The Chinese on the Plain of Shinar, or a Connection Established between the Chinese

and All Other Nations through Their Theology

Author(s): T. M'Clatchie
Source: The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland , 1856,
Vol. 16 (1856), pp. 368-435
Published by: Cambridge University Press

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 368

Art. XXII.?The Chinese on the Plain of Shinar, or a connection

established between the Chinese and all other Nations through
their Theology. By the ltiov. T. M'Clatcih i?, M. A., Missionary
to the Chinese from the Church Missionary Society.
[Read February IG, 185G.]
PRKFATOllY ltl.MAHKS.

No ono who takes tho troublo to investigate tho various Mythological

systems of the Heathen world, can fail to bo struck with tho very
remarkable similarity which exists between them. To account for
this similarity is an interesting, and, at first sight, a difficult under
taking.
The Pagan world may bo regarded in two points of view, viz. :
either before their dispersion at Babel, when tho several nations wcro
in embryo and the human race formed one community on tho plain of
Shinar; or, after the dispersion, when this community, broken up
into various tribes, scattered over the face of the earth, and colonized
tho various regions of tho world.
With regard thou to tho striking similarity which exists bctwoon
tho different systems of Pagan Idolatry, tho first question for con
sideration is this?Is the similarity mentioned of such a nature as to
bo easily and naturally accounted for on tho supposition that after tho
dispersion, and subsequent to thoir settlement, each nation (including
the Chineso) independently of all tho rest, adopted a system of theology
which nevertheless coincided in many particulars with all tho others?
There is no doubt that this theory will, to a certain extent, account
for the resemblance alluded to. For instance, no ono who contem
plates tho sun, the dispenser of light and heat, who nourishes tho
earth with his genial warmth; the moon "walking iu brightness ;"
and the stars, which with subdued light, wandor through infinito
ethoreal space, can fail to bo struck with, and to admiro tho beauty of
these orbs, and tho silent majesty with which thoy glido along their
allotted paths : and it would not bo very surprising, therefore, if each
Pagan nation, being removed from tho light of revelation, should have
adopted independently of all tho rest, the same worship of tho heavenly
host.
Nor cau we regard it as at all impossible that idolatrous nations
should also agree with each other, without any previous concert or
communication, in worshipping such of their deceased ancestors as had,
during their lifetime, secured tho respect and admiration of their
contemporaries, either by their warlike achievements, or by their

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 369

benevolent actions. We may especially grant the probability of this

when we consider that religious worship may be, as regards the
unenlightened Heathen, a natural consequence of the reverence, blended
with affection, with which the memory of such public benefactors as
those alluded to, is cherished. " If such persons," argue the Chinese,
as they think, conclusively, " be worthy of respect and veneration
while living, why should we not continue to exhibit respect and vene
ration towards them when they are dead ? Would you (ramplo upon,
or show disrespect to, the remains of your deceased parent? Why
then should not we continue to venerato, after death, those who, when
alive, commanded by their good deeds the respect and admiration of
all mankind ?"
In tho general worship, therefore, of the heavenly* host, and of
deceased ancestors, we havo an agreement between tbe various systems
of the Pagan world in what may be considered "obviousand natural ;"
and there is nothing very remarkable, so far, in the similarity which
exists between all the systems of the Heathen.
These various systems, however, do not merely agree in what is
" obvious and natural ;" but they also agree, in a most singular manner,
in what is "arbitrary, and circumstantial, and artificial :" and this
agreement cannot be accounted for on the hypothesis mentioned.
Not to dwell unnecessarily upon this point, it will be sufficient
merely to mention two of the many striking agreements alluded to ;
e.g. 1. Tho chief God of every Pagan system, without exception, is
designated "Mind" (Noy? or Mens.) 2. This chief God, whose body
is the universe, triplicates and also divides into eight portions in each
system. Now, it is quite impossible to believe that each Pagan nation,
independently of all the rest, not only chose the same designation for
their chief God, but also choso the numbers three and eight, without
any previous concert or communication whatever. With regard to the
Triad and Ogdoad, the case is even stronger than with regard to tho
remarkable designation "Mind." For, it will be found on investiga
tion, that the universo does not naturally fall into these divisions of
three ami eight, inasmuch as the details of theso numbers vary con
siderably in each system ; so that wo are driven to the conclusion that
tho numbers three and eight were first chosen, and then the stubborn
universe was made, however reluctantly, to bend to them.
Hence, as the various theological systems of the Pagan world
(including the Chinese) all agree in so remarkable a manner, not
merely in what is "obvious and natural," but also in "arbitrary
circumstantials," which could not have been the case if each nation

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370 CIIlNRS? THKOLO?Y.

had framed its own system independently of all tho rest, and after its
final settlement, the inevitable conclusion must be as follows :?
" Tho common arbitrary opinions and observances, which aliko
prevail in every part of the globe, must havo had a common origin,
and each national system, however some minor differences might
distinguish it from all other national systems, must havo boon equally
a shoot from a primeval system so vigorous as to extend its ramifications
to all countries of tho habitablo world."?Fabcr's Origin of Pag. Idol.,
vol. i., p. GO.
Tho fact of tho common origin of all tho Pagan systoms boing thus
established, tho next difficulty is to discover this source of idolatry.
Can wo suppose that subsequent to tho dispersion, and their sovoral
settlements, all the other nations adopted the system framed by one ?
Here wo aro met by two difficulties; first, thoso who adopt this
theory differ considerably as to what nation formed tho model for
imitation to tho rest. Some say Egypt, some Phonicia, somo India,
and some Hindost?n. All is uncertainty. And even if this point
were set at rest, then comes the difficult task of accounting "for tho
extraordinary circumstance, that nil nations upon tho face of the earth,
whether seated in Enropc or Asia, or in Africa, or in America,
should have been content to borrow with rare unanimity, the religious
system of one single people."?Ibid. p. G2.
Nor can we adopt tho hypothesis, based upon tho supposition that
tho children of Cush aud a few followers, were alono concerned in tho
apostasy of Babel, that all nations, after their settlement, were con
quered by this roving tribe, and were compelled to adopt its idolatrous
system. It is not easy to admit that "a singlo tribo, and that too
broken into 6inall fragments by an eminent display of divine vengeance?
could manage to subdue and convert all the rest of mankind, who had
previously retired in a prosperous and orderly manner to thoir
appointed settlements."?Ibid. p. 63.
We are therefore obliged to adopt the third and only remaining
hypothesis, viz. : that " all nations whilo yet iu embryo, and during
these ages of tho infancy of society which immediately followed tho
deluge were assembled together in one community, previous to thoir
separation and dispersion ovor the faco of the earth, and in that stato
of primitive union agreed in the adoption of a system, which when
afterwards broken into tribes the germs of future nations thoy equally
carried with them into whatever region they might at any subsequent
time be induced to colonizo."?Ibid. p. 61.
This last proposition Mr. Fabcr, in his learned and interesting

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 371

work, shows to bo in accordance with the scriptural history of Nimrod

and tho towor of Babel, and also with profano history. Alluding to
tho founding of tho universal cmpiro under Nimrod, that learned
author observes:?
" In tho short account which Moses gives of this early transaction,
no direct mention is made of any attempt to introduce a new system
of roligion ; though something of the kind seems to be hinted at in
the assertion that nothing could restrain the roving imagination of
this rebellious community; but tho Jews have ever supposed that
idolatry commenced at Babel ; whence they have a story that Abraham
was cast into a furnace by Nimrod for refusing to worship the sacred
fire which was tho symbol of tho solar deity. Wo have, however, far
better authority than Jewish tradition, though I see no reason why we
should slight it as altogether nugatory, for asserting that the first
systematic apostasy from pure religion was consummated at Babel,
and that from that centre it spread itself over the whole world. Tbe
prophet of the Apocalypse styles Babylon or Babel the mother of
harlots and abominations of the earth ; by which it need scarcely be
observed is meant, in the figurativo language of scripture, that all tho
abominations of apostate idolatry originated from that city as from a
common parent," &o.
" Thus so far as I can judge, it indisputably appears that tho
idolatry by which all the nations of tho earth were infatuated, was a
system originally invented at Babel under the auspices of Nimrod
and his Cuthitcs, and afterwards in progress of replenishing the world
with inhabitants by the various scattered members of his broken
empire, carried o IF alike to the nearest, and to the most remote
countries of the globe." &e.?Ibid. pp. 77-8.
Having thus briefly stated Mr. Faber s argument, I now proceed
to the inquiry which forms I he subject of the following pages. Tho
question I propose is this?Were the ancestors of the Chinese to bo
found amongst the ancient community who engaged in building the
tower of Babel on the plain of Shiuar, or not ? in order to establish
an affirmative answer to this inquiry, it will be necessary to investigate
Chinese theology, and there to search for any traces which may exist
of tho one general primeval system of idolatry established previous to
tho building of Babel. If wo find that the Chinese have also traces of
this one system, and that they agree with all other nations not only in
the adoption of what is "obvious and natural," but also in "arbitrary
circumstantials," while they differ from them as to detail, then the
conclusion is inevitable that this nation also has derived its theology
from the ono source common to all, and was therefore represented in

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 372 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

the singlo community which existed subsequent to the deluge, and

the members of which agreed to adopt that ono system which was
afterwards carried by them, when broken into tribos, into tho several
nations which they founded. Thus we shall be able to establish a
remarkable connection between the Chinese and all other heathen
nations through their theology and to show that they do not in reality
occupy so isolated a position among the uations of tho earth as has
been hitherto so gen o rail y assignod them.
The principal points which I shall endeavour to establish are?
1. That as all other Pagan nations, however they may worship multi
tudes of divinities, yet hold the existence of one God, khi ffo-yi/i/,
the First Cause of all things, so also do tho Chincso recognise this
First Cause, and assign to him precisely the same titles and attributes
as those given to him by the rest of tho Pagan world ; 2. That thoso
portions of the animated world, &c., which all other nations havo
designated " God," the Chinese also 6o designate ; and 3. That tho
chief object of idolatrous worship iu China, viz. Skangte, is a deified
man, and is the same Being designated by Mr. Faber the " Great
Father" of tho Pagan world, who is Adam or Noah, and is designated
by tho several nations who worship him Baal, Jupiter, Osiris, Bruhm,
Sic, or Noi'c, Meus, Menu, Man, Slo. The Triad and Ogdoad, two of
those "arbitrary circumstantials" which, together with variety of
detail, prove that the several heathen nations have derived their
theology, not front any single nation, but from ono source common to
all, are also to bo found in the Chinese system.
It may be necessary to observe here, that the two polytheistic
systems found in all Pagan nations, viz. that which admits of visiblo
representations of tho Gods, and that which is designated tho material
system (and which are in reality but one and tho sauio system) are
both found ?it China. The Confuciauists, like all other materialists,
reject the absurdities of tho grosser polytheistic sects, and make their
deities souls or portions of the animated material world, which is
regarded by this sect as the greatest Numen, and as a divine animal
endowed with life. It is this latter system, being that inculcated in
tho Chinese Classics, which the following pages aro intended to
elucidate.

I. God, hut* c?o;\'>/i/.

1. The charge brought by the Apostlo against the heathen world
is, that they " worshipped and served the creature, inoro than tho
Creator.** This was a consequence of their modo of reasoning ; for,
instead of arguing from creation to tho existence of a God of all

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 CHIN1_9E THEOLOUY. 373
power and might, they subjected' the Creator himself to those laws
by which his creation is governed. This constituted their fundamental
error, from which all their misconceptions sprang. As they saw that
tho mechanic, for instance, could not produce any work of art, without
somo material to work upon, they rashly concluded that God was such
an one as themselves in this respect, and that therefore He could not
mako tho world without somo proviously existing material out of
which to form it, and heneo all the Pagan philosophers without
exception held that God made tho world out of pre-existing, eternal
matter.
" All philosophers," says Gassendi, " agreo in the prc-cxistenco of
the matter of which the universo is composed, because nothing can bo
produced from nothing ; whereas, however, scripture truth declares
that the universo was created out of nothing and from no material."?
Cudworth's Intellec. Syst. vol. ?ii., p. 144.
These philosophers, however, may be divided into two classes.
In the first class may bo ranked those who, like Plato and others,
while they associated God and eternal matter, and supposed a certain
connection between those two, yet did not make the former wholly
dependent upon tho latter ; and iu the second class may be included
those who, liko tho Stoics, inseparably united tho two, and held that
the one could not exist separate from the other.
2. The Chineso philosophers, like Anaxiniencs and others, consido
tho material origin of all things to bo K'o or Air, which is the primary
matter from which all things aro formed.?(See Morrison's Dictionary,
part ii., vol. i., No. 5311.)
This K'e, or Matter, is considered by them to bo eternal, and it is
associated with an eternal, ungencrated, and therefore sclf-existcnt
First Cause, which tho Confueianists generally stylo Lo or Fate (see
Ibid. No. 6942), And as tho other Pagans havo designated this
Eternal Fate "God," and declared him to be " Incomprehensible,"
so also the Chinese philosophers designate him " God," and predicate
of him tho same attribute of incomprehensibility ; e. g. :?
" Lo is God (Siiin) and is Incomprehensible.'"?Shig-le-ta-tscuen,
eh. ii., p. V?6.
" Being asked whether the God (Siiin) spoken of is the Maker
and Transformer of heaven and earth, ho (Choo-tsze) replied God
(Shin) is just that Le," &c. -Ibid. p. 35.
" They (the Chinese) often say Le is God (Siiin)."?Morrison's
Memoirs of Dr. Milne, p. 161.
As tho Pagans considered all things to depend upon their God,
khi tfox?/?', for existence, so do the Chinese philosophers ; e. g. :?
vol. xvi. 2 C

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374 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

" If this Lo had no existence, then, there would be no heaven, nor

earth, nor men, nor things; all would bo without a connecting bond."
?Choo-tszc'8 Comploto Works, ch. xlix., p. 3.
This God and eternal matter, tho Confuciauists, liko the Stoics,
consider to be inseparably united together, so that the one cannot
exist without the other ; e. g. :?
"Le being eternal, K'e is eternally united with it."?Ibid,
ch. xlix. 10.
" Lo is not a separate thing, ho rests in tho midst of tho K'o ; if
there were no K'o, then Lo would not have anything to rest upon??
Ibid. ch. xlix., 1.
" Separated from K'e, thero is no God (Siiin) ; separated from
God (Siiin), there is no K'o," &c?The two Chings, &o., vol. i., p. 52.
" All (material) things have visible traces, but God (Siiin) who
is in their midst (inherent in all things) is invisible. God (Siiin) is
never separate from matter. Hence God (Siiin) is the Incomprehen
sible One who is in tho midst of (i. e. iiihorcnt in) all things, and
renders them mysterious,"&c?Yih-king, vol.xii., 17, 13 Com. (Imp.
edit.)
The sanio law, also, which led tho rest of tho Pagan world to
associate eternal matter with God, is also recognised by tho Confu
ciauists ; e. g. :?
" . ... As in tho world men and things, grass and trees, birds
and beasts aro all generated from seed, and there is nothing which is
without a seed, if unsown soil produces a singlo thing, this is the
K'e," Sic.? Choo-tsze'8 Le and K'e, sentence 10.
" Ex nihilo nihilfit," and heneo whon anything appears to spring
up spontaneously, the K'e or primary matter is considered to bo the
seed whence it is produced.
3. Matter, although considered eternal, was yet held by many to
have been generated by the Deity. It is stated, for instance, in tho
Tiniams, ch. ix., that tho universo was generated by its "Creator and
Father;" and Plato is supposed to havo followed Hermes and the
Egyptians in thus holding that " tho matter emanated from tho Deity
or divine nature itself."?(Cudworth, vol. i., p. 570, note.) Such is
also the Confucian doctrine ; e. g.:?
" Lo existing, K'o is afterwards generated?? Choo-tsze's Works,
ch. xlix.,p. 1.
" Lo generated tho K'e."?Sing lc-ta-tseucn, ch. xxx., p. 10.
Thus while the Confuciauists associate eternal matter with God,
they yet consider that the former was generated by the latter, or in
other words, that matter is inferior to God, not in time, but by nature,

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 375
and this was the doctrine held by Probus, Simplicius, and all the later
Platonists.?(See Cudworth, vol. i., p. 302, uote.)
This Lo inherent in K'e, or God and Matter, form the one com
pound source of all things.
" With regard to the one origin of all things, their Le is the same,
but their K'o is diverse."?Choo-tsze's Works, ch. xlix., 7.
And this Le or God is liko the Stoical Ggov kut cfoxvi>, the only
Incorporeal thing in the universe ; for,
" Lo is Incorporeal, K'o is Corporeal."?Ibid. p. 1.
4. Various names and titles were given to the Oco?? kui r*fox>)?' by
the Pagan philosophers ; e. g., Fate, Reason, Incorporeal Reason,
Providence, Nature, Heaven, &c. He was considered to bo a perfect
indivisible unity ; the Iiniuoveablo Author of all motion ; Incom
prehensible and Hidden ; and was said to pervade all things, &c.
IIis proper names were Jupiter, Baal, Mithras, Hamilton, &c, ac
cording as he was designated by tho various Pagan nations.?See
Cudworth, vol. i., l?)6, noto; 423-4; vol. ii., 9, 14, note; 108-0,
148. Also Enfield's Hist, of Philos, vol. i., p. 334, &c.
Precisely the same designations, &c, are given by the Chinese
Confucianists to their Shin Km* ef^xv^i e* 9*:?
a, " Heaven," " Frovidence" Ac.
" Being asked the difference between (the titles) ' Heaven ' and
'Providence,' 'Nature' and ' Lo,' and whether 'Heaven' refers to
his self-existence, 'Providence' to his flowing forth, and being con
ferred upon all things ; ' Nature,' to the substance (i. e. God aud
matter together), which tho myriad of things obtain iu order to
exist ; and ' Le/ to each matter and thing having its own law ; yet
spoken of unitedly, then ' Heaven,' ' Le,' ' Providence,' and ' Nature,'
nil designate the same being ; is this correct? He (Choo-tsze) replied:
Just so ; some persons, however, now assert that 'Heaven* does not
refer to the azure sky; yet, in my opinion, the azure sky must not be
omilttd."? Choo-tsze's Work's, ch. xlii. p. 1.
Thus tho Confucianist Sit in, mn c-?oxyi', is indifferently styled
" Futo (Lo)," "Nature," "Heaven," or "Providence." In tho title
" Heaven," however, is included the material Heaven (or K'e), in
which this Supreme God is inherent when the world is arranged by
him from chaos. These different titles of this Supreme Shin, Choo
tszo also states in the above passage, refer to his various powers ; so
also the Oc?v ?W ?fox7/1'*
" You may mention nature, fate, fortune ; names of this kind are
all names of God variously employing his power!*?Cudworth, vol. i.,
p. 249, note.
2C2
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376 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

b. " Reason," or " Incorporeal Reason?

