SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Tag: ancient China

  • [Journey to the West]Converting the Hu People into Buddhists

    In Journey to the West, the story of “Lord Lao Zi Converting the Hu People into Buddhists” stems from historical debates between Taoism and Buddhism. According to legend, Laozi (Lao-Tzu), revered as an incarnation of Taishang Laojun (the Supreme Elder Lord), rode westward on his blue ox, later giving rise to the claim that he taught the “barbarian” peoples, thereby founding Buddhism.

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  • ‌How do they tell time at night in Journey to the West?‌

    The ‌Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches‌ were a system used in ancient China to mark years, months, days, and hours. In Journey to the West, the universe is divided into 12 cyclical periods, each named after the Earthly Branches. Similarly, ancient Chinese divided the day into 12 segments, also named after these branches. For example, master Subhuti taught Sun Wukong the path to immortality at midnight, called ‌Zi hour, which spans 11 PM to 1 AM.

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  • [Journey to the West]The South Heavenly Gate

    In ancient China, imperial palaces typically had multiple grand gates. For example, the Forbidden City in Beijing features four major gates facing the cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north. Among them, the Wu Gate (Wumen or Meridian Gate), facing south, served as the main entrance and the largest gate.

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