* While vile evangelical christists parasiting in Taiwan say that it has 18,000 Taoist temples (c.f. 4,000 Buddhist ones),
* and while wackypedia admits that "Shinto has 100,000 shrines and 20,000 priests in [Japan]",
turns out that despite communism in China - that spinoff of christianism - having done its darn best to wipe out Taoism (=religion of the Chinese Gods) by closing Temples and genociding Taoist priests, Chinese communist authorities aren't able to control the undying and ever-resurgent love and devotion of the heathen Chinese masses for their Gods:
* Note: "local folk religions" is not applied to Buddhism, Confucianism let alone christianism. It is specifically the dismissive way in which non-adherents and aliens refer to the ancient, ancestral Chinese religion now called "Taoism".** That religion is actually joined into an inseparable oneness by the pantheon (family, related community) of Chinese Gods, and hence forms one religion only. Though some of these Gods are regional Gods, and some others are regional manifestations of pan-Chinese Gods. (As also seen in Hindoo, Shinto and Hellenistic religions.)
But aliens - focused on divide-and-conquer/convert - always refer to the above as "this God's cult" or "that Goddess' cult" instead, and pretend they are entirely disparate instead of deeply interconnected. (E.g. that Chinese Goddess is married to that Chinese God and worshippers know that well.)
Aliens as usual indulge in utter nonsense. You know, the way aliens including so-called "converts" pretend that "Shaivam is distinct from Vedic religion", or that the Vedic sub-traditions of Shaivam and Vaishnavam say are "as separate religions as Buddhism or Jainism is from the Vedic religion".
** Knowledge of "Tao" among adherents, is like "Vedanta" is to Hindus, or like "Philosophy" is to Hellenes. Hindus are not all Vedantins (in a literal sense), but Vedanta is neverthless an important part of the *same* religion as that to which all Hindoos belong (plus an understanding of it sort of inevitably rubs off on all Hindoos, since the Gods teach it by their osmosis). Likewise, not all Hellenes pursued Philosophy, yet Philosophy was still an important part of Hellenismos and was a divine vision granted by the Olympic Gods. But like all Hellenes had (have) firm roots with the Olympic Gods, and Hindoos to the Hindoo [the indigenous Indian, i.e. Vedic] Gods, similarly, Chinese traditionalists follow that religion rooted in the deeply ancient, indigenous interconnected pantheon of their ancestral Chinese Gods - a religion in which the knowledge of the Tao is an important part and which is an understanding granted by the Chinese aka Taoist Gods - and which religion is usually dubbed "Taoism" in English by its native, ethnic adherents. Even though calling it "Taoism" is technically like calling Hindoo religion "Vedanta-ism" or calling the Olympic religion as "Philosophy". Even so, knowledge of the Tao is exclusively a part of that Chinese religion, as Vedanta is exclusively a part of Hindoos' religion and Philosophy is exclusively a part of Hellenismos and not other religion. Besides, the Taoist Gods teach all kinds of realisation to their loyal, adoring Chinese heathens. And the Tao is automatically cultivated by the Taoist heathens carrying out their [secret, private] ritual practices, such as their <*****> dances: the Taoist Gods immediately and directly intervene upon diligent, sincere practice, and quickly further the practitioner.)
The heathen ethnically-Chinese people of Taiwan, China, etc are attached deeply to their Gods. Hindoos - well, those of a bygone age - would have understood them very well. (Also obvious from the above fact of how even the population in highly communist-controlled China keep building millions of their temples to their Gods everywhere. Some Taoist Chinese' pooja rooms are like a Tamizh/Kannadiga Hindoos' gollu area during deepavali: have to see it to believe the number of vigrahas of Gods that even small Chinese families have in their homes.)
