Chinese folk religion

===''Bao ying'' and ''ming yun''===
{{Main|Bao ying|Ming yun}}
[[File:安平天后宮石將軍.JPG|thumb|Altar to the Stone Generals, protective deities, at the Kantai Tianhou Temple in [[Anping District|Anping]], [[Tainan]], [[Taiwan]].]]

The Chinese traditional concept of ''bao ying'' ("reciprocity", "retribution" or "judgement"), is inscribed in the cosmological view of an ordered world, in which all manifestations of being have an allotted span (''shu'') and [[destiny]],{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=166}} and are rewarded according to the moral-cosmic quality of their actions.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=25}} It determines [[fate]], as written in [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] texts: "on the doer of good, heaven sends down all blessings, and on the doer of evil, he sends down all calamities" ({{lang-zh|書經•湯誥}}).{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=26}}

The cosmic significance of ''bao ying'' is better understood by exploring other two traditional concepts of fate and meaning:{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=21}}
* ''[[Ming yun]]'' ({{lang-zh|命運}}), the personal destiny or given condition of a being in his world, in which ''ming'' is "life" or "right", the given status of life, and ''yun'' defines both "circumstance" and "individual choice"; ''ming'' is given and influenced by the transcendent force ''Tian'' ({{lang-zh|天}}), that is the same as the "divine right" (''tianming'') of ancient rulers as identified by [[Mencius]].{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=21}} Personal destiny (''ming yun'') is thus perceived as both fixed (as life itself) and flexible, open-ended (since the individual can choose how to behave in ''bao ying'').{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=21}}
* ''[[Yuan fen]]'' ({{lang-zh|緣分}}), "fateful [[coincidence]]",{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=23}} describing good and bad chances and potential relationships.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=23}} Scholars K. S. Yang and D. Ho have analysed the psychological advantages of this belief: assigning causality of both negative and positive events to ''yuan fen'' reduces the conflictual potential of guilt and pride, and preserves social harmony.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=24}}

''Ming yun'' and ''yuan fen'' are linked, because what appears on the surface to be chance (either positive or negative), is part of the deeper rhythm that shapes personal life based on how destiny is directed.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=25}} Recognising this connection has the result of making a person responsible for his or her actions:{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=26}} doing good for others spiritually improves oneself and contributes to the harmony between men and environmental gods and thus to the wealth of a human community.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|pp=26–27}}

These three themes of the Chinese tradition—moral reciprocity, personal destiny, fateful coincidence—are completed by a fourth notion:{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=27}}

* ''[[Wu (Chinese religion)|Wu]]'' ({{lang-zh|悟}}), "awareness" of ''bao ying''. The awareness of one's own given condition inscribed in the ordered world produces responsibility towards oneself and others; awareness of ''yuan fen'' stirs to respond to events rather than resigning.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=27}} Awareness may arrive as a gift, often unbidden, and then it evolves into a practice that the person intentionally follows.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=27}}

As part of the trinity of being (the Three Powers), humans are not totally submissive to spiritual force.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=164}} While under the sway of spiritual forces, humans can actively engage with them, striving to change their own fate to prove the worth of their earthly life.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=164}} In the Chinese traditional view of human destiny, the dichotomy between "fatalism" and "optimism" is overcome; human beings can shape their personal destiny to grasp their real worth in the transformation of the universe, seeing their place in the alliance with the gods and with Heaven to surpass the constraints of the physical body and mind.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=164}}