Main philosophical traditions:
Ritual traditions:
Devotional traditions:
Confucian churches and sects:
Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world.[1] The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven (Tian 天), which is the supreme godhead manifesting in the northern culmen of the starry vault of the skies and its order. Many gods are ancestors or men who became deities for their heavenly achievements; most gods are also identified with stars and constellations.[2] Ancestors are regarded as the equivalent of Heaven within human society,[3] and therefore as the means connecting back to Heaven, which is the "utmost ancestral father" (曾祖父 zēngzǔfù).[4]
Gods are innumerable, as every phenomenon has or is one or more gods, and they are organised in a complex celestial hierarchy.[5] Besides the traditional worship of these entities, Confucianism, Taoism and formal thinkers in general give theological interpretations affirming a monistic essence of divinity.[6] "Polytheism" and "monotheism" are categories derived from Western religion and do not fit Chinese religion, which has never conceived the two things as opposites.[7] Since all gods are considered manifestations of 氣 qì, the "power" or pneuma of Heaven, some scholars have employed the term "polypneumatism" or "(poly)pneumatolatry", first coined by Walter Medhurst (1796–1857), to describe the practice of Chinese polytheism.[8] In the theology of the classic texts and Confucianism, "Heaven is the lord of the hundreds of deities".[9] Modern Confucian theology compares them to intelligence, substantial forms or entelechies (inner purposes) as explained by LeibnizMain philosophical traditions:
Ritual traditions:
Devotional traditions:
Confucian churches and sects:
Devotional traditions:
Confucian churches and sects:
Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world.[1] The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven (Tian 天), which is the supreme godhead manifesting in the northern culmen of the starry vault of the skies and its order. Many gods are ancestors or men who became deities for their heavenly achievements; most gods are also identified with stars and constellations.[2] Ancestors are regarded as the equivalent of Heaven within human society,[3] and therefore as the means connecting back to Heaven, which is the "utmost ancestral father" (曾祖父 zēngzǔfù).[4]
Gods are innumerable, as every phenomenon has or is one or more gods, and they are organised in a complex celestial hierarchy.[5] Besides the traditional worship of these entities, Confucianism, Taoism and formal thinkers in general give theological interpretations affirming a monistic essence of divinity.[6] "Polytheism" and "monotheism" are categories derived from Western religion and do not fit Chinese religion, which has never conceived the two things as opposites.[7] Since all gods are considered manifestations of 氣 qì, the "power" or pneuma of Heaven, some scholars have employed the term "polypneumatism" or "(poly)pneumatolatry", first coined by Walter Medhurst (1796–1857), to describe the practice of Chinese polytheism.[8] In the theology of the classic texts and Confucianism, "Heaven is the lord of the hundreds of deities".[9] Modern Confucian theology compares them to intelligence, substantial forms or entelechies (inner purposes) as explained by Leibniz, generating all types of beings, so that "even mountains and rivers are worshipped as something capable of enjoying sacrificial offerings".[10]
Unlike in Hinduism, the deification of historical persons and ancestors is not traditionally the duty of Confucians or Taoists. Rather depends on the choices of common people; persons are deified when they have made
Gods are innumerable, as every phenomenon has or is one or more gods, and they are organised in a complex celestial hierarchy.[5] Besides the traditional worship of these entities, Confucianism, Taoism and formal thinkers in general give theological interpretations affirming a monistic essence of divinity.[6] "Polytheism" and "monotheism" are categories derived from Western religion and do not fit Chinese religion, which has never conceived the two things as opposites.[7] Since all gods are considered manifestations of 氣 qì, the "power" or pneuma of Heaven, some scholars have employed the term "polypneumatism" or "(poly)pneumatolatry", first coined by Walter Medhurst (1796–1857), to describe the practice of Chinese polytheism.[8] In the theology of the classic texts and Confucianism, "Heaven is the lord of the hundreds of deities".[9] Modern Confucian theology compares them to intelligence, substantial forms or entelechies (inner purposes) as explained by Leibniz, generating all types of beings, so that "even mountains and rivers are worshipped as something capable of enjoying sacrificial offerings".[10]
