Chinese folk religion

===Worship and modalities of religious practice===
[[File:Procession with xingshen (traveling image of the god) in central Taiwan.jpg|thumb|Procession with a traveling image of a god (''xíngshén'' {{lang-zh|行神}}) in central [[Taiwan]].]]
[[File:Chinese temple's vows to the deity.jpg|thumb|Vows to a deity at a Chinese temple in [[Vietnam]].]]
[[File:Taoist ceremony at Xiao ancestral temple in Chaoyang, Shantou, Guangdong (inside) (4).jpg|thumb|A Taoist rite for ancestor worship at the [[Xiao (surname)|Xiao]] [[ancestral temple]] of [[Chaoyang District, Shantou|Chaoyang]], [[Shantou]], [[Guangdong]].]]
Adam Yuet Chau identifies five styles or modalities of "doing" Chinese religion:{{sfnb|Chau|2011}}
* Discursive-scriptural: involving the composition, preaching, and recitation of texts ([[Chinese classics|classics]], Taoist scriptures and morality books);
* Personal cultivation mode, involving a long-term cultivation and transformation of oneself with the goal of becoming a ''[[xian (Taoism)|xian]]'' {{lang-zh|仙}} (immortal), ''[[zhenren]]'' {{lang-zh|真人}} ("true person"), or ''shengren'' (wise), through the practice of different "technologies of the self" (''[[qigong]]'' {{lang-zh|氣功}}, [[Chinese alchemy|Taoist inner and outer alchemy]], charitable acts for merit, memorisation and recitation of texts);
* Liturgical: involving elaborate ritual procedures conducted by specialists of rites (Taoist rites, Confucian rites, Nuo rites, ''[[fengshui]]'' {{lang-zh|風水}});
* Immediate practical: aiming at quick efficacious (''ling'' {{lang-zh|靈}}) results through simple ritual and magical techniques ([[divination]], [[talisman]]s, divine medicine, consulting media and shamans);
* Relational: emphasising the devotional relationship between men and deities and among men themselves (organising elaborate [[sacrifice]]s, making vows, organising temple festivals, [[pilgrimage]]s, processions, and religious communities) in "social comings and goings" (''laiwang'' {{lang-zh|來往}}) and "interconnectedness" (''[[guanxi]]'' {{lang-zh|關係}}).

Generally speaking, the Chinese believe that spiritual and material well-being ensues from the harmony of humanity and gods in their participation in the same cosmic power, and also believe that by taking the right path and practice anybody is able to reach the absolute reality.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=173}} Religious practice is therefore regarded as the bridge to link the human world to the spiritual source,{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=173}} maintaining the harmony of the micro and macrocosmos, protecting the individual and the world from disruption.<ref name="Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 183"/> In this sense, the Chinese view of human life is not deterministic, but one is a master of his own life and can choose to collaborate with the deities for a harmonious world.<ref name="Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 183"/>
Chinese culture being a [[holism|holistic]] system, in which every aspect is a part of a whole, Chinese folk religious practice is often intermingled with political, educational and economic concerns.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=172}} A gathering or event may be encompassed with all of these aspects; in general, the commitment (belief) and the process or rite (practice) together form the internal and external dimensions of Chinese religious life.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=172}} In village communities, religious services are often organised and led by local people themselves.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=9}} Leaders are usually selected among male heads of families or lineages, or village heads.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=9}}

A simple form of individual practice is to show respect for the gods (''jing shen'' {{lang-zh|敬神}}) through ''[[jingxiang]]'' (incense offering), and the exchange of vows (''huan yuan'' {{lang-zh|還願}}).<ref name="Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 183"/> Sacrifice can consist of incense, oil, and candles, as well as money.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=10}} Religious devotion may also express in the form of performance troupes (''huahui''), involving many types of professionals such as stilt walkers, lion dancers, musicians, martial arts masters, ''[[yangge]]'' dancers, and story-tellers.{{sfnp|Fan|Chen|2013|p=10}}

Deities can also be respected through moral deeds in their name (''shanshi'' {{lang-zh|善事}}), and self-cultivation (''xiuxing'' {{lang-zh|修行}}).<ref>Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 191</ref> Some forms of folk religion develop clear prescriptions for believers, such as detailed lists of meritorious and sinful deeds in the form of "morality books" (''shanshu'' {{lang-zh|善書}}) and ledgers of merit and demerit.<ref name="Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 182">Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 182</ref> Involvement in the affairs of communal or intra-village temples are perceived by believers as ways for accumulating merit (''gongde'' {{lang-zh|功德}}).<ref name="Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 182"/> Virtue is believed to accumulate in one's heart, which is seen as energetic centre of the human body (''zai jun xin zuo tian fu'' {{lang-zh|在君心作福田}}).<ref>Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 187</ref> Practices of communication with the gods comprehend different forms of Chinese shamanism, such as [[wu (shaman)|''wu'' shamanism]] and [[tongji (spirit medium)|''tongji'' mediumship]], or ''[[fuji (planchette writing)|fuji]]'' practice.

