중국 고대의 문화에서 종교적 대상을 가리키는 용어는 매우 다양하다. 중국 고대의 종교의식에서 사후의 세계 또는 현실 세계와 구별되는 다른 영역에서 존재하는 신적 존재를 표현하는 개념은 상제(上帝), 천신(天神), 지시(地示), 인귀(人鬼) 귀신(鬼神) 등이 있다. 하대와 은대의 종교의식에서 등장하는 조상신(祖上神)은 자연현상의 배후에 존재한다고 믿는 영적 존재로서의 자연신(自然神)과 구별되지 않는다. 이런 종교의식은 서주에 기본적으로 계승되면서 종교성이 약화되고 인문주의적 신관으로 발전한다. 공맹의 유가는 기본적으로 신적 존재, 즉 상제나 귀신의 존재를 인정한다. 특히 천명의 근거로서의 천은 주재성과 인격성을 보유하고 있는 존재로 종교적 성격을 분명히 지니고 있다. 묵가는 인간의 현실세계를 넘어서는 종교적 믿음의 대상으로서 귀신의 존재를 적극적으로 긍정하는 태도를 보인다. 묵가의 신관은 구체적 현실을 개선하고 인간의 사회를 겸애가 실현되는 공동체로 나아가게 하는 목적으로 귀신을 요청한 실용적 종교의식이다. 도가는 철저한 무신론적 자연관에 입각한 사유방식을 지니고 있으므로 철학적으로는 귀신과 같은 신적 존재가 용납되지 않는다. 그러므로 중국 고대 사상사에서 볼 때, 도가는 제일 먼저 배타적 존재인 신을 배제하고 세계와 인간을 해석한 사유방식이라고 할 수 있다. 중국 고대의 신관은 기본적으로 다신교이므로 하나의 신적 존재가 유일신(唯一神)으로 지위를 지니지 않는다. 중국의 종교에서 배타적 독립성을 절대적으로 갖는 유일신은 없다. 단지 수없이 많은 신들은 각기 자기 특성을 지니면서 존재하고, 그들 중에 일부를 필요에 따라서 사람들이 섬기고 경배한다. 이런 특성은 삼대문화의 신관에서 정초(定礎)되는 것이다.

The Divinity in Pre-Qin China is creatures of the times, Hsia(夏)·Yin(殷)·Zhou(周) three dynasties. a religious man in Ancient China stand in relation to three dynasties as a follower of the historical traditions and a creative interpreter of the religious heritage. Thus we need to understand the religious enthusiasm. One of the characteristic trends of Hsia dynasty is naive faith in science and physical thinking. The notable features of Yin dynasty is a society that religious views are predominant in this country. National sentiment of Yin dynasty devoted themselves to religious work all their life. After considering all the factors of former times, religious thinkers of Zhou dynasty reached the conclusion the Divinity have to maintain dual views as mixed fabric of two ways of thinking. The cultural background of Chinese people is deeply influenced by Confucianism (儒家). It is a philosophy stressing ethical, moral and social values. Confucian system is sometimes considered the proper culture of the Chinese; consequently, it targets religious tendencies and customs. A special ritual was developed for the appeasing of the god of heaven(上帝) as a necessity for the survival and well-being of the community. Mohists(墨家) believed in heaven as a divine force (天), the celestial bureaucracy and spirits which knew about the immoral acts of man and punished them, encouraging moral righteousness. In Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu(老莊), the most common rendering of the Chinese term is "Way", which most closely approximates the original. Tao is the "Way" in both the concrete sense of a road travelled and the more abstract sense of the natural course or route to be followed. According to Laozi, Tao is the way things becomes, the way of process in changing and dynamic reality itself in the world or cosmos. Therefore There is no room for argument against divinity. In brief, religion in Pre-Qin China has been characterized by pluralism since the beginning of Chinese history. the Divinity in Pre-Qin China have inherited various cultural-religious legacies of these three dynasties.

The Divinity in Pre-Qin China is creatures of the times, Hsia(夏)·Yin(殷)·Zhou(周) three dynasties. a religious man in Ancient China stand in relation to three dynasties as a follower of the historical traditions and a creative interpreter of the religious heritage. Thus we need to understand the religious enthusiasm. One of the characteristic trends of Hsia dynasty is naive faith in science and physical thinking. The notable features of Yin dynasty is a society that religious views are predominant in this country. National sentiment of Yin dynasty devoted themselves to religious work all their life. After considering all the factors of former times, religious thinkers of Zhou dynasty reached the conclusion the Divinity have to maintain dual views as mixed fabric of two ways of thinking. The cultural background of Chinese people is deeply influenced by Confucianism (儒家). It is a philosophy stressing ethical, moral and social values. Confucian system is sometimes considered the proper culture of the Chinese; consequently, it targets religious tendencies and customs. A special ritual was developed for the appeasing of the god of heaven(上帝) as a necessity for the survival and well-being of the community. Mohists(墨家) believed in heaven as a divine force (天), the celestial bureaucracy and spirits which knew about the immoral acts of man and punished them, encouraging moral righteousness. In Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu(老莊), the most common rendering of the Chinese term is "Way", which most closely approximates the original. Tao is the "Way" in both the concrete sense of a road travelled and the more abstract sense of the natural course or route to be followed. According to Laozi, Tao is the way things becomes, the way of process in changing and dynamic reality itself in the world or cosmos. Therefore There is no room for argument against divinity. In brief, religion in Pre-Qin China has been characterized by pluralism since the beginning of Chinese history. the Divinity in Pre-Qin China have inherited various cultural-religious legacies of these three dynasties.

the Divinity, Pre-Qin China, the god of heaven, heaven as a divine force, pluralism