Shangdi (deity)
Shangdi, a pivotal deity in ancient Chinese religion, was regarded as the sovereign celestial god of the Shang dynasty, which ruled from the second millennium BCE. Often associated with the Shang royal family, Shangdi was initially venerated as an ancestral deity, believed to grant divine right to rule, particularly to the hero Qi, who was considered his son. His role expanded to that of a high god, overseeing the forces of nature and determining the fates of his followers. Worshipped exclusively by the royal family, rituals and sacrifices were performed to appease Shangdi, whose displeasure was thought to result in misfortunes.
As the Zhou dynasty emerged around the eleventh century BCE, Shangdi's prominence diminished as the concept of Tian, or "Heaven," became more significant. This transition marked a cultural and religious assimilation, with later dynasties, such as the Song, further elevating deities like the Jade Emperor in Shangdi's stead. Notably, Shangdi also played a role in the Taiping Rebellion of the 19th century, where he was conflated with the Christian God to rally support against the Qing dynasty. Through time, Shangdi’s image evolved, reflecting the dynamic nature of Chinese spirituality and its integration with various cultural elements.
Shangdi (deity)
Culture: Chinese Han; Chinese Taoist
Shangdi was the sovereign celestial god of the Shang people in ancient China. He was worshipped as a transcendental omnipotent force that ruled the heavens and controlled the other forces of nature, such as thunder, lightening, wind, and rain. At times he was also perceived as a creator god.
He came into prominence because he was closely associated with the Shang royal family that ruled parts of China during the second millennium BCE. Some scholars have said that Shangdi might have been an ancestor or ancestral deity who was worshipped by the Shang royal family. When the family came to power and established a dynasty, they elevated their ancestral deity and made him the high god of the dynasty and heaven. It was said that Shangdi lived in the heavens with the other ancestors of the royal family.
So Shangdi started off as the ancestral father or patron deity of the Shang royal line, but soon turned into the ancestral deity and supreme god of the entire state. However, only the royal family was allowed to offer sacrifices to Shangdi and they had a variety or rituals and ceremonies associated with this.
As the highest god in the Shang pantheon, the ancient Chinese believed that Shangdi determined their fates and if anything untoward happened it was because Shangdi was angry or upset with them. Shangdi’s name means "High God," "Lord up on High," "Emperor Above," "Supreme Being," or "Celestial Lord." He was also known as Shang Ti, and sometimes simply called Di or Ti, which means "god."
Around the eleventh century BCE the Shang dynasty was conquered by the Zhou dynasty. Shangdi was overshadowed by Tian, or "Heaven," the high god of the Zhou dynasty. While Shangdi was a remote spiritual authority, Tian was a visible, touchable, more accessible deity. A new pantheon headed by Tian was introduced and gradually the worship of Shangdi as a separate god faded. In time, the Zhou mentioned Tian and Shangdi synonymously, highlighting the cultural and religious assimilation that took place.
Then, during the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE), under the influence of Taoism, the emperors decreed that the Jade Emperor was to be elevated to the position of highest god and be given the title Lord of Heaven (Tian Di) or Lord on High (Shangdi). So the Jade Emperor supplanted Tian, who in turn had supplanted Shangdi, and in this manner Shangdi was assimilated into both.
In Mythology
According to a legend, Qi, the hero ancestor of the Shang dynasty, was son of Shangdi, thereby giving the Shang family the divine right to rule. The myth says that Shangdi, in the form of a black bird, dropped an egg that was picked up by the wife or concubine of the emperor Diku. She swallowed the egg and became pregnant and later miraculously gave birth to the hero Qi.
Origins and Cults
The Shang royalty believed strongly in ancestor worship and especially revered Shangdi as they saw him as their divine ancestor or ancestral deity. They also believed that the ancestors of living rulers could intercede on their behalf with Shangdi. So in essence only royalty could access Shangdi; he was inaccessible to the common man. The ancestors could be kept happy with deep veneration and generous sacrificial offerings of food, wine, animals, and other provisions.
Political and military victories, and good harvests were a sign of Shangdi’s favor and the ancestors’ happiness. Illness, natural calamities, and war were a sign that the ancestors and Shangdi were unhappy. In such cases the king would want to find out which ancestor was unhappy or why they were unhappy so that the situation could be rectified. This was done with the help of divining, which was a major part of their religion. The use of oracle bones was popular for this. Questions about agriculture, politics or war were carved out on animal bones or turtle shells. A heated bronze tool was then applied to the bone and the resulting cracks were then interpreted for answers. Shangdi’s name has been found carved onto numerous oracle bones excavated from this period.
As Shangdi was responsible for upholding the order of the universe and every year the king would also make a grand sacrifice to him to ensure he maintained the balance and hence kept the empire running smoothly.
Shangdi finds mention in the sixth century BCE Chinese books called Five Classics that were allegedly compiled by Confucius, the ancient sage. For centuries these books formed the norms for all Chinese cultural, religious, academic, legal, and government life.
Shangdi also played a major role in the Chinese Taiping religion and therefore the rebellion of 1850. The Taiping faith was a mixture of Christianity, Confucianism, and popular sectarianism. By the 1800s, Christianity was no longer a foreign creed; it had been adapted into the Chinese context and developed into a new Chinese religion. Missionaries (Jesuits and Protestant) had long used Shangdi as the term for their Christian god in an effort to talk to the Chinese populace in their own language so as to make Christianity more relatable. This helped the Taiping leader Hong Xiuquan connect his Christian faith to a Chinese classical god, thereby increasing the rebellion’s area of influence.
Hong Xiuquan believed that he had been chosen by Shangdi (the amalgamation of the supreme Chinese god and the Christian god) to overthrow the monarchy and establish his heavenly kingdom on earth. He denounced the sacred nature of the imperial monarch (kingship by divine right) and said the king had usurped Shangdi’s title and position. The rebellion lasted almost fourteen years, caused the deaths of at least twenty million people, and devastated seventeen provinces. It was finally quelled by the Qing government in 1864.
Bibliography
A Voluntary Exile: Chinese Christianity and Cultural Confluence Since 1552. Ed. Anthony E Clark. Bethlehem: Lehigh UP, 2014. Print.
Early Chinese Religion: Part One: Shang Through Han (1250 BC–220 AD). Ed. John Lagerwey and Marc Kalinowski. Leiden: Brill, 2009. Print.
Leeming, David. The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.
Reilly, Thomas. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Rebellion and the Blasphemy of Empire. Seattle: U of Washington P, 2004. Print.
Roberts, Jeremy. Chinese Mythology A to Z. New York: Facts on File, 2004. Print.
"Taiping Rebellion." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encycloaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
Taylor, Rodney Leon. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism: N–Z. New York: Rosen, 2005. Print
Trigger, Bruce G. Understanding Early Civilizations: A Comparative Study. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.
Wolff, Richard. The Popular Encyclopedia of World Religions. Eugene: Harvest House, 2007. Print.
Yang, Lihui, Deming An, and Jessica Anderson Turner. Handbook of Chinese Mythology. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Print.
Yao, Xinzhong and Yanxia Zhao. Chinese Religion: A Contextual Approach. London: Continuum, 2010. Print.