====Sacrifices====
[[File:马降龙 04 - 猪肉盘.jpg|thumb|Tray for offering sacrifices, on display in [[Kaiping]]]]
[[Classical Chinese]] has characters for different types of [[sacrifice]], probably the oldest way to communicate with divine forces, today generally encompassed by the definition ''jìsì'' ({{lang|zh|祭祀}}).{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=173}} However different in scale and quantity, all types of sacrifice would normally involve food, wine, meat and later incense.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=176}}

Sacrifices usually differ according to the kind of deity they are devoted to.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=176}} Traditionally, cosmic and nature gods are offered uncooked (or whole) food, while ancestors are offered cooked food.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=176}} Moreover, sacrifices for gods are made inside the temples that enshrine them, while sacrifices for ancestors are made outside temples.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=176}} Yearly sacrifices (''ji'') are made to Confucius, the Red and Yellow Emperors, and other cultural heroes and ancestors.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=176}}

Both in past history and at the present, all sacrifices are assigned with both religious and political purposes.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=177}} Some gods are considered carnivorous, for example the River God ({{lang-zh|河神}} ''Héshén'') and Dragon Gods, and offering to them requires animal sacrifice.<ref name="Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 189">Zavidovskaya, 2012. p. 189</ref>

====Thanksgiving and redeeming====
The aims of rituals and sacrifices may be of thanksgiving and redeeming, usually involving both.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=177}} Various sacrifices are intended to express gratitude toward the gods in the hope that spiritual blessing and protection will continue.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=177}} The ''jiào'' ({{lang|zh|醮}}), an elaborate Taoist sacrifice or "rite of universal salvation", is intended to be a cosmic community renewal, that is to say a reconciliation of a community around its spiritual centre.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=178}} The ''jiao'' ritual usually starts with ''zhai'', "fasting and purification", that is meant as an atonement for evil-doing, then followed by sacrificial offerings.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=178}}

This rite, of great political importance, can be intended for the whole nation.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=178}} In fact, as early as the [[Song dynasty]], emperors asked renowned Taoists to perform such rituals on their behalf or for the entire nation.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=178}} The modern Chinese republic has given approval for Taoists to conduct such rituals since the 1990s, with the aim of protecting the country and the nation.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=178}}

====Rites of passage====
[[File:明制冠禮.jpg|thumb|''[[Guan Li]]'', Confucian [[coming of age]] ceremony ([[Hong Kong]], 2013)]]
A variety of practices are concerned with personal well-being and spiritual growth.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=180}} [[Rites of passage]] are intended to narrate the holy significance of each crucial change throughout a life course.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=180}} These changes, which are physical and social and at the same time spiritual, are marked by elaborate customs and religious rituals.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=180}}

In the holistic view about nature and the human body and life, as macro and microcosmos, the life process of a human being is equated with the rhythm of seasons and cosmic changes.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=180}} Hence, birth is likened to spring, youth to summer, maturity to autumn and old age to winter.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=180}} There are ritual passages for those who belong to a religious order of priests or monks, and there are the rituals of the stages in a life, the main four being birth, adulthood, marriage and death.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=181}}

Chinese folk religion sometimes incorporated Daoist elements about personal growth. A [[Tao]] realm inconceivable and incomprehensible by normal humans and even Confucius and [[Confucianism|Confucianists]] was sometimes called "the [[Tian|Heavens]]" and thought to exist by many ancient folk religion practitioners.<ref name=":132">{{Cite book |last=Minford |first=John |title=Tao Te Ching: The Essential Translation of the Ancient Chinese Book of the Tao |publisher=[[Viking Press]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-670-02498-8 |location=New York |pages=ix-x |language=en-US |author-link=John Minford}}</ref> 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",<ref name=":132" /> as well as ''[[Xian (Taoism)|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 ''xian'' [[Chinese dragon|dragons]] who eat yin and yang energy and ride [[cloud]]s and their ''[[qi]]''.<ref name=":132" />