If the Chinese in rural China have "millions of temples" to their ancestral Gods now - even after the communist demolitions and decades of anti-religious communist rule - can only imagine how many temples Chinese would have had in the past. :envy:
* and while wackypedia admits that "Shinto has 100,000 shrines and 20,000 priests in [Japan]",
turns out that despite communism in China - that spinoff of christianism - having done its darn best to wipe out Taoism (=religion of the Chinese Gods) by closing Temples and genociding Taoist priests, Chinese communist authorities aren't able to control the undying and ever-resurgent love and devotion of the heathen Chinese masses for their Gods:
Quote:Rural China, moreover, is home to millions of templesââ¬âmany of them built in just the last decadeââ¬âthat serve as centers for local folk religions* and their associated festivals. By no means do these temples and their liturgies represent a simple return to ancient traditions. Traditional rituals, myths, and practices are being enacted with modern technology such as video cameras and websites, and reconfigured to fit the sensibilities of villagers who are no longer farmers, but factory workers, entrepreneurs, and even professionals.7 These folk religions are more a matter of public practice than private belief, and they are not organized into institutions clearly separate from local economic and political life. Such activities have been defined by the Chinese authorities as ââ¬Åfeudal superstition,ââ¬Â in contrast to real religion.(Communist Chinese govt doesn't like public displays of religion - especially of heathenism - by the masses. And, communism being a christianism, it treats Chinese religion as a "superstition" for its insistence on multiple Gods and the worship of vigrahas. This is another reason behind the attempt to present Taoism as a "philosophy" separate from the "superstition" that is Chinese religion/worship of the Chinese Gods, when in fact the two are inseparable and one religion.)
* Note: "local folk religions" is not applied to Buddhism, Confucianism let alone christianism. It is specifically the dismissive way in which non-adherents and aliens refer to the ancient, ancestral Chinese religion now called "Taoism".** That religion is actually joined into an inseparable oneness by the pantheon (family, related community) of Chinese Gods, and hence forms one religion only. Though some of these Gods are regional Gods, and some others are regional manifestations of pan-Chinese Gods. (As also seen in Hindoo, Shinto and Hellenistic religions.)
But aliens - focused on divide-and-conquer/convert - always refer to the above as "this God's cult" or "that Goddess' cult" instead, and pretend they are entirely disparate instead of deeply interconnected. (E.g. that Chinese Goddess is married to that Chinese God and worshippers know that well.)
Aliens as usual indulge in utter nonsense. You know, the way aliens including so-called "converts" pretend that "Shaivam is distinct from Vedic religion", or that the Vedic sub-traditions of Shaivam and Vaishnavam say are "as separate religions as Buddhism or Jainism is from the Vedic religion".
** Knowledge of "Tao" among adherents, is like "Vedanta" is to Hindus, or like "Philosophy" is to Hellenes. Hindus are not all Vedantins (in a literal sense), but Vedanta is neverthless an important part of the *same* religion as that to which all Hindoos belong (plus an understanding of it sort of inevitably rubs off on all Hindoos, since the Gods teach it by their osmosis). Likewise, not all Hellenes pursued Philosophy, yet Philosophy was still an important part of Hellenismos and was a divine vision granted by the Olympic Gods. But like all Hellenes had (have) firm roots with the Olympic Gods, and Hindoos to the Hindoo [the indigenous Indian, i.e. Vedic] Gods, similarly, Chinese traditionalists follow that religion rooted in the deeply ancient, indigenous interconnected pantheon of their ancestral Chinese Gods - a religion in which the knowledge of the Tao is an important part and which is an understanding granted by the Chinese aka Taoist Gods - and which religion is usually dubbed "Taoism" in English by its native, ethnic adherents. Even though calling it "Taoism" is technically like calling Hindoo religion "Vedanta-ism" or calling the Olympic religion as "Philosophy". Even so, knowledge of the Tao is exclusively a part of that Chinese religion, as Vedanta is exclusively a part of Hindoos' religion and Philosophy is exclusively a part of Hellenismos and not other religion. Besides, the Taoist Gods teach all kinds of realisation to their loyal, adoring Chinese heathens. And the Tao is automatically cultivated by the Taoist heathens carrying out their [secret, private] ritual practices, such as their <*****> dances: the Taoist Gods immediately and directly intervene upon diligent, sincere practice, and quickly further the practitioner.)
The heathen ethnically-Chinese people of Taiwan, China, etc are attached deeply to their Gods. Hindoos - well, those of a bygone age - would have understood them very well. (Also obvious from the above fact of how even the population in highly communist-controlled China keep building millions of their temples to their Gods everywhere. Some Taoist Chinese' pooja rooms are like a Tamizh/Kannadiga Hindoos' gollu area during deepavali: have to see it to believe the number of vigrahas of Gods that even small Chinese families have in their homes.)
If the Chinese in rural China have "millions of temples" to their ancestral Gods now - even after the communist demolitions and decades of anti-religious communist rule - can only imagine how many temples Chinese would have had in the past. :envy: