Chinese folk religion

===''Tian'', its ''li'' and ''qi''===
{{Main|Tian|Qi}}
[[File:Tian, god of the square of the north astral pole.svg|thumb|Tian or Di as the square of the [[circumpolar star|north astral pole]].<ref>Didier, 2009. Represented in vol. III, discussed throughout vols. I, II, and III.</ref><br />"Tian is ''dian'' {{lang-zh|顛}} ('top'), the highest and unexceeded. It derives from the characters ''yi'' {{lang-zh|一}}, 'one', and ''da'' {{lang-zh|大}}, 'big'."{{refn|group=note|The graphical [[etymology]] of ''Tian'' {{lang-zh|天}} as "Great One" (''Dà yī'' {{lang-zh|大一}}), and the phonetical etymology as ''diān'' {{lang-zh|顛}}, were first recorded by [[Xu Shen]].<ref>Didier, 2009. Vol. III, p. 1</ref> John C. Didier in ''In and Outside the Square'' (2009) for the ''[[Sino-Platonic Papers]]'' discusses different etymologies which trace the character ''Tian'' {{lang-zh|天}} to the astral square or its ellipted forms, ''dīng'' {{lang-zh|口}}, representing the [[circumpolar star|north celestial pole]] ([[pole star]] and [[Big Dipper]] revolving around it; historically a symbol of the [[Absolute (philosophy)|absolute source of the universal reality]] in many cultures), which is the archaic ([[Shang dynasty|Shang]]) form of ''dīng'' {{lang-zh|丁}} ("square").<ref name="Didier, 2009. Vol. III, pp. 3-6">Didier, 2009. Vol. III, pp. 3–6</ref> Gao Hongjin and other scholars trace the modern word ''Tian'' to the Shang pronunciation of {{lang-zh|口}} ''dīng'' (that is ''*teeŋ'').<ref name="Didier, 2009. Vol. III, pp. 3-6"/> This was also the origin of Shang's ''Dì'' {{lang-zh|帝}} ("Deity"), and later words meaning something "on high" or "top", including {{lang-zh|頂}} ''dǐng''.<ref name="Didier, 2009. Vol. III, pp. 3-6"/> The modern graph for ''Tian'' {{lang-zh|天}} would derive from a [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] version of the Shang archaic form of ''Dì'' {{lang-zh|帝}} (from Shang [[oracle bone script]]<ref>Didier, 2009. Vol. II, p. 100</ref> → [[File:Shang archaic form of Di.svg|20px]], which represents a fish entering the astral square); this Zhou version represents a being with a human-like body and a head-mind informed by the astral pole (→ [[File:Zhou archaic form of Tian.svg|20px]]).<ref name="Didier, 2009. Vol. III, pp. 3-6"/> Didier further links the Chinese astral square and ''Tian'' or ''Di'' characters to other well-known symbols of God or divinity as the northern pole in key ancient cultural centres: the [[Indus Valley civilisation|Harappan]] and [[Vedic period|Vedic]]–[[Aryan]] [[dharmachakra|spoked wheels]],<ref>Didier, 2009. Vol. III, p. 7</ref> [[cross]]es and [[swastika|hooked crosses]] (Chinese ''wàn'' {{lang-zh|卍/卐}}),<ref>Didier, 2009. Vol. III, p. 256</ref> and the [[Mesopotamia]]n ''[[Dingir]]'' [[File:Cuneiform sumer dingir.svg|20px]].<ref>Didier, 2009. Vol. III, p. 261</ref> Jixu Zhou (2005), also in the ''Sino-Platonic Papers'', connects the etymology of ''Dì'' {{lang-zh|帝}}, [[Old Chinese]] ''*Tees'', to the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] ''[[Deus]]'', [[God]].<ref>Zhou, 2005. ''passim''</ref>}}]]

Confucians, Taoists, and other schools of thought share basic concepts of ''Tian''. ''Tian'' is both the physical heavens, the home of the sun, moon, and stars, and also the home of the gods and ancestors. ''Tian'' by extension is source of moral meaning, as seen in the political principle, the [[Mandate of Heaven]], which holds that ''Tian'', responding to human virtue, grants the imperial family the right to rule and withdraws it when the dynasty declines in virtue.<ref>Adler, 2011. p. 4</ref> This creativity or virtue (''[[de (Chinese)|de]]'') in humans is the potentiality to transcend the given conditions and act wisely and morally.<ref name="Adler, 2011. p. 5">Adler, 2011. p. 5</ref> ''Tian'' is therefore both [[transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] and [[immanence|immanent]].<ref name="Adler, 2011. p. 5"/>