Unlike in Hinduism, the deification of historical persons and ancestors is not traditionally the duty of Confucians or Taoists. Rather depends on the choices of common people; persons are deified when they have made extraordinary deeds and have left an efficacious legacy. Yet, Confucians and Taoists traditionally may demand that state honour be granted to a particular deity. Each deity has a cult centre and ancestral temple where he or she, or the parents, lived their mortal life. There are frequently disputes over which is the original place and source temple of the cult of a deity.[11]
In Chinese language there is a terminological distinction between 神 shén, 帝 dì and 仙 xiān. Although the usage of the former two is sometimes blurred, it corresponds to the distinction in Western cultures between "god" and "deity", Latin genius (meaning a generative principle, "spirit") and deus or 'Deva' (Sanskrit) and 'divus; dì, sometimes translated as "thearch", implies a manifested or incarnate "godly" power.[note 1][13] It is etymologically and figuratively analogous to the concept of di as the base of a fruit, which falls and produces other fruits. This analogy is attested in the Shuowen Jiezi explaining "deity" as "what faces the base of a melon fruit".[14] The latter term 仙 xiān unambiguously means a man who has reached immortality, (Xian sounds similar to Sanskrit word Chiranjeevi, The Immortal one) similarly to the Western idea of "hero".[15]
The radical Chinese terms for the universal God are Tiān 天 and Shàngdì 上帝 (the "Highest Deity") or simply Dì 帝 ("Deity").[25][26] There is also the concept of Tàidì 太帝 (the "Great Deity"). Dì is a title expressing dominance over the all-under-Heaven, that is all things generated by Heaven and ordered by its cycles and by the stars.[27] Tiān is usually translated as "Heaven", but by graphical etymology it means "Great One" and a number of scholars relate it to the same Dì through phonetic etymology and trace their common root, through their archaic forms respectively *Teeŋ and *Tees, to the symbols of the squared north celestial pole godhead (Dīng 口).[2][28] These names are combined in different ways in Chinese theological literature, often interchanged in the same paragraph if not in the same sentence.[29]
Besides Shangdi and Taidi, other names include Yudi ("Jade Deity") and Taiyi ("Great Oneness") who, in mythical imagery, holds the ladle of the Big Dipper (Great Chariot) providing the movement of life to the world.[30] As the hub of the skies, the north celestial pole constellations are known, among various names, as Tiānmén 天門 ("Gate of Heaven")[19] and Tiānshū 天樞 ("Pivot of Heaven").[20]
Other names of the God of Heaven are attested in the vast Chinese religio-philosophical literary tradition:
The radical Chinese terms for the universal God are Tiān 天 and Shàngdì 上帝 (the "Highest Deity") or simply Dì 帝 ("Deity").[25][26] There is also the concept of Tàidì 太帝 (the "Great Deity"). Dì is a title expressing dominance over the all-under-Heaven, that is all things generated by Heaven and ordered by its cycles and by the stars.[27] Tiān is usually translated as "Heaven", but by graphical etymology it means "Great One" and a number of scholars relate it to the same Dì through phonetic etymology and trace their common root, through their archaic forms respectively *Teeŋ and *Tees, to the symbols of the squared north celestial pole godhead (Dīng 口).[2][28] These names are combined in different ways in Chinese theological literature, often interchanged in the same paragraph if not in the same sentence.[29]
Besides Shangdi and Taidi, other names include Yudi ("Jade Deity") and Taiyi ("Great Oneness") who, in mythical imagery, holds the ladle of the Big Dipper (Great Chariot) providing the movement of life to the world.[30] As the hub of the skies, the north celestial pole constellations are known, among various names, as Tiānmén 天門 ("Gate of Heaven")[19] and Tiānshū 天樞 ("Pivot of Heaven").[20]
Other names of the God of Heaven are attested in the vast Chinese religio-philosophical literary tradition:
Other names of the God of Heaven are attested in the vast Chinese religio-philosophical literary tradition:
Tian is both transcendent and immanent, manifesting in the three forms of dominance, destiny and nature of things. In the Wujing yiyi (五經異義, "Different Meanings in the Five Classics"), Xu Shen explains that the designation of Heaven is quintuple:[32]
All these designations reflect a hierarchical, multiperspective experience of divinity.[15]
The worship of mother goddesses for the cultivation of offspring is present all over China, but predominantly in northern provinces. There are nine main goddesses, and all of them tend to be considered as manifestations or attendant forces of a singular goddess identified variously as the Lady of the Blue Dawn (Bìxiá Yuánjūn 碧霞元君, also known as the Tiānxiān Niángniáng 天仙娘娘, "Heavenly Immortal Lady", or Tàishān Niángniáng 泰山娘娘, "Lady of Mount Tai",[viii] or also Jiǔtiān Shèngmǔ 九天聖母,[58] "Holy Mother of the Nine Skies"[ix])[59]:149–150 or Houtu, the goddess of the earth.[60] Bixia herself is identified by Taoists as the more ancient goddess Xiwangmu,[61] The general Chinese term for "goddess" is 女神 nǚshén, and goddesses may receive many qualifying titles including mǔ (母 "mother"), lǎomǔ (老母 "old mother"), shèngmǔ (聖母 "holy mother"), niángniáng (娘娘 "lady"), nǎinai (奶奶 "granny").
