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. Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Pinyin (拼音, pÄ«nyÄ«n) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin. ... This is the current collaboration of the week! Please help improve it to featured article standard. ... Chinese traditional religion is the blend of religious practices most Han Chinese practiced for thousands of years. ... Christianity in China has developed since at least the 7th century AD. Some consider the first entry of the Christian religion into China to be the introduction of Nestorianism around 635. ... A deity or a god, is a postulated preternatural being, usually, but not always, of significant power, worshipped, thought holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, or respected by human beings. ...

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. Shang Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝) or Yin Dynasty (殷代) (1600 BC - 1046 BC) is the first historic Chinese dynasty and ruled in the northeastern region of China proper. ... Alternative meaning: Zhou Dynasty (690 CE - 705 CE) The Zhou Dynasty (周朝; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty) (late 10th century BC to late 9th century BC - 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... Tian (天 Pinyin Tiān) is the Chinese character for heaven. ...

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. The emperor or huangdi (皇帝 in pinyin: huang2 di4) of China was the head of government and head of state of China from the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. ... For other uses of the words tao and dao, see Dao (disambiguation). ... Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā, literally The School of the Scholars; or less correctly: 孔教 kŏng jiào The Religion of Kong), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ...

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. The term God (capitalized in English language as a proper noun) is often used to refer to a Supreme Being. ... Christianity in China has developed since at least the 7th century AD. Some consider the first entry of the Christian religion into China to be the introduction of Nestorianism around 635. ... North China (北方 Hanyu pinyin: Běifāng) and South China (南方 Hanyu pinyin: Nánfāng) are two approximate regions within China. ... This article is on all of the Northern Chinese dialects. ... Translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language—the source text—and the production of a new, equivalent text in another language—called the target text, or the translation. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... The holy Jewish scripture: The Torah. ... Western can refer to: A Western blot is a method in molecular biology to detect a certain protein in a sample by using antibody specific to that protein. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. ... North China (北方 Hanyu pinyin: Běifāng) and South China (南方 Hanyu pinyin: Nánfāng) are two approximate regions within China. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Shen can refer to the supreme kai in the Japanese anime series Dragon Ball Z. an abbrievation for Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. ... Pinyin (拼音, pÄ«nyÄ«n) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin. ... Catholicism in China has a long and complicated history. ...

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)

See also

• Chinese terms for God
• Religion in China