''Tian'' is defined in many ways, with many names, the most widely known being ''Tàidì'' {{lang-zh|太帝}} (the "Great Deity") and ''[[Shangdi|Shàngdì]]'' {{lang-zh|上帝}} (the "Primordial Deity").{{refn|group=note|name=names of Heaven|''Tian'', besides ''Taidi'' ("Great Deity") and ''[[Shangdi]]'' ("Highest Deity"), ''[[Jade Emperor|Yudi]]'' ("Jade Deity"), ''Shen'' {{lang-zh|神}} ("God"), and ''Taiyi'' ("Great Oneness") as identified as the ladle of the ''[[Big Dipper|Tiānmén]]'' {{lang-zh|天門}} ("Gate of Heaven", the Big Dipper),<ref>John Lagerwey, Marc Kalinowski. ''Early Chinese Religion I: Shang Through Han (1250 BC – 220 AD)''. Two volumes. Brill, 2008. {{ISBN|9004168354}}. p. 240</ref> is defined by many other names attested in the Chinese literary, philosophical and religious tradition:<ref>Lu, Gong. 2014. pp. 63–66</ref>
* ''Tiānshén'' {{lang-zh|天神}}, the "God of Heaven", interpreted in the ''[[Shuowen jiezi]]'' ({{lang-zh|說文解字}}) as "the being that gives birth to all things";
* ''Shénhuáng'' {{lang-zh|神皇}}, "God the King", attested in ''Taihong'' ("The Origin of Vital Breath");
* ''Tiāndì'' {{lang-zh|天帝}}, the "Deity of Heaven" or "Emperor of Heaven".
* A popular Chinese term is ''Lǎotiānyé'' ({{lang-zh|老天爺}}), "Old Heavenly Father".
* [[Tianzhu (Chinese name of God)|''Tiānzhǔ'']] {{lang|zh|天主}}—the "Lord of Heaven": In "The Document of Offering Sacrifices to Heaven and Earth on the Mountain Tai" (''Fengshan shu'') of the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' it is used as the title of the first God from whom all the other gods derive.{{sfnb|Lü|Gong|2014|p=65}}
* ''Tiānhuáng'' {{lang|zh|天皇}}—the "August Personage of Heaven": In the "Poem of Fathoming Profundity" (''Si'xuan fu''), transcribed in "The History of the Later Han Dynasty" (''Hou Han shu''), Zhang Heng ornately writes: «I ask the superintendent of the Heavenly Gate to open the door and let me visit the King of Heaven at the Jade Palace»;{{sfnb|Lü|Gong|2014|p=66}}
* [[Heavenly King|''Tiānwáng'']] {{lang|zh|天王}}—the "King of Heaven" or "Monarch of Heaven".
* ''Tiāngōng'' {{lang|zh|天公}}—the "Duke of Heaven" or "General of Heaven";{{sfnb|Lagerwey|Kalinowski|2008|p=981}}
* ''Tiānjūn'' {{lang|zh|天君}}—the "Prince of Heaven" or "Lord of Heaven";{{sfnb|Lagerwey|Kalinowski|2008|p=981}}
* ''Tiānzūn'' {{lang|zh|天尊}}—the "Heavenly Venerable", also a title for high gods in Taoist theologies;{{sfnb|Lü|Gong|2014|p=66}}

