Introduction: The Spiritual World of Shang China
The Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE) represents one of humanity’s earliest sophisticated systems of spiritual belief and religious practice. As Confucius later observed, “The Shang people revered spirits, leading the people in serving spirits, putting ghosts before ritual.” This profound spiritual orientation has been dramatically confirmed by the discovery of hundreds of thousands of oracle bones containing divination records. To understand Shang history, we must first comprehend their complex theology – a system where gods, ancestors, and nature spirits interacted in a carefully structured cosmic hierarchy.
The Pantheon of Shang Deities
Shang theology recognized three primary categories of supernatural beings:
1. Di (帝), the high god
2. Ancestral spirits
3. Nature deities
Modern scholarship has approached Shang religion through two main methodologies: studies focusing on individual categories of deities, and examinations of the relationships between Di, ancestors, and nature gods. The latter approach proves particularly illuminating for understanding the Shang cosmological worldview.
Key scholarly perspectives on these relationships include:
– Guo Moruo viewed Di as the Shang supreme deity who also functioned as an ancestral spirit (specifically identifying Di with Emperor Ku)
– Hu Houxuan maintained Di’s supremacy but distinguished him from ancestral spirits by noting Di did not accept human sacrifices
– Chen Mengjia positioned Di as ruler of the natural gods without blood ties to Shang kings
– Chao Fulin argued ancestral spirits held primacy over Di in Shang belief, with the three categories existing in balanced independence
– Zhu Fenghan saw no clear hierarchy between Di, ancestors, and nature gods
– Wang Hui proposed Di served as a unifying figure combining ancestral and natural divine aspects
These debates center on two crucial questions: Was Di truly the supreme deity of the Shang pantheon? And was Di considered an ancestor of the Shang kings?
Di and His Divine Ministers
A revealing window into Shang theology emerges through examining the concept of “Di Chen” (帝臣) – the ministers or servants of Di. Oracle bone inscriptions and transmitted texts confirm the existence of these divine functionaries who served Di in various capacities.
The term “Di [X]” in Shang context could mean either “X is Di” (as in royal titles like Di Yi or Di Xin) or “X of Di” (as in Di Feng [帝风], the Wind of Di). The ministers clearly represent the latter usage, comparable to Zhou dynasty references to “royal ministers” (王臣).
These divine ministers fell into several functional categories:
1. Controllers of Royal Fortune: Some Di Chen influenced the king’s good or bad luck. Oracle bones show consultations about whether the king should leave the capital, with the decision attributed to Di Chen (e.g., “It is Di Chen who orders the departure” – 隹帝臣令出).
2. Divine Messengers: Certain spirits served as Di’s envoys. One inscription records: “On day Yisi divined: The king hosts Di’s envoy, without trouble” (乙巳卜，贞：王宾帝史，亡尤). Here “envoy” (史 shi) refers to a ministerial function.
3. Divine Artisans: The “Di Gong” (帝工) inscriptions refer to Di’s craftsmen or workers, another category of minister.
4. Ritual Officials: The “Di Zong Zheng” (帝宗正) appears as a kind of high priestly official in Di’s celestial court, analogous to earthly ritual specialists.
This bureaucratic organization of the spirit world mirrored the Shang’s own governmental structures, projecting their understanding of earthly administration onto the divine realm.
The Ancestral Spirits and Their Place in the Hierarchy
Shang ancestral spirits fell into several categories:
1. Remote ancestors with unclear genealogical connections
2. Clearly documented royal ancestors
3. Meritorious former officials
4. Ancestors of the Shang people (non-royal lineages)
Crucial oracle bone evidence demonstrates how ancestral spirits related to Di:
Inscriptions show ancestors like Tang (the dynasty founder), Da Jia, and Xia Yi “hosting” or “accompanying” Di (宾于帝), suggesting they served as intermediaries between the living king and the high god. The Classic of Poetry confirms this relationship: “The ancient Di commanded Wu Tang to regulate the borders of those four quarters.”
Three key observations emerge:
1. Ancestral spirits served as Di’s ministers, placing them in a subordinate position
2. Di was not himself a Shang ancestor – ancestors mediated between Di and kings
3. A hierarchy existed among ancestral spirits, with royal ancestors superior to both commoners’ ancestors and deified former ministers
Nature Deities in the Shang Cosmos
The Shang recognized numerous nature deities including:
– Celestial bodies (sun, moon, stars)
– Atmospheric phenomena (wind, rain, clouds)
– Geographical features (mountains, rivers, earth)
– Directional spirits (Four Directions, Center)
Oracle bones reveal these nature gods also served as Di’s ministers:
1. The Five Directions: The “Di Wu Chen Zheng” (帝五臣正) governed the five cardinal directions (north, south, east, west, center), mirroring the “Five Pheasants” officials mentioned in later texts.
2. Wind as Divine Messenger: Inscriptions record sacrifices to “Di’s envoy wind” (帝史风), showing this natural force served Di’s purposes.
3. Other Nature Ministers: Cloud deities (帝云), river gods (帝江), and locust-controlling spirits all appear as Di Chen in the oracle records.
Notably, ancestral spirits and nature gods maintained relatively equal status and could cooperate, as seen in myths where ancestral figures like Huangdi and Chiyou enlist nature deities’ aid.
Earthly Ministers of the Divine
The concept of Di Chen extended beyond the spirit world to include living humans. The Analects preserves what may be a Shang prayer:
“I, the little child Lü, dare to use a black male animal and clearly report to the great and august Di: Those who are guilty I dare not pardon. Di’s ministers are not hidden, they are selected in Di’s heart. If I personally have committed offenses, they should not extend to the myriad regions. If the myriad regions have committed offenses, the offenses rest with my person.”
Scholars debate whether “Di’s ministers” here refers to:
– The last Xia ruler (Jie)
– Shang Tang himself
– Virtuous officials
– The sage Yu
Comparative texts like the Mozi and Book of Documents suggest the term encompassed worthy human officials, indicating the Shang saw earthly virtue as connected to divine order.
Conclusion: The Legacy of Shang Theology
The Shang religious system represents a remarkable early attempt to conceptualize humanity’s place in the cosmos. Their theology featured:
1. A supreme high god (Di) presiding over an organized pantheon
2. A complex bureaucracy of divine ministers performing specialized functions
3. Ancestral spirits as privileged intermediaries
4. Nature deities integrated into the celestial administration
5. Earthly virtue connected to divine recognition
This sophisticated system would profoundly influence later Chinese religious thought, particularly the Zhou dynasty’s “Mandate of Heaven” concept. The Shang’s vision of a structured, hierarchical cosmos – where human and divine realms mirrored each other – established patterns that would shape Chinese spirituality for millennia.
The discovery of Di Chen’s dual meaning (both divine and human ministers) particularly reveals the early emergence of humanistic elements within a predominantly theocentric worldview. This tension between divine power and human moral agency would become a central theme in Chinese intellectual history.