" Le is Incorporeal Reason, the Origin of lifo; K'e is the corporeal
vessel, the Receptacle of life."?Choo-tszo's Works, ch. xlix. 5.
" That which is Incorporeal is Beason, that which is corporeal is
the Receptacle. 'Incorporeal' refers to Le; 'corporeal,' to matter
and things."?Sing-le-ta-tseuen, ch. xxxiv. p. 22.
" That which is Incorporeal is Reason, that which is corporeal is
the Beceptaclo." Com. " Reason is Incorporoal, tho God (Shin) who
renders all things mysterious," ?fee.?Yih-king, vol. ii., 14, 33.
c. " Nature?
" Nature is the entire Heavenly Lo ; when wo speak of Naturo,
wo include the K'o."?Choo-tszo's Works, ch. xlix. 11.
" . . . . Yet if we always consider the K'e to bo Naturo, and
Nature to bo tho K'e, wo do not clearly understand tho subject."?
Ibid. ch. xliiL 10.
Thus under this ono title " Nature," two things totally different
are included by the Confuciauists ; viz., Fate or God, tho Maker of
the universe, and the Matter from which he forms it ; yet, these two
although inseparably united, must not be confounded, for this title is
only given to tho K*e or primary matter, in consequenco of tho melior
natura inherent in it. Thus, also,?
" The Stoics divido nature into two parts; one, that which works;
the other, that which offers itself to bo wrought upon. In tho former
is the power of acting, in tho lattor is simplo matter, nor is ono oblo
to do anything without the other. Thus under ono term of nature,
they comprehend two things very diverse, God and the world, the
artificer and tho work, and they say that one cannot do without tho
other, as if naturo were God mixed up with the world. For sometimes
they so confound things, that God becomes tho vory soul of the world,
and the world the body of God."?Cudworth, vol. i., p. 19G, note.
" What is nature, says Seneca, but the Divine Reason inherent in
the whole universe and in all its parts? Or, you may call him if you
please, the author of all things."?Enfield's Hist. Philos, vol. i.,
p. 334.
d. " The Great Extreme?
" The Great Extreme is Incorporeal Reason," ?fee.?Sing-le-ta
tsouen, ch. i., p. 12.
" Heason is the Great Extreme of the Yih-king (Classic)."?Choo
tszes Works, ch. xlix., 10.
The Great Extremo is Le."?Ibid. p. 8.
This title of the Siiin, tear <?f*>xv,'> is derived, wo aro told by
Choo-tsze, from "a pivot," or from " the centre beam of a house,'

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 CHI NICS15 TUBO LOO Y. 377
and it corresponds to tho titlo " Tigillum," given to the Supreme
Zcv<! or Oeo? tca-f efoxv1'* Heneo he is the great source whence all
things emanate ; e. g. : ?
" Tho Original Extremo obtains this designation from the idea of
a pivot. The sages meant by tho Great Extreme the Root ofJI eaven,
Earth, and all things; hence Choo-tszo designated him 'The Infinite,'
(uTTvipov, see Cudworth, vol. ii., p. 47), and thus placed his imnui
teriality beyond a doubt." ? Choo-tsze's T'ae-keih, sentence 13.
e. Ho is a?i indivisible Unity or Monad.
" Heaven divides and becomes Earth, Earth divides and becomes
tho myriad of things, but Reason cannot be divided,** &c. - Sing-le-ta
tscuen, ch. ii., p. 22.
" Body is divisible, but God (Shin) cannot be divided."?Ibid,
p. 34.
" Tho Great Extremo is Unity and without compare."?Choo-tsze's
Works, T'ae-keih, sentence 27.
Hence he pervades all things without division of his substance ;
<?'<!'' ?
" Being asked, with regard to Le being Unity, and when distri
buted amongst tho myriad of things to pervade them, then the myriad
of things have each a Great Extreme within it ; according to this can
the Great Extreme be divided into portions? He (Choo-tsze) replied:
in reality, there is but one Great Extreme, and each of the myriad of
things havo received it, and each has within it a complete Great
Extreme ; for instance, the moon in heaven is but one, and when it
is scattered amongst tho rivers, then it is seen in each, yet we cannot
say that the moon is divided.**?Choo-tsze's Works, ch. xlix. p. 10.
" God (Shin) is Unity; ho rides upon the K'e, and changes and
transforms it/' &c. ? Sing-le-la-tseuen, ch. xi., p. 33.
So also Parmcnides and Xcnophanes " affirmed that the one or
unity was the fir?t principle of all ; matter itself, as well as other
things being derived from it; they meaning by this one, that highest
or Supreme God who is overall.**?Cudworth, vol. ii., p. 38
/. Ho is the Immoveable A uthor of all motion.
" Lo has (the power of producing) motion and rest, and thcreforo
the K'o moves and rests. If Lc had not this (power of producing)
motion and rest, then how could the Ke of itself move or rest !"?
Choo-tsze's Works, ch. xlix. 8.
" We cannot predicate motion or rest of Le ; but that which
moved and generated the Light, rested and generated the Darkness,

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378 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

is Lo inherent in the K'e, and which therefore cannot but move and
rest. He rests upon the pivot as in a chariot, and thus is not affected
by the motion or rest."?Ibid. p. 32.
Hence iu tho language of the philosophers this Supromo God
"moves, yet moves not; rests, yet rests not; i.e., ho confers these
powers upon the primary matter in which ho is inherent, whilo he
himself is not affected by either the motion or the rest, occupying as
ho does " tho pivot," or centro of motion.
" That which when at rest cannot move, and when in motion
cannot rest, is Matter; that which moves, yet moves not, rests, yet
rest not, is Gon (Siiin)."?Ibid.
Tho Oco? Kar cfox'V is designated by Aristotlo "to irpC?iov kivovv
ahlvn-Tov, tho first immoveablo mover."?Cudworth, vol. ii., p. 84.
g. Ho is Omni2>resent, aud the Author of all change and trans
formation.
" Confucius said, Ho who comprehends the doctrino of chango
and transformation, understands what God (Shin) accomplishes."?
Com. "Tho acts of God (Shin) are incomprehensible ; wo must
look at change and transformation in order to understand them. God
(Siiin) is omnipresent1 in the midst of all these changes aud trans
formations."?Yih-king, ch. xiv., 16.
Having, however, exhausted all their powers of imagination in
dovising names and titles by which to designate their Supremo God,
tho philosophers acknowledge how far he is above all these, aud hence
they designate him " Woo ming," or "the nameless One."
God (Siiin) is not confined to placo and is omnipresent ; ho unites
himself to tlve mind of man, which thus has its origin in Unity*
Reason and Unity are but forced names of God (Siiin) : if wo con
sider God (Shin) to bo God (Siiin), this is tho best appellation."?
Shigie-ta-tscucii, ch. xii., 2.
" According to the old Egyptian theology .... God is said to
have both no name and every name."?Cudworth, vol. ii., p. 259.
//.. He is Empty Space or Incorporeal Vacuum.
" Lo is a baro empty, wido world, without corporeal vestiges," Ac.
?Choo-tszo's Works, Lo and K'e, senteuco 10.
" Reason is tho Groat Vacuum, aud is Incorporeal."?Sing-lo-ta
tseucn, vol. xii., 1.

1 Wc bavc here an instance of the very different meaning attached to tho

same word by the Heathen and by Christians. By tho Omnipresence of God,
the former menu that ho is present in oil things, whereas we moan by that term
that all things are present to God.

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 CHINESE Til BOLO-Y. 379
By this " Great Vacuum/* is meant the infinito Empty Space in
which tho universo revolves, and in which the latter is contained or
comprehended.
" This Principio (Le) is so great, that it comprehends heaven and
earth, and is tho support of generation and transformation; so minuto,
that it enters into every fibre and particle; there is no distance which
it cannot traverso, and there is nothing so mean that it does not reach
it; yet wo must discern what it is which thus pervades (all things)."
?Choo-tsze's Works, ch. xli., 15; xlvi., 12.
So also PLilo held that " God is that space which surrounds and
encompasses the whole nature of things**?Cudworth, vol. iii., p. 242,
note.
Onatus the Pythagorean says, " It seemeth to me that there is not
only ono God, but that there is one the greatest and highest God that
governeth the whole world, &c. That is that God who contains and
comprehends the whole world,''* fyc.?Cudworth, vol. i., p. 374.
i. He is Hidden.
" I have already said that tho Great Extremo is (like one who)
hides his head,1* A.c.?Choo-tsze's Works, T'ae-keih, seutenco 19.
" Ainnion, in his books, calleth God most hidden, and Hermes
plainly dcolareth that it is hard to conceive God, but impossible to
express him." ? Cudworth, vol. i., p. 5G4.
k. Ho animates tho K'o or Matter in which he is inherent, and is
thus the Supremo Soul of tho animated universe.
" Ko accumulated forms Body; Lo unites with it, and then it
has tho power of intellect and perception; just as when oil is poured
upon fire, then there is much flame," &c.?Choo-tsze's Works, Le and
K'o, scntchco 22.
Honeo tho world (or arranged K'e) is an animal endowed with
lifo and reason, and is the body of God who pervades all its parts.
Plotiuus thus states the opinion of tho ancient philosophers on this
point :
" It is absurd to affirm that Heaven (or the World) is inanimate,
or devoid of lifo and soul, when we ourselves, who have but a part of
tho mundano body in us, aro endued with f-oul. For how could a
part havo lifo and soul in v, tho whole being dead and inanimate?"
This ono soul of the world and whole mundane animal was by the
Stoics and others considered to be " the irpicros Oto?, the first and
highest God of all."?Cudworth, vol. ii., p. 176.
5. The titlo Lo is chiefly given to tho Shin, kW cfox'/1'- *n chaos,
e. g. :?
" It is Lo which provents tho twofold matter and the five elements

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 3S0 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

from losing their distinctness, although blended together (iu chaos)," ?ic.
?Choo-tsze^ Works, Le and K'e, sentence 9.
Heneo tho following distinction has been mado in the application
of the titles Le (Fate) and T'ac-kcih (The Great Extreme).
Leibnitz is of opinion that the Le of the Chinese is tho chaotic
soul of the world, and their T'ae-keih the soul of tho formed universo;
in fine, the Deity of the Stoics.?Enfield's Hist, of Philos, vol. ii.,
p. 577.
G. From the above statements wo percoivo that tho Chineso, in
common with all other Pagan nations, hold :?1. That thoro is ono
Eternal, Ungeiierated First Cause of all things. 2. That this First
Caus?is "Fate," "Providence," "Nature," "The Infinito," "Heaven/'
" Reason," " Incorporeal Reason;" an indivisible Unity, an Iminovc
nble Mover, Hidden, Incomprehensible, Omnipresent, the Hoot and
Author of all things, <?c. 3. That ho is tho Supremo Soul of tho
whole universe, which is by his presence constituted a living animal,
endowed with intellect and the power of motion. And 4. That matter
is eternally associated with him. This First Cause, the other Pagans
respectively designate Otos, Deus, ?S.o. <?c, and tho Chineso desguato
him Shin.

II. Ono of the most important doctrines of the Heathen world, and
one which is to be found in all Pagan systems, is that of tho endless
succession of similar worlds. It is only by the light of this doctrino
that we can got any very clear insight into the theology of Pagan
nations, and its importance in this respect is thus stated by Mr.
Fabcr :?
"The doctrine of a succession of similar worlds, more or less
systematically and explicitly maintained, may almost be considered as
the key to ancient mythology. As such therefore it merits a particular
examination. With it the theory of the metempsychosis is immediately
connected, forming indeed a constituent part of it," &c.?Orig. of Pag.
Idol. vol. i., j). 3.
1. This doctrin?is inculcated iu tho Yih-king in tho Vo diagram,
which is stated to represent "falling down," or "the soft (i. e. gross
matter) overcoming the Hard;"t. e. the inherent soul of the world
(sec III. 2), and thus all things return to primoval chaos. (Soo Yih
king, vol. ii,, ch. 1, p. 60.) In the Full diagram, however, " tho
Hard" regains the ascendancy and "returns." This wind or soul of
the world then proceeds to form a new universe or body for himself,
and heneo this diagram is said to " manifest the mind of Heaven and
Earth," or the world. (Seo Ibid. vol. vii., 9, 38).

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 381

To transcribe the statements of this doctrino by the various Chinese

philosophers would occupy too much space. I must therefore refer
tho reader to tho Sing-lc-ta-tseucn for further information on the
subject, and sh.'ill merely quote here the opinion of Choo-foo-tsze,
which is as follows :?
" Being asked, ' From the opening and spreading out (of the world
from chaos) to tho present time, is not 10,000 years; how was it
before that time?' Ho (Choo-tsyo) replied, beforo that there was
another (world) similar to the present ono. Being asked whether
Heaven and Earth aro capablo of being annihilated; he replied, no;
but it is my opinion that when men completely depart from correct
principles, then the whole will become chaos, and men and things will
ceaso to exist, and then there will be a new commencement.'*?
Choo-tszo's Works, T'heen and Te, sentenco 5.
These aro called tho "Great devolutions" of the world, and are
compared to a year; e. g. :?
" A day has a. day's revolution, a month has a month's revolution,
a year has a year's revolution ; Heaven and Earth's commencements
and terminations are the great Revolutions,** &c.
Shaou Pih-wan says, " Each complete Great Revolution resembles
a year.**?Sing-lc-ta-tseucn, ch. viii., p. 13.
Each destruction of the world and return to chaos, is accomplished
by a general deluge, e. g. : ?
" What Woo Fung says about a great termination (of all things)
in a general convulsion (of nature), the sea removing out of its place,
the hills sinking down, and the rivers overflowing ; men and things
utterly destroyed, and the ancient traces all effaced refers to tho
destruction of the world by Deluge. The shells of tho sea snail and
pearl oyster have boon seen on high hills and on stones; these stones
formed (portions of) the soil of tho former world/' &c.?Choo-tsze's
T'heen and Te, sentence G.
It is when all things have been thus destroyed and when the time
arrives for the formation of a now world that tho inherent "mind'
or soul "of Heaven and Earth " comes forth, as stated in the Yih-king
to accomplish tho task; e. g. :?
" When the myriad of things have been generated and aro
flourishing, Heaven and Earth do not exert their mind; but, when all
things havo decayed, and require to be again generated, then Heaven
and Earth exert their mind.'?Ibid, sentence 23.
Thus when one Body or World is destroyed by a Deluge, mind
arouses from a state of inactivity and comes forth to generate a new
one for himself.

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 382 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

Although the Chineso philosophers differ as to the age of tho

present world, yet they all agree as to the faot of a succession[of
worlds, as an examination of tho Chinese work above mentioned will
abundantly show. The Deluge, being such a signal display of divine
vengeance, it is not to ho wondered at that it should have mado a deep
and lasting impression upon the minds of succeeding generations ; nor
can we feel much surprise that the Pug.m world should thus multiply
this ono fearful judgmont into an endless repetition of tho samo
phenomenon. The order of things, according to this doctrine, is as
follows: the world is first formed from Chaos, and tho First Man is
born from this ovum mundi. This and some few succeeding generations
form the golden ago of the world when universal righteousness and
happiness prevail. After this, however, the human raco becomes
degenerate, and wickednoss prevails; and when this state of things
reaches its climax, then the whole world is destroyed by a Deluge,
and returns to chaos. It is form alone, however, which is thus
destroyed, the matter (K'e) of which tho universe and its several parts
are formed being eternal (I. 2). Hence, after a certain period has
elapsed, tho world again springs forth from chaos, tho first man
reappears, and a now world similar to the former one, and peopled by
the samo inhabitants, is called into being. Tho minuto similarity
of these worlds may be gathered from the following incident. Con
versing one day with an intelligent Confucianist on this subject, ho
remarked, " We are now seated at this table, conversing about this
pussngo (in the classics) ; and, after this world has returned to Chaos,
when the corresponding period to tho present, shall arrive in tho
succeeding world, you and I shall again bo seated at this table, con
versing about this same passage"
It is evident that these endless appearances of tho First Man
constitute him an eternal Roing ; thus adorning a more mortal with
one of the principal attributes of Deity. In fact, this Man, as wo shall
see presently, is the Mind mentioned iu tho Yih-king, who is deifiod
and regarded as the Creator and Governor of tho universe.
2. The eternal K'e which, by constantly revolving, ultimately
arranges itself, from its chaotic state into tho formed universo, is, as
we have seen, constituted a rational Being or animal by tho inherent
Divino "Reason" or supremo soul of tho universe. (Seo i. 4, k.)
The Chinese philosophers represent this animated universe by a

Globe, or Circle, or Egg, tkusf J ,and it is supposed to bo infinite

in extent, and eternal in duration, tho form only being subject to
change. This circlo of tho universo is designated by various names

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY, 383
and titles, most of which are derived from the inherent " Reason,"
e. g. :?
a. The K'e is the " Great Extreme:*
u The Great Extreme is one K'e, which divided," &c?-Choo-tsze's
Works, T'ae-keih, sentence 3.
This title (liko most others) is given to this animated K'e, in
consequence of the melior natura inherent in it; e. g. :?
" God (Shin) is Unity, ho rides upon the K'e," &c.?Sing-le, &c,
ch. xi. 33.
" Because of its (i. e. the K'e's) one God (Shin) it is designated
the Great Extreme,** &c.?Yih-king, vol. ii., 14, 25, Com.
Heneo, to avoid confusion, the Chincso philosophers generally
confino tho titlo " Great Extreme," when treating of Cosmogony, to
the K'e, and designate the inherent Reason or God "Tho Infinite,"
expressing tho inseparability of the two by the conjunction "and,"
thus, " Infinito and Great Extreme."?Compare Choo-tsye's Works,
Tao keilt, sentence 30, with Sing le, &c., vol. i., 12.
6. The K'e is " Heaven " or " Shang-te!'
The inherent Divine Reason takes no part in the generation of tho
world, further than endowing the K'e or Great Extreme with the
necessary powers to generate it from his own substance. It is this
animated K'e therefore, which, depending upou tho inherent Lo,
generates all things ; e. g. :?
" Lo existing then K'e exists, flows forth and pervades, generates
and nourishes" &c.?Choo-tsye's Works, Le and K'e, sentence 12.
" The Great Extreme is one Ke, which, by degrees, divided and
became two K'es.it also divided and became five K'es (t. e. fivo
elements); it scattered and became all things!*?Ibid. T'ae-keih,
sentence 3.
Hence, this Great Extreme is designated " Heaven " and
"Shang-to."
" Heaven is the accumulated ICe!'?Ibid. T'heen and Te,seutence 39.
"When Heaven produces and completes tho myriad of things, and
rules and governs them, the titlo given to that Being is Tc," t. e.
Shang-tc.?Lcggo's "Notions of tho Chinese," Sec. p. 12.
"On Choo Ho's principles T'ae-keih (The Great Extreme) and
Shang-te are the same!*?Ibid. p. 63, note.
c. The K'e is the " Supreme One!*
The Yih-king contains the Chincso Cosmogony in numbers, and
when tho K'e or Shang-to is in his Chaotic or undivided state, the
rudiments of all things being blended into one undiv:ded mass, he is
designated "Ono" (not person but unit); aud, as all tho other

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384 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

numbers, or portions of tho universo aro generated from his substanco,

ho is designated the "Supreme Unit," or "One;" e. g. :?
" The Supreme Ono is tho original K'e of Chaos, before the separa
tion of Heaven and Earth. He/ore dividing, ho is designated One??
Le-kc, vol. xviii.; Lo Yun, iv., p. 8.
" The Great Extremo is the ono Chaotic K'e, before Heaven and
Earth divided. This is tho ' Groat Commencement ' and tho ' Supreme
One' "?Chow Yih Low, vol. iv., 7, 39.
Tho manner iu which tho K'o or Supremo Unit, or Shang-to,
generates all things from his own substanco, is thus describod iu tho
classics :?
" Thus it is that ceremonies date their origiu from tho Supremo
One; he dividing, constituted Heaven and Earth; revolving, ho
produced Light and Darkness; changing, he brought about the four
seasons ; and arranging, ho appointed the Kwei-shins," i. e. Gods and
Demons.? Mcdhurst's " Theology of the Chinese," p. 82.
Thus we have in this origin of all things or animated monad, tho
same distinction as that mado by Pythagoras between Unity and One.
The former is tho God Kar e?ox?i's and is indivisible (i. 4, c.); tho
latter is the material divisible Demiurge (or K'o) who generates all
things from himself by his constant gyrations, and who is tho Father
of Gods, Demons, and Men (III. 6).
</. Tho K'o is Mind (Sin).
"If there were no K'e, then Lo would not havo anything to rest
upon."?Choo-tszo's Works, Lo and K'o, sentence 5.
" If there wero no Mind, thoh Lo would not havo anything to rest
upon."?Ibid. ch. xliv. 2.
Here tho " K'o " of tho first sentence is designated Mind in tho
second. Again,
"Mind is tho Great Extreme."?Ibid. T'ae-keih, sentonco 27.
e. The K'o is represented by an Egg; e. g.?
"The Great Extreme?the K'o-embracing three is ono. Tho
San-Woo-leih-ke says that previous to (tho sojmration of) Heaven and
Earth, Chaos was liko on eggy turbid and watery, and about to burst."
?Wan-hnou-tscuen-shoo, p. 1.
And as tho K'e, or ovum mundi, is a rational animal, it bears tho
same relation to the fully formed world which the Fo)tus does to tho
full-grown being : ?
" Refore tho K'e divided, his form was a f tus, like an egg? &c.?
Imperial Thesaurus.
This " Heaven," or " Shang-te," when he is completed and becomes
the formed world, is still represented by a Circlo or Egg ; e. g. :?

