Editing Shangdi (section)

==Religious roles==

===Shang dynasty===
[[File:Shang-Orakelknochen excerpt adjusted for contrast.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Oracle bone script]], the earliest known form of [[Chinese characters|Chinese]].]]
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,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Stefon |first=Matt |date=2010-02-03 |title=Shangdi |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shangdi |access-date=2023-05-01 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref> success or failure of harvests,<ref name=":0" /> weather<ref name=":0" /> conditions such as the floods of the [[Yellow River]], and the fate of the [[capital city]]<ref name=":0" /> and kingdom. Shangdi seems to have ruled a [[Chinese pantheon|hierarchy of other gods]] controlling nature, as well as the [[Chinese ancestor worship|spirits of the deceased]].<ref name="Zhao, Yanxia 2010. p. 154">Zhao, Yanxia. ''Chinese Religion: A Contextual Approach.'' 2010. p. 154</ref> These ideas were later mirrored or carried on by the [[Taoism|Taoist]] [[Jade Emperor]] and his [[celestial bureaucracy]], and Shangdi was later syncretized with the Jade Emperor.<ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last=Stark |first=Rodney |title=Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief |publisher=[[HarperOne]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-06-117389-9 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=252 |author-link=Rodney Stark}}</ref>

Shangdi was probably more [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] than [[immanence|immanent]], only working through lesser gods.<ref name="Zhao, Yanxia 2010. p. 154"/> Shangdi was considered too distant to be worshiped directly by ordinary mortals.<ref name=":0" /> Instead, the Shang kings proclaimed that Shangdi had made himself accessible through the souls of their royal ancestors,<ref>Jeaneane D. Fowler, Merv Fowler, 2008, Chinese religions: beliefs and practices, Sussex Academic Press.</ref> 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.<ref>Wu, 8</ref> Many of the oracle bone inscriptions record these petitions, usually praying for rain<ref>Wu, 173</ref> but also seeking approval from Shangdi for state action.

Shangdi was seen as somewhat human or at least anthropomorphic<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Szostak |first=Rick |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9781003013518/making-sense-world-history-rick-szostak |title=Making Sense of World History |date=2020-10-22 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781003013518 |location=London |pages=321 |doi=10.4324/9781003013518}}</ref> and the "greatest [[Ancestor veneration in China|ancestor]]" by some worshippers during this time.<ref name=":0" />

=== Zhou dynasty ===
[[File:Zhou grapheme for Tiān 天 (Heaven), version 1.svg|200px|thumb|right|alt=The Western Zhou version of the character "Tian". J. C. Didier identified the squared shape to be the same square found at the very central core of Shangdi, thus illustrating a strong connection (and identification) between the two deities|The Western Zhou version of the character "Tian". J. C. Didier identified the squared shape to be the same square found at the very central core of Shangdi, thus illustrating a strong connection (and identification) between the two deities.]]
In the later [[Shang dynasty|Shang]] and [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] dynasties, Shangdi was conflated with [[Tian|Heaven]] ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|天}}}}, ''[[Tian|Tiān]]'').<ref name = b220211>{{citation | contribution = Shangdi | year = 2011 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/538488/Shangdi }}.</ref> The [[Duke of Zhou]] justified [[Battle of Muye|his clan's usurpation]] through the concept of the [[Mandate of Heaven]], which proposed that the protection of Shangdi was not connected to their clan membership but by their just governance. Shangdi was not just a tribal but instead an unambiguously good moral force, exercising its power according to exacting standards.<ref>''[[Book of Documents]]''.</ref> Shangdi's favor could thus be lost and even "inherited" by a new dynasty, provided they upheld the proper rituals.

Modern researches have paid attention to the adoption of Shang religious practices by the [[Zhou dynasty]], and particularly, the continued worship of Shangdi through altered forms. Modern explanations are based on the parallel between Shang and Zhou adoptions. Historically, the regency of the [[Duke of Zhou]] sought to re-stabilize the Zhou dynasty.{{sfnb|Ruth H. Chang|2000}} The Zhou court modeled their adoption after the Shang, whose imports of local cults as well as official worship of tribal deities played an important role in maintaining kingly sovereignty of the monarchs over subjugated polities. According to Ruth H. Chang, continuation of Shang religion also provided opportunities to further share changing religious activities the newly conquered Shang people.{{sfnb|Ruth H. Chang|2000}} The Zhou dynasty aimed to make an impression that the term "Di" was native to them. These actions were perceived by Chang as a Zhou attempt at a similar cult adoption for the purpose of uniting Shang and Zhou under one political entity.{{sfnb|Ruth H. Chang|2000|p=13-14}}

