Belief Culture (Part 2) cover

Belief Culture (Part 2)

Rating 3.3
Word count
85K words
Chapters
43
ISBN
9787807119937

Tags

Summary

Chinese culture values peace and upholds the ideal personality of the Golden Mean. When diverse cultures meet, it excels at integration, avoiding bias and resentment, favoring harmony and balance, which has enabled the Chinese nation to grow and thrive. Chinese culture is like a sea into which a hundred rivers flow, vast and boundless. The History of Chinese Culture recounts the extraordinary course of China's territorial expansion, ethnic formation, social evolution, economic and cultural development, and political transformation from prehistoric times to the present.

Editor's review

Faith Culture (Part Two) is one volume in the "Chinese Culture Knowledge Reader" series edited by Xing Chunru. As a popular introduction, it continues the series' accessible style, breaking the vast theme of faith culture into easily understandable chapters. The book focuses on the cultural expressions of indigenous Chinese beliefs and selected foreign ones. Compared with academic monographs, its strength lies in systematic organization and readability, aiming to sketch a clear genealogy of faith culture for readers.

In terms of structure, the book does not merely list religious doctrines but emphasizes how faith has interacted and merged with society, folk customs, and the arts over history, reflecting a cultural studies perspective. For example, it may explore how folk beliefs shaped festivals and rituals, or how Buddhist and Daoist thought influenced traditional art and architecture. This approach allows even readers without a professional background to sense the power of faith as living culture rather than a remote abstraction.

The book's value lies in its role as a bridge. For readers who wish to gain an initial understanding of China's complex and diverse religious phenomena but are intimidated by abstruse philosophy or theology, it is a suitable introductory guide. It offers cultural literacy that helps readers build a basic cognitive framework and sparks interest in further exploration. However, as a popular work, it necessarily makes trade-offs in depth on specific issues and cannot replace specialized academic scholarship.

Overall, Faith Culture (Part Two) is a solidly organized cultural guide. In plain language it traces the outlines and examines faith within a broader cultural context, making it suitable as a foundational reader for expanding one's humanistic horizons. In an age of fragmented information, such systematic knowledge is especially valuable.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers interested in traditional Chinese culture and folk beliefs who want systematic introductory knowledge
  • Students or enthusiasts in the humanities and social sciences who need a basic reference on faith culture
  • General readers who enjoy understanding social phenomena through a cultural lens and seek intellectual inspiration
  • Travelers or cultural professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of the faith dimension of Chinese cultural heritage

Not a good fit for

  • Specialist scholars seeking in-depth theological, religious-studies, or philosophical research
  • Researchers expecting extensive primary sources or cutting-edge academic arguments

Reading tips

  1. It is recommended to read this together with Faith Culture (Part One) or other related titles in the "Chinese Culture Knowledge Reader" series to form a more complete body of knowledge
  2. While reading, relate the content to specific historical events or cultural heritage sites (such as temples and festivals) to deepen understanding
  3. The book can be read chapter by chapter in order, or used as a reference work to look up specific faith culture phenomena according to interest

About the publisher

Liaohai Publishing House China · Founded in 1996

Liaohai Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for textbooks and the collation of ancient works. Its publishing scope covers state-approved textbooks, local curriculum materials, supplementary educational books, and national and local ancient-text compilation projects, while also extending into humanities fields such as Eastern philosophy. Its catalog contains about 4,694 titles, with representative works including the multi-volume Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), and its author resources include classic writers and works such as Sima Qian and Confucius. Grounded in educational publishing and the transmission of traditional culture, the press maintains sustained investment in ancient-text collation, forming a publishing profile that balances textbooks and scholarship. Due to limited public information, its more specific publishing directions and features require further supplementation.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 《中国文化知识大观园》编委会
  3. 编写说明
  4. 三、百事禁忌
  5. 禁忌的产生
  6. 禁忌产生的根源
  7. 禁忌的教化功能
  8. 日常禁忌
  9. 服饰颜色禁忌
  10. 服饰款式禁忌
  11. 食物食品禁忌
  12. 饮食方式禁忌
  13. 建宅禁忌
  14. 行旅禁忌
  15. 红白喜事禁忌
  16. 择婚通婚禁忌
  17. 婚礼禁忌
  18. 婚宴禁忌
  19. 洞房禁忌
  20. 婚恋房事禁忌
  21. 婚外房事禁忌
  22. 离婚禁忌
  23. 再婚禁忌
  24. 怀孕禁忌
  25. 分娩禁忌
  26. 婴儿禁忌
  27. 幼儿禁忌
  28. 死亡禁忌
  29. 埋葬禁忌
  30. 祭祀禁忌
  31. 人事忌讳
  32. 性别禁忌
  33. 自身人体禁忌
  34. 人体部分禁忌
  35. 人名称谓禁忌
  36. 语言禁忌
  37. 行为禁忌
  38. 择友禁忌
  39. 人际交往禁忌
  40. 事物忌讳
  41. 四、风水与相术
  42. 风水
  43. 梦

