The Discovery of Genesis (7 page)

Thou hast vouchsafed, O
Ti
[
], to hear us, for Thou regardest us as a
Father.
I, Thy child, dull and unenlightened, am unable to show forth my dutiful feelings.
⁷
[Italics supplied.]

The Heavenly Ruler is praised for his loving kindness as the ceremony concludes:

… Thy sovereign goodness is infinite. As
a potter, Thou hast made all living things.
Thy sovereign goodness is infinite. Great and small are sheltered [by Thy love]. As engraven on the heart of Thy poor servant is the sense of Thy goodness, so that my feeling cannot be fully displayed. With great kindness Thou dost bear with us, and not withstanding our demerits, dost grant us life and prosperity.
⁸
[Italics supplied.]

These last two recitations, taken together, bear the same simile as found in Isaiah:

But now, O Lord, Thou art our
Father; we are the clay, and Thou our Potter
and we all are the work of Thy hand (Isaiah 64:8 KJV).

Veneration of the ancestors was an early innovation, possibly derived from the practice of the emperor acting as high priest in the worship of
Shang Ti.
Here was the first intercessor between God and man in China. With the death of the earthly royal intercessor, his spirit was believed to continue in mediatorial service. At first emperors, then later national heros, and finally family patriarchs were revered—not as deities but as spirit intercessors who could grant favors and take an interest in the current welfare and future benefit of the suppliant.

The concept of ancestor worship antedated Confucius and is still above all other ties for both families and communities. At death, graves of the mighty were filled with terracotta models of horses, carts, houses, furniture, and slaves for the use of the deceased. The most extravagant burial of all time was that of the great conqueror Ch’in Shih Huang-ti, who in 209 B.C. was buried beneath a great artificial mound, 500 feet high and two miles in circumference. The complex of subterranean passages was filled with untold treasures. Ten thousand workmen employed in its construction were entombed with him.
⁹

Only today is this mammoth 2,200-year-old burying ground being explored by Chinese archaeologists, who estimate its complete retinue of life-sized pottery soldiers and horses guarding the resting emperor number about 6,000. Building on this immense mausoleum began when the king ascended the throne at the age of 13 and continued for 36 years, utilizing the services of some 700,000 slave artisans. Excavations begun in 1974 have not yet reached the emperor’s tomb, and already the finds are breathtaking.
¹⁰

But why should we go into detail concerning the single emperor, Ch’in Shih Huang-ti? It is because
his reign was pivotal not only for the establishment of the Chinese empire but also from the standpoint of the religious course of the empire.
The youthful Ch’in Shih Huang-ti came to the throne of the Ch’in dynasty in 246 B. C., and within 25 years had conquered all of China’s separate warring states, thus unifying the great nation. He then declared himself the “first universal emperor.” The name “China” is derived from his dynastic appellation. He was noted for many accomplishments, among them the completion of the Great Wall, which extends like an endless, undulating serpent for 1,500 miles. He built roads, a vast canal system,
standardized the style of writing the Chinese characters
, as well as weights and measurements. He is especially noted for having burned the ancient classics and records, and for burying alive over 400 Confucian scholars who opposed his violent “reforms.”
¹¹

Although a ruthless executioner of the Confucianists, he apparently fell under the influence of Taoist superstitions and allowed corruption of the ancient “border” sacrifices to
ShangTi
and the erection of an additional four altars to the white, green, yellow, and red “
Tis
” (heavenly rulers).

With the death of Ch’in Shih Huang-ti, the Ch’in dynasty, lasting only 49 years, ended and the new Han dynasty followed. A famous Taoist, Sin Hwan-p’ing, influenced a Han emperor, Wan by name, in 166 B.C., to offer the first imperial sacrifices to the additional spurious
Tis
, contrary to the teachings of antiquity.
Thus a polytheistic service supplanted the original worship of the one God, Shang Ti.
Because of this meddling with the ancient rites, the chief of censors accused Sin Hwan-p’ing of treason, writing in a memorial:

I venture to say that nothing is more foolish than this new figment of the spirits
ShangTi
, of which he says that there are five. It is indeed certain, that from the most ancient times, all who have been wise, and deemed masters of the nation, on account of their reputation for distinguished wisdom, have known but one
ShangTi
, eminent over all, on whom all things depend, from whom is to be sought whatever is for the advantage of the empire, and to whom it is the duty and custom of the emperors to sacrifice.
¹²

Not long after the presentation of this memorial, Sin Hwan-p’ing was put to death, but the corrupt practice continued on unchanged
for more than
12
centuries.
¹³

During the Ming dynasty an investigation was carried out regarding the imperial sacrificial system. Two committees of historians were appointed about A.D. 1369 to delve into the existing ancient records to ascertain the original rituals. By so doing, they discovered the Taoist-inspired error and deviation from the original ritual of the first three dynasties of Hsia, Shang, and Chou (2205–255 B. C). They abolished these practices and returned once again to the ritual of Chou, by which the emperor worshiped a solitary heavenly ruler,
Shang Ti.
¹⁴

So it appears that the primitive religion of China was monotheistic with worship of a heavenly Creator and living God whose benevolent blessing was sought by the emperor as high priest and by the mediatorial invocation of worthy deceased ancestors. However,
with the introduction of Taoist and Buddhist concepts, all original meaning of their rituals was lost and religious appellations were falsely applied to expanding mystical ideas of spirit deities.
Many ancient records had been burned, and religious worship was altered, revised, and blurred with the passage of time.

Over a hundred years ago, as the Bible was being translated into Chinese by Protestant missionaries, debate arose among them as to what Chinese term should be used for “God” (
Elohim, Jehovah, Theos
). With the research that emanated on the subject at this time, a real appreciation resulted for the original religious concepts of the Chinese. They found that, in truth, the ancient Chinese worshiped a God of Heaven with attributes identical to those of the Christians’ deity. Declared one distinguished translator of the Chinese classics:

Do the Chinese know the true God? … The evidence supplied by Chinese literature and history appears to me so strong, that I find it difficult to conceive how anyone, who has studied it, can come to the opposite conclusion.
¹⁵

This same researcher into the Chinese religion declared:

Have ever the Chinese, during the four thousand years over which their history extends, fashioned an image of
ShangTi
? They have not.
ShangTi
is self-existent. He existed before the heaven and the earth and sun. He created them. He rules over them. His years have no end.
¹⁶

The terms decided upon to designate “God” in the Chinese versions of the Bible are
Shen
¹⁷
and
ShangTi
, and for the Holy Spirit
Sheng Ling
, this latter a Christian combination of two ancient characters:
holy
and
spirit
.