Chinese folk religion

===Places of worship===
{{See also|Chinese temple}}
{{multiple image
| footer    = Examples of temples from two different parts of China: the Temple of the [[Jade Emperor|Jade King]] in [[Qingshui County|Qingshui]], [[Tianshui]], [[Gansu]]; and the Holy Temple of the Highest Mother in [[Fuding]], [[Ningde]], [[Fujian]].
| align     = right

| image1    = 玉皇庙清水县甘肃.jpg 
| width1    = 190
| caption1  = {{lang-zh|玉皇廟}} ''Yùhuángmiào''{{refn|group=note|Temples of the Jade Deity, a representation of the universal God in popular religion, are usually built on raised artificial platforms.}}

| image2    = Temple of the Highest Goddess in Fuding, Ningde, Fujian, China (1).jpg
| width2    = 150
| caption2  = {{lang-zh|太母聖殿}} ''Tàimǔ shèngdiàn''
}}

Chinese language has a variety of words defining the temples of the Chinese religion. Some of these terms have a precise functional use, although with time some confusion has arisen and some of them have been used interchangeably in some contexts. Collective names defining "temples" or places of worship are {{lang-zh|寺廟}} ''sìmiào'' and {{lang-zh|廟宇}} ''miàoyǔ''.{{sfnb|Li|2009}}

However, {{lang-zh|寺}} ''sì'', which originally meant a type of residence for imperial officials, with the introduction of [[Buddhism in China]] became associated with Buddhist monasteries as many officials donated their residences to the monks.{{sfnb|Li|2009}} Today ''sì'' and {{lang-zh|寺院}} ''sìyuàn'' ("monastery") are used almost exclusively for Buddhist monasteries, with sporadic exceptions, and ''sì'' is a component character of names for [[Chinese mosques]]. Another term now mostly associated with Buddhism is {{lang-zh|庵}} ''ān'', "thatched hut", originally a form of dwelling of monks later extended to mean monasteries.{{sfnb|Li|2009}}

Temples can be public, private ({{lang-zh|私廟}} ''sìmiào'') and household temples ({{lang-zh|家廟}} jiāmiào). The ''jing'' {{lang-zh|境}} is a broader "territory of a god", a geographic region or a village or city with its surroundings, marked by multiple temples or complexes of temples and delineated by the processions.{{sfnb|Goossaert|Palmer|2011|p=25}}

Pertaining to Chinese religion the most common term is {{lang-zh|廟}} ''miào'' graphically meaning a "shrine" or "sacred enclosure"; it is the general Chinese term that is translated with the general Western "[[temple]]", and is used for temples of any of the deities of polytheism. Other terms include {{lang-zh|殿}} ''diàn'' which indicates the "house" of a god, enshrining one specific god, usually a chapel within a larger temple or sacred enclosure; and {{lang-zh|壇}} ''tán'' which means "[[altar]]" and refers to any indoor or outdoor altars, majestic outdoor altars being those for the worship of Heaven and Earth and other gods of the environment.{{sfnb|Li|2009}} {{lang-zh|宮}} ''Gōng'', originally referring to imperial palaces, became associated to temples of representations of the universal God or the highest gods and consorts, such as the Queen of Heaven.{{sfnb|Li|2009}}

Another group of words is used for the [[ancestral shrine|temples of ancestral religion]]: {{lang-zh|祠}} ''cí'' (either "temple" or "shrine", meaning a sacred enclosure) or {{lang-zh|宗祠}} ''zōngcí'' ("ancestor shrine"). These terms are also used for temples dedicated to [[xian (Taoism)|immortal beings]].{{sfnb|Li|2009}} {{lang-zh|祖廟}} ''Zǔmiào'' ("original temple") instead refers to a temple which is believed to be the original temple of a deity, the most legitimate and powerful.<ref>Tan, Chee-Beng. ''Tianhou and the Chinese in Diaspora''. Chapter in the ''Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Diaspora''. Routledge, 2013. {{ISBN|1136230963}}. p. 423</ref>

{{lang-zh|堂}} ''Táng'', meaning "hall" or "church hall", originally referred to the central hall of secular buildings but it entered religious usage as a place of worship of the [[Chinese salvationist religions|folk religious sects]].{{sfnb|Li|2009}} [[Christianity in China]] has borrowed this term from the sects.