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 385

" Heaven's (t. e. the World or Shangte's) form is like a bird's egg ;
Earth rests in his midst, and Heaven upholds her outside, as the shell
does the yolk, the whole being round like a bullet; and hence tho
phruso'Circumference of Heaven' means that his form is a complete
circle. Both portions are Heaven (viz.) the concave half above the
Earth, and tho half below the Earth," i. e. Tartarus.?Sing-le, &c,
vol. xii. 22.
Thus tho Sacred Mundane Circle is used to represent both tho
Chaotic and the arranged world. The former is tho lesser circle, and
tho latter is tho greater.
3. The K'e or Universe is both Infinite and Eternal; e. g. :?
"The Great Extremo is a great thing; the four quarters, Zenith
and Nadir, aro called Ytt. (Duration) from ancient to modern times
is called Tsow. Nothing is so great as Yu ; so great is it that the
four quarters go into infinity. Nothing is so great as Tsow; from tho
most ancient times to tho present, the c.ming and going of ages is
unceasing (i. e. tho World is Infinite and Eternal). Every one should
be acquainted with this. Being asked who asserts this, he (Choo-tszo)
replied, the ancients assert it," &e.?Choo-tsze's Works, T'ae-keih,
sentence 25.
This animated World or Shang-to is the greatest Numen worshipped
in China.
"The Great Extremo is tho most extreme point, beyond which we
cannot go; Most High, most Mysterious, most Pure, most Divine,
surpassing everything," Ac.?Ibid, sentence 30.
4. The eternal K'e or Shang-to is twofold, and like man, consists
of subtle and gross K'e, the former the Soul, and the latter the Body.
" At the commencement of Heaven and Earth, before Chaos was
divided, I consider that there were only two things, Water and Fire.
The sediment of tho Water formed the Earth."?Ibid. T'heen and To,
sentence 4.
This ethereal Firo is the Active Principle or Soul of tho K'e, and
it is designated Yang, Light; tho Water, which is not the element,
but a turbid, muddy mass, from which the Earth is eventually formed,
is the Passivo Principle, and is designated Yin, Darkness. It is on
the former or Active Principle that the inherent Divine Reason confers
intellect and the power of motion ; tho latter merely forms the ethereal
Body or Vehicle of the Intellectual Fire.
" Intellect, perception, and motion, belong to the Light, bodily
substance to the Darkness!'?Ibid. ch. Ii., 10.
Hence it is front this Intellectual Fire that tho whole K'e or
Uuiverse is styled Mind or Shang-te; for,

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 386 CHINESE THEOLOGY,

"Mind is the brilliant portion of tho K'e."?Ibid. ch. xliv., 2.

Thus the Origin of all things, or animated Chaos, consists of threo
hypostascs; viz.: 1. Tho Eternal, Ungcnoratcd "Nature" or God
(I. iv. c.). 2. Mind or tho Soul of the World?tho subtle Ko; and
3. The grosser K'e, his ethereal Body : and tho relation between these
three is stated as follows :?
" Mind compared with Naturo is more material; compared with
the K'o (i. e. tho grosser K'o or Body) ho is certainly more spiritual?
Ibid. p. 4.
Hence Chaos consists of a rational Soid, or Intollectual Mind
inherent in Matter.
a. It is the material Principle, or turbid muddy mass, which the
Chinese philosophers chiefly mean by the term " Chaos," e. g. :?
" That which forms the Chaos of Heaven and Earth is the Water?
Sing-le, ?fcc. xxvi., p. 19.
5 Shang-te or Mind?tho Light?is the firstborn from Chaos.
" Before Chaos was divided, tho twofold K'o was confused and
dark uutil it divided, and then the centre formed a wide and mo<t
brilliant opening, and the ' Two E* (Light and Darkness) were
established."?Choo tsze's Works, T'heen and To, sentence 6.
Thus Mind, or Shang-te, in separating himself from Chaos or
Matter, generates Yin and Yang, or Darkness and Light, like
the Chaldean Bel, by cutting himself in two; heneo ho is addressed
thus,
" O Te (Shang-te) when thou hadst separated tho Yin and Yang?
&c.?Legge'8 " Notions," ?fee. p. 28.
Thus, also, although Shang-te is the Son of tho Earth, or Matter,
being the first generated God, yet as ho emerges from Chaos by his
own power, and then forms matter into tho Earth, ho is also said to
generate the Earth, and ho is therefore her Fathn\ Earth afterwards
becomes his Wife. In all this wo havo the foundation on which the
poets built the various amours of Jupiter. The Rainbow is said by
the Chinese to bo tho offspring of an adulterous connection botweon
Heaven or S hang te and Earth.
6. Shang-te, or tho Light, is also designated " Day,'' and the
Darkness in Matter is designated "Night."
"Day and Night revolve without ceasing, and are the two
principles, Light and Darkness,'1 &c.?Choo-tszc's Works, T'heen and
Te, sentence 26.
Hence, in Chineso cosmogony, darkness broods over chaos until
the birth of light, and thus night is prior to day.
7. Mind or Shang-te?the Subtle Ether?is the demiurgic frnmer

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 387
of the world ; and the Divino Reason, or God, uniting with him,
constitutes him tho Ruler and Governor of tho world ; e. g. :?
" K'e accumulated forms body, Le unites with it, and then it has
tho power of intellect and perception ; just as when oil is poured upon
fire there is much flame. That which causes it to have perception is
the Le of (t. e., inherent in) mind ; that which has perception is tho
soul of the K'e,?i. e., mind himself, or the subtle K'e.?Choo-tsze's
Works, ch. xlix., 5.
"Being asked, with regard to tho mind and Le of heaven and
earth, whether Lo is Providence and mind tho Ruling Power
(Shang-te), ho (Choo-tszo) replied, mind certainly is the Ruling
Power, but that which constitutes him tho Ruling Power is Le ; not
that, separated from mind, there is a distinct thing, viz. Le, or that,
separated from Lo, there is a distinct thing, viz. mind (i. e. these are
different though not separate things, being eternally united). Being
further asked whether mind is the same as the Ruler, he replied, man
is the samo as Heaven (i. e. the world), and mind is the same as the
Ruler (Shang-te)."?Ibid. T'heen and To, sentence 20.
As it is the inherent reason which makes Shange to or the Subtle
Ether to bo a mind or rational soul, it follows that all Shang-te's acts
in generating and governing the world are in reality the acts of tho
Supreme God or Le ; e.g. :?
" Shang-to is Le acting as Lord."?Ibid, sentence 27.
a. From the above s:atemcnts it appears that tho titlo " Heaven,"
given to the animated K'e, has a threefold application,?viz. 1, to the
God Kin c?o^v, or Le ; 2, to the Ruling Power, or Shang-te?tho
subtle K'e; and 3, to the material Heaven or Universe?the gross K'e
?which is Shang-te's body. These are the only applications of this
term to bo met with in the Chinese Classics; e.g. :?
"Being asked tho meaning of the word " Heaven" in the Classics,
he (Choo-tszo) replied, * People must examine and distinguish for
themselves ; in some places the azure firmament is meant, in some the
Ruling Power (Shang-to or mind), and in some Le is alluded to"?
Ibid, sentence 20.
b. Hence Shang-te, or mind complete, is the animated material
Heaven, and there is no such thing to bo found in tho Chinese Classics
as a personal God distinct from matter ; e.g. : ?
" The Firmament is Heaven. It is this Heaven which revolves and
pervades (all things) without cessation. Now, to assert that Heaven
\u\9 a pcrso7i(Jiu) up there, who records and judges sin and wickedness, is
certainly incorrect ; to assert that there is nothing whatever which governs
it, is also incorrect. People should consider this point."?Ibid. sen. 28.

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388 CHINESE THEOLOGY;

Thus a Lord and Governor of Heaven is admitted, whilo a personal

one is denied ; Shang-to or mind being tho inheront soul of heaven or
the universe, who governs this his body, just as tho soul iu man
governs his body ; e.g. :?
" Tho substance or body is called heaven, and the Lord and
Governor thereof is called Te"?i. e. Shang-te.
" Shang-te is tho Lord aud Governor of Heaven, as the human
mind is the lord and governor of the body"?Modhurst's " Inquiry,"
<fcc, p. 28.
" Shang-te is tho Ruler of Heaven, just as tho mind is tho rulor of
the body."?Leggo's "Notions," &c, p. 52.
c. Although, however, the animated Heaven or World is Shang-to
complete (body and soul), yet as the soul constitutes tho being himself,
it is the subtle invisible ether or "mind" which is chiefly meant by
the designation " Heaven" or "Shang-to" (see above, ? 4) ; e.g. :?
" Heaven and Te (Shang-te) indicate one Being. The stars and
constellations are not Heaven. Heaven must by no means be sought
for in what is visible. In what does he, who seeks for Heaven in
natural appearances, differ from a person who knows that a man has
a body, colour, aud form, but docs not rccogniso the honourable,
sovereign mind ?" ? Ibid. p. 37.
6. It is from this animated Heaven or Shang-to that tho wholo
mundane circle or world which ho contains within himself is desig
nated " Heaven ;" e. g. :?
" Earth has hollow places; Heaven surrounds her on all sides, and
has no hollow place. That which presses in and fills up all things is
Heaven. The four quarters of Earth incline downwards, and rest
upon Heaven ; Heaven embraces Earth, and his K'o penetrates every
place, so that the whole mass is Heaven??Chung Yung Pun-e-hwao
tseueii, ch. i, p. 26.
" Heaven and Earth aro in reality but ono thing ; Earth is also
Heaven?? Works of the Two Chhigs, Ac., vol. i., 30, 6.
Heneo the World or Shang-to is indifferently styled " Heaven", or
" Heaven and Earth ;" and to worship this animated sacred circle is
to worship Shang-to ; e. g. :?
" Confucius said. ... By sacrifices to Heaven and Earth they served
Shang-te."?Chung Yung, sec. 19.
And this is tho Being who is said in the Classics to "forgive" or
" uot forgive" sins ; ? g. : ?
" The phrase ' Heaven and Earth will not forgive/ means that all
things are devoted to destruction,"?i. t. are about to rotum to chaos.
?Choo-tszo's Works, T'heen and Te, sentence 5*

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 389

a. Thus Heaven and Earth, which arc regarded as male and female
(III. 5), ultimately resolve themselves into one Being, who partakes of
both sexes, and is designated Heaven or Shang-te, and who contains
and generates all things within himself :
" The myriad of things are included in Heaven and Earth; Heaven
and Earth are included in Heaven."?Chung Yung, Pun-e, &c,
ch. i., 26.
7. In this K'e, therefore, we have a compound Being, viz. the
animated World, in whom Heaven or mind?the subtle K'e?is the
Soul, and tho grosser K'e, or Matter, which ultimately becomes the
Earth, is tho Body. Hence we meet with such statements as the
following :,?
" Earth is Matter, Heaven is God (Shin)."?Chang-tsze, Ching
mung, i., 17.
" Heaven is 6'o?? (Shin), Earth is Body."?Pit tszc, ch. xlvii., 2.
This mind or Shang-to pervades every portion of his body, tho
world, and is the principle of lifo in all creation. The soul in man is
a portion of this subtle Ether or Soul of tho World, and bis body is
derived from Earth or Shang-te's body; e.g. :?
" Every ether (i. e. soul) in existence, is it not from Heaven ? every
body in existence, is it not from Earth ?"?Sing-lc, Ac, ch. xxvi., 9.
Hence, in the formation of man, Heaven or Shang-te confers the
soul, and Earth tho body : so that man is a microcosm, or lesser
Shang-te (sec iv).
8. This animated K'e, or Shang-te, triplicates his substance at the
commencement of each universe; e.g. : ?
"Thatwhich is infinitely great is called 'supreme/and that which
is undivided is called ' one' ; this is the principle of the Great
Extreme, which, including three, consists of one.?Mcdhurst's " Theo
logy/' Ac, p. 82.
" Tho Great Extreme?tho K'e?embracing three, is one.**?Wan
liaou-tscnen-shoo, p. 1.
" The " thrco" hero spoken of are " Heaven, Earth, and Man,"
which are called tho " San-tsac," or " the three Powers" of nature;
and this triplication of the universe is effected by the power of tho
inhcront mind or soul, hence it is said,?
" When Te (Shang-te), the Lord, bad so decreed, ho called into
existence heaven, earth, and man," Ac., literally, " tlte linee Powers.**
?Legge's " Notions," &c., p. 29 (see Chinese).
9. This animated K'e, or Shang-te, is also divided in the Chincso
Classics into eight material forms; and this Ogdoad, we learn from tho
Yih-king, vol. xii., 17, 18, consists of Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Wind,
vol. xvi. 2 D

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390 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

Water, Fire, Mountains, aud Dew. These are the "eight Diagrams"
of the Yih-king.
Thus we havo in the Chinese system also tho Triad and the
Ogdoad, which are found in every other Pagan system. That theso
arbitrary numbers are not borrowed from any other system is plain
from the fact of their differing in details from the others; and thus wo
have plain proof that tho founders of the Chinese empire derived their
system from the one sourco common to all beforo tho Dispersion, and
carried it with thorn from thp Plain of Shinar to China.
In tho " eight Diagrams" Hoavcn and Earth are regardod as tho
great Father and Mother, and tho remaining six aro styled " tho Six
Children," viz. three males and three females. The three males, or
sons, arc triplications of Heaven, or Shang-te ; and the thrco females,
who an? united to them in marriage, aro three daughters, triplications
of Earth, or the Great Mother (see Yih-king, vol. xii., 17, 18V Theso
arc the chief gods of the Classics. Thus tho thrco sons (or gods)
resolve themselves into Shang-to, the Great Father, and tho three
females (or goddesses) into Earth, his wife ; and Shinig-te and his
wife are blended into ono compound hermaphroditic character, viz.
Heaven, or the hermaphroditic Shang-to (soo above, ? 6, a), e.g. :?
"With regard to the whole (Heaven or Universo) then Earth is
this one Heaven, and the six children are also this one Heaven."?
Yih-king, vol. xiii., 19, 13 Com.
Thus the Triplication and tho Ogdoad aro alike a delusion, both
resolving themselves into Shang-te himself (see vii. 3).

III. We now proceed to form the complete universe, or Shang-te,

from the,animated K'o. We have already seen that this K'o is two
fold, aiul that it consists of nn ethereal Firo or Light, which is tho
active and intellectual Principle, and grosser matter, which is de
signated Darkness, and which forms tho ethereal Body, or vehicle of
the Light or mind.
1. The Light, which is the Good Principle, is designated "God,"
and tho Darkness, or Evil and Material Principio, is designated
" Demon ;" e. g. :?
if Demon and God (Shin) aro tho K'o."?Choo- tszo's Works,
chap. Ii., 3.
" Tho Darkness is Demon, tho Light is God."?Ibid. p. 6.
" The Light is Good, the Darkness is Evil??Ibid. Yin aud Yang,
sentence 23.
Both these Principles aro by somo of tho Chinese philosophers
designated "God" (see Hwae Nan-tsze's Cosmogony, p. 1, <fcc.) ; but

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 CHINESIC THEOLOGY. 391

tho greater part designate tho Good Principle alono " God," and the
Evil Principio "Demon."
2. Tho Light, or Good Principle, is in tho Yih-king designated
"Keen," becaueo its naturo is "Hard;" and the inferior Principle is
designated " Kwau," because it is " Soft" and yielding These two
Principles genorato the' material world, of which they form the twofold
Soul or mind ; e.g. : ~
" Whon they assume form, Keen (the rational portion, or Y'*''Xv)
becomes Hcavon, and Kwi?n (the sentiont portion or anima) becomes
Earth."?Ibid. chap, xxviii, 1.
Boing thus endowed with Body, tho twofold soul is now regarded
as immaterial when compared with it (see also IL, 4) ; e.g. :?
" Heaven and Earth are Corporeal, K?on-Kw?n is Incorporeal;
Heaven and Earth form tbe body of Kccn-Kwan, Keen-Kwan is tho
essence of Heaven and Earth."--Ibid. chap, xlix., 2G.
This K?en-Kwnn, or twofold soul of Heaven and Earth, as we have
already seen (IL, 2. d.) is mind, or Shang-te ; e. g. : ?
" K?en-Kwan is tho Ruler (Shang-to) who governs all things."?
Yil-king, vol. x., 13, 21.
Thus Shang-te's body is tho wholo world, and his soul is the
twofold soul of the world.
a. Heneo Shang-to (like Jupiter) is either Demon (Kwei) or God
(Shin) ; that is, ho is tho chief Demon-God, or twofold soul of the
world. Hero we also perceive tho vast difference which exists
between "Shin" and "Kwei shin" in the Chinese Classics; tho
former boing tho Divine Reason, or soul of Shang-to, to whom tho
latter owes all his powers as well as his existence, and " Kwei-Shin"
or " Demon-God" being Shang-to himself, or mind, the twofold soul
of the world.
3. This animated Heaven is designated "God," and the animated
Earth is designated "Demon ;" e.g. :?
" Heaven belongs to tho Yang, and is God (Shin); Earth belongs
to the Yin, and is Demon."?Sing-lo, &c., chap, xxviii., 5.
And these are so designated from their souls ; e.g. : ?
" The soul of tho Yang (llcaveu) is God (Shin), and the soul of
tho Yin (Earth) is Demon."?Choo-tsze's Works, chap. Ii., G.
Of these two Beings, however, as we havo already seen, the
animated Heaven or completed Keen, the rational soul of the world,
from whom the whole circlo or universe is called Heaven, is the most
honourable ; e.g. :?
" Keen is the commencement of all things, hence he is designated
"Heaven** and "Light," and "Father*' and " Prince."?Yih king,
vol. ii., ch. 1, page t. Com 2 D 2

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392 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

a. Thus the completion of the rational soul of tho world (Keen, or

Shang-to proper), i. e. tho endowing him with a body, is tho 6ame
thing as tho generation of Heaven ; and tho completion of the Demon,
or anima mundi (Kw?n), by the generation of a grosser body, is the
same as the generation of Earth ; all this being effected by tho constant
revolutions of the K'e or Great Extreme, which thus divides into Yiu
(animated Earth) and Yang (animated Heaven) ; e. g. :?
" Ho (i. e. Choo He) also said, tho expressions, ' The producing of
Heaven, tho producing of Earth, the completing tho Demon, tho
completing tho To (Shang-te),' mean the saino as this, 'The Great
Extremo moving and resting produced the Yin and Yang.* "?Lcggo's
" Notions," &c, p. 63, noto.
4. Tho two principles of Light and Darkness, which form the
twofold mind or soul of tho material world, and constitute Heaven
and Earth living Beings, are thus described by Choo-tszo :?
" That which fills up tho midst of (i. e. informs) Heaven and Earth,
so t\at these can make and transform (all things), is tho twofold K'e,
Yin and Yang, which cause termination, commencement, increaso, and
declino. Tho Yang (Light) is generated at tho north, spreads out to
the cast, and fills up to tho south. Tho Yin (Darkness) commences ut
the south, fills up to tho west, and terminates at tho north. Honco
the Yang always dwells upon the left (i. e. the east), and to generato,
nourish, cause to grow, and to cherish, is its province. Its species aro
Hard, Bright, Just, and Righteous, and the path of OYory good man
belongs to it. The Yin always dwells upon the right (i. e. the West),
and to hurt, wound, injure, aud destroy is its occupation. Its species
arc Soft, Dark, Partial, and Selfish, and the path of every mean man
belongs to it," &c.?Choo-tszo's Works, Yin and Yang, sentence 25.
The Light, or Intellectual and Good Principle, is the rational
portion of mind, or y/i'xy ko.t/io.', and is tho most subtlo ether
inherent in the material heaven. The Darkness, or Material and Evil
Principle is the anima mundi inherent in matter or tho earth, on which
it bestows life
The usual way of depicting this twofold Principle of all things on
walls and houses in China is thus :?
The Chineso do not say, "north, south,
cast, west," as wo do, but generally, "south,
north, west, east." In this diagram tho spec
tator is supposed to stand inside tho sphore,
with his face to the north and his back to
tho south ; then tho cast, tho Empiro of Light,
will be on tho left hand, and tho west, tho

