given to him.

Kai later went to Heaven and brought music back

to the people. There is a connection between stone
and music in Chinese history, since early drums were
made with stone. Later writers used Kai’s singing and
dancing as an example of bad behavior, claiming that
Heaven was not pleased by music.
kaiguang In Buddhist ritual, the consecration
of a Buddhist statue. Traditionally, the statue’s
eyes are “opened” during the ceremony. This can
be accomplished in a number of ways. In ancient
times, a statue would be presented for the ceremony
almost finished; only the eyes would remain to be
done. The eyes were cut into the figure during the
ceremony.
Kan C hiang and M o Y eh See Gan Jiang
and Mo Ye.
Kao H sin See Gao Xin.
Kao Y ang See Gao Yang.
Kao Y ao See Gao Yao.
karma The idea that individual souls have a
certain fate that cannot be escaped. Buddhists believe
that actions, good and bad, can affect the soul’s fate,
but karma is unalterable and unavoidable.
A soul must pay for its sins, if not in this life, then
in the next—or the next after that or the next after
that. The only way for a Buddhist to escape the endless
cycle of rebirth and reincarnation is through
enlightenment, though Buddhist sects disagree on
how enlightenment may be achieved.
King C heng See Shi Huang Di.
King C hieh The last ruler of the mythic Xia
dynasty. He appears in Chinese myths and legends
as a very evil man, one who by all rights should have
been overthrown. He inflicted cruel punishments on
his people, wasted money and treasure, and had many
lovers.
It is common in Chinese accounts of dynasties
for the last ruler of the line to be shown as a great
sinner or person of many faults. This showed that
the overthrow of the old dynasty by a new dynasty
was justified.
According to myth, King Chieh was overthrown
by Tang the Conqueror.
King H ai (king gai, king kai) According to
Chinese legend, Hai was the seventh Shang king. His