Kōan

A kōan (公案)/ˈkoʊ.ɑːn/; Chinese: 公案; pinyin: gōng'àn; Korean: 공안 (kong'an); Vietnamese: công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement, which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and test a student's progress in Zen practice.

Etymology

The Japanese term kōan is the Sino-Japanese reading of the Chinese word gong'an (Chinese: 公案; pinyin: gōng'àn; Wade–Giles: kung-an; literally: "public case"). The term is a compound word, consisting of the characters 公 "public; official; governmental; common; collective; fair; equitable" and 案 "table; desk; (law) case; record; file; plan; proposal."

According to the Yuan Dynasty Zen master Zhongfeng Mingben (中峰明本 1263–1323), gōng'àn originated as an abbreviation of gōngfǔ zhī àndú (公府之案牘, Japanese kōfu no antoku—literally the andu "official correspondence; documents; files" of a gongfu "government post"), which referred to a "public record" or the "case records of a public law court" in Tang-dynasty China.Kōan/gong'an thus serves as a metaphor for principles of reality beyond the private opinion of one person, and a teacher may test the student's ability to recognize and understand that principle.

Kōan (Kamakura period)

Kōan (弘安) was a Japanese era name (年号,, nengō,, lit. "year name") after Kenji and before Shōō. This period spanned the years from February 1278 through April 1288. The reigning emperors were Go-Uda-tennō (後宇多天皇) and Fushimi-tennō (伏見天皇).

Change of era

Events of the Kōan era

Notes

References

Kōan (Muromachi period)

Kōan (康安) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō, lit. year name) of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Enbun and before Jōji. This period spanned the years from March 1361 through September 1362. The emperor in Kyoto was Go-Kōgon-tennō (後光厳天皇). Go-Kōgon's Southern Court rival in Yoshino during this time-frame was Go-Murakami-tennō (後村上天皇)

Nanboku-chō overview

During the Meiji period, an Imperial decree dated March 3, 1911 established that the legitimate reigning monarchs of this period were the direct descendants of Emperor Go-Daigo through Emperor Go-Murakami, whose Southern Court (南朝, nanchō) had been established in exile in Yoshino, near Nara.

Until the end of the Edo period, the militarily superior pretender-Emperors supported by the Ashikaga shogunate had been mistakenly incorporated in Imperial chronologies despite the undisputed fact that the Imperial Regalia were not in their possession.

Imageboard

An imageboard or image board is a type of Internet forum which operates mostly via posting images. The first imageboards were created in Japan, and many English language imageboards today are centered on Japanese culture. They are based on the textboard concept.

Characteristics

Imageboards, similar to bulletin board systems, are used for discussions of a variety of topics. The primary focus of imageboards, however, is directed away from text posts, and is instead placed on picture posts. The two share many of the same structures, including separate forums for separate topics, as well as similar audiences. Imageboards are much more transitory with content—on some boards (especially highly trafficked ones), the thread deletion time can be as little as 10 minutes. The most popular English language imageboard, 4chan, tends to revolve around Japanese culture such as CG artwork or anime. In Japan, where imageboards are more common, topics vary widely, ranging from trains to current news.

Japanese honorifics

The Japanese language uses a broad array of honorific suffixes for addressing or referring to people. These honorifics attach to the end of people's names, as in Aman-san where the honorific -san was attached to the name Aman. These honorifics are often gender-neutral, but some imply a more feminine context (such as -chan) while others imply a more masculine one (such as -kun).

These honorifics are often used along with other forms of Japanese honorific speech, keigo, such as that used in conjugating verbs.

Usage

Although honorifics are not part of the basic grammar of the Japanese language, they are a fundamental part of the sociolinguistics of Japanese, and proper use is essential to proficient and appropriate speech. Significantly, referring to oneself using an honorific, or dropping an honorific when it is required, is a serious faux pas, in either case coming across as clumsy or arrogant.

They can be applied to either the first or last name depending on which is given. In situations where both the first and last names are spoken, the suffix is attached to whichever comes last in the word order.

Chen (surname)

Chen ([ʈʂʰə̌n]) or Chan (simplified Chinese: 陈; traditional Chinese: 陳; pinyin: Chén; Wade–Giles: Ch'en) is one of the most common Han Chinese and Korean family names. It ranks as the 5th most common surname in China, as of 2007 and the most common surname in Singapore (2000) and Taiwan (2010). Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hong Kong (spelt Chan in Hong Kong and Macau). It is the most common surname in Xiamen, the ancestral hometown of many overseas Hoklo. Besides 陳/陈, an uncommon Chinese surname 諶/谌 is also romanized as Chen.

It is usually romanised as Chan in Cantonese, most widely used by those from Hong Kong, and sometimes as Chun. The surname Chen is also used in Hong Kong Cantonese, but not as often. The spelling, Chan, is widely used in Macao and Malaysia. In Min (including dialects of Chaoshan (Teochew), Hainan, Fujian, and Taiwan), the name is pronounced Tan. In Hakka and Taishanese, the name is spelled Gin. Some other Romanisations include Zen (from Wu), Ding and Chern. Chen can be variously spelt Tan, Chan or Chin in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.