FAQ

How does this book differ from an academic monograph?
This book is positioned as a popular cultural reader, emphasizing informative content, systematic organization, and readability. It aims to outline the overall contours and social impact of faith culture rather than conduct in-depth academic argument or present novel viewpoints. The language is plainer and the structure clearer, making it suitable for non-specialist readers.
Do I need prior religious knowledge to understand it?
No. The book is designed as an introductory reader that assumes no prior knowledge. The author explains basic concepts and cultural background in accessible language; a general interest in Chinese culture is all that is needed to read it smoothly.
Is the content objective?
As a cultural knowledge reader, the book mainly describes various beliefs' phenomena, evolution, and influence from a historical and cultural perspective, focusing on introduction and organization. It aims to provide knowledge rather than make value judgments or advocate belief, and its overall stance is objective and neutral.

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About the author

Xing Chunru Author · China

Xing Chunru is a Chinese full-time book editor about whom publicly available information is limited. He has long compiled popular series for institutions such as Liaohai Publishing House. His output is considerable, with more than 700 titles held in the collection, covering fields such as art history, science and military affairs, politics and history, language and writing, and film and television. Representative works include Chinese Martial Arts (Part II), A History of Chinese Art, A History of Chinese Science and Technology, A Course in the Art of Language, Famous Paintings and Masterpieces, and the series A Grand Garden of Chinese Cultural Knowledge. These books present specialized knowledge in an accessible style, emphasizing systematic organization and readability, and are intended for young readers and general audiences, helping to popularize and guide understanding of traditional culture, art appreciation, and language expression.

李穆南 Author

Li Munan: publicly available information is limited, and details of his life, such as nationality and dates of birth and death, are not clearly recorded. Nevertheless, the 229 works held in the library indicate a prolific compiler with wide-ranging interests. His works focus mainly on Chinese culture and history, and representative titles include Chinese Martial Arts (Volume Two), The Grand Compendium of Chinese Cultural Knowledge: Science and Military Volume, The Grand Compendium of Chinese Cultural Knowledge: Politics and History Volume, The History of Ancient Chinese Literature, The History of Contemporary Chinese Literature, Poems of Successive Dynasties, and Residential Architecture and Folk Customs (Volume One). The common categories cover culture, popular science, general biography, and history readers, showing that his writing centers on knowledge popularization and cultural dissemination. His subjects span literary history, folk customs, military science, and political history, and are mostly aimed at general readers. Overall, Li Munan's body of work is extensive and emphasizes the systematic organization of traditional Chinese culture and historical knowledge, giving him a certain accumulated presence and influence in the compilation of popular cultural reading materials.

Jie Baofeng Author · Chinese · 1976

Jie Baofeng, born in 1976 and a native of Qianguo, Jilin, is of Han ethnicity and serves as an assistant researcher. He is currently director of the Jilin Provincial Local Chronicles Museum, a member of the Standing Committee of the Jilin Provincial CPPCC, and vice chair of the Jilin Provincial Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, and has long been engaged in compiling local chronicles. He has planned and published more than ninety chronicles and gazetteers, including the Illustrated Gazetteer of the Colonial Governing Institutions of the Puppet State of Manchukuo, and has served as chief editor of numerous history and popular science series, gaining extensive experience in document organization and knowledge dissemination. His works span a wide range of subjects, including folk literature, inspirational growth, and social fiction, with 970 titles held in the collection. These include multivolume editions of traditional classics such as the Classic of Mountains and Seas and The Complete Works of Guiguzi, as well as accessible popular readings, reflecting an editorial approach that balances scholarship with readability.

刘心莲 Author

Liu Xinlian is a Chinese compiler credited with a considerable number of titles, though public information about her is limited, and her nationality, dates of birth and death, and personal background are not clearly recorded. Judging from the 182 works held in the collection, her writing focuses mainly on cultural popularization and general knowledge books, covering such subjects as Chinese martial arts, political history, science and military affairs, emperors and eunuchs of successive dynasties, imperial examination top scholars, and myths and legends. The common categories include culture, popular science, history readings, folk literature, and general biography. Representative works include Chinese Martial Arts (Volume II), The Grand View of Chinese Culture: Political and Historical Volume, The Grand View of Chinese Culture: Science and Military Volume, Emperors of Successive Dynasties, and Myths and Legends. Overall, her editorial style leans toward accessible introductions for general readers, emphasizing systematic organization and readability, making it suitable for ordinary readers seeking to understand traditional culture and historical knowledge.

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