Chinese folk religion

=== Imperial China ===
By the [[Han dynasty]], the ancient Chinese religion mostly consisted of people organising into ''shè'' ({{lang-zh|社}} ["group", "body", local community altars]) who worshipped their godly principle.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} In many cases the "lord of the ''she''" was the god of the earth, and in others a deified virtuous person (''[[xian (Taoism)|xiān]]'' {{lang-zh|仙}}, "immortal"). Some cults such as that of Liu Zhang, a king in what is today [[Shandong]], date back to this period.{{sfnb|Overmyer|2009|p=36-37}}

From the 3rd century on by the [[Northern Wei]], accompanying the spread of [[Buddhism]] in China, strong influences from the Indian subcontinent penetrated the ancient Chinese indigenous religion. A cult of [[Ganesha]] ({{lang-zh|象頭神}} ''Xiàngtóushén'', "Elephant-Head God") is attested in the year 531.<ref>{{Citation |last=Martin-Dubost |first=Paul |title=Gaņeśa: The Enchanter of the Three Worlds |year=1997 |publisher=Project for Indian Cultural Studies |location=Mumbai |isbn= 978-8190018432}}. p. 311</ref> Pollination from [[Indian religions]] included processions of carts with images of gods or floats borne on shoulders, with musicians and chanting.{{sfnb|Overmyer|2009|p=36-37}}