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Shangdi
Shangdi (Chinese: 上帝; pinyin: Shàngdì; Wade–Giles: Shang4 Ti4), also called simply Di (Chinese: 帝; pinyin: Dì; lit. 'Lord'), is the name of the Chinese Highest Deity or "Lord Above" in the theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later Tiān ("Heaven" or "Great Whole") of Zhou theology.
Although the use of "Tian" to refer to the absolute God of the universe is predominant in Chinese religion today, "Shangdi" continues to be used in a variety of traditions, including certain philosophical schools, certain strains of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, some Chinese salvationist religions (notably Yiguandao) and Chinese Protestant Christianity. In addition, it is commonly used by contemporary Chinese (both mainland and overseas) and by religious and secular groups in East Asia, as a name of a singular universal deity and as a non-religious translation for God in Abrahamic religions.
"Shang Di" is the pinyin romanization of two Chinese characters. The first – 上, Shàng – means "high", "highest", "first", "primordial"; the second – 帝, Dì – is typically considered as shorthand[citation needed] for huangdi (皇帝) in modern Chinese, the title of the emperors of China first employed by Qin Shi Huang, roughly some 2200 years ago, and is usually translated as "emperor". The word itself is derived from Three "Huang" and Five "Di", including Yellow Emperor (Chinese: 黃帝; pinyin: Huangdi), the mythological originator of the Chinese civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese race. However, 帝 refers to the High God of Shang, thus means "deity" (manifested god), . Thus, the name Shangdi should be translated as "Highest Deity", but also has the implied meaning of "Primordial Deity" or "First Deity" in Classical Chinese. The deity preceded the title and the emperors of China were named after him in their role as Tianzi, the sons of Heaven. In the classical texts the highest conception of the heavens is frequently identified with Shang Di, who is described somewhat anthropomorphically. He is also associated with the pole star. The conceptions of the Supreme Ruler (Shang Di) and of the Sublime Heavens (Chinese: 皇天; Wade–Giles: Huang-t'ien) afterward coalesce or absorb each other.
The Shang pronunciation of "Di" is reconstructed as *têks. The Shang dynasty designed 23 versions of Di, all based on a common pattern and shape. The word finds itself in many inscriptional contexts, including use in collocation with natural spirits or addressing ancestral deities. There was a type of offerings named "Di-sacrifice", designed for hosting Di's representatives.
The earliest references to Shangdi are found in oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang dynasty in the 2nd millennium BC, although the later work Classic of History claims yearly sacrifices were made to him by Emperor Shun, even before the Xia dynasty.
Shangdi was regarded as the ultimate spiritual power by the ruling elite of the Huaxia during the Shang dynasty: he was believed to control victory in battle, success or failure of harvests, weather conditions such as the floods of the Yellow River, and the fate of the capital city and kingdom. Shangdi seems to have ruled a hierarchy of other gods controlling nature, as well as the spirits of the deceased. These ideas were later mirrored or carried on by the Taoist Jade Emperor and his celestial bureaucracy, and Shangdi was later syncretized with the Jade Emperor.
Shangdi was probably more transcendent than immanent, only working through lesser gods. Shangdi was considered too distant to be worshiped directly by ordinary mortals. Instead, the Shang kings proclaimed that Shangdi had made himself accessible through the souls of their royal ancestors, both in the legendary past and in recent generations as the departed Shang kings joined him in the afterlife. The kings could thus successfully entreat Shangdi directly. Many of the oracle bone inscriptions record these petitions, usually praying for rain but also seeking approval from Shangdi for state action.
Shangdi was seen as somewhat human or at least anthropomorphic and the "greatest ancestor" by some worshippers during this time.
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Shangdi
Shangdi (Chinese: 上帝; pinyin: Shàngdì; Wade–Giles: Shang4 Ti4), also called simply Di (Chinese: 帝; pinyin: Dì; lit. 'Lord'), is the name of the Chinese Highest Deity or "Lord Above" in the theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later Tiān ("Heaven" or "Great Whole") of Zhou theology.
Although the use of "Tian" to refer to the absolute God of the universe is predominant in Chinese religion today, "Shangdi" continues to be used in a variety of traditions, including certain philosophical schools, certain strains of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, some Chinese salvationist religions (notably Yiguandao) and Chinese Protestant Christianity. In addition, it is commonly used by contemporary Chinese (both mainland and overseas) and by religious and secular groups in East Asia, as a name of a singular universal deity and as a non-religious translation for God in Abrahamic religions.
"Shang Di" is the pinyin romanization of two Chinese characters. The first – 上, Shàng – means "high", "highest", "first", "primordial"; the second – 帝, Dì – is typically considered as shorthand[citation needed] for huangdi (皇帝) in modern Chinese, the title of the emperors of China first employed by Qin Shi Huang, roughly some 2200 years ago, and is usually translated as "emperor". The word itself is derived from Three "Huang" and Five "Di", including Yellow Emperor (Chinese: 黃帝; pinyin: Huangdi), the mythological originator of the Chinese civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese race. However, 帝 refers to the High God of Shang, thus means "deity" (manifested god), . Thus, the name Shangdi should be translated as "Highest Deity", but also has the implied meaning of "Primordial Deity" or "First Deity" in Classical Chinese. The deity preceded the title and the emperors of China were named after him in their role as Tianzi, the sons of Heaven. In the classical texts the highest conception of the heavens is frequently identified with Shang Di, who is described somewhat anthropomorphically. He is also associated with the pole star. The conceptions of the Supreme Ruler (Shang Di) and of the Sublime Heavens (Chinese: 皇天; Wade–Giles: Huang-t'ien) afterward coalesce or absorb each other.
The Shang pronunciation of "Di" is reconstructed as *têks. The Shang dynasty designed 23 versions of Di, all based on a common pattern and shape. The word finds itself in many inscriptional contexts, including use in collocation with natural spirits or addressing ancestral deities. There was a type of offerings named "Di-sacrifice", designed for hosting Di's representatives.
The earliest references to Shangdi are found in oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang dynasty in the 2nd millennium BC, although the later work Classic of History claims yearly sacrifices were made to him by Emperor Shun, even before the Xia dynasty.
Shangdi was regarded as the ultimate spiritual power by the ruling elite of the Huaxia during the Shang dynasty: he was believed to control victory in battle, success or failure of harvests, weather conditions such as the floods of the Yellow River, and the fate of the capital city and kingdom. Shangdi seems to have ruled a hierarchy of other gods controlling nature, as well as the spirits of the deceased. These ideas were later mirrored or carried on by the Taoist Jade Emperor and his celestial bureaucracy, and Shangdi was later syncretized with the Jade Emperor.
Shangdi was probably more transcendent than immanent, only working through lesser gods. Shangdi was considered too distant to be worshiped directly by ordinary mortals. Instead, the Shang kings proclaimed that Shangdi had made himself accessible through the souls of their royal ancestors, both in the legendary past and in recent generations as the departed Shang kings joined him in the afterlife. The kings could thus successfully entreat Shangdi directly. Many of the oracle bone inscriptions record these petitions, usually praying for rain but also seeking approval from Shangdi for state action.
Shangdi was seen as somewhat human or at least anthropomorphic and the "greatest ancestor" by some worshippers during this time.
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