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 393

Empire of Darkness, on the right. The Chinese do not mark tho

cardinal points in these diagrams; they are merely added hero for the
convenience of the reader.
This doctrine of an animated universo is held by all classes in
China. The phraso " Weh-Tceu-Weh-Te" (Living Heaven aud
Earth), is constantly heard in Shanghae from men, women, and
childron ; and tho constant argument brought in favour of this idea is,
" If Heaven were not alive how could ho revolve? If Earth were not
alive how could sho generate things?"
As I was crossing a ferry one day, accompanied by a large number
of passengers, I asked my usual question on such occasions, viz. : --
"Can any ono present read." "Why?" said ono. " Because," said
another, " ho wishes to givo us books." " To teach us to worship
Heaven and Earth " (i. e. Shang-to) said a third. " My books," ?
replied, " do not teach men to worship Heaven and Earth." " But'
don't you know that Heaven and Earth are alive?" asked another,
repeating sovcral times the phrase " W ?h-T'?en, Wdh-Te,"' as proof of
the accuracy of his statement. I answered, that my doctrino w?s
" Inanimate Heaven and Earth," and that I worshipped the Creedor
of both. Upon this several shouted out, " Well T'een-Weh-Te !
Woli-T'?en-W?h-Te!" calling to one's mind the idolatrous cry, " Great
is Diana of the Ephesians!'' I begged of my fellow-passengers to
believe in tho only God, Jehovah, and not in tho animated Heaven.
" If," 1 added, "Heaven be alive, how comes it to pass that he ?allows
astronomers to calculato his movements?" " Tush !" exclaimed one,
pointing to the sky, "just look at him how great he is I Nothing can
bo greater than Heaven and Earth!"
As the Soul which animates tho Earth is designated " Demon," all
other Douions aro supposed to be generated by her, and arc compre
hended in her substanco. Hence the Chinese architect, who undcitook
to build my house at Shang-hae, refused to make the piles on which it
stands six feet in length, lest in driving such long stakes he might
wound tho heads of somo of the D?nions, and so bring down calamities
upon himself !
5. This complete animated World or Heaven and Earth, is regarded
ns being both Malo and Female; and the animated Heaven or Mind
now bocomes the Male or Husband, who is styled in the classics
"Imperial Heaven," while the animated Earth is regarded as tho
Female, and is styled " Empress Earth." These "two K'o" are tho
Chinese Great Father and Mother of all things; e. g. :?
"Keen is Heaven, and hence ho is styled ' Father ? Kwan is

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 394 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

Earth, aud hence she is styled ( Mother,* ** <&c.?Yih-king, ch. xvii.,

p. 18.
"Heaven and Earth aro the Father and Motlvor of all things."?.
Ibid. vol. ?v., ch. iv., p. G.
" If Heaven and Earth did not mingle togother, tho myriad of
things could not exist!*
" Heaven and Earth generate all things, and throughout all ages
cannot bo soparated from the myriad of things."?Choo-tsze's Works,
T'heen and Te, sentenco 7.
" The officers slowly mado oboisanco throe times and replied, you
stand upon Empress Earth, and you wear as a cap (overhead) Imporial
Heaven. Imperial Heaven and Empress Earth certainly hear what
you say," &c.?Officers of tho Tsaou and Tsin Countries, Seo Chun
Tscw of Coufucius.
In the Sho-king, book v., section 3, " Where one sago is said to
influence Imperial Heaven, and another to influonce Shang-to, a com
montator says that imperial Heaven' and 'Shang-te/ both refer to
Heaven, and the difleronco is only in the variation of the expression,"
&c.?Modhurst's ?Inquiry," &c, p. 23.
" Empress Earth .... is associated in the Chinese mind with
Imperial Heaven, horo called High Heaven, iu tho management of
human affairs," <fcc?Mcdhurst's " Theology," &o , p. 49.
Thus tho whole World, or " Hcavon," or Shang-to oomploto, Is a
groat Hermaphroditic Deity, who is at oneo the Fatfior and tho Mother
of all things, and who generates all things withiu himself, from his owu
"capacious womb"?tho Earth. Thus when tho world or Shang-to is
regarded as " one K'e," he forms a complete Boing or animal, in which
Mind or Heaven is the Soul, and Matter or Earth is tho Body (II. 7).
Regarded as "two K'e," Mind or "Imporial Heaven" is tho Malo or
Husband, and Matter or "Empress Earth" is the Fomalo or Wifo;
and these two Beings, united in ono universe, form tho great Her
maphroditic Heaven or Shang-to, who gonorates all things from and
within himself i
" If any ono doubts whether Empress Earth is included, I should
then say that Empress Earth was evidently included in tho designation
Shang-te."?Shoo-king, Canon of Shun. Com.
G. The First Man, tho third great Power of naturo, is tho son of
these two Beings, viz, Heaven or Shang-te, and his wife Empress
Earth ; e. g. :?
"(Choo-tszo) being asked how tho First Man was generated,
replied that ho was formed from tho K'e; tho finer particles of tho

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 395

Yin (animated Earth) and Yaug (animated Heaven) and the fivo
olemonts combined and completed his form," &c?Choo-tsze's Works,
T'heen and Te, sentence 5.
"Chaos is a bubbling, turbid water, which inclosed and mingled
with the dual powers (i. e. Heaven and Earth) like a chick in ovo, but
when their offspring Pwanku appeared, their distinctiveness and
operations wero apparent."?Williams' " Middle Kingdom, vol. ii.,
p. 19G.
" Tho K'e of Heaven and Earth revolves without ceasing, constantly
generating both men and things; it's midst contains coarse and fino
(K'e) so that men are depraved and upright."?Choo-tsze's Works,
T'heen and To, sentenco 2G.
Thus tho triplication of tho K'e or Great Extreme is Shang-te or
Heaven, tho Father; Empress Earth, his wife; and tho First Man,
their son ; and theso "three" Minds, or Worlds, are in reality but
"ono" universe or Groat Extreme, or Shang-te; and hence Shang-to
is always worshipped in tho stato religion under his triplication
" Hoavcn, Earth and Man."
7. This Great Father and Mother aro astronomically tho Sun and
Moon, by whom tho Stars aro generated ; e, g. :?
Tho Yin and Yang " placed in opposition aro Heaven and Earth,
Sun and Moon,*' Ac.?Yih-king, vol. x., 13, 21, Com.
" By the seminal influence of tho Sun and Moon, the Stars wero
produced."?Chinese Ropos, vol. iii., p. 55.
" Tho Sun and Moon aro regarded as the foci of the dual povjnrs,
the male and female principles, and the former as the lord of life, like
a great princo nourishes and bestows his favours, while the moon his
queen is matched to him." ? Williams's "Middle Kingd." vol. ii,
p. 151.
Hence Shang-to or the Sun is thus addressed in the Book of Odes.
" How majestic is Shang-te, looking down on this lower world,
how gloriously does he shine/" &c.? Medhurst's " Inquiry," &c., p. 39.
Hence also the Sun is supposed to bo animated by the Soul of
" Heaven" or Shang-te, which was translated to it; e. g.\ ?
" Tho Shin (tfco^>//?>x?/) of Heaven (the Universe) resides in the
Sun,*' &c?Sing-lc, Ac., 12, 30.
The Yin and Yang aro always depicted thus on guard-houses iu

China ^^Py, which represents the great Father Shang-te or the Sun
oscuping iu the Lunar boat from the flood. -See Faber's Orig. of Idol.
8. Shang-to or Heaven, and his wife Earth, being the patrons of
generation, are invoked at marriages : e. g. :?

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 396 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

" The first copy (of the marriage contract) wo shall tako aud burn
before Heaven and Earth? &c.
"(Tho contract) being solemnly sworn to, thoy knelt in humble
worship before Heaven and Earth."?Wang Keaou Lwan, &c.
These two Beings aro represented iu Choo-tszo's T'heen and Te,
sentence 37, by two symbols, which cannot be mistaken; tho passage
is unfit for translation.
9. Tho an i mated "Heaven" or Shang-to surrounds tho Earth or
World and preserves it in existence by his constant gyrations; e.g. :?
"Heaven revolving without cessation, Day and Night revolve,
aud Earth is supported in tho centre. If Hoavon should cease for an
instant, Earth must then sink down; but Hoavon rovolves quickly, and
therefore much sediment is condensed iu his midst. Earth is tho
sediment of the K'e, therefore wo say, the subtle and clear (K'o)
became Heaven, the heavy and gross (K'o) became Earth."?Choo-tszo's
Works, T'heen and Te, sentence 2.
10. Mind proper, or tho yj'vx? Koa^ior, tho subtle ethereal Fire, is
placed at the outer circle of this "Heaven" or completo Shang to,
who consists of nine spheres; c. g.:?
" Persons constantly assert that Heaven has nine stories, and divido
these into signs; this is incorrect, he has merely nine spheres, but tho
lower portion of the K'e is comparatively gross and dark, above at tlie
highest point, it is most clear and bright??Choo-tzso's Works, T'h?on
and Tc, sentence 3.
Hence this animated tl Heaven" or Shang-to, tho Husband of tho
world, is thus spoken of in the classics:?
" Hcavcu is widdy extended over all, without any privato feeling,
forgetting the difference between self and others (in making any
decision) his justice and equity pcrvado to tho utmost distance, in
everything judging and discriminating accurately, thorcforo Heaven
is called Tc," i. e. Shang-to.?Medhurst's "Inquiry," Sec, p. 6.
" In the collection of Imperial Odes, 9th section, 6th pago, tho
writer says, 'We reverence Shang-to, because he widely overspreads
all regions.1 "?Ibid. p. 93.
" The vast and sublime Shang-to is tho governor among tho
nations. "?Ibid.
Wishing to ascertain accurately the views of the mass of tho
people at Shang-hae on this point, I set out, on ono occasion in
particular, to visit the principal temples in the city and to make
certain inquiries of all those whom I might happen to meet. To
relate all the incidents of this day is unnecessary; I shall merely
mention one and request the reader ab uno discere omnes.

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 397
On going into the chief temple, I entered into conversation with a
man who was standing near tho idol, smoking his pipe. 4< Whom do
you worship?" I asked. "I worship Heaven just as you foreigners
do," ho replied. "Who is the Heaven you worship?" "Why,
Shang-te, of course," said he. "Can you see Shapg-to or not?" I
inquired. " Why," replied he, looking at me with surprise at my
ignoranco, and leading mo to the door while ho pointed up to the sky,
" thcro ho is I" "What," said I, do you mean that blue sky up
there?" "Of course," said he, "that is Shang-to, the same as your
Jesus /"
I havo never yet asked the above questions without receiving
precisely tlie same answers, for all classes of Confucianists iu China
consider Shang-to to be tho animated material Heaven.
11. This animated " Heaven," or "Shang-to," is the only Being
who has ever received supremo worship in China, so far as we can
learn; for the account given of the earliest act of worship, is as
follows:?
" Shun then offered a sacrifice of tho samo class (with tho border
sacrifice) to Shang-to," &c. On which passage the commentator
romarks, " tho border sacrifice was the usual offering presented to
the expansive heavens," &c? Mcdhurst's Shoo-king, p. 17, and note.
The reason of this titlo "Expansive" heing given to Shang-to or
tho " heavens," is as follows:?
" Bccauso of the immensity of his ether, ho is designated ' Expansivo
Heaven;' because his throno is on high (t. e. spread over the earth)
he is designated 'Shang-to.'"?Chow Lc, section 18, 2.
Hence the Confucianists consider it absurd to make images of
Shang-te as the other polytheists do; e. g. :?
"In the works of Choo foo-tsze, section 12, p. 12, one asked in
regard to tho phraso 'offending against Heaven/ whether Heaven is
that passage meant the azure canopy of heaven, or tho priuciple of
order? to which Choo replied, ' the substance or body/ " i. e. the
material Heaven " is called heaven, and the Lord and Governor
thereof," i. e. tho subtle Ether or animating soul ; " is called Te
(Shang-to), but you must not confound this being with him whom the
Taouists call the thrice puro great To, whom they represent as
enrobed in splendour and enthroned in state."?Medhurst's " Inquiry,"
Ac., p. 27.
12. As tho whole complete universe is styled "Heaven and
Earth," or " Hoaven," or "Shang-te," the intellectual Fire, or V'uxv
tcoapov, which animates it, is indifferently styled "the Mind of

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398 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

Hcaveu and Earth," or " the Mind of Heaven/' or " tho Mind of
Shaug-te," in the Chiueso classics; e. g. :?
" Iu the same section, the writer talks of submitting himsolf to tho
inspection of Sbang-tos mind, upon which Choo-foo-tsze has the fol
lowing?'virtue and vice are all known to Heaven (see II., ?, 5):
it is as if a cataloguo of all our faults wcro made out and reckoned
up ; when we do anything good it is present lo tho mind of To
(Shang-te) and when I do anything bad it is also present to tho mind
of To.' The phra60, "tho mind of Sluing-to* is explainod by tho
commentator to mean ' the mind of Hoavon.'"?Ibid. p. 23.
" Beiug asked whether the Mind of Heaven and Earth has life or
is motionless, effecting nothing; ho (Choo-tsze) replied, wo must not
assert that the Mind of Heaven aud Earth has not lifo, but, it cannot
think and plan like man," &c?Choo-tsze's Works, T'heen and To,
sentence 19.
It is this Mind of soul of tho world, who appoints Emporors ;

" Prefixed to tho Yew-he? is a historical poem, in which tho

writor, speaking of tho present dynasty, says, ' Tho mind of To
(Shang-to) surveyed tho glories of the Tartar dynasty, and raised
T'h?en-ming to tho throno, who after reigning cloven years, rovortcd
to the palace of To ' "?-Mcdhurst's Inquiry, Sic, p. 34.
13. From tho preceding statements, tho complete universo, or
Shang-tc, regarded as ono K'e, or complete Being, Soul, and Body, may
bo thus described by a diagram :?

mind
or
Hoavon
or

Heaven and Earth

or

Shang-to
or

man (see Part IV.)

The Supreme Soul of tho whole universe, or Shang-to, i

" Reason," or God, k?t ?fox')1'? the Infinite Immaterial Sp
the univorse, which is his visiblo representation, rcYolvc

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 MU?ESE THEOIOQY. 399
caso of man, ho unites chiefly with the Mind of Shang-to or tho
World, and makes it to bo a rational Sould. From this twofold Soul
(Y^x*/ and anima), the world is designated Mind, or Shang-te, and
this twofold subtle Ether, by whoso expansions and contractions all
croation is gonoratcd or dies, is designated (as in man) " Kwei-shin,"
or " Demon-god." Tho Y"'XV Koapov, or rational portion of this
twofold Soul, being tho most puro Ether, is considered to be " hard"
as to its nature, aud is therefore designated " Keen." This Keen is
tho Demiurge or Great "Father" himself, who being constituted an
intelligent Being or Soul by the First God or " Reason," which unites
with him, generates or arranges the various portions of tho world by
his delegated power. From the Supreme Soul or God, kui ?Cox*)?,
who pervades tho whole universo without division of substance, tho
animated World, or Shang-te, is designated "Reason," " Heavcu,"
&c. <&c. Hence the philosopher Ching-tsze thus describes him:?
" If we divide him (Heaven or Shang-te), and describe him, then
his Body is called Heaven (the World); the ruling power (Y^XV or
rational Soul) is called To (Shang-te); the active energy (twofold
Soul) is designated Kwei-shin (Demon-god) ; and that which renders
all things mysterious is designated God (Shin). With regard to
nature, he (Shang-te, or tho rational Soul) is designated K'?en.
K'?en is tho commencement of all things, and hence he is designated
Jleaven, Light, Father, and Prince."?Yih-king, vol. ii., p. 12, Com.
By drawing tho line A. B., we have Shang-te, or the world
regarded as "two K'e," i. e., " Imperial Heaven," the Husband, and
Empress Earth, his wife; and these two Beings thus joined in ono,
form the great Hermaphroditic Shang-to, who generates all things
from and within his own substance.

IV. Thus this completo universe, or " Heaven and Earth," or

" Heaven," or " Shang-te," or by whatover other designation he
may bo called, although adorned with all the attributes of the true
God, is yet merely a Man; for ho has a Body, viz., Heaven and
Earth, tho formor his head, tho latter his feet ; his soul is twofold,
partly rational and partly sentient, tbe former being the most subtle
and puro Ether or Fire; and united with his rational Soul, is tho
God, Kar ?fox*/*', the Divine " Reason." (Lo Fate), which is his
f virtuous nature" conferring upon him all tho powers which ho
possesses, and to whom he owes bis existence.
1. The World, or Shang-te, whether he bo designated " Heaven,"
or " Heaven aud Earth," or " Mind," is oxpressly declared to be a
Man ; e. g. :?

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 400 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

" Heaven is a mould?a Great Man; Man is a small Heaven

(Microcosm)."
" Heaven and Earth are a mould?a Great Man ; Man is a small
Heaven aud Earth."?Yu-luy, ii., 26.
" Man is the Mind of Heaven and Earth."?Le Ke, iv., 26 (Le
Yuu).
By tho term "Man" here, Sages and Emperors are chiefly meant;
e. g. :?
" The Sage is the samo as Heaven (Shang-te)."?Choo-tsze's Works,
ch. xvii., 30.
" Tho Sage is Heaven (Shang-to), and Heavon (Shang-to) is the
Sage."?Ibid. ch. xxviii.,9.
" Ho (the virtuous Prince) stands as one with Heaven and Earth
(Shang-te), and rebels not."?Chung Yung, see. 29.
" One of the titles of tho Emperor is Heaven, or the Divinity??
Mcdhurst's Inquiry, &c, p. 70.
Hence the Emperor is worshipped with tho same degree of honour
as Hoavon, or Shang-to.?Seo Chinese Repos, vol. ii., p. 375.
Heneo also tho Emporor'e wifo is the samo us " Empress Earth ;"
e.g.:?
" Eight days after this (16th Juno, 1833), on tho 7th of
moon, another paper appeared in tho Gazette, praising her
whose name was Tung-k?a, for her great virtues over sinco
consort to Heaven (i. e. the Emperor), and during tho thir
that she had held the relative situation of Earth to Imperi
i. e., Wife to the Emperor.?Mcdhurst's Inquiry, p. 212.
2. The animated World, or Shang-to, and Man, are preci
same, being formed from the same materials, viz. Le and K
" That which makes man to be man is, that his Lo is
Heaven and Earth, and his K'e is the K'o of Heaven and E
Choo-tsze's Works, sentence 23.
And, as the K'e in the World, or Shang-te, is twofold, v
and Matter, so also in Man :
a. The gross K'e, or body in Man, is the same as the gro
body of Shang-te, viz. Heaven and Earth; e. g. :?
" Heaven and Earth aro one K'e, just as all the bones
constitute one Body," &c.?Chung Yung, ch. in., 51.
" Man's head is round like Heaven, hisjeet are squaro like
<fcc.?Choo-tszo's Works, ch. xlii. 31.
" The Sun and Moon in Heaven (Shang-te) correspond to
in Man," ?fcc.?Sing-le, &c. xxvii., 1.
" Tho Shin of Heaven (^"XV ^oafiov) rosides in tho S

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 401

to's eye) as the Shin (Y'ux7)) ?f a ^an '8 manifested in his eye."?
Ibid, xii., 30.
" Man receives the gross and subtle K'e, and resembles Heaven
and Earth in form.His head is round like Heaven, his feet are
square like Earth, his eyes are like the Sun and Moon, his voice liko
thunder," Ac?Ibid, xxvi., 29.
b. Also, the subtlo K'o or Mind in Man, is tho samo as tho subtle
K'o or Mind of Hoavon and Earth, i. <?., Shang-te proper.
"Tho Mind of Heaven and Earth pervades all things; Man
obtains it, and then it becomes the Mind of Man; things obtain it,
and then it becomes the Mind of things ; Grass, Trees, Birds and
Beasts obtain it, and then it becomes the Mind of Grass, Trees, Birds
and Beasts; all is but the one Mind of Heaven and Earth."?Choo
tsze's Works, ch. xlix., 23.
Hence tho Minds or Souls of Men, Birds, Beasts, Trees, &c, are
all alike Shang-te, being portions of this one Mind who pervades,
animates, and governs every portion of his Body tho World, as the
Soul does the body in Man ; e. g. :?
" Heaven and Earth aro ono K'o, just as the various bones of a
Man constitute one body. Shang-to is the Ruler of Heaven (/. e., his
Body, the World), just as the Soul is the Ruler of the body. How can
thero be two (Rulers) ?"?Legge's Notions, Sec. p. 52.
As there can be but ono rational Soul (or Ruler) in Man, so thero
is but one rational Soul (or Ruler) in the animated World, and all
other Souls (or Gods) being but decerpted portions from this V'^X1/
Koafiov, aro all alike Shang-te ; e. g.\?
"If we speak of all the Gods (Shin) of Heaven (the World) col
lectively, we designate them Shang-te."?Lc-Ke, book v., 34, Com.
3. As Mind, or Shang-te, is a twofold Soul in " Heaven and
Earth,' so is ho also in Man, and in both, this twofold soul is desig
nated " Kwei-Shin," or " Demon-god."
" Heaven and Earth are one thing with my bodtfc that which is
designated Demon-god (in the World) is my own K'e??Choo-tsze's
Works, ch. Ii., 22.
" That which Heaven and Earth possess in common with Men ie
called Kwci-shin," i e., Demon-god, or yjrvxv and anima.?Medliurst';
Theology, ?c. p. 167.
4, On the ground that Man and Shang-te are one and tho same,
the former is exhorted to virtue ; e. g. :?
" Man is one thing with Heaven and Earth (complete Shang-te)
why then should he demean himself ? "?Works of the Two Chings,
&c. vol. i., 52.

