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Jen
Jen (Chin., ‘benevolence’). A central virtue in the Confucian tradition, also commonly tr. as ‘humanity’, ‘human-heartedness’, ‘love’, ‘altruism’, etc. The Chinese character is formed by combining the elements ‘human’ and ‘two’, suggesting a reference to the quality of human relationships. In early Confucian texts, jen is employed in two senses: (i) as the particular human virtue of benevolence or goodness which is embodied to some extent in all people (but perhaps especially in the nobility); (ii) and more importantly, as the moral life ideally embodied.
Confucius freed jen from the exclusive possession of the nobility, rendering it a moral quality that can be pursued as a goal by human beings regardless of their social position. As a general term, jen, for Confucius, embraces both i (‘righteousness’) and li (‘propriety’). In the thought and teaching of Mencius, jen is made into one of the four cardinal virtues. Other schools of thought quickly criticized the Confucian understanding of jen. Mo Tzu saw the Confucian jen as socially divisive because of what he took to be its partiality, and taught ‘universal love’ (chien ai, literally, ‘a love that does not make distinctions’) in its stead. Taoists such as Lao-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu challenged the Confucian understanding of jen on the grounds that it was part of wei, the sort of contrived action they sought to avoid. Nevertheless, chen-jen (real or perfect person) is admired as the one who bears all things with equanimity. In later neo-Taoist texts (hsüan-hsüeh), jen refers to the universal extension of love, by which one forms mystically one body with Heaven and Earth. |
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JOHN BOWKER. "Jen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Jen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Jen.html JOHN BOWKER. "Jen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Jen.html |
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Jin
Jin (or Chin) (1126–1234) A dynasty that governed Manchuria, part of Mongolia, and much of northern China. It was founded by the Juchen, nomad huntsmen, who came from around the Amur and Sungari rivers. They were ancestors of the MANCHUS. When the Northern SONG set out to overthrow the Liao, to whom they were tributary, they allied with the Juchen, hoping to play off one alien people against another. The latter, however, once having conquered the Liao, sacked the Song capital, Kaifeng, in 1126. The Song retreated south, establishing their new capital at Xingsai (Hangzhou).
The Juchen were in time tamed by their Chinese subjects, who far outnumbered them. Their frontier with Southern Song was stabilized. Jin emperors studied the Chinese classics and wrote poetry in Chinese. Their nomad vigour was sapped by a sedentary life. By 1214 much of their territory, including Beijing, their central capital, was in GENGHIS KHAN's hands. The dynasty survived, ruling from Kaifeng, until a final Mongol onslaught 20 years later. |
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"Jin." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Jin." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Jin.html "Jin." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Jin.html |
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Jen
Jen ♀ Short form of Jennifer, occasionally used independently.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Jen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Jen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Jen.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Jen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Jen.html |
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Jin
Jin •agin, akin, begin, Berlin, bin, Boleyn, Bryn, chin, chin-chin, Corinne, din, fin, Finn, Flynn, gaijin, gin, Glyn, grin, Gwyn, herein, Ho Chi Minh, in, inn, Jin, jinn, kin, Kweilin, linn, Lynn, mandolin, mandoline, Min, no-win, pin, Pinyin, quin, shin, sin, skin, spin, therein, thin, Tientsin, tin, Tonkin, Turin, twin, underpin, Vietminh, violin, wherein, whin, whipper-in, win, within, Wynne, yin
•weigh-in • lutein • lie-in • Samhain
•Bowen, Cohen, Owen, throw-in
•heroin, heroine
•benzoin
•bruin, ruin, shoo-in
•Bedouin • Islwyn
•genuine, Menuhin
•cabin, Scriabin
•Portakabin • sin bin • swingbin
•bobbin, dobbin, robin
•haemoglobin (US hemoglobin)
•Reuben • dubbin • dustbin • Jacobin
•kitchen, lichen
•Cochin • urchin
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Cite this article
"Jin." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Jin." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Jin.html "Jin." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Jin.html |
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Ren.
Ren. Renaissance
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FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "Ren." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "Ren." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-Ren.html FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "Ren." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-Ren.html |
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