Ancient china religion

One of the most interesting but least known cultures is Ancient China, being a very ancient and characterized by having a culture very different from that of the peoples that make up the towns westerners. One of its most interesting elements is its religion, the religion of ancient China, which is about 7,000 years old. Therefore, in this lesson from a Teacher we are going to talk about what is the religion of ancient China, its characteristics and its gods. Read on to discover this interesting ancient polytheistic religion.

The first thing to understand when talking about the religion of ancient China is that we cannot speak of ancient China as a culture. ancient and different from the current one, since the China of today is very similar to the old one, counting, therefore, with many characteristics in common.

The chinese traditional religion, also known as traditional Han religion or Shenism, is the own and traditional religion of the Chinese people. It is called like that because it had great relevance during the Han era, although it can really be traced much further back, even reaching

7,000 years ago. In this other lesson from a Teacher you can learn about the Major Chinese dynasties.

Traditional Chinese religion is the predominant one in China, with some 400 million believers, which maintain several of the elements that define a religion older than most current nations.

To understand this complex religion we must talk about its main characteristics, since this will help us to better understand how this belief works and its great differences with other religions that we know. For all these reasons, the main characteristics of the religion of ancient China are the following:

• Is a China's own indigenous religion, born in the region itself and having its presence and relevance only in the Chinese country.
• Is a polytheistic religion, since it has numerous gods, being somewhat more similar to classical religions than to current ones.
• It has elements very similar to what we know as shamanism, especially due to its rituals that are very close to those that take place in these practices.
• It is a religion that has evolved over the centuries, especially due to the influence that other beliefs have had in China over time. Between his main influences we should talk about buddhism, of the taoism, and especially of the confucianism. We recommend you learn more about Buddhism by reading the lessons on the Features of Buddhism and the principles of buddhism.
• They have the presence of the so-called immortals, being people who by rituals or other methods have managed to have eternal life, becoming immortal.
• They attach great importance to the concepts of yin and yang, since they say that the world works through the existence of this duality.
• The Chinese religion was not separated from daily life, unlike Catholicism with the existence of churches, but appeared in all aspects of life.
• He is considered a syncretistic religion, since it is made up of the union of different beliefs to form a new.
• It has a ancestor veneration, since they believe that the people of our family who have died should be respected, since they are still with us in some way.
• They have a worship of the natural gods, and even to natural elements or stars like the moon or the sun.

To finish this lesson on ancient Chinese religion, we must talk about the main gods of it, being one of the elements that define any belief, since they help us understand how pantheons work and what kind of deities the believers believe in. believers. The main gods of ancient Chinese religion are as follows:

• Bread Gu: considered the first man and also the deity in charge of creating the world as we know it. Considered a central figure of Taoism, it is said that he was in charge of cutting the yin and yang so that they were two different figures.
• Guanyin: She is known as the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, which is why she is closely related to Buddhist beliefs. Here you can read about the Most important gods of Buddhism. She is a much-loved goddess, as it is said that she cares for people in distress and tries to make life easier for them.
• Jade Emperor: she is considered the most important figure in all of Chinese mythology. It is thought that the emperor was capable of commanding and governing the rest of the gods, regardless of the belief that they belonged, since he was superior to all of them.
• Wangmu Niangniang: she is considered the goddess who rules over all female deities, and at the same time the goddess of happiness and longevity. Some texts speak of her having pills that when given can make people immortal.
• Yanwang: the chinese god of the underworld, since rules over all the gods of death. It is said that he has a book in which the life and death of all people are recorded, and that depending on the life he puts one punishment or another on the people who die.
• Long Wang: a powerful dragon that rules the seas, controlling all the creatures that live in these waters. It is said that this dragon was able to control the winds and the rains, so in times of drought it was essential to believe in it.
• The Eight Immortals: a group of legendary immortals who fought against evil. It is said that each one carried a different weapon for his mission, and that they all lived together on islands in the Bohai Sea.

To further expand your knowledge of ancient China, we encourage you to read these lessons from a Teacher on the ancient civilizations of china and the Culture in ancient China. Also, here you can watch a video about Chinese civilization.