''Tian'' is both [[transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] and [[immanence|immanent]], manifesting in the three forms of dominance, destiny and nature. In the ''Wujing yiyi'' ({{lang-zh|五經異義}}, "Different Meanings in the [[Five Classics]]"), [[Xu Shen]] explains that the designation of Heaven is quintuple:<ref>Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 65</ref>
* ''Huáng Tiān'' {{lang-zh|皇天}} —"Yellow Heaven" or "Shining Heaven", when it is venerated as the lord of creation;
* ''Hào Tiān'' {{lang-zh|昊天}}—"Vast Heaven", with regard to the vastness of its vital breath (''qi'');
* ''Mín Tiān'' {{lang-zh|昊天}}—"Compassionate Heaven" for it hears and corresponds with justice to the all-under-heaven;
* ''Shàng Tiān'' {{lang-zh|上天}}—"Highest Heaven" or "First Heaven", for it is the primordial being supervising all-under-heaven;
* ''Cāng Tiān'' {{lang-zh|蒼天}}—"Deep-Green Heaven", for it being unfathomably deep.}} The concept of ''Shangdi'' is especially rooted in the tradition of the [[Shang dynasty]], which gave prominence to the worship of [[ancestor|ancestral gods]] and [[cultural hero]]es. The "Primordial Deity" or "Primordial Emperor" was considered to be embodied in the human realm as the lineage of imperial power.<ref name="Libbrecht 2007. p. 43">Libbrecht, 2007. p. 43</ref> ''Di'' ({{lang-zh|帝}}) is a term meaning "deity" or "emperor" ([[Latin language|Latin]]: ''[[imperium|imperator]]'', verb ''im-perare''; "making from within"), used either as a name of the primordial god or as a title of natural gods,<ref>Chang, 2000.</ref> describing a principle that exerts a fatherly dominance over what it produces.<ref name="Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 64">Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 64</ref> With the [[Zhou dynasty]], that preferred a religion focused on [[nature god|gods of nature]], ''Tian'' became a more abstract and impersonal idea of God.<ref name="Libbrecht 2007. p. 43"/> A popular representation is the [[Jade Emperor|Jade Deity]] ({{lang-zh|玉帝}} ''Yùdì'') or Jade Emperor ({{lang-zh|玉皇}} ''Yùhuáng''){{refn|group=note|name=king-emperor-shaman-axis|The characters ''yu'' {{linktext|lang=zh|玉}} (jade), ''huang'' {{linktext|lang=zh|皇}} (emperor, sovereign, august), ''wang'' {{linktext|lang=zh|王}} (king), as well as others pertaining to the same semantic field, have a common denominator in the concept of ''gong'' {{linktext|lang=zh|工}} (work, art, craft, artisan, bladed weapon, square and compass; [[gnomon]], "interpreter") and ''[[wu (shaman)|wu]]'' {{lang-zh|巫}} (shaman, medium)<ref>Mark Lewis. ''Writing and Authority in Early China''. SUNY Press, 1999. {{ISBN|0791441148}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8k4xn8CyHAQC&q=gong pp. 205–206] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164802/https://books.google.com/books?id=8k4xn8CyHAQC&q=gong |date=26 March 2023 }}.</ref> in its archaic form [[File:巫-bronze.svg|15px]], with the same meaning of ''wan'' {{linktext|lang=zh|卍}} (''[[swastika]]'', ten thousand things, all being, universe).<ref>Didier, 2009. Vol. III, p. 268</ref> The character ''dì'' {{lang-zh|帝}} is rendered as "deity" or "emperor" and describes a divine principle that exerts a fatherly dominance over what it produces.<ref name="Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 64"/> A king is a man or an entity who is able to merge himself with the ''[[axis mundi]]'', the [[Absolute (philosophy)|centre of the universe]], bringing its order into reality. The ancient kings or emperors of the Chinese civilisation were shamans or priests, that is to say mediators of the divine rule.<ref>Joseph Needham. ''[[Science and Civilisation in China]]''. Vol. III. p. 23</ref> The same Western terms "king" and "emperor" traditionally meant an entity capable to embody the divine rule: {{linktext|king}} etymologically means "gnomon", "generator", while {{linktext|emperor}} means "interpreter", "one who makes from within".}} originally formulated by Taoists.<ref name="Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 71">Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 71</ref> According to classical theology he manifests in [[Wufang Shangdi|five primary forms]] ({{lang-zh|五方上帝}} ''Wǔfāng Shàngdì'', "Five Forms of the Highest Deity").

The ''qi'' {{lang-zh|气}} is the breath or substance of which all things are made, including inanimate matter, the living beings, thought and gods.<ref>Adler, 2011. pp. 12–13</ref>{{sfnb|Teiser|1996|p=29}} It is the continuum energy—matter.<ref name="Adler, 2011. p. 21">Adler, 2011. p. 21</ref> [[Stephen F. Teiser]] (1996) translates it as "stuff" of "psychophysical stuff".{{sfnb|Teiser|1996|p=29}} [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] thinkers such as [[Zhu Xi]] developed the idea of ''[[li (Confucianism)|li]]'' {{lang-zh|理}}, the "reason", "order" of Heaven, that is to say the pattern through which the ''qi'' develops, that is the polarity of ''yin'' and ''yang''.{{sfnb|Teiser|1996|p=30}}<ref name="Adler, 2011. p. 13">Adler, 2011. [http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Writings/Non-theistic.pdf p. 13] {{Webarchive|url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Writings/Non-theistic.pdf |date=9 October 2022 }}</ref>  In [[Taoism]] the ''[[Tao]]'' {{lang-zh|道}} ("Way") denotes in one concept both the impersonal absolute ''Tian'' and its order of manifestation (''li'').