Since ancient times, the Chinese people have always believed in the existence of God. In the Chinese classical literature, “Heaven” (天) was described as all knowing and all powerful, who wanted a personal relationship with people. Recall that Confucius once said that, “I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there is Heaven — that knows me!”
This word Heaven (pronounced “Tian” and written as “天”) has existed since at least the Shang Dynasty (17th―11th century BC), and can be defined in three ways.
The first is the literal word for the sky above us.
The second is the idea of a naturally occurring law in the universe which all people and events in the universe must adhere to, like time, space, the laws of physics, and all occurring phenomena.
The third is an all powerful, all knowing God, with human like characteristics. Actually, the original bronze script for 天 was drawn as a human like figure with a head arms and legs.
The study of ancient Chinese history and the mystical beliefs of the ancient Chinese is very difficult, due to a language barrier, cultural and historical contexts, and the lack of sources, but this is a fascinating area of study which should be investigated due to the mysteries involved.
When we talk about theology, many Chinese people dislike the idea that the Abrahamic God is equivalent to their own ancient God and they may even take offense. But let us just discuss this from an academic and philosophical viewpoint. If, for the sake of discussion, God is real, and if He is all-powerful, why wouldn’t He would work through all of the cultures and people of the world? An all powerful God would not be limited to a very specific time and geographical space on Earth, nor forget about the most populous country in the world.
If we examine the great Chinese civilization, which has been so populous and has had such a long, continuous history, we could see the hand of omnipotence at work. From a theological standpoint, it can be inferred that the Chinese culture experienced the great essence of God and attempt to interpret God through their own cultural context.
From the perspective of Christianity, it is quite possible that God worked through Confucius. Confucius was the most important teacher of Chinese history and has had the greatest impact on the mindset of the Chinese culture. In Confucius’ time, there was a “hundred schools of thought.” Confucianism contended and was persecuted and cursed by many ancient Chinese thinkers like the Legalists, until the Confucians returned and won the hearts and minds of the Chinese. The rival thinkers from Shang Yang, Guanzi, Mozi, Han Feizi, Yang Zhu, were never able to gain the same level of standing as Confucianism in the later generations.
The Bible makes it clear that a person’s fate in history is determined by God. “A man can have nothing unless it is granted from Heaven.” (John 3:27). God can promote whomever He wants to promote. God will humble whomever He wants to humble. Confucius’ status as the most important teacher in China was established by God.
China and the Natural Law
In the Bible, Romans 2:13–15 writes, “For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.”
This verse suggest that non Christians, even without knowing God’s specific written laws, can instinctively follow them and this can be a law onto themselves, as a natural law. Could the ancient Chinese philosophies like Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism among others, be the manifestation and formalization of this natural law expressed through the Chinese cultural lens?
In Orthodox Christianity, there is a concept called Spermatikos Logos. This concept was pioneered by St. Justin the Martyr during the 2nd century AD, with the “Apology of St Justin.”
St Justin wrote, “Christ is the Logos (Truth) of whom the whole human race partake. Those who lived according to Logos are Christians, even if they were considered atheists, such as, among the Greeks, Socrates and Heraclitus…”
Using this same concept, in the 20th Century, the Serbian Orthodox Saint Nicholas Of Serbia placed Confucius as one of the great ancient sages. When asked why, Nicholas of Serbia referred to St. Justin Martyr. The beauty of Orthodox Christianity, compared to other branches of Christianity is that Orthodoxy does not claim to have a “monopoly” on Truth. Other religions might have bits and seeds of the Truth of God also. However, Orthodox Christians believe that Orthodox Christianity, through its Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church, is the fullest revelation of the Truth. On that argument, Orthodox Christian scholars are open to mutual learning and mutual transformation with non-Christian faiths.
What was the ancient Chinese understanding of God?
First, no idols or image of the supreme God were allowed to be made according to the ancient Chinese. According to the text from the “Book of Documents”, during the Shang Dynasty (1600–1000BC), an emperor named Wu Yi was struck and killed by lightning after he decided to insult God. Wu Yi built a wooden idol to represent God. Then he played dice, shot arrows, and poured blood on this figure. Later, while traveling, Wu Yi was struck by lightning and died. Since that incident, the Chinese forbid any idols to be built to represent God. This law existed in China until the final dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1644AD-1911AD). In the Beijing Temple of Heaven (天壇), which was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368AD — 1644AD), there are no idols inside. Only a plaque stands, with the characters “Heavenly sovereign” are written on a plaque.
Second, the ancient Chinese believed that God was all knowing and all powerful. God was also considered the source of all righteousness and goodness in the world. Even the Chinese emperor is considered below God and must answer to God, through the Mandate of Heaven.
Text from the Book of Shang writes, “Heaven is all-intelligent and observing, let the [emperor] imitate Him, then his ministers will honor him, and the people will be governed well.”
Chinese thinker of Mohism, Mozi, once said, “Those gentlemen in the world who want to practice magnanimity and righteousness cannot but examine the origin of righteousness. Since we want to examine the origin of righteousness, then where does it originate?…who is honorable and who is wise? Heaven is honorable, Heaven is wise. So, then, righteousness must originate with Heaven.” (Mozi, Book 7, Will of Heaven II)
“Heaven is more honorable and wise than the emperor. But is there yet any one more honorable and wise than Heaven? Heaven is really the most honorable and wise. Therefore, righteousness surely comes from Heaven.” (Mozi, Book 7, Will of Heaven II)
Third, the Chinese described God as the creator of the seen and unseen— In The Classic of Poetry, the ancient Chinese state, “Heaven gave birth to the multitudes and is vast enough to govern all creation with rules and principles” and “Only the mandate of Heaven is absolute and eternal, majestic and infinite.”
In Confucius’ Record of Rites, it is written that “The almighty is revered because His will extends to the nine realms.”
So given this, the ancient Chinese God has a similar description to the God of the Bible, who is also described as all powerful, all knowing, and all seeing, as formalized in the Nicene Creed, “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible…” The God of the Bible also forbids the construction of idols to represent Him as commanded in the Second Commandment.
Located outside of the Temple of Heaven was the Altar of Heaven. Here, Chinese Emperors would make animal sacrifices to Heaven, known as “Border Sacrifices.” This practice of animal sacrifices can be traced back to 4,000 years ago, probably at around the time of the Zhou and Shang Dynasty. Prior to the construction of the Temple of Heaven in 1420AD, sacrifices were performed at various locations throughout the country, including Tai Mountain.
The practice of animal sacrifices during the time of the Shang Dynasty correlates with the practices of the peoples of the Middle East in the Old Testament. During the Great Flood in Genesis 8:20, Noah built an altar to worship God and offered “clean animals” as animal sacrifices. It could be possible that the two practices are connected.
In Exodus and Leviticus, animal sacrifices and the blood from these practices were often seen as a means for the atonement of sin to seek reconciliation with God. However, this practice is no longer practiced in the Christian belief system, sin has been atoned for through the blood and belief in Jesus Christ. Jesus was the “Lamb of God” whom ended this practice once and for all.
Seeds of Truth in Confucius’ Morals? The Morals of Confucianism and Christanity are Generally Consistent
Confucianism, which has had such a wide impact on the Chinese civilization is not a religion, but rather a worldly ethical standard, created to establish the social values, institutions, and ideals of traditional Chinese society. Confucianism places a very strong emphasis on the family value and the son honoring his parents, in addition to the emphasis on the respect for authority and the respect for education. Confucianism has had a profound impact on the Chinese mindset and its traces can still be found in the Chinese culture today.
Because Confucianism is not a religion, but a worldly based concept, Confucius never described the characteristics of God or the afterlife too much. As a result its ethical concepts have been fused by the Chinese, with Buddhism and other Chinese folk beliefs throughout history. However, this does not mean that Confucius was an athiest. Confucius himself mentioned God and Heaven several times in his teachings, including his famous quotation that “He who offends Heaven has no one to Pray to.”
The Master said: “When you are out in the world, act as if meeting an important guest. Employ the people as if you were assisting at a great ceremony. What you don’t want done to yourself, don’t do to others. Live in your town without stirring up resentments, and live in your household without stirring up resentments. (Analects of Confucius 12:2)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)
Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12)
On loyalty to parents
The Master said: “A young man should serve his parents at home and be respectful to elders outside his home. He should be earnest and truthful, loving all, but become intimate with his innate good heartedness. After doing this, if he has energy to spare, he can study literature and the arts.” (Analects of Confucius 1:6)
…Are not filial piety and obedience to elders fundamental to the actualization of fundamental human goodness (Analects of Confucius 1:2)
If you want to enter life, keep the commandments… Honor your father and mother and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 19:17,19)
Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. (1 Timothy 5:1–3)
On kindness
Confucius said, “If you can practice these five things with all the people, you can be called benevolent.” Tzu Chang asked what they were. Confucius said, “Courtesy, generosity, honesty, persistence, and kindness. If you are courteous, you will not be disrespected; if you are generous, you will gain everything. If you are honest, people will rely on you. If you are persistent you will get results. If you are kind, you can employ people.” (Analects of Confucius 17:6)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12–14)
Thus an argument can be constructed that perhaps the Chinese clued into the same God as the people of the Middle East, but interpreted it through their cultural context and circumstances. However, while there are intriguing similarities in certain aspects of ancient Chinese beliefs and the concepts associated with the Abrahamic God, it is essential to acknowledge the complex context and distinct nature of each tradition. Drawing definitive conclusions requires much further careful consideration and scholarly analysis.