{{lang-zh|觀}} ''Guàn'' is the appropriate Chinese translation of the Western term "temple", as both refer to "[[contemplation]]" (of the divine, according to the astral patterns in the sky or the icon of a deity). Together with its extension {{lang-zh|道觀}} ''dàoguàn'' ("to contemplate or observe the Dao"), it is used exclusively for [[Taoist temple]]s and monasteries of the state [[Taoist Church]].{{sfnb|Li|2009}}

Generic terms include {{lang-zh|院}} ''yuàn'' meaning "sanctuary", from the secular usage for a courtyard, college or hospital institution; {{lang-zh|岩}} ''yán'' ("rock") and {{lang-zh|洞}} ''dòng'' ("hole", "cave") referring to temples set up in caves or on cliffs. Other generic terms are {{lang-zh|府}} ''fǔ'' ("house"), originally of imperial officials, which is a rarely used term; and {{lang-zh|亭}} ''tíng'' ("pavilion") which refers to the areas of a temple where laypeople can stay.{{sfnb|Li|2009}} There is also {{lang-zh|神祠}} ''shéncí'', "shrine of a god".

Ancestral shrines are sacred places in which lineages of related families, identified by shared [[Chinese surname|surnames]], worship their common progenitors. These temples are the "collective representation" of a group, and function as centers where religious, social and economic activities intersect.<ref>Zai Liang, Steven Messner, Cheng Chen, Youqin Huang. ''The Emergence of a New Urban China: Insiders' Perspectives''. Lexington Books, 2013. {{ISBN|0739188089}}. p. 95</ref>

Chinese temples are traditionally built according to the styles and materials (wood and bricks) of [[Chinese architecture]], and this continues to be the rule for most of the new temples. However, in the early 20th century and especially in the mainland religious revival of the early 21st century, there has been a proliferation of new styles in temple construction. These include the use of new materials (stones and concrete, stainless steel and glass) and the combination of Chinese traditional shapes with styles of the West or of transnational modernity. Examples can be found in the large ceremonial complexes of mainland China.

====Temple networks and gatherings====
{{Main|Fenxiang|Miaohui}}
[[File:GwongFuMiuWui (SingWongMiu).jpg|thumb|Gathering at a Temple of the City God of [[Guangzhou]], Guangdong.]]

{{lang-zh|分香}} ''Fēnxiāng'', meaning an "incense division", is a term that defines both hierarchical networks of temples dedicated to a god, and the ritual process by which these networks form.{{sfnp|Shahar|Weller|1996|p=24}} These temple networks are economic and social bodies, and in certain moments of history have even taken military functions.{{sfnp|Shahar|Weller|1996|p=24}} They also represent routes of [[pilgrimage]], with communities of devotees from the affiliated temples going up in the hierarchy to the senior temple (''zumiao'').{{sfnp|Shahar|Weller|1996|p=24}}

When a new temple dedicated to the same god is founded, it enters the network through the ritual of division of incense. This consists in filling the incense burner of the new temple with ashes brought from the incense burner of an existing temple.{{sfnp|Shahar|Weller|1996|p=24}} The new temple is therefore spiritually affiliated to the older temple where the ashes were taken, and directly below it in the hierarchy of temples.{{sfnp|Shahar|Weller|1996|p=24}}

{{lang-zh|廟會}} ''Miàohuì'', literally "gatherings at the temple", are "collective rituals to greet the gods" ({{lang-zh|迎神賽會}} ''yíngshén sàihuì'') that are held at the temples on various occasions such as the [[Chinese New Year]] or the birthday or holiday of the god enshrined in the temple.<ref name="Davis">{{cite book |last = Davis |first = Edward L. |year = 2009 |title = Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture |publisher = Taylor & Francis |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2rLBvrlKI7QC |isbn = 978-0415777162 |access-date = 31 July 2016 |archive-date = 15 February 2024 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240215111713/https://books.google.com/books?id=2rLBvrlKI7QC |url-status = live }} pp. 815-816</ref> In North China they are also called {{lang-zh|賽會}} ''sàihuì'' ("communal ritual gatherings") or {{lang-zh|香會}} ''xiānghuì'' ("incense gatherings"), while a {{lang-zh|賽社}} ''sàishè'' ("communal ritual body") is the association which organises such events and by extension it has become another name of the event itself.{{sfnb|Overmyer|2009|p=94}}

Activities include rituals, theatrical performances, processions of the gods' images throughout villages and cities, and offerings to the temples.<ref name="Davis"/> In north China temple gatherings are generally week-long and large events attracting tens of thousands of people, while in south China they tend to be smaller and village-based events.<ref name="Davis"/>