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RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT CHINA
by HERBERT A. GILES, M.A., LL.D. (Aberd.)
Professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge,
Author of "Historic China," "A History of Chinese
Literature," "China and the Chinese," etc., etc.
First Published 1906 by Constable and Company Ltd., London.
PREPARER'S NOTE
This book was published as part of the series Religions: Ancient
and Modern.
The Psychological Origin and Nature of Religion, by J. H. Leuba.
Judaism, by Israel Abraham.
Celtic Religion, by Professor E. Anwye.
Shinto: The Ancient Religion of Japan, by W. G. Aston, C.M.G.
The Religion of Ancient Rome, by Cyril Bailey, M.A.
Hinduism, by Dr. L. D. Barnett.
The Religion of Ancient Palestine, by Stanley A. Cook.
Animism, by Edward Clodd.
Scandinavian Religion, by William A. Craigie.
Early Buddhism, by Prof. T. W. Rhys Davids, LL.D.
The Religions of Ancient China, by Prof. Giles, LL.D.
Magic and Fetishism, by Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S.
The Religion of Ancient Greece, by Jane Harrison.
The Religion of Ancient Egypt, by W. M. Flinders Petrie, F.R.S.
Pantheism, by James Allanson Picton.
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, by Theophilus G. Pinches.
Early Christianity (Paul to Origen), by S. B. Slack.
The Mythologies of Ancient Mexico and Peru, by Lewis Spence, M.A.
The Mythology of Ancient Britain and Island, by Charles Squire.
Islam, by Ameer Ali, Syed, M.A., C.I.E.
Mithraism, by W. G. Pythian-Adams.
The publishers were: Constable and Company Ltd, London; Open Court
Company, Chicago. The 1918 edition was printed in Great Britain by
Butler & Tanner, Frome and London.
RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT CHINA
CHAPTER I
THE ANCIENT FAITH
Philosophical Theory of the Universe.--The problem of the universe has
never offered the slightest difficulty to Chinese philosophers. Before
the beginning of all things, there was Nothing. In the lapse of ages
Nothing coalesced into Unity, the Great Monad. After more ages, the
Great Monad separated into Duality, the Male and Female Principles in
nature; and then, by a process of biogenesis, the visible universe was
produced.
Popular Cosmogeny.--An addition, however, to this simple system had to
be made, in deference to, and on a plane with, the intelligence of the
masses. According to this, the Male and Female Principles were each
subdivided into Greater and Lesser, and then from the interaction of
these four agencies a being, named P'an Ku, came into existence. He
seems to have come into life endowed with perfect knowledge, and his
function was to set the economy of the universe in order. He is often
depicted as wielding a huge adze, and engaged in constructing the
world. With his death the details of creation began. His breath became
the wind; his voice, the thunder; his left eye, the sun; his right
eye, the moon; his blood flowed in rivers; his hair grew into trees
and plants; his flesh became the soil; his sweat descended as rain;
while the parasites which infested his body were the origin of the
human race.
Recognition and Worship of Spirits.--Early Chinese writers tell us
that Fu Hsi, B.C. 2953-2838, was the first Emperor to organize
sacrifices to, and worship of, spirits. In this he was followed by the
Yellow Emperor, B.C. 2698-2598, who built a temple for the worship of
God, in which incense was used, and first sacrificed to the Mountains
and Rivers. He is also said to have established the worship of the
sun, moon, and five planets, and to have elaborated the ceremonial of
ancestral worship.
God the Father, Earth the Mother.--The Yellow Emperor was followed by
the Emperor Shao Hao, B.C. 2598-2514, "who instituted the music of the
Great Abyss in order to bring spirits and men into harmony." Then came
the Emperor Chuan Hsu, B.C. 2514-2436, of whom it is said that he
appointed an officer "to preside over the worship of God and Earth, in
order to form a link between the spirits and man," and also "caused
music to be played for the enjoyment of God." Music, by the way, is
said to have been introduced into worship in imitation of thunder, and
was therefore supposed to be pleasing to the Almighty. After him
followed the Emperor Ti K'u, B.C. 2436-2366, who dabbled in astronomy,
and "came to a knowledge of spiritual beings, which he respectfully
worshipped." The Emperor Yao, B.C. 2357-2255, built a temple for the
worship of God, and also caused dances to be performed for the
enjoyment of God on occasions of special sacrifice and communication
with the spiritual world. After him, we reach the Emperor Shun, B.C.
2255-2205, in whose favour Yao abdicated.
Additional Deities.--Before, however, Shun ventured to mount the
throne, he consulted the stars, in order to find out if the unseen
Powers were favourable to his elevation; and on receiving a
satisfactory reply, "he proceeded to sacrifice to God, to the Six
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