Jade Record

Jade Record

The Jade Record or Yuli is an illustrated religious tract that circulated in various versions and editions in the 19th century in China. It has some folk-Buddhist and Daoist features and describes the horrors of Diyu (hell in Chinese mythology) that await bad people. [Rudolf G. Wagner. "Reenacting the Heavenly Vision: The Role of Religion in the Taiping Rebellion", 1982. ISBN 0912966602. Page 50.]

The prologue states that the tract was submitted to the Jade Emperor or Highest God by the king of hell Yan Luo and the Bodhisattva of Compassion, then passed down to a Buddhist priest and on to a Taoist, sometime during the Song Dynasty.

The tract describes how the dead pass through the ten courts of hell and are punished with terrible torture according to their misdeeds during life. In the first hall, the "Mirror of Reflection" lets the dead see their own sins. Sins specifically mentioned include: mocking or disbelieving the tract itself, taking one's life without good reason, having weak faith in the Buddha, being careless as Buddhist or Taoist priest, killing live creatures, stealing, cheating, gambling, drinking, drowning baby girls, killing slaves etc. Yan Luo himself rules over the fifth court of hell; the Highest God demoted him from the first court because he proved too compassionate towards murder victims, allowing them to return to the world for another life. Yan Luo also built a "Tower to View the World", from which the dead can observe how their relatives curse their memory and fight over their possessions. At the end of their passage through hell, the souls are made to forget their previous lives in the goddess Meng's "Tower of Forgetting" and are sent back to the world, reincarnated as animals, poor, ill or ugly humans, or as rich men, depending on their prior behavior. [Jonathan D. Spence. "God's Chinese Son". New York 1996. Page 38]

The Jade Record also contains a calendar, devoting the first day of the first lunar month to Maitreya Buddha, the eighth day to Yan Luo, the ninth to the Jade Emperor. The Sakyamuni Buddha, the Boddhisattva of Compassion, and the Kitchen God receive two days each. Numerous other gods also receive their special day.

The Qing emperors tried to suppress the tracts, as the state religion Confucianism discouraged any speculation about the afterlife. Hong Xiuquan, the quasi-Christian leader of the Taiping Rebellion, forbade the tracts once he had risen to power.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Record du monde de natation dames du 50 metres brasse — Record du monde de natation dames du 50 mètres brasse Progression du record du monde de natation sportive dames pour l épreuve du 50 mètres brasse en bassin de 50 et 25 mètres. Évolution des records du monde de natation dames Nage libre : 50 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jade Tree Records — Jade Tree is an independent record label formed by Darren Walters and Tim Owen in August 1991, out of Wilmington, Delaware.Walters and Owen had both owned independent straight edge hardcore record labels, separately known as Hi Impact Records and …   Wikipedia

  • Jade Kindar-Martin — est un funambule americain, né le 16 février 1974. Biographie Jade fait ses débuts au sein de la troupe de cirque pour enfant Circus Smirkus, originaire de l’État américain du Vermont. Il intègre en 1992 l’École nationale de cirque à… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jade Edmistone — (born 6 February 1982 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian breaststroke swimmer, who is the current world record holder in the 50 m breaststroke at both short and long course formats of the event. She is coached by Stephan Widmar at the… …   Wikipedia

  • Jade Kindar-Martin — (born February 16, 1974) is a High Wire Walker/Funambule and circus performer.Kindar Martin started performing on the wire at the age of 14 with Circus Smirkus, a youth circus based in rural Vermont. Following his graduation from Champlain Valley …   Wikipedia

  • Jade Edmistone — Jade Edmistone, née le 6 février 1982 à Brisbane, est une nageuse australienne Sommaire 1 Palmarès 1.1 Championnats du monde de natation 1.1.1 En grand bassin …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Record du monde de natation dames du 4 x 100 mètres 4 nages — Évolution des records du monde de natation dames Nage libre : 50 m • 100 m • 200 m • 400 m • 800 m • 1500 m • …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Record du monde de natation dames du 4x100 metres 4 nages — Record du monde de natation dames du 4 x 100 mètres 4 nages Évolution des records du monde de natation dames Nage libre : 50 m • 100 m • 200 m • 400 m • 800 m • 1500 m • …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Record du monde de natation dames du 4x100 mètres 4 nages — Record du monde de natation dames du 4 x 100 mètres 4 nages Évolution des records du monde de natation dames Nage libre : 50 m • 100 m • 200 m • 400 m • 800 m • 1500 m • …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jade Goody — Infobox Person name = Jade Goody image size = caption = birth name = Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody birth date = birth date and age|1981|6|5|df=y birth place = Bermondsey, London, England death date = death place = nationality = British other names …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”