There were other reasons behind the Duke of Zhou's attempt in merging Di with the concept of Tian. Evidence from oracle bone inscriptions show that the Shang believed in Shangdi's blessings for the king, which some scholars interpreted as a belief in the ruler's granted authority by the gods.<ref>{{cite book|last=Creel|first=Herrlee G.|title=Chinese Thought from Confucius to Mao Tse-tung|publisher=Chicago: University of Chicago Press|year=1953}}</ref> This belief was resonant with the theory of Tian, in that the monarch received divine authority to rule. Obedience of the Shang people was likely to be ensured by implementing a Zhou concept in which the Shang found similarities with their native beliefs.{{sfnb|Ruth H. Chang|2000|p=15}}

The connection of many rituals with the [[Zi (surname)|Shang clan]] meant that Shang nobles continued to rule several locations (despite their rebellions) and to serve as court advisors and priests. The Duke of Zhou even created an [[Luoyang|entire ceremonial city]] along strict cosmological principles to house the Shang aristocracy and the [[Nine Tripod Cauldrons|nine tripods]] representing Huaxia sovereignty; the Shang were then charged with maintaining the ''[[Rites of Zhou]]''. Likewise, the Shang's lesser houses, the [[Four occupations#The shi (士)|''shi'' knightly class]], developed directly into the learned Confucian gentry and scholars who advised the Zhou rulers on courtly etiquette and ceremony.<ref>"Chinese Philosophy". China Renmin Univ., 2006.</ref> The [[Five Classics|Confucian classics]] carried on and ordered the earlier traditions, including the worship of Shangdi. All of them include references:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Occurrences of Shangdi in the [[Five Classics]]
|-
! Chinese Name !! Pinyin !! English Name !! Occurrences
|-
| {{lang|zh|書經}} || ''[[Shujing]]'' || [[Classic of History]] || 32 times
|-
| {{lang|zh|詩經}} || ''[[Shijing]]'' || [[Classic of Poetry]] || 24 times
|-
| {{lang|zh|禮記}} || ''[[Liji]]''    || [[Classic of Rites]] || 20 times
|-
| {{lang|zh|春秋}} || ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals|Chunqiu]]'' || [[Spring and Autumn Annals]] || 8 times
|-
| {{lang|zh|易經}} || ''[[Yijing]]'' || [[Classic of Changes]] || 2 times
|}

The [[Four Books]] mention Shangdi as well but, as it is a later compilation, the references are much more sparse and abstract. Shangdi appears most commonly in earlier works: this pattern may reflect increasing rationalization of Shangdi over time, the shift from a known and arbitrary tribal god to a more abstract and philosophical concept,{{NoteTag|The ''[[Book of Documents]]'' says: "August Heaven has no partisan affections: it supports only the virtuous".}}{{NoteTag|The ''[[Zuo zhuan]]'' says: "Unless one is virtuous, the people will not be in harmony and the spirits will not partake of one's offerings. What the spirits are attracted to is one's virtue".}} or his conflation and absorption by other deities.

As early as the [[Western Zhou]] period, Di had become fully synonymous with Tian, as the two words were used interchangeably in various bronze inscriptions. One such situation appears in bronze castings during [[King Li of Zhou]]'s reign (9th century BC),<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp108_chinese_deity_heaven.pdf|last=Ruth H. Chang|year= 2000|title=Understanding Di and Tian: Deity and Heaven From Shang to Tang Dynasties|publisher=Sino-Platonic Papers (Number 108)}}
* {{cite book|last=Mair|first=Victor|title=Old Sinitic Myag, Old Persian Magus, and English 'Magician'"(Early China 15, 27-47)|year=1990}}</ref> pointing out the prevalence of equating both words with each other.

===Han dynasty===
By the time of the [[Han dynasty]], the influential [[Confucianism|Confucian]] scholar [[Zheng Xuan]] glossed: "''Shangdi'' is another name for [[Tian|Heaven]]". [[Dong Zhongshu]] said: "Heaven is the ultimate authority, the king of gods who should be admired by the king".<ref>Dong Zhongshu. ''Chunqiu Fanlu''.</ref> Usage of the word "Di" had significantly changed, and by the Han it had been used to refer to much more terms. In some cases, "Di" still denoted a high deity with a distinguished charge over celestial objects, but in others it was written in collocation with other words, incorporating the connotation of "god" to those concerned. "Di" featured in the name of the [[Yellow Emperor]] (Huangdi), the Flame Emperor (Yandi) and various other figures.

In later eras, he was commonly known by the name "Heavenly Ruling Highest Deity" ({{lang|zh|皇天上帝}}, ''Huángtiān Shàngdì'') and, in this usage, he is especially conflated with the Taoist [[Jade Emperor]].