The additional eight main goddesses of fertility, reproduction and growth are:[59]:149–150; 191, note 18
Altars of goddess worship are usually arranged with Bixia at the center and two goddesses at her sides, most frequently the Lady of Eyesight and the Lady of Offspring.[59]:149–150; 191, note 18 A different figure but with the same astral connections as Bixia is the Goddess of the Seven Stars (七星娘娘 Qīxīng Niángniáng).[x] There is also the cluster of the Holy Mothers of the Three Skies (三霄聖母 Sānxiāo Shèngmǔ; or 三霄娘娘 Sānxiāo Niángniáng, "Ladies of the Three Stars"), composed of Yunxiao Guniang, Qiongxiao Guniang and Bixiao Guniang.[62] The cult of Chenjinggu present in southeast China is identified by some scholars as an emanation of the northern cult of Bixia.[63]
Other goddesses worshipped in China include Cánmǔ[xi] (蠶母 Silkworm Mother) or Cángū (蠶姑 Silkworm Maiden),[60] identified with Léizǔ (嫘祖, the wife of the Yellow Emperor), Mágū (麻姑 "Hemp Maiden"), Sǎoqīng Niángniáng (掃清娘娘 Goddess who Sweeps Clean),[xii][65] Sānzhōu Niángniáng (三洲娘娘 Goddess of the Three Isles),[65] and Wusheng Laomu. Mother goddess is central in the theology of many folk religious sects.[60]
Northeast China has clusters of deities which are peculiar to the area, deriving from the Manchu and broader Tungusic substratum of the local population. Animal deities related to shamanic practices are characteristic of the area and reflect wider Chinese cosmology. Besides the aforementioned Fox Gods (狐仙 Húxiān), they include:
Gods who have been adopted into Chinese religion but who have their origins in the Indian subcontinent or Hinduism:
Altars of goddess worship are usually arranged with Bixia at the center and two goddesses at her sides, most frequently the Lady of Eyesight and the Lady of Offspring.[59]:149–150; 191, note 18 A different figure but with the same astral connections as Bixia is the Goddess of the Seven Stars (七星娘娘 Qīxīng Niángniáng).[x] There is also the cluster of the Holy Mothers of the Three Skies (三霄聖母 Sānxiāo Shèngmǔ; or 三霄娘娘 Sānxiāo Niángniáng, "Ladies of the Three Stars"), composed of Yunxiao Guniang, Qiongxiao Guniang and Bixiao Guniang.[62] The cult of Chenjinggu present in southeast China is identified by some scholars as an emanation of the northern cult of Bixia.[63]
Other goddesses worshipped in China include Cánmǔ[xi] (蠶母 Silkworm Mother) or Cángū (蠶姑 Silkworm Maiden),[60] identified with Léizǔ (嫘祖, the wife of the Yellow Emperor), Mágū (麻姑 "Hemp Maiden"), Sǎoqīng Niángniáng (掃清娘娘 Goddess who Sweeps Clean),[xii][65] Sānzhōu Niángniáng (三洲娘娘 Goddess of the Three Isles),[65] an
Other goddesses worshipped in China include Cánmǔ[xi] (蠶母 Silkworm Mother) or Cángū (蠶姑 Silkworm Maiden),[60] identified with Léizǔ (嫘祖, the wife of the Yellow Emperor), Mágū (麻姑 "Hemp Maiden"), Sǎoqīng Niángniáng (掃清娘娘 Goddess who Sweeps Clean),[xii][65] Sānzhōu Niángniáng (三洲娘娘 Goddess of the Three Isles),[65] and Wusheng Laomu. Mother goddess is central in the theology of many folk religious sects.[60]
Northeast China has clusters of deities which are peculiar to the area, deriving from the Manchu and broader Tungusic substratum of the local population. Animal deities related to shamanic practices are characteristic of the area and reflect wider Chinese cosmology. Besides the aforementioned Fox Gods (狐仙 Húxiān), they include: