Who is the God that people often say? He is the highest god of Confucianism, Haotian God. The following is a detailed introduction to China story net. If you are interested, let’s have a look.
Taoism has the Jade Emperor who governs the three realms, while Confucianism has the Haotian God.
People often say that God is Haotian God. He is the main god of heaven in Chinese mythology and the supreme god of the Zhou Dynasty. Later, Confucianism was adopted by successive dynasties. It is the highest god of Confucianism.
In Confucian classics, the titles equal to heaven include God and Heavenly Emperor, that is, heaven and Haotian God. In other words, Haotian God represents or is equivalent to heaven.
In myths and legends, there are six gods, among which the Haotian God can represent heaven. The other five emperors cannot replace heaven. In Chinese culture, if God is only mentioned, it generally refers to Haotian God.
(Zhengxuan, a great Confucian scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty, once said, “God is another name for heaven.”)
Haotian God is the “Lord of gods” in Chinese myths and legends. The title of “Tian” first appeared in the Shang Dynasty, while the title of “emperor” officially appeared in the Zhou Dynasty.
The term “Haotian” or “God” appeared in Shangshu, bookofsongs, Zhouyi, Chunqiu and the book of rites in the five Confucian classics, of which the term “Haotian” first appeared in Shangshu, and God was also mentioned in other Confucian classics and historical books.
For example:
Shangshu:
“God blesses the people. He is a king and a teacher, but he can control God and spoil the four sides.”
Bookofsongs:
“The emperor is God. He has great authority under him. He watches the four directions and asks the people not to.”
Chengyi, a great Confucianist in the Song Dynasty, explained Haotian’s God. He believed that the natural heaven of vitality was the body of God. God is the natural principle that exists in the vitality, is inseparable from it, and dominates it.
So to some extent, heaven or God is reason.
Cheng Yi’s point of view was recognized by Zhu Xi, a great Confucian theorist and thinker (the only person who was not the disciple of Confucius but enjoyed the worship of Confucius Temple), and became the orthodox interpretation of the concept of God later.
“Heaven is the reason; God is the speaker of all things; Emperor is the name of dominating things.” Disclaimer: the above content originates from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author. Please inform us if your original copyright is infringed, and we will delete the relevant content as soon as possible.