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Shen
Shen. Chinese word for spirits. In antiquity, it refers to the spirit of the ancestor who enjoys an afterlife because of the continuing and periodical sacrifices offered to him by the members of his offspring. Shen is not immortal; it is contingent upon the continuing offering of the sacrifices. Ancient China had a composite concept of the ‘soul’ in the body composed of hun and pʾo. After death, hun becomes shen and partakes of the ancestral offerings. Pʾo, after death, becomes kuei and goes to the Yellow Spring—the underworld. But in later times, shen and kuei refer to the two alternative designations of the spirit of the deceased: it is called shen when continuing sacrifices are offered to it, and it is called kuei when such sacrifices are denied to it. Shen blesses and kuei harms the family.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Shen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Shen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Shen.html JOHN BOWKER. "Shen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Shen.html |
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Shen
Shen in the Bible, place, perhaps close to Bethel, near which Samuel set up the stone Ebenezer. |
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"Shen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Shen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Shen.html "Shen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Shen.html |
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Shen
Shen ♂
1. ‘Cautious’. 2. ‘Deep’. |
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Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Shen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Shen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Shen.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Shen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Shen.html |
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