Mystic China Pdf

[Merilyn Mardis]

JohnBlofeld (1913-1987) was an eminent sinologist and humanist who authored numerous books on Buddhism and Taoism, including The Zen Teachings of Huang Po, Taoist Mystery and Magic, My Journey in Mystic China, and a translation of the I Ching, the Book of Changes. He lived in China from 1932 until 1949 when the Communist Revolution forced him to relocate to Thailand, where he remained for the rest of his life.

"The discovery of a missing manuscript of Mozart could not bring greater joy than John Blofeld's memoir of his journey through a China that is barely visible nowadays but brought to life once more in this most welcome translation. To read this book is to travel again with this marvelous man on the path he walked so well: the path of the translator, the path of the pilgrim, the path of a stranger in a strange land. The bodhisattvas must be singing."

"When all is said and done, we owe Daniel Reid a great debt for translating this wonderful travel journal. . . . although 'mystic' appears in the title, this is not really a magical mystical tour and you won't get any tidbits about finding your bliss, so to speak. You basically find what a well-lived life can be like."

"It is fitting that Daniel Reid, whose writings have done so much to bring profound dimensions of Chinese medical, scientific, spiritual, and meditative wisdom to English language readers, has translated this book."

" The book is not, strictly speaking, a history of the 1930s and 1940s in China, but for readers looking to gain a deeper understanding of that period, the book will prove quite valuable. It will also be useful to those wishing a deeper understanding of pre-communist Chinese religion and culture, as well as to casual readers who are simply seeking an engaging informative book about China during its early republican period."

"The book reads like a charming account from a long-forgotten era, and that is precisely what it is. Blofeld gives a detailed and scintillating portrait of ancient China, still extant when he lived there--a culture that was highly stratified and regimented, and included the virtues of always welcoming 'guests from afar' such as Blofeld himself, who made a comfortable niche for himself by being the perfect visitor."

Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion[1] and Taoism, especially older popular forms of it.[2] Many narratives recounting characters and events from ancient times exhibit a dual tradition: one that presents a more historicized or euhemerized interpretation, and another that offers a more mythological perspective.[3]

Numerous myths delve into the creation and cosmology of the universe, exploring the origins of deities and heavenly inhabitants. Some narratives specifically address the topic of creation, unraveling the beginnings of things, people, and culture. Additionally, certain myths are dedicated to the genesis of the Chinese state. A subset myths provides a chronology of prehistoric times, often featuring a culture hero who taught people essential skills ranging from building houses and cooking to the basics of writing. In some cases, they were revered as the ancestor of an ethnic group or dynastic families. Chinese mythology is intimately connected to the traditional Chinese concepts of li and qi. These two foundational concepts are deeply entwined with socially oriented ritual acts, including communication, greetings, dances, ceremonies, and sacrifices.

Significant interplay exists between Chinese mythology and the philosophical traditions of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Elements of pre-Han dynasty mythology such as those in Classic of Mountains and Seas were adapted into these belief systems as they developed (in the case of Taoism), or were assimilated into Chinese culture (in the case of Buddhism). Conversely, teachings and beliefs from Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism have, in turn, become integral components of Chinese mythology. For example, the Taoist belief of a spiritual paradise became incorporated into mythology as the place where immortals and deities dwell. Sometimes mythological and religious ideas have become widespread across China's many regions and diverse ethnic societies. In other cases, beliefs are more limited to certain social groups, for example, the veneration of white stones by the Qiang. One mythological theme that has a long history and many variations involves a shamanic world view, for example in the cases of Mongolian shamanism among the Mongols, Hmong shamanism among the Miao people, and the shamanic beliefs of the Qing dynasty from 1643 to 1912, derived from the Manchus. Politically, mythology was often used to legitimize the dynasties of China, with the founding house of a dynasty claiming a divine descent.

