The events of 1740 in Batavia brought the Chinese community into a new phase. One of the new chapters that has never been studied is the birth of local gods who are worshiped in various temples. The gods were none other than the Chinese folk he- roes who fought against the Dutch colonialism. Among them are Yiyong gong (義勇公) which is worshiped in the city of Lasem and Zehai zhenren (澤海真人) in various cities in Central Java, such as in the cities of Tegal, Semarang and Pekalongan. The cult of Zehai zenren is wider than the cult of Yiyonggong, even in some circles the Javanese community also respects the figure of Zehai zenren. Zehai zenren can be respected among the Javanese people, especially those who become fishermen because they believe that Zehai zenren is the ‘god’ protecting sailors and traders. In addition to its distribution in Central Java, it turned out that based on field research, it was found that there were Chinese people living in the West Java area who worshiped Zehai zenren as their patron god. That there are local Chinese heroes who can be worshiped whose distribution is wider than the local Chinese Indonesian gods deserves to be investigated. It should also be noted that Zehai zhenren's ‘bodyguards’ are Javanese. Belief in Zehai zhenren that transcends ethnic boundaries can occur because of the closeness of the belief system of the people of Central Java or known as Kejawen with the Chinese belief system. His beliefs are inclusive, build harmony and respect for people who are worthy of respect.

Religion in Chinese Society

Penghormatan Ze Hai Zhen Ren - Dewa Tionghoa Di Tekhai Bio: 澤海真人崇拜-澤海廟的印華神

Family Sacrifices: The Worldviews and Ethics of Chinese Americans, by RUSSELL M. JEUNG, SEANAN S. FONG, and HELEN JIN KIM

What is in a Name? A Comparison of Being Branded a Religious "Cult" in the U.S. and the PRC: Witness Lee and the Local Churches

Contemporary theoretical streams in sinology and modern Chinese philosophy have devoted increasing attention to investigating and comparing the substantial and methodological assumptions of the so-called ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ traditions. In spite of the complexity of these problems, the most important methodological condition for arriving at some reasonably valid conclusions will undoubtedly be satisfied if we consciously endeavor to preserve the characteristic structural blocks and observe the specific categorical laws of the cultural contexts being discussed. Whenever sinologists speak of Chinese philosophy, they must inevitably consider the appropriateness of this term. Due to the fact, that the general theory and genuine philosophical aspects of Chinese thought have only rarely been treated by Western scholars, they namely continue to remain quite obscure for the majority of them. Therefore, we must examine the fundamental question (or dilemma) of whether it is possible to speak of traditional Chine...

Traditional Chinese Thought: Philosophy or Religion?

In this paper, I examine a Chinese family’s oral history, which revolves around their tumultuous life transformations under the impact of China’s communist movement between 1940 and 1977. Using interviews with four siblings who have distinctive personalities and life narratives, I focus on how they apply fatalistic thinking—a phenomenon popular among ordinary Chinese but is rarely analyzed by scholars—to make sense of the vicissitudes of the fates of the family members. I position the Chinese family’s oral history in macro and micro contexts. In the macro context, since the land reform in 1940s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had attempted to replace peasants’ fatalistic thinking with class analysis to explain the roots of hardships in their lives. As the communist movement and class struggle receded, fatalistic thinking—which has never been eradicated—revived. In the micro context, fatalistic thinking is expressed through distinctive memories and narratives, which are linked to personalities and identities. I argue that fatalistic thinking is a mean of self-construction that people consciously or unconsciously resort to when facing absurdity. By using fatalistic thinking, people develop narratives about the self and create a sense of mental balance.

Religion in Chinese Society

Citations

Penghormatan Ze Hai Zhen Ren - Dewa Tionghoa Di Tekhai Bio: 澤海真人崇拜-澤海廟的印華神

Family Sacrifices: The Worldviews and Ethics of Chinese Americans, by RUSSELL M. JEUNG, SEANAN S. FONG, and HELEN JIN KIM

What is in a Name? A Comparison of Being Branded a Religious "Cult" in the U.S. and the PRC: Witness Lee and the Local Churches

Traditional Chinese Thought: Philosophy or Religion?

Peasants’ Fatalistic Thinking in Chinese Communism: an Analysis of a Rural Family’s Oral History

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