The Notions of God in the Ancient Chinese Religion

Abstract

It is a well known fact that in imperial China, the emperor was hailed as Son of Heaven. 1) The explanation is less evident. According to the official version, this was because the emperor had received the Mandate of Heaven. This interpretation is based on a theory first expounded by the Duke of Chou, following the downfall of the Shang dynasty. The Shang dynasty was the first dynasty in historical China. It is believed to have begun in 1766 B.C. In 1122 B.C., it was overthrown by King Wu who founded the succeeding Chou dynasty. The Duke of Chou was a brother of King Wu. After the latter's death, while his son, King Cheng, was still a minor, the Duke ruled the newly pacified country. It was during his regency that he stated this famous theory of the Mandate of Heaven. 2) The notion of mandate was a familiar one. When a king appointed a subject to a certain office, he was said to give a mandate to that office. When he dismissed the official, it was said that he took away his mandate. The Duke applied this notion to the action of Heaven, who was believed to govern the whole world, and declared that, because the Shang kings had displeased Heaven with their wrong doing, Heaven had taken away His Mandate and had given it over to the Chou kings. 3) Obviously the Duke promulgated this doctrine for the sake of justifying the Chou's conquest of China. However, from the vantage point of the history of religion, the story is of unique importance.