Editor's Recommendation China is a unified multinational and multireligion country. In the endless flow of history, the traditional religious culture of its minority nationalities occupies a position that cannot be neglected in any study of the nation's religious history, with its ethnic characteristics and pluralist pattern.
Table of Contents
Preface Chapter Ⅰ Original Religions and Folk Religions of Chinese Minorities Ⅰ.Origin of Primitive Religious Beliefs Ⅱ.Original Religions of Chinese Ethnic Minorities Ⅲ.Folk Religion of Chinese Minorities Chapter Ⅱ Taoist Belief among Chinese Minorities Ⅰ.Taoism of the Yao Ethnic Group Ⅱ.The Influence of Taoism on Other Ethnic Minorities Chapter Ⅲ Buddhist Belief Among Chinese Minorltles Ⅰ.Ethnic Minorities and Tibetan Buddhism Ⅱ.Ethnic Minorities and Southern Buddhism Ⅲ.Ethnic Minorities and Inland Buddhism Chapter Ⅳ Chinese Minorities and Islamic Belief Ⅰ.Hui Ethnic Group and Islam Ⅱ.Uygur Ethnic Group and Islam Ⅲ.Other Ethnic Groups Belief in Islam Chapter Ⅴ Christian Belief of Chinese Minorities Ⅰ.Ethnic Minorities and Catholicism Ⅱ.Ethnic Minorities and Orthodox Church Ⅲ.Ethnic Minorities and Protestantism Chapter Ⅵ 'Historical Religions' of Chinese Minorities Ⅰ.Nestorianism Ⅱ.Magianism Ⅲ.Manichaeism
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Bimo contains certain belief and concept systems.It believes in many different gods, among which the god of heaven and the ancestral god are the main ones.Its belief and concept systems can be divided into several aspects: god of heaven, ancestral god, god of mountains and various nature deities and ghosts, god of Bi (i.e.god of the Bimo founder) and divine chair. Bimo has a certain philosophical theoretical basis.Its explanation on the issue of origin of all things in the world and humankind is characterized by dualism.It divides the world into the land of the living and the nether world.The soul and the body can be separated. (2) Ceremonial of the Bimo Religion Bimo has a complete religious ceremony with definite rules.In case of important activities, divination is used to seek instruction from the deities and for predicting good or ill luck.If a ceremony is not carried out according to the rules, it is said the religious service will not produce any positive,results and Bimo will be harmed. Bimo contains numerous ceremonies of worship.According to the objects worshiped, it includes sacrifice to the gods, worship of the ancestors and a hundred solutions.These ceremonies are either held at regular or irregular intervals.Each major ceremony contains many sub-ceremonies of worship. Ceremonies of offering sacrifice include sacrifice to the god of heaven, sacrifice to land gods of "Mizhi" and "Mixi", as well as sacrifice during festivals.The ceremonies of offering sacrifice to the god of heaven, to the land gods and at largescale festivals are generally carried out by the people of a village or even residents of several villages jointly.Religious ceremony is complicated by the large cost of sacrifice.The ceremony of offering sacrifice to the god of heaven is carried out on a three-story platform built on top of a hill in a carefully-selected location.The main god to whom sacrifice is offered is the god of heaven.However, according to different favors being prayed for, the gods of assistance will differ