Elaborations on the wuxing are not really part of mythology, although belief in five elements could appear. The Hundred Schools of Thought is a phrase suggesting the diversity of philosophical thought that developed during the Warring States of China. Then, and subsequently, philosophical movements had a complicated relationship with mythology. However, as far as they influence or are influenced by mythology, [4] divides the philosophical camps into two rough halves, a Liberal group and a Conservative group. The liberal group being associated with the idea of individuality and change, for example as seen in the mythology of divination in China, such as the mythology of the dragon horse that delivered the eight bagua diagrams to Fu Xi, and methods of individual empowerment as seen in the Yi Jing (Book of Changes). The Liberal tendency is towards individual freedom, Daoism, and Nature. The relationship of the Conservative philosophies to mythology is seen in the legendary Nine Tripod Cauldrons, mythology about the emperors and central bureaucratic governance, Confucianism, written histories, ceremonial observances, subordination of the individual to the social groups of family and state, and a fixation on stability and enduring institutions. The distinction between the Liberal and Conservative is very general, but important in Chinese thought. Contradictions can be found in the details, however these are often traditional, such as the embrace by Confucius of the philosophical aspects of the Yi Jing, and the back-and-forth about the Mandate of Heaven wherein one dynasty ends and another begins based according to accounts (some of heavily mythological) where the Way of Heaven results in change, but then a new ethical stable dynasty becomes established. Examples of this include the stories of Yi Yin, Tang of Shang and Jie of Xia or the similar fantastic stories around Duke of Zhou and King Zhou of Shang

Mythology exists in relationship with other aspects of society and culture, such as ritual. Various rituals are explained by mythology. For example, the ritual burning of mortuary banknotes (Hell Money), lighting fireworks, and so on.

A good example of the relationship between Chinese mythology and ritual is the Yubu, also known as the Steps or Paces of Yu. During the course of his activities in controlling the Great Flood, Yu was supposed to have so fatigued himself that he lost all the hair from his legs and developed a serious limp. Daoist practitioners sometimes incorporate a curiously choreographed pedal locomotion into various rituals. Mythology and practice, one explains the other: in these rituals, the sacred time of Yu merges with the sacral practice of the present.

Various ideas about the nature of the earth, the universe, and their relationship to each other have historically existed as either a background or a focus of mythologies. One typical view is of a square earth separated from a round sky by sky pillars (mountains, trees, or undefined). Above the sky is the realm of Heaven, often viewed of as a vast area, with many inhabitants. Often the heavenly inhabitants are thought to be of an "as above so below" nature, their lives and social arrangements being parallel to those on earth, with a hierarchical government run by a supreme emperor, many palaces and lesser dwellings, a vast bureaucracy of many functions, clerks, guards, and servants. Below was a vast under ground land, also known as Diyu, Yellow Springs, Hell, and other terms. As time progressed, the idea of an underground land in which the souls of the departed were punished for their misdeeds during life became explicit, related to developments in Daoism and Buddhism. The underground world also came to be conceived of as inhabited by a vast bureaucracy, with kings, judges, torturers, conductors of souls, minor bureaucrats, recording secretaries, similar to the structure of society in the Middle Kingdom (earthly China).

The mythology of China includes a mythological geography describing individual mythological descriptions of places and the features; sometimes, this reaches to the level of a cosmological conception. Various features of mythological terrain are described in myth, including a Heavenly world above the earth, a land of the dead beneath the earth, palaces beneath the sea, and various fantastic areas or features of the earth, located beyond the limits of the known earth. Such mythological features include mountains, rivers, forests or fantastic trees, and caves or grottoes. These then serve as the location for the actions of various beings and creatures. One concept encountered in some myths is the idea of travel between Earth and Heaven by means of climbing up or down the pillars separating the two, there usually being four or Eight Pillars or an unspecified number of these Sky Ladders.

The Four Symbols of Chinese cosmology were the Azure Dragon of the East, the Black Tortoise of the North, the White Tiger of the West, and the Vermillion Bird of the South. These totem animals represented the four cardinal directions, with a lot of associated symbolism and beliefs. A fifth cardinal direction was also postulated: the center, represented by the emperor of China, located in the middle of his Middle Kingdom (Zhong Guo, or China). The real or mythological inhabitants making their dwellings at these cardinal points were numerous, as is associated mythology.

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