Editing Shangdi (section)

=== Rituals ===
[[File:CircularMound.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Sacred altar at the [[Temple of Heaven]], Beijing]]

As mentioned above, sacrifices offered to Shangdi by the king are claimed by traditional Chinese histories to predate the Xia dynasty. The [[Oracle bones#Discovery|surviving archaeological record]] shows that by the Shang, the [[scapula|shoulder blades]] of sacrificed oxen were used to send questions or communication through fire and smoke to the divine realm, a practice known as [[scapulimancy]]. The heat would cause the bones to crack and royal diviners would interpret the marks as Shangdi's response to the king. Inscriptions used for divination were buried into special orderly pits, while those that were for practice or records were buried in common [[midden]]s after use.<ref>Xu Yahui. Caltonhill, Mark & al., trans. ''Ancient Chinese Writing: Oracle Bone Inscriptions from the Ruins of Yin.'' [[Academia Sinica]]. [[National Palace Museum]] (Taipei), 2002. Govt. Publ. No. 1009100250.</ref>

During the Shang, it is observed that Di did not receive direct cult. Instead, his consular spirits would be manifested into the human world to be offered sacrifices. The Shang often identified these spirits as Di, and sometimes perform a "Di-sacrifice" to them, illustrating intimate connections of the recipients with the being.

Under Shangdi or his later names, the deity received sacrifices from the ruler of China in every Chinese dynasty annually at a great [[Temple of Heaven]] in the imperial capital. Following the principles of [[fengshui|Chinese geomancy]], this would always be located in the southern quarter of the city.{{NoteTag|For instance, the Classic of History records the Duke of Zhou building an altar in the southern part of Luo.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}}} During the ritual, a completely healthy bull would be slaughtered and presented as an animal sacrifice to Shangdi.{{NoteTag|Although the Duke of Zhou is presented as sacrificing two.}} The ''[[Book of Rites]]'' states the sacrifice should occur on the "[[summer solstice|longest day]]" on a round-mound altar.{{clarify|date=October 2012}} The altar would have three tiers: the highest for Shangdi and the [[Son of Heaven]]; the second-highest for the sun and moon; and the lowest for the natural gods such as the stars, clouds, rain, wind, and thunder.

It is important to note that Shangdi is never represented with either images or idols. Instead, in the center building of the Temple of Heaven, in a structure called the "Imperial Vault of Heaven", a "spirit tablet" ({{lang|zh|神位}}, shénwèi) inscribed with the name of Shangdi is stored on the throne, ''Huangtian Shangdi'' ({{lang|zh|皇天上帝}}). During an annual sacrifice, the emperor would carry these tablets to the north part of the Temple of Heaven, a place called the "Prayer Hall For Good Harvests", and place them on that throne.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.jsdj.com/luyou/tp2/BJTT12.jpg |title = JSDJ |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051214105152/http://www.jsdj.com/luyou/tp2/BJTT12.jpg |archive-date = 2005-12-14 }}</ref>