48 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



of the non-Chinese ethnic groups of eastern, southern, and central 

 Asia. Other Shang dynasty Chinese gods were the Dragon Woman, 

 the Eastern Mother, the Western Mother, the East, the West, the 

 South, the Ruler of the Four Quarters, the Earth or Mother Earth, 

 the Snake Spirit, and King Wind (ibid., pp. 180-184). 



Lesser deities during the Chou dynasty included the Father of War, 

 the Father of Husbandry, the Ruler of Cold, the Father of Cookery, 

 and the Six Honored Ones. In addition the sun, the moon, the stars, 

 mountains, rivers, springs, and other natural features apparently 

 were worshiped. 



As previously stated, among the Shang dynasty Chinese prior to 

 their conquest by the Chous, the highest god was Ti or Shang Ti. 

 Among the Chou people of that time the chief god was T'ien ^ or 

 Heaven. In early Chinese literature this symbol resembled the picture 

 of a man, but it gradually changed and was finally written in its 

 present form ^. After the conquest the Qiou dynasty Chinese 

 identified T'ien and Shang Ti, regarding them as the same god and 

 using the two terms interchangeably. He was the highest god, a god 

 of righteousness interested primarily in human beings and human 

 society, and rewarding the good and punishing the evil. This was not 

 monotheism, for there were lesser deities, and during the following 

 centuries the number of lesser deities increased until there were 

 thousands. 



While the yin-yang concept cannot with certainty be traced back 

 of the fourth century B. C, for over two thousand years it has played 

 such an important part in the life, thought, customs, and religion of 

 the Chinese that we mention it again here. The explanation of this 

 concept will be given later under the popular religion of West China. 



THE GREAT RELIGIONS 



CONFUCIANISM 



Confucius was born in 551 B. C. and died in 479. He lived at a 

 time when China was in a state of chaos, with deplorable economic, 

 moral, political, and social conditions. The Kingdom of Chou was 

 so weak that the feudal lords did almost as they pleased, and wars 

 vv^ere numerous and frequent. Among the rulers intrigue and as- 

 sassinations were common, and hunting, warfare, and extravagance 

 were their main interests. The sufferings of the common people were 

 almost unbearable, for they had to fight for their rulers, were very 

 heavily taxed, and were ruthlessly punished for failure to cooperate 



