perfect filial piety in either case, and sacrificed her life for the benefit of her father. She was thrown into the sea. The gods, having compassion on her and noting of her piety, raised her up from the ocean, in a lotus plant. Soon after, she became the Empress of Heaven. Who is she?

The Lord of the Stove

This god is the god of the hearth at home. He thus provides warmth and comfort as well as the cooking fire for each home. Further, he is reports to the Three Officials at the end of each year, noting who has been good and who has been bad. Few days before the end of the year, his painting/picture is burned in a ceremony, in which process he would be lifted up to the Heavens to report. Who is he?

Jade Emperor

This being rules Heaven as the Emperor doe Earth, according to religious Daoism. All other gods must report to him. His chief function is to distribute justice, which he does through the court system of Hell where evil deeds and thoughts are punished. He is the Lord of the living and the dead and of all the Buddhas, all gods, all shens and all guis. He was not born an immortal. Who is he?

Physical alchemy

This understanding of immorality is quite different from the immortality of soul. Unlike the notion of the immortality of soul or even of the spiritual embryo, this understanding asserted that through various training and creation of elixirs, one can extend one’s life infinitely. What is it?

Internal Alchemy

In this theory of immortality, it was held that there are three centers in any human body: head, chest and stomach. In each of these centers, there is a ‘furnace.’ And, when each of these functioned well in connection to the other two in order to build and regulate qi properly, a spiritual embryo is formed, which will be born at death. From this moment on, the person is an immortal. The regulating and building of chi is achieved by various postures, exercises, and meditations.

Immortality

In noting that while all human beings die, some live longer and healthier than others and other aspects of nature, Daoists started to seek this. They claim that some have gotten it, becoming gods. What did they seek?

Wu wei

This concept is variously translated, including Molloy’s “no action.” It is also translated as inactive activity, actionless action, effortless effort, etc. It is the nature’s way. It is the way that Dao functions, according to Daoism. What is it?

Daoist Dao

Daoist understanding of this is the path of the nature. It is the form of the formless, the image of the imageless, it nurtures all without control, it is good yet does not make distinctions concerning good or evil, empty yet useful. It is inactive yet acts, etc. What is it?

Zuangzi

He is the second most important figure for Daoism He was a historical figure (369-286 BCE). He was a contemporary of Mencius, whom we will meet when we discuss Confucianism. He left a book titled after his name.Who is he?

Laozi

He is the legendary founder of Daoism . As Molloy notes, he was supposed have been born of a virgin, and born old. There are accounts of him being a keeper of archives at the court of Chou Dynasty. He is credited with writing of THE book in Daoism: Daodejing. Who is he?

The Love of Learning

Mencius held that human beings are by nature predisposed to good. He lists four such predispositions. Of the following, which is NOT one of them?

Yi

This is self-respect and self-love, even at the face of death. As developed by Mencius, this concept notes the idea that honor and self-respect should be dearer to a person than even one’s life. What is it?

Chun-Tzu

Often translated as the Superior Man or Gentle man, this is the Confucian ideal. Such a man has mastered Jen and all that is involved with it. What is it?

Wen

As Malloy notes, this is the love of high culture such as the arts, music, painting, poetry, etc. Confucius held that the Arts possess the power of transforming people's heart. What is it?

Teacher-Student

Which of the following is NOT one of the Five Relations?

Li

This concept is often translated as propriety or rites. One of the Five Classics describes literally hundreds and hundreds of proper behavior and rites. These range from religious ceremonies, etiquette, to morality. What is it?

Shu

As Molloy notes, this concept is also often called the Silver Rule. It is “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” What is it?

Jen

It is one of the central ideas in the Analects. We could even say that it is the summation of all Confucian values. Often translated as "humaneness," "sympathy," "empathy," "benevolence," "kindness," etc., it notes both the personal virtues and the correct interaction with others. As love is the virtue that undergirds all other virtues of Christianity, we can say that this concept undergirds all other Confucian virtues. What is it?

Analects

Which of the following is not a part of the Five Classics?

Analects

While Confucius did not leave any of his own writings, his teachings were recorded then collected in this book. What is this book?

Ching Ming

One of the few holidays that follow the solar calendar, this holiday falls two weeks after the Spring Equinox. On this day, families gather at the ancestors’ graves to honor and clean them. What is it?

Mid-Autumn Celebration

This celebration takes place on the full moon of the 8th Month, when the moon is the brightest and largest. It is often celebrated at night, and a common food associated with it the moon cake. What is it?

On the first full moon of the 1st month

When does the New Year’s celebration end in the Far East?

It requires that all the debts and wrong doings be righted by the 20th day of the 12th month.

Of the following, which is true about the Chinese/ Far Eastern celebration of the New Year?

Lord of the Stove

This deity is the one who goes up on the 23rd of the 12th month to report to the Jade Emperor on the behavior of each member of a family. Who is he?

Longevity, prosperity, and posterity

What are the three major goals of the Far Eastern common tradition?