The belief of spirits and its impact on the Chinese culture

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Every culture encloses a number of folk beliefs to interpret events that occur in everyday life. Chinese culture is no different from other cultures. The extreme imagination of the ancient Chinese led foreigners to view their spiritual beliefs as pure superstitions. Rural residents worshipped their local deities because they strongly felt they had a major influence on their daily lives. They believed in the existence of special spirits in strangely-shaped stones, boulders, old trees, fields, streams and roads. All these beliefs have been transferred from generation to generation as lay villagers and less educated people continued to worship spirits.

The great majority of Chinese people believed in spirits and practiced rituals that were often included under the umbrella of the Chinese religion. Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism as well as other religions contributed many beliefs to popular religion. Particularly Buddhism included the concept of personal development for the purpose of living an ideal life and, ultimately, attaining immortality in the afterlife.

Even before the introduction of Buddhism in China, Chinese worshipped a large conglomeration of gods. Many of them were heroes who had distinguished themselves by exposing estimable services to China, or had contributed to save the country from external aggression or had helped to prevent distresses due to natural misfortunes. These individuals were defied after their death.

Having appeared in the early years of primitive religious consciousness in ancient China, belief in spirits evolved around belief in God and the Mandate of Heaven. Primarily introduced by the Yin and Shang dynasties, the spirit of Tien signified the worship of Heaven. In ancient times, Tien was worshiped at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing (Peking at that time) during the New Year. Believing that Heaven takes precedence over human efforts and reflecting the definite heaven – human unity, Tien was the supreme element in Confucianism. The philosophical field of the heaven – human unity determined Confucianism as a cultural element of Chinese tradition rather than the origin of Chinese traditional values. As such, the passionate worship of Tien as God, although it is not a God in the sense that it is used in Christianity, can be explained as an inherent part of Chinese culture.

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Beliefs in spirits were instilled to modern people and to those who have become acquainted with the teachings of Buddhism. In times of misfortune and sickness, people would turn to God and the spirits for advice and help to keep away evil ghosts. Although spirits were widely regarded as good and benevolent, villagers worshiped them fearing that they might become nasty if they were not paid sufficient respect.

Manifestations of human desire for life after death can be found in Chinese religion in the form of religious theories of continuance beyond death that present the fate of the individual as a detached spiritual "self" or "soul." Buddhism assumes personal salvation emphasizing on biological continuance through descendants.

One of the strongest beliefs in the Chinese culture is the Yau-Kwei. Yau-Kwei signifies the existence of two men who escaped death and returned to life as spirits. Chinese believe that when someone suffers from nightmares or bad dreams is the Yau-Kwei that causes them. According to the Chinese tradition, the easiest way to keep them away is to tick them off them as soon as the person awakes. However, if this method fails, two or more healthy people should be called in to spend the night with the patient because Yau-Kwei are said to be afraid of the strong and attack only the weak. A third way to keep Yau-Kwei away is to wet a sword with human blood and wave it over the bed or to hire a spirit shooter to eliminate the spirit. Besides, Chinese hang looking-glasses on the bedroom walls so that Yau-Kwei cannot enter unperceived.

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During the Zhou dynasty (1050 – 256 BC), Chinese tradition was instilled by the yin-yang theory, which suggests that whole existence is the result of alternation and interchange between passive (yin) and active (yang) forces. This dichotomy of existence is transferred to the dichotomy of the soul making people strong believers of the salvation of the soul and ardent practitioners of rituals of the domestic, gravesite, and clan hall cults for ancestors.

Every Chinese believes in the spirit of Fang yin-kau, the spirit of holiday, also known as Shi-shih. This belief is mainly related to the extremely unfavorable climate conditions in Central and Southern China during August and September that causes many Chinese to fall sick. According to Chinese tradition, during these two months the gates of Hell are opened so that the spirits are allowed a holiday. To satisfy Fang yin-kau, Chinese set out outdoor feasts during these two months. Typically, they decorate their courts with paper clothing cut in different sizes. As soon as it gets darker, Chinese priests light lanterns in tall bamboo polls to guide the Fang yin-kau to the food and sing their hymns at the sound of the tom-toms. These celebrations last until the daylight to the full satisfaction of Fang yin-kau. After the ceremony, the clothing is burned and leftovers of food are given to beggars.

The spirit of Feng Shui is probably one of the most well-known spirits of the Chinese culture with a major influence on everyday life. Literally meaning ‘Principle of Life’, Feng Shui is a spirit or air and water that, according to Chinese tradition, it signifies luck. Besides, the importance of Feng Shui in Chinese culture is also reflected in the fact that any Chinese, at any social status, hires a Feng Shui specialist to find out the lucky spot for performing a burial so that the spirit of luck enters the body of the dead and follows his children and all his ancestors for a lifetime. However, if the selected spot fails to bring luck, Chinese people believe that the spot was appropriate at the time of the funeral, but it changed over the course of time. To destroy the bad Feng Shui, they cut down a tree near the tomb or they deface the tomb, which, however, leads to severe court punishment if offended.

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Feng Shui is also related to decisions about building a house, constructing a canal, or laying out a road. Feng Shui specialists are always called in to determine the best location for the house’s doors and windows and furniture so that sickness and misfortune are repelled. If however, the first effort fails, a second Feng Shui specialist is called in to examine the premises and determine what needs to be done. In most of the cases, he may order one door to be closed and another to be opened or minor changes in the placement of the furniture. If bad luck still insists, a third specialist is called in. However, the faith of Chinese people in Feng Shui remains unshakable and resolute.

Conclusively, belief in spirits is an inherent part of Chinese tradition and culture. No Chinese would get married, build a house, start a journey or bury a relative without consulting or satisfying the spirits. While Chinese people believe there are good spirits that can bring them luck, they equally believe there are bad spirits that can harm them. Regardless if they understand why these spirits exist, Chinese are greatly affected by their folk beliefs since ancient times.

Christina Pomoni:

I work as a financial and investment advisor but my passion is writing, music and photography. Writing mostly about finance, business and music, being an amateur photographer and a professional dj, I am inspired from life. Being a strong advocate of simplicity in life, I love my family, my partner and all the people that have stood by me with or without knowing. And I hope that someday, human nature will cease to be greedy and demanding realizing that the more we have the more we want and the more we satisfy our needs the more needs we create. And this is so needless after all.

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