As we all know, there are great differences between eastern and western civilizations. However, there is a surprisingly consistent attitude towards the gods. Western Christianity believes that God in the world is omnipotent, and human beings are atoning for their sins in the world, so people's attitude towards God is very fearful.
The same is true of Islam, which believes that Allah the only true God in the world and is revered. In ancient China, people's attitude towards gods was also respectful and very religious.
But then it slowly changed and became
"Worship God without Belief"
Why does people's thinking change like this?
During the Shang Dynasty, the concept of gods appeared. During this period, people had great respect for God, and even more "respected God." At that time, it was generally believed that wizards could communicate with the gods and get guidance from the gods.
Therefore, when the monarch encounters a major event or hesitates, he will let the wizard decide through divination. The Shang Dynasty used turtle shells for divination, while the Zhou Dynasty used zheng. Although the tools of divination are different, the purpose is the same, and they all hope to be instructed by the gods.
It can be seen that the throne of the gods in this period is as lofty as God in the eyes of Westerners.
Image: Shang Dynasty divination stills with turtle shells
At that time, there was a sage in the Shang Dynasty named Yi Yin, who was the founding hero of the Shang Dynasty, and was later made an auxiliary minister by the Shang King. This position is very high, equivalent to the future minister.
According to historical records,
Yi Yin
There is also a more special identity, that is, a wizard.
"The Great Affairs of the Nation, in the Worship and the Rong"
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At that time, the sacrifices and warriors of the Shang Dynasty were all important matters.
As a wizard, Yi Yin naturally presided over the relevant sacrifices.
As a result, his status was very high in the dynasty, even higher than that of the current Tianzi Taijia. Because Taijia was absurd and unscrupulous, he was directly banished by Yi Yin, and then handled government affairs by himself. After Taijia reflected, he welcomed Taijia back and returned the ruling power to him.
It can be seen from this that the status of wizards is even higher than that of the Son of Heaven, which also shows the supreme status of the gods.
Yi Yin is also an assistant minister and a wizard. It is reasonable to say that with great power in hand, we should develop our own forces. But Yi Yin was not blinded by desire, and only hoped that the country could develop well and the world would be peaceful. Therefore, Yi Yin has always emphasized the "virtue" of people, hoping that people will pay attention to morality and words and deeds.
In order to let Tianzi Taijia practice benevolent government, Yi Yin once said to him as a god:
"The gods advocate virtue in government, and if the king of a country rules the country well, then the gods will bring down their well-being. Otherwise, heaven will send down punishment."
This remark sounded ridiculous now, but at that time, Taijia was a serious look, very religious.
So does Yi Yin really believe in the existence of the gods, or does he use this name to persuade the Son of Heaven? We don't know that.
But we can know that during this period, the gods had the supreme weight in everyone's heart, and no one dared to disobey the will of the gods. Even the Heavenly Son Taijia Wudao could be abolished by Yi Yin in the name of the God of Heaven.
Image from the Internet: Auxiliary Minister Yi Yin
However, with the development of society, the status of the gods remained unchanged, but people's attitudes towards the gods changed. This transformation was caused by Yi Yin's son, Yi Zhi.
After Yi Yin's death, the responsibility of assisting the Shang King fell on Yi Zhi's shoulders. Because of his father's teachings, Yi Zhi also advocated "ruling the country with virtue", and only a country with virtue and prosperity can develop and grow. With this belief, Izuku began to delve deeper and further develop his father's theory.
The Shang dynasty monarch assisted by Yi Zhi was Tai Peng, the ninth monarch of the Shang Dynasty, who ruled the Shang Dynasty for seventy-five years, making him the longest monarch in the Shang Dynasty. However, when Tai Peng first succeeded to the throne, the situation of the Shang Dynasty was not very good, showing a trend of decline.
At that time, a particularly strange thing happened, which shocked people. It happened in the court of the capital of the Shang Dynasty, and the mulberry tree and the squeamber tree were actually combined. What was even more unexpected was that this strange tree grew wildly overnight, even to the point where it needed one person to hold hands together.
As we all know, it was a feudal superstitious society at that time. People have many thoughts about this strange and strange thing, and it is generally believed that it is a hint from the gods to the world that something ominous will happen.
Image from the Internet: Tai Peng, the ninth monarch of the Shang Dynasty
Such public opinion has become more and more intense, causing Tai Peng's concern. He was terrified that Heaven would punish him or bring the dynasty to an end. Worried, Tai Peng asked Yi Zhi for help, hoping that he could think of a way.
In this regard, Yi Zhi already had a countermeasure, so he said:
"I know that there is a saying that no matter how powerful the demon god is, he cannot overcome the virtue of the monarch."
The implication is to let Tianzi Tai peng pay attention to his own conduct and let him rule the country with virtue.
This sentence is also very ordinary now, and at most it is to hear a truth that advocates virtue. But for Tai Peng, this is the recipe for saving the country. Although it is somewhat incredible, it is a common thing in the era of feudal superstition. Since then, Tai Peng has paid more attention to his own morality.
In this way, under the "virtuous rule" of Tai Peng, the Shang Dynasty began to regain its vitality and enter prosperity. From this, this matter also leads to an idiom, that is, "demons are not virtuous." After the rule of Tai Peng with virtue, the tree that was regarded as ominous also died for no reason.
Image from the internet: Yi Zhi
With Yi Zhi's assistance, Tai Peng became a virtuous prince, and together with Tai Jia and Zu Yi, he was known as the king who contributed the most to the Shang Dynasty. The concept of "demon is invincible" proposed by Yi Zhi has great progressive significance for the ancient historical process and has contributed to the history of Chinese philosophy.
It was also from this period that although people still believed in the theory of ghosts and gods, their attitude toward ghosts and gods was not as respectful as the attitude of Westerners toward God.
afterward
The idea of ghosts and gods has also been further developed, evolving into "the unity of heaven and man", the king himself is closely related to the gods, and the future kings claim to be the chosen ones of heaven, inheriting the will of Heaven and governing the people.
The king's every move was watched by the gods, and if there was no way out, the gods would send disasters and punish the emperor.
Image: King stills
It can be seen that the later gods completely became the tools of the emperor to control the power, and bound the people with the idea of divine power to stabilize their rule. And the common people were ignorant in their thinking, and they also followed the king to push the emperor of the gods to the top, and only knew how to worship the gods.
Later, in the influx of Buddhism, people had a new understanding of The Buddha. The gods are also the various gods and immortals in the Buddha's gate, and at this time, people worship the Buddha for a purpose, that is, to pray that the will in their minds can be fulfilled.
Therefore, now people burn incense and worship buddha, just hoping that the gods can protect themselves to fulfill their wishes. Although I know that this is unrealistic, I still do it, but it is just a beautiful sustenance.
Article author: Dahui
The entire graphic was produced by the team of the Big Cafe Say History Studio!