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402 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

Heaven, Earth, and the myriad of things aro one substance with
my body; when my Mind is properly adjusted, tho Mind of Heaven
and Earth (Shang-te) Is properly adjusted/' &o.?Chung Yung, i., 25,
Com.
' The shin (rational soul) of Man, is tho shin (rational soul) of
Heaven and Earth (Shang-te) ; so that when Man demoans himself, he
demeans Heaven and Earth (Shang-te). Can he thon venture to do
so?"?Single, &c., ch. xii., 4.
Heneo we seo the reason why the rational soul in Man is desig
nated God (Shin), namely, becauso it is a decorptcd portion of tho
subtle Ether, or that God (Shin?Shang-te) who is the Soul of tho
World.

V: Shang-te, or tho animated World, being thus shown to bo but

a mortal, although adorned in tho attributes of Jehovah, tho uoxt
subject of inquiry is, Who is this Man? To this question two auswers
ntay be given ; e. g. :?
1. He is Pwan-koo.
The Great Extreme, or Chaos, wo havo seen, is a compound sub
stance, consisting of Mind and Matter, the former tho Soul, and tho
latter the Body: hence this origin of nil things is evidently a Man.
Now the Confucian law regarding dissolution is, that the soul aud
body return to their respective sources whence they were originally
derived ; e. g. :?
" Evory ether (soul) iu oxistencc, is it not from Heaven ? ovory
body in existence, is it not from Earth V*?Sing-lc, &c. xxvi., 9.
Hence when dissolution takes place,
" The body and anima descend (to Earth), and tho Intellect and
ether (t. e.y the rational soul in an ethereal vehicle) ascend (to
Heaven)."??Le Yun, ?., 20.
According to this law, therefore, whon Chaos or tho eternal First
Man. separates into his component parts, the Soul or Mind ascends,
and in this case becomes Heaven or Shang-te, whilo tho Body or Matter
descends and becomes Earth, and thus, as Socrates says, "Life springs
from Death." These two, now uniting in one universe, form tho First
Man, in human form, or lessor Shang-to, who is Pwau-koo, or Adam.
Hence we aro told that,
" The First Man was Pwan-koo. At the approach of death his
body was transformed ; his breath was changed into winds and clouds,
his voice into thunder, his left eye into tho sun, and his right into the
moon, his limbs became the four regions, his blood and scrum rivers,
his sinews and arteries the earth's surface, his flesh fields, his beard tho

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 CHINESE THEOLOOY. 403
stars, his skin and hair herbs and trees, his feet and bones metals
and rocks, his fino marrow pearls and precious stones, his dropping
sweat rain," Ac.?Chineso Repos, vol. iii., 55.
Thus wo have here a man, from first to last, who is, first, Chaos,
or the F tus ; secondly, the animated Heaven and Earth or World,
and who, lastly, appears in human form ; and hence the Great Extreme,
or Animated Chaos, is said to havo triplicated himself, or divided into
thrco minds or Shang-tes. (Sec above, II. 8, and III. 6.)
Hence, when wo turn to Chineso history, wo find that Pwan-Koo,
the First Man, or Animated Chaos, was succeeded by three sovereigns,
styled Heaven Emperor, Earth Emperor, and Man Emperor; and
theso three Beings, the commentator states, are in reality " Heaven,
Earth, and Man," the Thrco Powers of Nature, and the triplication
of the "Great Extreme," or "Supremo Unit," or "Shang-te."?Seo
" Mirror of History," vol. i.
Now these Beings being all formed by the union of tho Malo and
Female Principles, aro Hermeiphrodites, and for tho same reason all
males and females are so regarded in China ; e. g. :?
" Keen (Heaven or Shang-te) completes the male, Kwiin (Empress
Earth) tho Female. Although tho male belongs to the Yang, yet we
cannot affirm that ho is not Yin (i. c, female) ; and, although tho
female belongs to the Yin, yet wo cantiot affirm that she is not Yang
(i. e., male).?Choo-tsze's Works, Yin and Yang, sentence 17.
Thus we have in this family of tho First Man (Pwan-Koo and his
three hermaphroditic successors) in reality eight persons ?viz., Pwan
Koo, or Shang-te, or mind, tho Great Father, his wife, three sons, and
their three wives ; and these eight individuals issue forth from chaos
or the ovum mundi, and correspond to tho prominent characters in tho
family of Adam."
2. Shang-to is also Fuh-ho.
It is plain, from what has been already stated, that the First Man
in his human form is in reality but a re-appearance of a former First
Man, viz., animated Chaos ; and between thoso two individuals inter
venes a universal Deluge, from which the second First Man (if I may
so dosignato him) escapes. Now this First Man, who escapea the
Deluge and reappears at the commencement of each now world, is
Fuh-ho ; e.g. :?
" Fuh-he is the First (who appears) at each opening and spreading
out (of the universe)."?Single, &c. xxvi., 19.
This Fuh-he, who is but a re-appearance of Pwan-koo or Adam,
escapes from tho Deluge with s'ven companions; and heneo, in this

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404 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

material system, the universe is uot only divided into three, but also
into eight; e. g. :?
vi Although tho Great Extreme of tho Yih-king has not been de
lineated, yet Keen (Imperial Shang-to or mind) is tho Great Extremo.
Speaking of both portions (of tho sacred circle or universe), then Kwftn
(Empress Earth) may be paired with him, and tho six children arc also
included (t. e., in the circle). With regard to tho whole (circlo or
universe), then Earth is this one Heaven (universe or Shang-to) and
tho six children are also this ono Heaven," Ac.?Yih-king, vol. xiii.,
19, 13 Com.)
Here wo have also a family of eight persons, who issue from tho
sacred circle, viz., Shang-te or Fuh-he, his wife, and their six children.
These "six children," wo*fitid, on referenco to tho Yih-king, vol. xii.,
chap, xvii., p. 18., are three sons and three daughters; and these brothors
uniting in marriage with their three sisters complete the universe.
In this Fuh-he and his family, then, we havo the prominent cha
racters in Noah*s family, who escaped from a general Deluge, which
destroyed tho rest of the human race.
It is evident that this family corresponds to Pwan-koo's, the males
nnd females being here separated; for wo aro told that previous to this
time there was no distinction of sex, Fuh-ho having been the first who
instituted marriage.?See Chinese " Mirror of History," vol. i., p. 7.
By the constant succession of similar worlds, tho two periods of
the world's history, viz., Chaos (or Creation) and tho Deluge, aro
blended together, and consequently the families of Pwan-koo (or
Adam) and Fuh-he (or Noah), are also blended together, tho latter
being merely a re-appearance of the former. This confusion is faci
litated by the fact, evidently known to tho ancestors of tho Chinese,
that the Adamic and Noetic families both consisted of eight persons;
ami hence in this material system they divided the universo or chief
god into eight arbitrary forms. (II. 9.)
As the Deluge occupies so prominent a position in Chineso cosmo
gony, the First Man or Shang-to is rather Fuh-he than Pwan-koo, yet
it is plain that tho former is only a rc-appcaranco of tho latter; or, iu
other words, the Chineso classical Shang-te is tho same Being as tho
"Great Father," worshipped by the whole Pagan world under tho
different designations of Jupiter, Baal, Osiris, Brahni, &c, Adam
re-appearing in Soak.

VI. The above system of theology will be found, on examination,

to correspond with remarkable accuracy, to the general system adopted

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 C1IIN1.SIS THEOLOGY. 40?>

by the subjects of Nimrod's kingdom before their dispersion, a

which was afterwards carried by them into tho various countr
whero they settled.
1. The Yih-king is the Chinese authority on Cosmogony, and th
doctrines of the Chinese philosophers are derived from this source
Tho doctrine of the endless succession of similar worlds as drawn fro
this ancient classic by Choo-foo-tsze (II., I.) has striking points
resemblance to that taught by the stoics. Choo-tsyo attributes t
destruction of each universe to the degeneracy of the human race, an
also states that each return to chaos is caused by a general delug
These rounds of nature are designated "Great Revolutions** o
11 Years** of the world. The circlo in which the universe is suppos
to revolve is divived into twelve portions thus,

Each complete revolution of this circlo is called a " Yuen,** an

each subdivision a "Hwuy** A Hwuy is generally supposed
consist of 10,800 years: on this point, however, the philosophe
differ. In the first Hwuy, which answers to the Full Diagram of th
Yih-king, Heaven (Shang-te) emerges from the Ovum mundi o
Chaos; in tbe second, Earth; and in the third, Man; each world
commencing with this Triad. Tho Deluge prevails during the 12
and last Hwuy, that is the ninth period from the formation of the
First Man, and on the return to tho first Hwuy, the universe is ag
generated from chaos as before. The Cycle, which is formed by the
combination of this Circlo with another of ten divisions, is said
havo been invented by " Naou the Great" after the Deluge.?Se
Kae-pcih-you-o, vol. i., pp. 1, 2 ; also Kang-k?cn, &c., p. 11.
vol. xvi. 2 E

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406 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

"After an interval of rest, says Seneca, in which tho Doity will be

intent upon his own conceptions (II. 1,) tho world will bo entirely
renewed ; every animal will bo reproduced, and a raco of mon freo
from guilt, and born under happier stars will repooplo the earth.
Degeneracy and corruption will, however, again creep into the world;
for it is only when the human raco is young that innocence remains
upon the earth. The grand course of things from the birth to tho
destruction of tho World, which, according to tho Stoics, is to bo
repeated with endless succession is accomplished within a certain period.
This period, or fated round of naturo, is probably what tho ancients
meant by the Great 1W."- En field's Hist, of Philos, vol. i., p. 341.
Mind or Shang-te, who is inherent in Chaos, generates tho world
from his own body, Matter; ami after tho oxpiration of a certain
period, swallows up his offspring again; he himself remaining liko
"the Deity" of tho Stoics, iu profound quiescence during tho Deluge.
Thus Shang-to corresponds to the "Dovouring Jupiter" of tho Stoics.
" The world, snys Seneca, being melted, and having re-entered into
the bosom of Jupitor, this God continues for some time totally concen
tred in himself, and remains concealed, as it were, wholly immersed
in the contemplation of his own ideas. Afterwards wo seo a new
world spring from him perfect in all its parts," &c.?Fabcr's Orig. of
Pag. Idol., vol. i. p. 139.
2. Thus Jupiter and Shang-to aro the same Being; for,
a. Shang-te is the pure Ether or Fire (II., 4.)
" The Stoics held that the ether was signified by the name of
Jove."?Cudworth, vol. i., p. 428, note.
" Let Jupiter, therefore, be no longer that fiery and ethereal sub
stance, which tho ancient Pagans, according to Plutarch, supposed him
to be," Are.?Ibid. p. 424.
b. Shang-te is placed at the outer circloof Heaven or tho Universe,
which consists of nine spheres (III., 10). Cicero says,
"All things are connected together iu nine spheres, of which ono
is the celestial and outermost, which comprehends and encompasses all
the rest, the Supreme God himself con fining and containing tho
others." "But bore," remarks Dr. Moshoim, "Cicero's suniinus Deus
is the last of thoso nine spheres of which \l\c ancients supposed Heaven
to consist.?Cudworth, vol. ii., p. 127, noto.
" The Stoical system teaches that both the activo and passive
principles in nature are corporeal, since whatever acts or suffers must
beso. The efficient cause or God, is p arc ether or fire, inhabiting
the exterior surface of the heavens, whero everything which is divino
is placed," Sec.?Enficld's Hist, of Philos, vol. i., p. 331.

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 407
c. Shang-te is the Soul of the World, containing and governing it
as the soul governs the body in man. (IL, 7 b.)
" As wo aro governed by a soul, so also tho world has a soul
which contains it, and this soul is called Zeu? or Jupiter/*?Cudworth,
vol. ii., p. 290 note.
d. Shang-to is designated Mind. (IL, 4, 7.)
" By Zeus tho Greeks understood that Mind of tho world which
framed all things in it, and contaiiicth tho world."?Ibid. vol. i.,
p. 424.
e. Shang-te preserves tho world in existence by his constant
gyrations. (IIL, 9.)
Jupiter is thus invoked in a passage in Euripides: ?
" Thee, tho self-sprung, I invoke, who enfoldest the whole nature
of things, whirling in ethereal gyration, around whom day and
variegated night, and tho countless throng of stars perpetually dance."
?Ibid. p. G31 noto.
f. Shang-to is a twofold Soul, partly rational (Y^xv) iU,(l partly
irrational (anima). See III., 2.
So Plutarch's "Ruler," or Jupiter;
" From this (evil soul)" i.e., anima, "and that orderly and best
substance," i.e. tho rational and good soul, " God made it prudent
and regular, and imparting, as it were, intelligent form to sensitive,
regular to moving, appointed it the ruler of the universe.**?Ibid,
p. S35 noto.
So also Plato :?
" Must wo not necessarily say that tbe soul governing and residing
in all things that move, governs also heaven (i. o. the world) ?
Assuredly. Ono or more? At least more than one; nor ought we
to lay down fewer than two, tho ono beneficent, tho other working
contrary things?"?Ibid. p. 339 noto.
g. Shang-te or the World is a Man, and Man is a microcosm, the
Soul of the latter being twofold, like the soul of tho world whence it
is derived. (IV., 1, 3.)
So Jupiter or tho World :?
" Man, according to Plato, bears the imago of the whole world;
both tho world and man being a compound of soul and matter, and
tho soul of both, being partly rational and partly irrational!*?Ibid.
p. 348 note.
" From this we see the nature, as well as the origin and birth, of
that soul which governs and rides the whole universe. That mun
dano soul consists of two parts, Sec. From this soul of tho world
wero derived, according to Plato's opinion, those souls by which our
2E2

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408 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

bodies are governed. What is said of it, therefore, wo aro to supposo

as said of these also. As tho soul of tho world consists of two parts,
ono brute and irrational, tho other rational and wiso, so also our
minds??Ibid. p. 335 noto.
h. The rational Soul of the World, or Shang-to proper, is desig
nated God (Shin), and hence the rational soul in Man being a
dcccrpted portion from this rational soul of tho world, is designated
God (Shin). See IV., 3, 4.
So also the V't'X'/ Koafiov or Jupiter proper ; (a.) is designated God
(Ocos), and bonce (b.) tho rational soul in man, being a dcccrpted
portion from this rational soul of tho world, is designated God (Oco?)
also.
a. "God (0e'oc) is the soul (fvxy) of tho world."?Ibid. p. 211
note.
b. According to Zeno's doctrine, the "minds of men are ?mrts of
God??Ibid. vol. ii., p. 107 note.
"Tho Stoics do not hesitate frequently to call tho human mind
God." -Ibid. p. 10G, note.
Vetet ciiim dominans ilia in nob is Boas, iujussu hinc nos denii
grare."?Tuse. Disp. lib. i., cap xxx. lxxiv.
Hence also, as men are called Gods (Shin) iu China, so wcro thoy
called Gods (Oi/o.) iu Greece and clscwhcro ;
".it is a common practice with tho Stoics anil Platonists to
call men gods, as supposing that tho sovereign portion of man, namely,
the mind and rational soul, emanated from God hiinsolf, and is a part
of God ; and that if man bestows due care on this part, and abstracts
it from body, ho then becomes wholly liko unto God, nay altogether
a god."?Cudworth, vol. i., p. 373, note.
"Wherefore, in order to bo consistent, they ought also to have
placed all souls among the gods, and to have mutually paid divine
honours to each other." ?Ibid. vol. ii., p. 100, note.
According to the Chineso not only Mind but also,
" Human speech and action.belong to tho Shin (God).?
Mcdhurst's " Theology," &c., p. 9.
And according to the Stoics,
" Even mind and voice arc corporeal, and in liko manner Deity??
Enfield's Hist, of Philos., vol. i., p. 332.
i. Shang-te, the animated Heaven, receives various titles iu the
Chinese Classics; e.g. "The vast and sublime Shang-te," Ac. (III., 10.)
So also Jupiter, or tho animated Heaven ;
" Aspice hoc sublime candens, queui iuvocant omnes Jovem, Sec.
Tho reason of which speeches seems to havo been this, becauso in

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 CHINESI? THEOLOGY. 409

ancient times some had supposed the animated heaven, ether, and air
to bo the supreme Deity.?Cudworth, vol. i., p. 423.
7c. The animated World, or Shang-te, generated and animated by
the God (Shin) kuj* c?oxyv is designated " Heaven," and is the chief
numen worshipped in the state religion. (II., 3. 6.)
So the animated world or Jupiter :
".he (tho God Km* cgox*!?) generated tho universe a blessed
God.-- Tiuueus, sec. 13.
"The world, and that which by another name is called Heaven, by
whoso circumgyration all things are governed, ought to be believed a
numen, otornal, immense, such as never was made, and shall never bo
destroyed."?Cudworth, vol. i., p. 210.
" Let tho universe then be called Heaven, or tho world, or by any
other namo which it usually receives," &c. - Timrcus, sec. i.
I. Shang-te, or Mind, or tho animated universe, must not be con
founded with idols; (III., 11).
So also Jupiter, or tho animated universe ;
" Seneca speaks of tho Tuscan augurs as employing the terrors of
Jupiter's lightnings to keep in awe those who could only be restrained
from wickedness by fear ; and adds, that they believed the thunder
of heaven to be iu the hands not of tho Jupiter worshipped by tho
Romans in the. Capitol and othir temples, but of a Supreme Intelligence,
the guardian and governor of the universe, tho maker and lord of this
world. But, he adds, ' to this Deity agree the several names of Fate,
Providence, Nature, or the universe sustaining itself by its own energy ;*
a doctrine we shall afterwards see was held by tbe Stoics."?Enfield's
Hist, of Philos, vol. i., 111.
m. Earth or Matter first generates Heaven or Shang-te, the ethe
real Fire, and then consorting with this her son, she generates the rest
of creation, (II., 4, 5. III., 5.)
So also Heaven or Jupiter ;
" Earth first produced Heaven radiant with constellations ; that is,
tho fiery and morn subtle particles of matter flew off from tho rest, and
roso to loftier regions, forming the heavens and the stars, &c. Then
Earth consorting with her own offspring Heaven, gave birth to several
Deities, and last of all to Saturn," &c? Cudworth, vol. i., 400, note.
Hence as Shang-to is either the Soul or Husband of the world, so
is Jupiter ;
n. Heaven or Shang-to and his wife tho Earth, are astronomically
the Sun and Moon; (IIL, 7.)
" The Stoics, amongst the Greeks, look upon the fiery substance of
the whole world (and especially the Sun) as animated and intellectual,
to be the supreme Deity," &c?-Cudworth, Ibid. p. 472.

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410 CHINESE THl-OLOGY.

