Heshan

A stylized version of the Xiaodongese character for good luck/happiness (福, Xiadongese: fú, Lainese: phúc) is used as the symbol of Heshan.

Heshan (Lainese: 系神, Hệ Thần, God System), sometimes alphabetized as Hethan is a Southeast Coian religion predominatly practiced in Lainan and the Lainese diaspora. It emerged through cultural interaction between Xiaodongese traders and the Lai people in the 200s BC. Central to the beliefs of Heshan is the attainment of Heaven (天, thiên), the state of maximum happiness and good fortune, through balancing one's living energy (能量𤯩, năng lượng sống). In Lainan Heshan is often accompanied by various other beliefs and practices such as Lainese folk religion, ancestral worship and Satyist oral tradition.

Definition

Defining Heshan is controversial as many practitioners of Heshan are syncretic and practice it alongside other beliefs with the two most popular ones being Satyism and Atheism. Some even contest Heshan's calssification as a religion. Some religious scholars claim that if one definition were to be agreed upon it would be that "Heshan is the practice of accomodating living energy", while some scholars use the "attainment of Heaven" as a definition leaving out cultural traditions and practices. Heshan is defined especially in the Lai diaspora as being a series of Lainanese cultural traditions and practices rather than a religion. In traditional Lainese poetry, Heshan is refered to as the Path to Heaven or the Path of Happiness/Good Fortune.

Etymology

The term Heshan (河山, Héshān) originates from the Xiadongese words for "river" (河, hé) and "mountain" (山, Shān). The name Heshan was first used by Xiaodongese traders who called it the River Mountain Faith (河山信仰, Héshān Xìnyǎng) as the flow of living energy in Heshan is depicted as a river flowing down a mountain. Lainanese religious scholars took the Xiaodongese term "Héshān" and used the equivalent-sounding Lainese term "Hệ Thần" (系神), roughly meaning God system, to refer to the religion.

Beliefs

Beliefs in Heshan centre around Living Energy and Heaven where balancing the former is used to attain the later. Heshan itself doesn't include deites or an afterlife. Heaven (天, thiên) in the context of Heshan doesn't refer to a location in an afterlife as it originaly did in Lainese folk religion, rather Heaven as a concept is used to denote a state of maximum happiness and good fortune that can be attained through balancing one's own living energy. Therefore, Heaven in Heshan is defined as the state of uninterupted flow of energy.

Living Energy (能量𤯩, năng lượng sống) in Heshan is an omnipresent neutral force that is depicted as flowing from up to down. The direct and uninterupted flow of living energy in Heshan is associated with good fortune and happiness while disrupting the flow of living energy leads to the creation of dead energy (能量𣩂, năng lượng chết) that is associated with misfortune and sadness. Living energy is the natural form of all energy while dead energy is seen as an alteration of living energy and unlike living energy, dead energy gathers around/in various places, things, plants, animals and people. Removing sources of dead energy is seen as the most important function of Heshan.

Fengshui as well as Traditonal Lainese number divination are popular methods of removing dead energy and easing the flow of living energy used by Heshan practitioners. According to Heshanese beliefs objects must predominatly face towards a lower elevation from a higher elevation without disturbing the flow of living energy. According to Lainese number divination (Lainese: 数聖, Số thánh, Holy Numbers) the numbers three (𠀧, ba), six (𦒹, sáu), seven (𦉱, bảy), eight (𠔭, tám) and nine (𢒂, chín) are considered lucky with three (𠀧, ba) being considered the greatest number and nine being considered the pennicle of perfection. Lucky numbers are believed to bring good fortune and wealth upon those affiliated with them. The phrase one too far from three (Lainese: 𠬠过賖𠀧, Một quá xa ba) is used in Heshan to signify the misfortune brought by the number four (𦊚, Bốn) although most scholars believe that the unlucky status of the number four originates from Xiaodong.

Demographics

Outside Lainan, Heshan is praticed primarily by the Lainanese Diaspora

Number of Heshan Practiotioners by Country

Country	Total population	Population of Lai people	Number of Heshan Practitioners	Percentage of population
Halland	63,873,808	1 634 978	980 987	1,5%
Lainan	87 432 921	77 727 867	66 798 751	76,4%
Total			67 779 738