Shang Ti
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Shangdi or Shang Ti (Wade-Giles) (上帝, pinyin Shàngdì), literally translated, "Lord Above" or "Sovreign Above", in Chinese culture, is the name used both in traditional Chinese religion as well as Christianity for a supreme deity.
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First Mention
ShangDi is first mentioned in the Wu Jing (five classics compiled by Confucius). One of the five books in the Wu Jing is the 書經 Shu Jing (sometimes called 尚書 Shang Shu or the Book of History). The Shu Jing has 5 "booklets" depending on various divisions. The 2nd "booklet" is called 虞書 "Book of Yu". This "booklet" has 4 "chapters"; the first "chapter" is called 舜典 "Canon of Shun". About the third sentence is the first mention of ShangDi. The Shu Jing is possibly the earliest narrative of China, and may predate Herodotus as history by 1500 years. This implies that ShangDi is the oldest deity directly referenced in China by Chinese narrative literature.
Traditional Chinese Religion
Shangdi was the supreme deity worshipped by the ancient Chinese, especially during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Initially, the deity was referred to simply as Di. Di originated as a Shang deity; the Zhou people later merged Di with the Zhou deity, Tian. He was thought to be supreme over the lesser gods of the sun, moon, and other parts of nature, and guided the affairs of Heaven, Earth, and people.
Worship of Shang Ti included offering human sacrifices. (please document) By the time of the Zhou dynasty, the Zhou emperor was the only person deemed worthy to offer such sacrifices. As time went on, the ruling class decided that the common people were not worthy to worship Shang Ti, and so their attention shifted to the lesser gods, and eventually to other religions and philosophies such as Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. Today, Shang Ti, along with traditional Chinese religion, is generally almost forgotten.
Christianity in China
Shangdi (Shang Ti) is also used to refer to God in Chinese by many Chinese Christians. It is used in the southern China edition of the Chinese Union Version, a Mandarin Chinese translation of the Christian Bible. Non-Chinese (almost exclusively Western) Protestant missionaries in northern China in the early 20th century preferred the alternative "Shen" (神, pinyin Shén), and another edition was printed reflecting this usage. By contrast, historically, Chinese Catholics have predominantly used the term "Tian zhu" (literally, "Lord of Heaven") to address God.
References
- Creel, Herrlee G., The Origins of Statecraft in China. ISBN 0226120430
Tianzhu jiao (天主教), Catholicism. (Jidu jiao is also commonly used to refer to Christianity as a whole)