"Jupiter is said to be tho Sun by Macrobius, Nonnus, and tho

author of the poems which bear tho namo of Orpheus.*1?Faber's Orig.,
&o., vol. ii., p. 206.
" . . . . tho Persians added tho worship of tho moon to that of tho
sun, aud regarded the moon as tho sun's wife."?Cudworth, vol. i.,
p. 473, note.
o. Man is tho offspring of Heaven or Shang-to and Earth, his wifo ;
the former gives the soul, tho latter tho body ; and at death theso ro
turn to their respective sources. (IL, 7, III., 6, V., 1.)
" Tho mighty earth and tho ether of Jove, tho father of mon and
gods, generate the human race. What is produced from tho earth goes
back again to earth, and that which springs from ethereal seed returns
to the celestial pole??Ibid. vol. iii., p. 279, noto.
" Earth is tho mother, she produces the body; ether adds the soul?
?Ibid. p. 280, noto.
3. Chaos animated by Mind is the chief god (Shang-te) of tho
Chinese Philosophers. (II, 2, c; 3.)
. " This Chaos, which was also called Night, was in the most ancient
times worshipped as ono of tho superior divinities."?Enfiold's Hist, of
Philos., vol. i., p. 90.
Besides the material principio, " tho Egyptians admittod an activo
principle, or intelligent power, oternally united with the chaotic mass,
by whoso cnorgy the elements woro sopayatod and bodios wore formed,
and who continually presides over tho universo, and is tho officient
causo of all things."?Ibid.
4. Tho K'o when in its chaotic state is designated " one," and this
" ono" is a compound Being composed of two Beings, a Male (Heaven)
and a Female (Earth). (II, 2, e. III., 4, 5.) Thus all things are gene
rated from an hermaphroditic unity. Tho wholo Pagan world likowiso
held that,
" All things were produced from an hermaphroditic unity??Faber's
Orig. &e. vol. iii. p. 09.
5. Chaos, properly so called, is tho Water, which is a turbid and
muddy mass from which all things aro generated by the inhorcnt
Mind ; (II., 4, a.)
" It is probable that by tho term Water Tha?es meant to express
the same idea which tho Cosmogonists expressed by tho word chaos,
the notion annexed to which was, as wo have shown, a turbid and
muddy mass, from which all things wcro produced."-?Enfield's Hist.,
&c, vol. i., p. 151.
0. Tho Eternal Matter, or K'e, is two-fold, gross and subtlo
(11,4.)
The Pagan Philosophers of other nations also,

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 411

". . . . supposed two kinds of matter: one a grosser nature and

dissolvable front various causes; tbe other more subtle, and capable of
eing destroyed by divine power alone."?Cudworth, vol. iii., p. Ill,
note.
Thus tho K'e, or material "Nature" (L, 4 c.) is ono whole, consist
ing of a subtle Ether or Fire, which is tho activo principle (Shin?
God), and grosser matter which is the passivo principle, and the
ethereal body of tbe former, which is the animating Mind or Soul :
both of these being in reality the same substance?K'e, air ;
"Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and after them Zcno, taking it for
granted that thero was no real existenco which is not corporeal, con
coivo nature to bo one whole, consisting of a subtle ether and gross
matter, the former Active, and tho latter tho Passive Principle, as
essentially united iw.tltc soul and body in man ; that is, they supposed
God, with respect to nature, to be not a co-existing, but an informing
principle."?Enficld's Hist., &c, vol i., p. 335.
8. Tho two principles aro Light, the Active, and Darkness, tho
Passive Principle. Tho latter is prior to the former (II., G).
" Tho mus artineus being blind, is said to havo been deified by the
Egyptians, becauso they thought that darlcncss was older than light.*'
?Cudworth, vol. i., p. 399.
9. Hwac Nan-tszc, and some others, designate botli these princi
ples " God (Shin) ;" but tho generality of the Chinese Philosophers
designate the Light or Good Principio " God (Shin)," and the Dark
ness or Evil Principio "Demon (Kwei)," III., 1. According to
Plutarch,
" Zoroaster and tho ancient M agi made good and evil, light and
darkness, the two substantial principles of the universe, that is, asserted
an evil demon co-cternal with God, and independent of him," Sec.?
Ibid. p. 480.
This class, " called tho better principle God, and tho worse demon,"
&c.- Ibid. SIX, note.
" Some suppose that there arc two gods, as it were of contrary arts,
so that one is the author of good, the other of evil things ; others call
him that is better a god, but the other a demon only."?Ibid. 3/54.
" . . . . almost all tho oriental nations believe the all-pervading
light to be God"?Ibid. p. 475, note.
" In tho earliest ages, God himself was believed to bo light and
ether!'? Ibid. vol. iii., 279.
10. The Light or Mind proper is the first generated God (Shin),
and is tho chief God of the Chinese Pantheon (II., ??);
So Jupiter or the Light,

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412 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

" But the earth being then invisible by reason of tho darkness, a
light breaking out through the ether illumined tho whole creation ;
this light being said by him (Orpheus) to bo that highest of all Beings
(before mentioned) which is called counsel and life."?Ibid. vol. i.,
p. 503.
11. The K'o, which emanates from the God (Siiin), kut cf^x7/1'
(I., 3), consists of two principles: tho ono Light or an intellectual God
(Shin), tho other Darkness or an evil Demon (Kwei'). So Zoroaster ;
"If those authorities be carefully compared, it will appear probablo
that Zoroaster, adopting tho principle commonly held by tho ancients,
that from nothing, nothing can bo produced, conceived light, or thoso
spiritual substances which partako of tho activo naturo of firo, aud
Darkness or the impenetrable opaquo and passivo mass of matter, to,
be emanations from one Eternal Source; that to tho derived sub
stances he gave tho names already applied by tho Magi to tho causes
of good and evil : Oromusdcs and Araminius, and that the first
Fountain of Being, or the Supremo Divinity, ho called Mithras."?
Enficld's Hist. &c, vol. i., p. 04.
Hence in the Siiin, k-ar ?Coxy?; of tho Confucian Classics wo havo
Mithras, or tho Orov kuj c-fox?/?' of Zoroaster ; and in tho twofold
matter generated by the former, wo havo Zoroaster's two generated
deities, viz., Oromasdes (Shang-te) and Araminius.
12. Chaos consists of a rational Soul iuhcront in matter ; or thrco
hypostases, viz., Reason, Mind, and Matter. Mind, or Shang-to, being
mereljr the Demiurge or second God, who owes his existence and all
his powers to the Divino Reason (IL, 4, 7).
So the Egyptians, &c,
" . . . . they determining mind and reason first to havo oxistod of
themselves, and so tho whole world to havo been mado. Wherefore
they acknowledge before tho heaven and in tho heaven a living power,
and placo pure mind above tho world as tho Dcmiurgus and architect
thereof."?Cudworth, vol. i., p. 540.
Tho maker of tho world was not " tho Supromo Being, but ....
far below tho parent and founder of all things."? Ibid. p. 598, note.
" Among the rulers" of the world, " Jamblicus assigns t\\o first
place to tho Demiurgic Mind, which ho tells us is Annnon, Phtha, and
Osiris."?Ibid. p. 002, note.
Thus, although a God (Siiin), kui ??'?xty1'* wno ,a ,n reality tho
Father of all things, is acknowledged by the Confuciauists, yet this
First God is wholly neglected by them, and the second God, or
Shang-to receives all tho worship duo in reality to tho First; no
higher God being recognized in the state religion than this Demiurge,

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 ClllNliSlfl THEOLOGY. 413

who is regarded as the Creator himself. In this, however, the Chinese

resemble the rest of the Pagan world, e.g.,
"Tho Father perfected all things, that is, tho intelligible ideas (for
these are those things which are complete and perfect), and delivered
them to the second God to rule over them. Wherefore, whatsoever is
produced by this God according to its own exemplar, and the intelli
gible essence, must needs owe its original also to the highest Father.
Which second God the generations of men commonly take for the first,
they looking up no higher than to tho immedaie architect of tho
world."?Ibid. p. 484.
13. In tho Chinese Chaos we have Plato's Trinity, viz., 1. The in
divisible Unity, or First God, the Soul of tho K'e, or Shang-to
2. Mind, or Shang-to proper, tho rational portion of the Soul of tho
world; and 3. The anima inuiidi, or irrational portion of the soul of
tho world (II., 4).
" . . . . these three divine hypostascs of the Egyptians with the
Pythagoric or Platonic trinity of first, to iV, or 7' ?^aObv unity and
goodness itself, secondly, vov*, mind, and thirdly, Y'l,X7 (j>e., anima),
Soul"?Ibid. p. 001 (see also pp. 484-5).
14. The two principles of Light and Darkness ultimately becomo
tho twofold soul of tho world, intellect being first placed in this soul
by tho God (Shin) kwt* ?fox???', and the soul being then placed in body,
viz., tho universo (III., 3, 4).
So Plato,
" In pursuance of this reasoning, placing intellect iu soul, and soul
in body, ho (tho Oe?v kui C fox >/*',) constructed the universe."?'I inueus,
ch. 10.
15. Shang-te completo is the wholo animated world, Heaven is bis
head, Earth (including Tartarus, ii., 2 c), his feet, the Sun and Moon
are his eyes, his rational soul (Nous or Mind) is the pure ether &c, dec.
(IV., 2; V., I.)
So Jupiter.
" Tho whole universo constituted one body; the body of that king
from whom originated all things; and within that body every elemental
principio alike revolved; for all things wero contained within tbe vast
womb of tho God. Heaven was his head; tho bright beams of tho
stars wero his radiant locks; the east and the west thoso sacred roads
of tho immortals were his tatiriform horns; tho sun and tho moon
were his eyes; the grosser atmosphere was his back, &c. ; the all
productive earth was his sacred womb; tho circling ocean was his
belt; the roots of the earth, and the nether regions of Tartarus were
his feet; his body the universe was radiant, imnioveable, eternal; and

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414 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

tho pure ether was his intellectual sou), tho mighty Nous by which he
pervades, animates, preserves, and governs all things."?Faber's Orig.
&c, vol. i., p. 42.
So also the Egyptian Serapis,
" Tho celestial world is my head; the sea is my womb, the earth
supplies to mo tho placo of feet; tho puro ether furnishes mo with cars;
and the bright lustre of the sun is my eye."?Ibid. p. 43.
10. The Chinoso and Stoics ngrco precisely in their ideas of Alan.
Man according to tho Stoics and others, had a twofold body, viz.,
Head and Feet; and a two-fold soul, viz., Demon and God ((/tov).
This they transferred to the universe or Heaven, i.e. Jupiter. Accord
ing to tho Chinese also, Man's body is two-fold, viz., Head and Feet;
and his soul is two-fold, viz., Demon and God (Shin): and this thoy
havo also transferred to tho universo or Hoavon, i.e. Shang-to.
VW. Shang-to or Mind is tho "Great Father" (Adam reappearing
in Noah) worshipped by the wholo Pagan world, under tho various
designations Jupiter, Baal, Brahin, Osiris, Eros, &c, &c.
1. Shang-te or Mind, the creative Soul of tho world, is born from
tho ovum mundi. (II., 2 o: 5.)
"Wo perpetually meet with a legend of the great father being
born out of an egg, Sic??Faber's Orig. &.c, vol. i., p. 171.
" The creative soul of tho world therefore, which triplicates itself
at the renovation of tho mundano system is produced out of an egg,
which floated during tho intermediate period between two worlds, on
the surface of the ocean, notwithstanding it is described as being tho
productive cause of all things."?Ibid. p. 172.
2. Shang-to triplicates his substanco into three worlds, viz., Heaven,
Earth, and Man, which, however, are regarded as being but one
universe. (II., 8, III., 6.)
" Whether they (the Pagan world) addicted themselves to Deinono
latry, to Sabianism, or to gross materialism, wo still invariably find
the samo propensity to the triple division, which was esteemed so
peculiarly dear to tho god whom they worshipped. Pursuant to such
a speculation tho unity of tho wholo world, that supposed body of tho
great father was divided into what wore called three worlds, though
the thrco wcro nevertheless fundamentally but one universo," &c.?
Ibid. pp. 44, &c.
This Triad consists of two gods, viz., " Imperial Heaven," or
Shang-to, and " Man ;" and one goddess, viz., "Empress Earth;" so
that under this Triad we havo " Heaven" or Shang-to, tho father;
Earth, tho mother; and Man, their son.
" Thus wo find (amongst tho Pagan mythologists) triads consisting

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 415

of a god and two goddesses, ami again of two gods and one goddess
Each of thcso principal varieties had also its sub-varieties. Under.
tho second wo have a father, a motlicr, and a son."?Ibid. p. 24.
Thcso throe Beings aro also styled " Heaven-Emperor, Earth
Emporor, and Man-Emperor," being threo sovereigns who divido tho
universe between them. (V., 1.)
"Noah was esteemed the universal sovereign of the world; but
when ho branched out into three kings, that world was to bo divided
into three Jcingdoms, or (as they were sometimes styled) three worlds.
To ono of tho threo kings, therefore, was assigned tho empire of
heaven; to another, tho empire of the earth, including the nether
regions of Tartarus; toa third, the empire of tho ocean. Yet tho
characters of the three kings as we examine them mutually melt into
cacli other ; until at length we find but one world and one sovereign,
who rules with triple sway tho three grand mundane divisions."?Ibid.
p. n.
3. This great Hermaphroditic Shang-te, who thus triplicates his
substance, is also said in tho Yih-king, to divide into eight Beings or
portions. The great Father triplicates, generating three sons; tho
great Mother triplicates generating three daughters; and these threo
brothers united with their threo sjsters, are designated "the six
children."?See Yih-king, vol. xii., ch. xvii., p. 18. (II., 9, V., 2.)
"The genuine triad doubtless consisted of three sons born from one
father, and united in marriage with their three sisters; and this was
sometimes mystically expressed under tho notion of the primeval
Domou-god wonderfully triplicating his substance, ?fee. We .shall
constantly find the old hierophauts confessing, that in reality they
have but one god, and one goddess, for that ?all tho malo divinities
may be ultimately resolved into the great father, as all the femalo
divinities finally resolve themselves into the great motfier!*?Ibid,
p. 24.
This Ogdoad or " Eight Diagrams" of tho Yih-king, are materially
"Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Water, Fire, Mountains, and Dew,"
(II., 9); a most arbitrary division of the great Demon-god Shang-te,
or tho animated universe.
" Thero was another characteristic of the chief Demon-god which
was not to be overlooked. The ancients well knew that his family at
the commencement of both worlds consisted of eight persons . . . and
at all hazards these determined analogical speculatists were resolved
to elicit the number eight from the reluctant frame of tho unbending
universe. Front the whole connection of this legend there can bo no
doubt, I think, that the eight forms of- the great father mean tlie eight

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 416 CHINES!. THEOLOGY.

persons who were saved in the ark; those eight persons whom tho
Egyptians adored as their chief goels, and whom they depicted sailing
together in a ship over tho ocean. Yet, when the samo great father
is materially identified with the universe, his eight forms aro then
expressly pronounced to be tho somewhat heterogeneous ogdoad of
Water, Fire, Sacrifice, tho Sun, the Moon, Ether, Earth, Air . . . An
Ogdoad is said to havo been produced from the womb of tho herma
phroditic Jupiter, who is described as tho great parent identified with
the universe; but, while it is just as heterogeneous in point of compo
sition as the last," and also, we may add, as the Chinese Ogdoad, " its
members are by no means coincident, though tho sum total in both
cases equally produces tho nuinbor eight. This second ogdoad consists
of Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Night, Day, Metis, and Eros. Hero again
as in tho coso of the former one," and of tho Chinese, " the members
are plainly accommodated to the number; tho number is not choson,
because by a natural arrangement tho members exactly amounted to
eight, but eight members aro arbitrarily associated together becauso
the precise number eight had been previously selected, and tho sum
total was to bo mado up whether congruously or incongruously."?
Ibid. pp. 44-40.
4. Tho Ovum mundi, or sacred circle, out of which Shang-to and
his family aro generated after the Deluge, represents either the Chaotic
World in which Mind is hidden in tho womb of Earth or Matter, or
tho arranged and completed Universo of which Mind is still tho ani
mating Soul (II., 2, o).
Of the Ovum mundi Mr. Faber says :
" Tho ancient pagans, in almost every part of the globe, wcro
wont to symbolize tho world by an egg. Hence this hieroglyphic is
introduced into the cosmogonies of nearly all nations ; aud few aro
tho persons, oven thoso who have not mado mythology their peculiar
study, to whom the mundane egg is not perfectly familiar. Tho
symbol was employed to represent not only the Earth, but likowiso
the universe in its largest extent," Sec.
" But thero was another world which the hicroglyphical egg was
employed to represent, as well as tho Earth or Uuivorse. At tho
period of tho Deluge, tho rudiments of tho now world wcro enclosed
together within the Ark, which floated on tho snrfaco of tho ocean in
the same manner as the globo of the Earth was thought to have floated
in tho waters of Chaos. Hence the Ark was esteemed a microcosm or
little world ; and heneo aroso a complete intercommunion of symbols
between the Ark and the Earth. The egg accordingly, being mado a
symbol of the Earth was also made a symbol of the Ark? Ac.

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 ?lUNRSR TMHOLOOY. 417
" As the globe, which is a solid circle, is sometimes substituted for
the egg, so the circle or ring, which is a plain sphere, sometimes occu
pies the place of the globe," ?c.?Ibid. pp. 175, 170, 189.
5. With regard to the confusion, visible also in the Chinese system,
between the Creation and the Deluge, and the blending together of tho
Adantic and Noetic families (V., 2), Mr. Fabcr says,
" The primitive world commenced with a single pair; who may
indeed havo had other children, but who were chiefly memorable as
being the parents of a triad of sons espoused to a triad of daughters,"
Sec.
" Now it is a curious circumstance that in all these particulars, tho
new world, with more or less exactness, resembles the old. It also
commenced from a single pair, remarkable as having for their offspring
a triad of sons espoused to a triad of daughters-in-law, &c.
" Such being the clear analogy between the histories of the two
worlds a fresh theoretical refinement was built upon it. Tho doctrine
of a mere succession of worlds was heightened to the doctrine of a
succession of similar worlds. Each mundane system was thought to
present an exact resemblance of its predecessor. The same persons
appeared in new bodies, &c.
" Agreeably to these speculations, while Noah and Adam are each
esteemed the great universal father both of gods and men, the former
was supposed to be no other than a re-appearance of the latter ; and
in a similar manner, the divine souls which once animated tho Adami
ticnl triad, were thought to have been again incarnate in the persons
of the Noetic triad," &c.?Ibid. pp. 11-14.
0. The designation given to Shang-te, who animates the world as
the soul docs the body, is Mind (IL, 2d: 4 & 7 b).
" A somewhat similar observation may bo made on the name which
tho Greeks emploj'cd to designate the all-pervading Mind or Intellect,
that was thought to animato and govern the world as the human soul
does the body. In point of matter of fact, this Mind was certainly the
great father or Noah viewed as a re-appearance of Adam. The Adami
tical Noah, therefore, being the fabled Mind of the world, the Greeks
borrowed tho proper name (Nous or Nns) of that patriarch, and
employed it to describe Mind or Intellect "-?Ibid. p. 173.
Hence Shang-te, the soul of the world, is the same as Janus,
Jupiter, ?c.
"... . the imaginary Soul of the World is the same as that great
universal father, both of gods and men. whom the Gentiles adored under
so many different names : for Janus, Jupiter, Cronus, Dionusus, Osiris,
and Brahm, are all undoubtedly the great father ; and at tho samo

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 418 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

time they are all equally described us being the pervading soul of the
world??Ibid. p. 170.
And, in the three Minds, or Emperors, into which this Demiurgic
Mind, or Shang-te, divides himself, wo havo tho Platonic "three
kings" (V., la);
"The demiurgic Mind or Soul which Proel us rightly identifies with
the creative heniaphroditic Jupiter of Orpheus and Plato, is said by
Anielius to havo triplicated itself; so that this one Mind bocaino thrco
Minds, or three kings, and these three Minds or demiurgic principles,
as Proclus subjoins, are the same as the Platonic thrco kings, and as
the Orphic triad of Phanes, and Uranus and Cronus."?Ibid. p. 171.
7. Shang-to is also the Husband of the Earth or World which
forms his body or Wifo (ii., 7, iii., 5). Theso two Beings are wor
shipped under the titles " Imperial Heaven" and "Empress Earth,"
und the whole universe or Shang-te is a great Heniaphroditic Deity
formed by their union ;
"This Intelligent Being who was indifferently the soul and tho
husband of the world, was tho great father or principal Demon god of
tho Gentiles ; while his body or consort, the Earth, was their primeval
great mother or chief goddess. The two were allowed to be the most
ancient of their deities, and tho first of tho Oabiric gods ; and they
were over venerated conjointly iu different countries under the names
of Civlus and Terra, Osiris and Isis, Taautes and Ast arte, Saturn and
Ops, Hoden and Frea, or Isani and J^/."?Ihiil. p. 105.
" Tho writings of the old mythologists strongly maintain tho doc
trine which identifies both the great father and the great mother, or
these two persons blended into one compound hermaphroditic character
with the whole material creation??Ibid. p. 41.
8. Shang-to and his wife the Earth, arc worshipped as the patrons
of generation, and arc represented indecorously (III. 8).
" These two ancient personages, from whom all things wore allowed
to have been produced, wero on that account esteemed the patrons of
generation, and were thought to preside over births of every sort and
description. They wero reckoned the two principles of fecundity,
whether animal or vcgctablo ; and ns tho universe was supposed to
have originated from their mystic union, they were in every quarter of
the globe, represented by two symbols : which wcro indeed sufficiently
expressive of their imagined attributes, but which cannot bo specified
consistently with a due regard to decorum?? Ibid. p. 24.
9. Shang-to and his wifo Earth, are astronomically the Sun and
Moon (III., 7);
" As they (the ancient hicrophants) highly venerated tho souls of

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 4 1 ?)

their paradisiacal and arkito ancestors, considering them in the

of Demon-gods who still watched and presided over the affairs of
it was a very easy step in the progress of apostate error to ima
that they were translated to the heavenly bodies, &c. Since they
ceived tho Sun and the Moon to be the two great lights of heaven
since they worshipped with an especial veneration the great fath
tho great mother, they would naturally elevate these two person
tlie two principal luminaries, Such accordingly was tho [dan
adopted," Ac?Ibid. p. 31.
10. From the union of Mind and Matter, Shang-te, or the wo
is stated to be "a groat man," and Man "a small world" (IV.
For the same reason Mr. Faber says,
" . . . . physiologists were accustomed to style the world a gr
man, and man a small uorhl" Sic.?Ibid. p. 103.
11. The souls of men are emanations from Shang-te (IV., 2 b
" The souls of men consequently were reckoned to be emanat
from the great Soul, and wero considered as fellows and membe
tho principal deity."?Ibid.
12. All the other deities resolve themselves into Shang-to (Ib
and IL, 9);
" Though the gentiles were ostensibly polythcists, yet in absoluto
strictness of speech they worshipped only one great compound deity,
who was the reputed parent of the universe. All their gods ultimately
resolve themselves into a single god, who was esteemed the great
father ; all their goddesses finally prove to be only ono goddess, who
was accounted tho great mother ; and thcso two beings at length
appear as a sole divinity, who was thought to partake of both sexes, and
who was venerated as alike the father and the mother of the whole
world." ?Ibid. vol. ii., p. 205.
13. Shang-to remains inactive until tho time arrives for the forma
tion of a new world. During the period of the Deluge he remains
securely shut up in the ovum inundi (or Ark), all things being absorbed
into his suhstunco (IL, 1 a) ;
" Every thing is then (at the return to chaos) absorbed into tho
unity of the great father ; and this mysterious being during the period
that elapses between each two mundane systems, reposes on tho surfaco
of the mighty deep, floating securely, either in a wonderful egg or in
tho calix of the lotos, or on a navifonn leaf, or on a huge serpent coiled
up in tho form of a boat, or in a sacred ship denominated Argha, of
which tbe other vehicles are consequently symbols. To destroy, how
ever, is but to create afresh, for destruction affects form alone ; it
reaches not to substance. Hence when the great father has slept a

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 420 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

whole year of the creator, the space which over intervenes be

world and world, he awakes from his slumber, and produc
order of things. ' Out of tho chaotic materials of tho prior
another world is fashioned," ?fcc ?Ibid. vol. i? p. 112.
14. Shang-te'8 body is the world, and his soul is the soul of
world. All things are generated by him and return to his subs
(II, 2 b, III., 2, IV., 2b);
So also tho great father of the whole Pagan world ;
"All nature was produced from him aud returned to h
naturo was his body; and his pervading spirit was the soul
world?? Ibid. p. 40.
15. Shang-te is the Son or Father of the Earth or Ark (I
and the
"... . speculations of Paganism .... represented Noah both
as the father and as the son of the Ark? efe.?Ibid. p. 198.
10. Shang-te is merely a Man (IV., 1, V., 1, 2);
" The person, therefore, who in the mythology of tho Pagans is
venerated as the creator of tho world, who is esteemed the Soul of tho
.Universe, and of whom every thing material, whether great or small,
is a member or form, is plainly not the Supreme Being, whom by thoir
perverted wisdom they had ceased to know ; but a mere man who was
deemed the head and parent of each successive similar world, who was
thought to have produced and still to animate every living creature,
and who was worshipped as the chief god and oldest of tho Dcnion
gods."?Ibid. p. 49.
17. This First Man is regarded as an Hermaphrodite. (V., 1, a.);
" The notion of tho first created man being an Hermaphrodite has
doubtless arisen from a misconception of tho primeval tradition, which
through Noah was banded down to tho builders of the tower, respect
ing the process of forming tho original pair. As tho woman sprung
out of the side of the man, and as therefore she mado a part of him
before such disjunction, it was mystically said that Adam or Swayam*
bhuva was androgynous, and that all things wero produced from ail
hermaphroditic unity."?Ibid. vol. iii., p. 08.
18. The Source of all Shang-to's powers, however, is the God
(Siiin) k?it%c?c>x?)i', who unites with his Soul or Mind. (II,. 7) ;
"For them (thoso who rejected two independent principles)
Wisdom, ever kindly ready to solve all difficulties, had provided ano
ther expedient. This was, since the great triplicated father was con
fessedly eternal, to identify him with the Deity; and since matter was
also eternal to mako the Soul of the great father tho Soul of the world,
and to give him the whole universe for his body. But here it would

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 421

readily bo objected, how'can the mere man Adam or Noah, whoso

office it is to appear at the beginning of every new world, be admitted
as God, when his form had been always that of a simple mortal ? To
this question Wisdom is at no less for a reply ; tho body indeed was
the body of a man, but the immortal soul was the Deity himself; from
timo to time he descends and becomes incarnate in the person of tho
groat Father, and on special occasions appears in the form of other'
eminent characters ; the spirit of this eternal great Father with whom
when multiplied into threo forms each world commences, is to bo
revered as the true plastic arranger and governor of the universe ;
besido him there is no God, for bis three forms or his eight forms are
equally a delusion, emanating from him, and resolvable into his sacred
essence!* (IL, 8, 9.)
"Thus, as tho Apostle speaks, did Wisdom teach mankind/' in
cluding the founders of tho Chinese Empire, " at Babel, to change
the truth of God into a lie, and to worship the creature more than or
in preference to the Creator!*?Ibid. vol. i., p. 102.
From tho above statements it appears: 1. That the Chinese sys
tem of Theology, as derived from the Yih-king, corresponds in a very
remarkable manner to all the other Pagan systems : 2. That this
remarkable agreement not only extends to what is " obvious and
natural," but also to "arbitrary circumstantials/' proving that tho
Chinese have not borrowed from any other nation : and this proof is
rendered still stronger by the fact that theso "circumstantials" differ
in detail from those of all other systems (e. g., the Triad and Ogdoad).
3. Hence the conclusion is inevitable that the Chinese also derived
their system from one primeval system common to all the Pagans: or,
in other words, that the founders of the Chinese Empire formed a part
of the single community assembled on the plain of Shinar, under
Nimrod, before tho dispersion, and after that event carried to China
that idolatrous system which has existed there to the present day.

NOTE.

As tho abovo system appears to me to throw light upon tho

unhappy controversy which has now been carried on for some years
in China, I shall mako a few remarks hero on this subject.
The want of a new translation of the Scriptures into the Chineso
language, has long been felt by the missionaries in China. Some
years ago preparations were made to supply this want, and tho
delegates appointed at the various missionary stations to engage in
this work, assembled at Shang-hne in the month of June, 1847.
vol. xvi. 2 F
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 422 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

These gentlemen had scarcely commenced their labours, when a

difference of opinion arose amongst them with regard to tho proper
Chinese term to be used as the translation ofa*D^^N
*:
and Oe??. Ono
party considered that tho Chinese term "Shin" is tho translation
of these terms, and the other thought that wherever these term
occurred in the Scriptures, the designation of tho being most honoured
by the Chinese, viz., "Shang-te," should bo inserted in the Chincs
translation, the tonn "Shin" appearing to thoin to signify "Spirit,"
and not "God."
This difference of opinion gave rise to a viv? voce discussion which
lasted for sonic days : and the discussion was afterwards carried on iu
writing for about five months. Afterwards, several missionaries pub
lished their views on the subject. Neither party, however, having
been at all influenced by the arguments of tho opposito ono, this
important question remains still undecided ; ami the Bible Society,
feeling unable to decide which opinion is correct, has generously
offered to assist each party in printing the new translation, with the
terms of which they severally approve, throwing any responsibility
which may attach to this course on the several Missionary Societies.
It is, however, a matter of the utmost importance, that wo who
arc privileged to preach the Gospel of Christ to the Chinese, should
"with one mouth," as well as "with one heart," proclaim tho glad
t ?dings of salvation ; and hence, with an humble desire to promote,
if possible, so excellent an object, I have endeavoured to lay before
the reader the complete system of theology inculcated in tho classical
writings. I feel sure that the only way to br.ng the controversy to a
favourable termination, is to lay before classical scholars tho very
striking similarity which exists between the Chincso and all other
Pagan 83*$terns.
It appears to me that in investigating any Pagan system of philo
sopli3*, we should take especial care to ascertain the ideas attached to
important terms by Heathen writers themselves. For if caution bo
not exercised on this point, we arc in danger, by affixing a Christian
sense to such terms, of giving the Heathen credit for an amount of
knowledge which they never possessed, and of thus damaging any
conclusions wo may draw from our own researches.
"It is the custom with a great many," says Dr. Mosheim, "to
believe the ancients to have attached the same idea to words that we
do at this day, and to take for granted that the old philosophers
followed tiki sanio laws and principles in their reasoning as ourselves :
hence ihvy altogether remodel these Philosophers, and present them
before us, not. us they really were, but such as they would have bcen}

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 CHINESE THEOliOOY. 423

had they been educated in our schools??Cudworth, vol. i., p. 53

note.
The mistakes which may arise from this method of interpreting
the works of Heathen writers, might be fully exemplified from what
has been published in China on the subject of the controversy abovo
alluded to. I shall, however, merely notice a few of the most important.
1. It has been strongly urged that the Chinese term " Shin" merely
means "spirit or spiritual," and not "God," because the Chinese
Philosophers, and also the literati of the present day (amongst whom
the Lieutenant Governor of Fokion Province has been appealed to)
define that term " Woo-hing," or "Incorporeal," and this term "In
corporeal," it is taken for grunted, is equivalent to our terms " spirit
or spiritual." Such would doubtless be the case in any Chri.Uian
work; but it is not so in Ohincse writings. This is plain from the
fact that Choo-foo-tszc, who has been appealed to by the writers on
both sides of tho controversy, states, oh. xlix.,]). 25, of his "Com
pleto Works," that Heaven, or the Subtle Ether, is " Incorporeal
(Woo-hing)," ami tho Ether is certainly not "spirit or spiritual" in
our sense of these terms.
Tho fact is that tho terms " Incorporeal," " Immaterial," &c,
Uro used by the Chinese Philosophers in precisely the same way as
amoparav was used by the Western Pagans, and must be considered
relatively, and not necessarily implying what we mean by these terms :
for, the same thing is sometimes pronounced by Pagan Philosophers to
bo both " material" and " immaterial," when spoken of in reference to
fitter or more gross substances ; e g. :?
" Mind compared with Nature is wore material, compared with
the K'e he is certainly more spiritual? (II , 4.)
Hero Mind or tho Y'?'X'/ *"""/""'. (i- e. Shang-te), which rules the
world, and is " Woo-hing," is stated to be either a " material" or
"immaterial" Being, according as he is compared with the God
Kar c?ox?)?', or with the more material world, in which he is inherent,
and which forms his body. On this subject Dr. Mosheim says,
".it appears very doubtful, whether that which the ancients
termed aaiafuirov (Woo, not, hing, both/), and incorporeal, was intended
to be such as what we call spiritual ami spirit. Certainly many things
seem to show, that that very thing which they supposed to bo imma
terial, was considered by them to consist of particles, although cer
tainly the most subtle."?Cudworth, vol. i., p. 53, note.
That which this learned writer here states to be so doubtful, has-,
in the ease of the Chinese Philosophers, been taken for granted ; with
what degree of accuracy let tho passage ([noted from the works of
2 F 2

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 421 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

Choo-tszo testify. It is plain that a point so doubtful ought to havo

been first proved, before any argument was built upon it, as to the
meaning of the term " Shin."
2. It has also been urged that " Shin" means " spirit or spiritual,"
and not "God," because tho rational sou) in nian is so designated.
This is, in fact, tho great stronghold of those who considor that the
term "Shin" means "Spirit," and not "God."
But here, it scorns to me, two important points which ought to
have boon first proved, before this argument can have any weight, havo
boon taken for granted; viz. : .first, that tho rational soul is in tho
estimation of tho Chinese Philosophers what we call " spirit or spiri
tual :" and, secondly, that tho meaning which tho Chinese themselves
attach to the term "God," renders it impossible that they should apply
such a term to the rational soul.
Now with regard to the first point, tho rational soul, in tho opinion
of I he Chinese, is a portion of the subtle Ether or Soul of tho World
(iii., 2, b.), which according to our ideas is material, inasmuch as it
consists of particles, although, as Dr. Moshcint says, "tho most subtle."
Hence an examination into the ideas entertained by the Chincso them
selves as to tho nature and origin of tho soul, would have shown tho
inconclusiveiiess ?if tho argument alluded to, as to tho meaning of tho
term "Shin." With regard to tho second point : the Chincso Philoso
phers have been shown to resemble tho rest of the Pagan world iu
holding "Shin," like Oro? and Dons, to be tho Y'-'Xty Koapov, and tho
rational soul in man to bo an emanation from that Soul ; and hence wo
find those two souls designated by the saino term. In this case it is
plain that such an application of the term "Shin" no moro necessarily
proves that term to mean "inoro spirit," than tho like application of
Oroc and Dons proves that these terms mean " more spirit," and not
" God." On tho contrary, wo have hero a most romarkablo point of
similarity iu the use of tho three terms, Shin, Or?*, and Dons.
Tho application which tho Chinese Philosophers themselves niako
of the term " Shin" in their writings, it appears to me, places it beyond
question that this term agrees precisely to tho torm "God" as used by
all Pagan Materialists : for,
a. As all Pagan nations held one Oro* kot c?oxvv, 80 tho Chiueso
hold one Shin, r-?V cfoxv1'? tho Author of all things.
b. The Chin?se Pilosophers give precisely the same titles and attri
butes to their Supremo "?liin" which the rest of tho Pagan world gave
to their Supremo " Oc??."
c. The position and power assigned to both "Shin" and "0_ov"
in the Universe is precisely the 6amoj

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 CH IN ES 15 THEOLOGY. 425

el. With regard to tho first generated Deity, as "almost all" tho
Oriental nations call tho Light "God;" so the Chinese call it
"Shin." So that, as in the earliest ages "God" was considered to
bo Light and Ether, so do the Chinese consider "Shin" to be Light
and Ethor.
e. The twofold Principle of tho world was designated by the Pagans
" Light" and " Darkness ;" tho better Principle or Light they desig
nated "God," and the inferior *' Demon ;" and the Chinese hold thi.s
twofold Principle, designating the Light or better Principle "Shin,''
and tho inferior ono or Darkness "Demon." Also, the Chinese, in
common with the rest of tho Pagaus, designate tho Light " Good," and
tho Darkness " Evil."
f. The Light or "God" was the Y'i'x?/ ^'oanoa, and was designated
Jupiter ; and the Chinese hold tho Light or " Shin" to bo tho \'/ux'/
Koapov, and designate it Shang-te.
g. The Pagans considered the soul in man to be a portion of this
yjrvxn k-oapov or " God," and hence they designated it Oc?v, Deus, or
"God ; and the Chinese consider the soul to be a portion of tho \'"'xv
Koapun or " Shin," and hence they designate it " Shin."
It is unnecessary to pursue this parallel further ; sufficient has, I
think, been stated to show that tho meaning of the terms Oros and
Deus must bo affected by tho meaning attached to the Chinese term
"Shin ;" ho that, if the latter must be regarded, from its use in tho
Chineso Classics, as signifying '* Spirit," and not "God," fio must tho
former bo also regarded as signifying " Spirit," and not " God ;" for
no material difference can be found iu the application of these several
terms in the Chinese and other Pagan systems.
With regard to the term "Spirit," it appears to me hopeless for
any ono to oxpect to find amongst Pagan writers a term signifying
"Spirit" in our Christian sense of that term. 'I ho Heathen havo no
idea of any nearer approximation to pure spirit than very subtle ether.
Neither the Greek [liavpa, nor the Latin " Spiritus," signified Spirit iu
our sense of that term, until Christianity gave them that higher appli
cation. As to Angels and Spirits, we are indebted, as Mr. Lock o
observes, to Revelation, for our knowledge of the existence of theso
Beings; so that, to regard the "Shin" of China (amongst whom are
ranked Trees, Birds, and lieasts, ?c.; as " ?inmaterial Spirits," or
"Angels," is, to say the least of so extraordinary a statement, giving
tho Chinese credit for a knowledge which they do not possess. (See
Leggo's " Notions of the Chinese," A.c., p. 149, and .Mcdhurst's "In
quiry," Ac, pp. 140-7.
If, as in tho case of "Shin," we investigate the meaning and

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42? CHINESE THEOLOGY.

application of tho Chinese term " Ling," wo shall find that it cor
responds accurately to tho terms nvuvpa and Spiritus as used by tho
Pagan Greeks and Romans.
The twofold soul iu man and in the world is anima and Y^XV ;
the former being designated by the Chinese, Greeks, and Romans,
"Demon," and tho latter being designated by those Pagans respec
tively "Shin" "Ocov," and "Deus." As tho "Yin," or inferior
principle always "confers body," the anima or Yin-soul is tho ethereal
body of the rational soul. Such was also tho idea of tho Platonists,
Pythagoreans, and others. Hence in China, as in other Pagan nations,
the demons iu Hades are represented in human form.
a. Although both souls were by Western philosophers designated
iri'wpa, yet this was the proper appellation of tho anima ; and iu
China also, although both souls arc designated " Ling," yot this, liko
rri'cvpa, is the proper appellation of the anima ; e.g.,
" Tho clear K'o of tho yang (i.e. tho Y^'Xv) w called Shin (God),
and the clear K'o of the Yin (i.e. tho anima), is called Ling (Spirit)."?
Kaug-ho.
These " Ling " or Simulacra were,
" Tho irvtvpaia of Hoiuor, which Ulysses beheld in tho lower
regions, or spirits representing the form of tho human body."?Cud
worth, vol. iii., p. 284, note.
b. These " Ling" aro material, e.g.,
" That which makes the p'hih, anima or sensitivo soul, differs from
the h'wan, rational soul, is that tho anima is matter," Ac.?Mcdhurst's
Iuquiry, &c, p. 101.
And, of the term wvcvpa, Dr. Mosbeim says,
" I have already more than once remarked, that this word in
ancient authors frequently means, not what we call spirit, but a thin,
subtle, nature, resembling a shadow rather than a body, and yot con
sisting of a certain m alter."?Cudworth, vol. iii., p. 370, note.
e. Kang-hc states that the Ling, or anima, is " man's animal
spirits," ami we leant from tho Chun Tsow of Confucius, and elsowhoro,
that it is nourished by animal .food, such was also tho irvtivpa, or
anima, of the Western Pagans, e.g.,
.".... blood is tjie food .... of tho irvtivpa, i.e., that subtlo
body called the animal spirits " ?Ibid. p. 200.
Thus the very saino ihing, which was designated in tho West "nrcvpu"
and "Spiritus," is designated "Ling" by tho Chincso; heneo theso
throe toims correspond, and, as the Apostles taught thoir hearers to
apply the term nvvvpa in a higher sonso than they wero previously
accustomed to do, so must tho Missionary of the present day teach tho

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 427
Chinese a higher and moro noblo application of the term "Ling," thau
they aro capable of discovering by the mere light of nature.
3. In what has been stated regarding the application of the word
" Heaven," in the Chineso Classics, by two of the most voluminous
writers on the controversy, we have another example of the necessity
of investigating tho meaning attached to so important a term by the
Chinese themselves. From want of caution on this point, these authors
have fallen into the mistake of considering that tho Chinese use the
appellation " Heaven," just as Christians do. Ono of these writers
says on this point,
"In this application of the word Heaven to the Supreme (i.e.
Shang-to), the Chinese are not singular. It is used in the sacred
Scriptures by mctoiiomy for the Divinity." ? Mcdhurst's Inquiry,
&a, p. 20.
Tho other writer alluded to, speaking of tho application of tho
term " Heaven " to Shang-te in the Classics, says,
" It is a mode of speech which has?/_6' sanction of the Bible? which
the blessed Saviour Himself did not disdain to employ." ?Legge's
Notions, <Sc, p. 38.
From these statements it is evident that these authors are not
aware that Shang-te, or Mind, is a Soul, and not a personal Being,
distinct from matter, or thoy would not have fallen into the mistake
of imagining that tho Holy Scriptures and the Chinese Classics speak
of tho same thing?"Jehovah," under tho same title?" Hoavon."
And yet, it seems strange that these writers should not have suspected
the truth on this point, for they both quote the statements of tho
Classics that Shang-to governs the world as the soul does the body in
Man.
4. From the Chineso syscm of Cosmogony laid before the reader
in the previous pages, it will bo seen that Shang-te is tho identical
" Great Father," or Adam re-appearing in Noah, 'worshipped by tho
wholo Pagan world, and which idolatrous worship was set up on the
plain of Shinar, whence each nation (and amongst the rest the founders
of the Chinese Empire), carried it to. the several countries in which
they settled after tho confusion of tongues and the consequent dis
persion. Shang-te, notwithstanding his high-sounding titles, must
therefore take his place with Baal, Jupiter, Osiris, Sec, all of whom
were tho "Great Father," or First Man,
This " Great Father," however, has frequently been mistaken for
tho true God, in consequence of the attributes which belong to Jehovah
alone being given to him by his votaries. This mistake has been
made also by those Missionaries in China who consider that the wor

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428 CHINESE TUEOMXJY.

ship of Shang-te ought to be sanctioned by tho Chinese Scriptures. Of

tho two writers abovo alluded to, one, captivated by Shang-to's attri
butes and titles, unhesitatingly pronounces him to bo " Ood over all
blessed for ever /" whilo the other, moro timidly, declares him to bo
the true God, " as far as the Chinese know him? whatevor that quali
fication may mean. On this subject, Mr. Faber says,
" Some writers of note .... from some remarkable expressions
which have been used by Gentile authors in various countries, and
which /;/ their legitimate acceptation can only bo applied with pro
priety to tho Supreme Being .... have inferred that tho truo God
was the object of pagan, no less than of Jewish and Christian venera
tion, though his attributes were disguised and his worship was debased
by much vanity and superstition, <?c.
" But this, so far as I can judge, is wholly insufficient to establish
the hypothesis, that tho chief deity of tho Gentiles was truly and
properly Jehovah, acknowledged as the Crentor of tho world, though
dimly viewed through the mist of polytheistic absurdity. The moro
ascription of certain attributes of Jehovah to that deity will not prove
their identity ; nor can it set aside the apostolic declaration, that by
their wisdom the heathens knew not God, and that to all intents and
purposes they wcro no better than atheists." ? Faber's Orig, &c%
vol. i., p. 54.
One of the above-mentioned writers on the Chineso controversy,
has even gone so far as to assert that tho triplication of Shang-to into
" Heaven, Earth, and Man," bears "some allusion to the mysterious
doctrine of tho Trinity, which may havo been derived by tradition
from tho patriarchal ago." (Mcdhurst's " Theology of tho Chineso,"
p. 85.) This writer, however, is not the only Missionary who has
fallen into this error concerning tho "Great Father," as the following
statement of .Sir William Jones will show :
" Very respectable natives have assured me, that ono or two
missionaries have been absurd enough, iu their zeal for tho conversion
of the Gentiles, to urge that the Hindoos wero even now almost
Christians because their Brahma, Vishnou, aud Mahesa wero no othor
than the Christian Trinity ; a sentence in which wc can only doubt
whether folly, ignorance, or impiety predominates. Tho tenet of our
Church cannot, without profuueuess, be compared with that of tho
Hindoos, which has only an apparent rcscmblanco to it, buta very
different meaning."
Mr. Faber, whilo he considers this censure of Sir W. Jones too
severe, remarks,
"An examination" of these Triads "seems to mo very clearly to

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 429

prove that they have no sort of relation whatever to the Christian doc
trine of the Trinity, but that they sprang from a totally different
source."?Ibid. p. 18, and note.
From all these instances of mistake respecting tho Chinese system,
we may per?oive tho necessity, in translating and interpreting Heathen
authors, of observing the useful caution given by Dr. Mosheim, viz.,
that
" Those who read the works of ancient authors, and meet with tho
words 1'ouv atjtopmov, simplex, &c, &c, therein, should take care not
necessarily to consider them as conveying the same idea as that which
we attach to them in reference to God, Soul, and things divine."?
Cudworth, vol. i., p. 54, note.
Having already shown who Shang-to really is, and that bo is
merely the animated Universe composed of Mind and Matter, it is
unnecessary to dwell upon the jmpict)' and danger of sanctioning tho
worship of such a Being in the Holy Scriptures. It is much to bo
regretted that one million of New Testaments are now being printed
in China by somo of the Missionaries, with the funds of the Biblo
Society, in which the designation "Shang-te" is inserted wherever
Oco? occurs in the original, and tho term " Shin " is used as the trans
lation of trvevna : so that, as the Confucian Classics inculcate the wor
ship of Shang-te, so do tho Holy Scriptures ; and both the Classics
and the Scriptures,-by this use of tho term "Shin," inculcate pan
theism. Let tho reader imagine what would bo tho effect of inserting
the word "Jupiter," in our version of the Scriptures, wherever tho
word "God" occurs, and tho word "God" wherever "spirit" or
"soul" occurs, and ho will then be ablo to form sonic idea of tho
notion of Christianity which the Chinese are likely to derive from the
"million Testaments" now iu process of printing. No amount of
divine attributes bestowed upon Shang-te, who is really a Man, can
ever make him to be the Infinite Jehovah. Jehovah is tho only truo
" Shin," and besido Him there is no other.
I could, if it were necessary, stato many instances in which the
Chincso readers of Christian tracts, and of the New Testament, on
being interrogated as to whom they supposed the Shang-te mentioned
therein to bo, have unhesitatingly replied "Heaven and Earth ;" and
who have as unhesitatingly stated that " Jesus is the son of Heaven
and Earth," i.e., the Hermaphroditic Shang-te. instead, however, of
dwelling upon such cases, I shall merely alludo to one of the most re
markable instances of the danger of preaching and teaching tho
worship of Shang-te?I mean that of the Insurgents. Thcso men havo
been confirmed in the worship of Shang-to by various tracts and books

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 430 OHINESE THEOLOGY.

circulated amongst them, and also by tho preaching of Missionaries.

They have received this teaching and have adopted the doctrines incul
cated. They have even printed largo portions of a Bible, in which
Shang-te takes the placo of Jehovah, and heneo in their published
works they designate the Being whom they worship, indifferently,
"Shang-te," or "Jehovah." They state that w? foreigners havo
brought no new doctrino to them, for that both Chineso aud foreigners
have always worshipped the same Dring, viz., Shang-te. Theso men
are, I suppose, as well instructed in the Scriptures, and iu tho doctrines
therein inculcated, as any others in China who derivo their knowledge
from tho sanio source ; indeed, judging from tho translations of their
books which have appeared in newspapers, Ac, we should consider
them to bo perfect Christians if wo were not awaro that theso trans
lations make them appear, as Dr. Mosheiin says, "not as they really
are, but such as thoy would have been had thoy been educated in our
schools."
Whom then do theso men suppose the Shang-te of their Scriptures,
and tho Being preached to them by the Missionaries, to bo . Lot them
answer this question for themselves. In speaking of tho origin of
souls, they say,
" Whence aro generated, and whenco cc/ino forth tho souls (of
men) 1 Theso aro all conferred by Imperial Shang-te, the original
lie, whenco they aro generated and eoino forth. Heneo it is ?aid (in
tho Classics), that ono Root (i.e., Shang-to or Mind) scattered and
became iunumerablo radii (i.e., Souls) and theso innumerable radii all
revert to ono Hoot," viz., Pater /Ether or Shang-to. (Sco also Sing-lo
ta-tseuen, ch. xxxiv, pp. 19, 21.)?T'ae-ping Chaou Shoo, p. 10.
" Hence man being formed by the creative energy of Heaven and
Earth (i.e. Shang-to), in thecourso of naturo derives his biijth from his
parcuts at the fixed period," Ac.?Proclamation of Lew, Great Gene
ralissimo of tho T'ae-ping Celestial Empire. North China Herald,
May 20th, 1854.
Thus it appears that the Insurgents, led astray by tho preaching of
some of tho Missionaries (ho wo ver unintentionally) and also by tho
Bibles in their possession, declaro the Shang-to of tho Confucian
Classics, who is worshipped at tho round hillock at Pckiu, to bo our
Jehovah, and consider both to bo tho subtle Ether (K'o) or Mind,
inherent in Heaven, Earth, Man, and all things. Hence in their San
Tsze King, they designate Shang-te the "ilwnn foo," literally "the
rational soul father," i.e., cither tho V'^A'V "'?V?"?' designated "Father"
in tho Classics, or, the Father of tho rational souls of mou which arc,
as has boen shown dcccrpted portions of Shang-to himself or the subtle

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 Chinese Theology. 431

Ether. In this error, it seems, these men in common with the rest of
their countrymen, are now to be confirmed by a million of New
Testaments.
Front what is stated iu the Chinese system with regard to tho two
Principles of the Universe, it is plain that these arc the two Persian
Principles of Light and Darkness, Good and Evil. The Light is the
good God or Shang-te proper, the rational soul of the world, who is
opposed by tho evil Demon, and who is regarded as tho framcr of the
world. At each return of all things to Chaos, the Darkness or evil
Principle envelops the Light and overcomes him for a time, producing
destruction and death. That this Light or Shang-te is not the true
God, is plain from what is said of him; and wo have also the direct
testimony of Scripture on this point, e.g.*.
"Holy Scripture at once testifies the remote antiquity of such
speculations; and decidedly proves that tho pure light or good prin
ciple of tho Persians was nut the true God, as some have imagined; but
no less than tho thick darkness or evil principle a mere creature. In
tho address of Jehovah to Cyrus his anointed, he is represented as
saying, in manifest allusion to the philosophy of the Magi: I am the
Lord, and there is none else. Iform the light and create the darkness ;
1 make the-peace and create the evil. I the Lord do all these things!*
Isaiah xlv., G, 7. "'Vha peace or harmony of the ronovatcd world; tho
evil or confusion of the dissolved world."?Faber's Orig., &c, vol. iii.,
p. 08, and note.
An attempt to graft this Philosophy of the Magi upon Christianity
gave rise to the heresy of Manes, Ccrinthtis, &c. Manes held that all
things proceeded from two principles; tho ono "a pure and most
subtle matter called Light, and tho other a gross and corrupt substance
called Darkness." lie held that there were two souls in man, "ono
of which is sensitive and lustful, and owes its existence to tho evil
principle; the other rational and immortal, a particle of 'tho divine
light.'" He considered that Jesus Christ is "a most splendid sub
ntaueo, consisting of tho brightness of tho eternal Light;" that "his
residence is in the Sun," and that tho Holy Ghost is "a luminous and
animated body dilfuscd throughout every part of the atmosphero
which surrounds this terrestrial #lobc. This genial principle warms
and illuminates the minds of men, renders also the earth fruitful," &c.
?Mosheim's Eccles. Hist., vol. i., p. 174, &c.
Now it appears to me that in consequence of preaching the worship
of Shang-to in China, the Insurgents have fallen into this heresy of
the Manaoheans. Their Shang-te, or the Light, they are taught is

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432 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

"God over all blessed for ever," and God "as far as the Chineso know
him." They arc assured that Jesus Christ is also Shang-to; aud that
tho Holy Ghost is also Shang-to. N'ow the term used for tho Holy
Ghost is "Siting Shin" (literally "Holy Gody), and thoy arc taught
that the soul is also properly called " Shin" (Ocov or Deus). Hence as
their Scriptures tell them that the " Holy Shin" (who inhabits tho
outer circle of the Universo and pervades and animates it, iii., 10,)
resilles in them, and that their souls aro truly ami properly termed
"Shin," they naturally conclude that their souls arc portions of
Shang-te, tho Light, or Holy Ghost (iv., 2, b). Hence, as their
Classics teach thoin that a greater portion of this tyvx? *oapuv resides
in Princes, they regard them as being Shang-tes or Jehovahs. Thus,
in a tract lately printed, wo find tho " celestial king" addressing the
eastern prince Yang thus, " When our celestial elder brother Jesus,
in obedience to the commands of our heavenly Father, camo down into
the world, in the country of Judea, Ho addressed His disciples, saying,
at some future day the Comforter will come into the world. Now I,
your second elder brother, considering what you brother Tsing havo
reported to me, and observing what you havo done, must consider that
the Comforter and tho Holy Ghost spoken of by our celestial eldor
brother is none other than yourself?
Such is the result of an attempt to discover the Jehovah of tho
Holy Scriptures in tho Heathen Chinese Classics. Nor can I seo how
those who teach the Insurgents to worship Shang-te can consistently
charge them with "Blasphemy," for making such statements as tho
above, which aro in their minds, but legitimate consequences of tho
statements mado in the million of Now Testamonts.
Nor indeed can I seo how, if this course of teaching bo porsistod
in, tho Chineso will be able to understand the simplest statements of
the Gospel. Take, for instance, that beautiful passage, John iii., IG,
which in the Chineso version in the hands of the Insurgents reads
thus, "Shang-to so loved the world that Ho gavo His only-bcgotton
Son," ito. Now, not to mention tho fact that Shang-to never did
"love the world," and that he is not "the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ," tho statement in this passage, according to Chinese ideas, will
merely mean, as I have frequently heard the Chineso interpret it, that
Jesus Christ is "theSoirof Heaven and Earth," or the Hermaphro
ditic Shang-te, and that Ho is our " Chief Sago," in whom (liko Con
fucius and others) dwells a greater portion of the \?/ox? Koapov than in
others, and in whom we aro bound to believe, just as they " bcliovc in
Confucius." Heneo tho Chinese readily assent to the statemout that

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 433

" Jesus is Shang-te," because they consider that our Saviour, being
tho Son of Heaven and Earth, is, like their sages, the human repre
sentation of this Hermaphroditic Shang-te.
I trust that the time is not far distant when all erroneous preach
ing and teaching shall coaso in China, and when the Chinese shall
bo taught by all Missionaries to know Him " w7iose name alone is
Jehovah (not Shang-te), and who has Himself said, " I am Jrhovah ;
tliat is my name : and my glory will I not give to another.** &c.?Isa.
xlji., 8.
The authority chiefly quoted in the preceding pages iq the cele
brated Chinese Philosopher Choo-foo-tsze, who is the most voluminous
commentator on the Classics, and whom I have chosen, chiefly because
his works have been appealed to by the writers on both sides of the
controversy. This Philosopher lived about 700 years ago, and tho
estimation in which he is held by the Chinese may be gathered from
the following culogium passed upon him by tbe oldest student of
Chinese at present in China :?
" .... Choo-foo-tsze, the learned commentator on tho Four Books
and tho oluoidutor of tho live Classics, who, by fixing the sense of tho
standard writings of the Chinese, has created, as it were, the mind of
China, and established a system from which all subsequent writers
have borrowed, and according to which nil modern essayists must be
conformed or they cannot succeed at the literary examinations through
which alone distinction and power can be attained. Tho opinions
of Choo-foo-tsze therefore constitute the orthodoxy of China, and all
who differ from hint are considered heterodox, insomuch that some
modern writers who have dared to dissent front his views have not
only failed in obtaining oilico, but havo also boon prevented through
fear of persecution from publishing their lucubrations."?Medhurst's
Theology, ?to., p. 102.
Choo-tszo, however, has introduced no new system, as appears
from tho following :?
" As it regards the learning of Confucius, Choo alone, say the
Chincso historians, fully comprehended its true import; and has trans
mitted it to futuro generations so perfect and immaculate that wero
Confucius himself, or any of the ancient sages, to como back to life,
thoy would not alter what he has written."?Chinese Repository,
vol. xviii., p. 204.
Tho Yih-king, from which Choo-tszo derives his opinions on
Cosmogony, was composed by Wan Wang, about n.c. 1150. The
history of tho formation of the Universe is given in this ancient Classic
in numbers, according to the Pythagorean system. Number One, or

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 434 CHINESE THEOLOGY.

as it is called, "Supremo Ono," is the chief God, or Shang-te, being

the first Deity generated from Chaos ; number l\vo, or Duality, is
Matter ; and number Tlirce is tho union of thoso two, forming tho
complete animated Universe, or First Man. This is tho Triad. Tho
formation of the Ogdoad is as follows :?
" The Great Extreme (i e. the eternal, animated K'e) generated
tho Two E, (i. e. Light and Darkness, or two-fold Mind) ; tho Two li
generated the four simulacra (i. e. each soul genera tod a body : tho
Y"'A'V gciioratod Heaven, tho anima Earth; making four things iti all),
and the four simulacra generated tho Eight Diagrams,11 (/. e. tho
two-fold vsoul uniting with tho two-fold body formed the Groat Father
and Mother, Keen and Kuan, or Heaven and Earth animated ; and
these generated the "six children.")?Yih-king, vol. ii., ch. xiv., p. 25.
The difference between the views of Laou-tszo, tho founder of tho
Taonist soot, and those of Confucius on Cosmogony, may bo gathered
from tho following passage in which Choo-tszo alludes to tho doctrine
of the former and dissents from it : ?
"Reason is the Great Extreme of the Yih-king; the odd number
One is the Yang (animated Heaven, or Shang-to) ; the even number
Two is the Yin (animated Earth, his Wife) ; Three is the odd and
even number united (tho complete Hermaphroditic Shang-te, or First
Mau). When it is said that Two generated Three, this moans thsit
Two and One form Three. Taking One to be tho Groat Extreme,
then there is no necessity lo say that Reason generated One."?Choo
tsze's Works, T'ae-keih, sentence 43.
The Great Extremo, or " One," who generates all things from
himself, is, as we havo seen, tho Y'i?x?/ noapov, or Shang-te, whoso
body is Heaven, or the World, and which Choo-tszo himself states to
have boon eternally generated by the Incorporeal Great Extreme, or
Reason, i.e., the Gm>, kot v^o\ip> (i., 3). This Divine Reason now
uniting with " One," or Shang-te, makes him to be an Intelligent
Mind, so that thcso two, viz., Reason and Mind, being henceforth ono
complete Being, Choo-tszo considers it " unnecessary to say" that
Mind is generated by Reason, both being thus eternally united, and
one being unable to exist without the other. Laou-tszo, however,
?cents on all occasions, to have stated tho distinctness of the Divine
Reason and Mind, or Shang-to, and to have always insisted on tho
priority of the former, e. g. :?
" I do not know whoso son it (/. e., the Divine Reason) is : it is
prior to the (Supreme) Ruler of tho visible (hoavciis\" i. e., Shang-to.
? Medhurst's Theology, <fcc., p. 24 G.
Hence it is probable that Laou-tszo, although ho held the eternity

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 CHINESE THEOLOGY. 435

of matter, yet did not make the Divine Reason (God) dependent upon
it, as the Confuciauists do. These two sects, however, are alike in one
respect, namely, that they both pay divine honours to Shang-te, the
second God, or Demiurgo, and thus " worship and serve the creature
more than the Creator? That the three sects, viz., the Confuciauists,
Taouists, and Buddhists in reality worship the same Being as their
chief God, appears from tho following legend:
" Tho Lotus onco floated the Star Supremo One (i. e., Shang-te)."
Comment.?" During tho Han Dynasty, in the rcigu of tho
Emperor Woo, there was a man seen in tho midst of the sea, who had
two horns, a face like a gem, aiid a flowing beard*; his loins were en
circled with the leaves of a tree, and he reclined in a lotus leaf, more
than 100 feet in length. In his hand he held a book, and he floated
up the East sea. Suddenly ho disappeared in a fog, and what became
of him is unknown, (Tho Philosopher) Tung Fung-soii ?aye, that this
was the star 'Supreme One.'"
In this Being, who is tho Classical Shang-te, or " Supreme One,"
whose chariot is said to bo Ursa Major, we see combined the gemmy
face of tho Taouist Shang-to, and he is seated on a leaf of the Lotus,
which is sacred to Buddha. Tho " sea" represents the waters of tho
Deluge, on which this "Great Father" of tho Pagan world, the horned
Jupiter, reclines in tho Ark, "in profound meditation," until the timo
arrives when he must arouse himself, and form a new world or Body
from chaos.?(As to the antiquity of Buddhism, seo Faber's Orig., &c,
vol. i., pp. 80, &c.)

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